The Holidays are Here (again)

My lament in the past few weeks have been…”The year is over” And people always look at me strangely and wonder (aloud or in their minds) why I would be so dramatic when there are still two whole months to go. Workwise, you need to get the bulk of your work done before Thanksgiving, because once Thanksgiving hits you find yourself out of time and out of money.

It sucks to be working over the holidays. It sucks to have to sit at a computer after a night of over-indulgence, when your brains are fried and your stomach is reeling from the effects of way too much food. But somehow, the end of the year has always been crunch time for me. Full of impossible deadlines and stressed out clients. Emails asking me how I enjoyed my holidays while asking for yet more changes to be made for tomorrow morning. How can I enjoy my holidays when I am being asked to work?

In the end it all boils down to discipline and setting priorities. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Sometimes when discipline fails, you just have to resort to lies. “I will be visiting my folks in this remote village and I really will have no internet connection” (This is easier if you look slightly exotic or have an accent) My goal is to do NO WORK during Christmas and New Year, have some time to organize, clean, clear my head and yes, do some serious partying. So that means I have about 3 weeks. I’ve already started by not taking on anymore work till January. So I think I am headed in the right direction. Nothing like starting off the year with a clean slate.

I have a 1 1/2 month hiatus planned for the middle of next year. Now, that is something to look forward to. Till then I guess I will keep on working and saving up my pennies!

Apparently.. I am The Moon

I found this test…madness? illusions? hmmm…

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery – when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

An Architectural (new media/software?) View

I got this in an email from an architect friend of mine. I couldn’t help giggling while seeing the many similarities between the architecture field and clients services in new media. Just substitute the cadd operator with (sys admin, programmers, etc) and you get the general idea…

I would love to credit the illustration but I have no idea where it originated from…

Time for a new computer?

I hate buying a new computer. I know that this activity brings great joy to many of my friends, but for me all it brings is a lot of confusion and frustration. As I have said to numerous people…I don’t do hardware. I just want a computer that shows up at my house and it just works fabulously. I hate change. And now, I am considering the greatest change of all…the switch to a mac book pro. eeek!

That’s a whole lot of change for me. Change of platforms (Mac vs. PC) I will have to relearn my fingering for short cuts (half of which I do subconsciously) And what will I do with out my right click? Then there is the whole change from desktop to laptop. Actually I have both, but I only use my laptop as a backup system and for traveling. Can I get rid of my GIGANTIC monitor and tower and replace it all with a 5.6 lb laptop? (Well I think I may need to get an additional flat screen monitor (20″ will do) a keyboard… but then there are all the other peripherals. (Will my tablet still work?)

I have been a PC person for the past 8 or 9 years. Why? Simple economics…its cheaper (well I should really say was). Software ran better on a PC and was lways released first for the PC. Everyone else (in the business/programming world) uses a PC so transferring files was a sure thing. Most of the applications I needed to use are not available or had only crappy versions on the Mac.

But all that seems to be changing now…I see more and more programmers using Macs. I don’t think that Flash runs crappily on a Mac anymore… or does it? Something about working on a system that only 10% of the population shares has always been a little off putting to me. How can you code/design and judge the results when the other 90% of the people may be seeing something completely different. (Ahhh but that’s where the dual booting sytem comes in and may save the day) Also Mac users are just sooo smug! I will get a lot of flack for this but the one quote I really associate with is “People who use Macs, do so because they can afford it” Its like driving around a Porsche. Its a statement. Its a status symbol and its definitely a choice.

I am nearly convinced…I really hate the other laptops that I have seen. I actually really hate the way my current laptop looks. Its as ugly as sin and so heavy that I dread the days I have to carry it around. For me though, function must always precede design. And I always want to get the best bang for my buck.

So I think I will just need to spend an entire day working on a Mac. There’s one at work that i can swipe for a day. I need to sit down and just take it for a little test run!

Hey, know a good Thai restaurant?

If you are a Thai person living outside of Thailand…there is the one question that eventually everyone you know will eventually ask you. Its a difficult question to answer and I have contemplated the answer many times. For the ‘askers’ let me clue you in on what should be an obvious fact. There are very few instances that Thai people will go out to eat at a Thai restaurant.

1. They are in Thailand
2. The place makes them think they are in Thailand
3. They are forced to go by their ‘farang’ friends (and are just being polite).
4. They are forced to go by their freinds (relatives) that own the place (and are just being polite).

First of all, if you say you like Thai food, then you simply HAVE to go to Thailand. Don’t satisfy your palate with the same rubber stamped menus that you find in 90% of all Thai restaurants. There’s nothing like eating Thai food in Thailand. Also, incase you weren’t aware….I would say that most Thai food outside of Thailand is being cooked by a bunch of amateurs. Why would I pay 8$ for something I can easily make at home? (and better) I am sure a lot of my friends feel the same way.

The second reason is the best reason for you to go to a Thai restaurant. This is where they serve up the authentic fare with dishes that brings me back to Thailand. How can you tell? Look around. Is the place filled or frequented by Thais? Is there a Thai menu or parts of the menu in Thai? (That is usually a very good sign) I tend to be a little wary if my waiter/waitress cannot speak Thai. In every city there is atleast ONE resaurant that qualifies. In NY it’s Sri Prapai: 64-13 39th Ave., Queens, NY 11377 between 64th and 65th Sts. So many good things to eat here (Catfish salad, mussel pancake, Kha Mhu Pad Krapow, Grilled pork neck) but beware it tends to be very spicy!! If a Thai person is feeling homesick, they head to Woodside.

The third reason is why I often tolerate eating bad Thai food. When one of my friends say ‘Let’s eat Thai food” I TRY not to roll my eyes. Usually I try to identify SOME dishes that are pretty good in each restaurant. In my neighbourhood, there is… “Thai Cafe” – They are good for the noodles and stir fry dishes. They treat their customers well, occasionally they will have some good special dishes. That would be my first choice for Thai food in Greenpoint. I NEVER order curries at an untried place. I find that most curries are made from packets (the same way I make them at home) They are made quickly instead of being simmered for hours. And they just don’t taste right… I usually tend to stick with non-noodle stir fried dishes that are really hard to screw up. If duck is an option, that is what I will order since its kinda hard to cook duck your self. Tai Too on Bedford in Williamsburg has pretty good duck basil (but they give you chopsticks and a spoon… what is THAT? That really insults me…that’s like a Thai person who will not speak to you in Thai)

The fourth reason is, over all, not a bad reason to eat at a Thai restaurant. Usually it means some sort of freebies…and it means the chef takes a little bit of extra attention to make your plates memorable. So here is my plug for my friend’s restaurant… Tuk Tuk in LIC. It really isn’t bad at all. She puts in alot of hard work and thought into her restaurants and she is a great hostess! Go and visit a Tuk Tuk in your area…

I usually have a rant about the Thai restaurants I will never set foot in. But there are too many and I will save my ranting for another post.