What I’m working on lately
So although I’m in a new city where I know fewer people and have no full-time job, somehow I’ve ended up with a full-time load of work for my first two weeks. Wanna know why? Here’s what I’ve been working on lately:
- Part-time remote work at my current job at WSJ, training my replacement and taking care of things she doesn’t yet know how to do. This ends FRIDAY! I’m sad to say goodbye but happy to free up my time.
- Wireframes and other strategy for Splice – both web app and mobile. I’ve done some wireframes but must get to more. I’ve also been busy chatting with the designer and partners, and I’ll have my own biz card soon! Hooray! Also, I really, really want to revamp their blog.
- Learning how to create and implement a Drupal calendar for The Information Architecture Institute. They’ve since changed their Drupal workflow so that newbie developers like me won’t really be doing much, but at least it gave me an opportunity to learn a lot about that CMS. read more…
Semolina Pancake Recipe
So here I am in Seattle. It’s been a week and a half already, and I’ve been nothing but busy (that’s nothing new). First my parents came to town, then I had to do a bit of work-from-home, plus freelance projects, plus just getting settled in. My head is spinning and I fear it will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.
Anyway, I’m loving it here so far. Despite the gray skies, Seattle has a lot to offer, and West Seattle is a great place to start out. However, I do have a small bit of homesickness. I will miss a few of my Brooklyn staples, such as Mimi’s Hummus, which was my favorite brunch place. In honor of Mimi, and in an effort to bring a little bit of Brooklyn to Seattle, I decided I was going to try to make her awesome semolina pancakes this morning. They turned out good, but not Mimi’s good. Guess I’ll have to keep trying.
In the meantime, here is the recipe, adapted into American measurements from Gourmet Worrier:
The Purpose Motive
From Ben:
I didn’t quit my job due to lack of purpose or skill mastery, and desire to give back, but it is and continues to be my motivation for pursuing all things related to information architecture, user experience, interaction design, and content strategy.
Ads
Like most or pretty much all people, most ads annoy me. Don’t get me wrong… I understand the importance of ads, and if I ran a business I’d advertise the hell out of it. But commercials interrupt my beloved tv shows, and nobody likes to feel like they are constantly being pitched to.
I write like…
I’m going to flatter myself and post this, because it’s awesome and you should try it:
David Foster Wallace
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
However, I doubt I really write like DFW*. My blogging is conversational and very first-person, as are many blogs, so I’m pretty sure that if you blog, you’ll get DFW, too.
*Fun fact! “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” was the only book I ever lost from the NYC public library. I think I left it on an airplane. Too bad, because I didn’t get to the David Lynch essay, which I was itching to read.
Seattle!
So the word is finally out. I am moving to Seattle in August. Hooray!
I’ve actually been planning this for some time. I love New York, but I’ve never intended on making this place my permanent home. I have no idea if I will even make Seattle my permanent home, but I figured that if I don’t escape NYC soon, I’ll be a lifer. There are worse fates, but I’m not sure New York is my “forever home.” Too many people, too few trees. But if I change my mind, it’s not going anywhere. I can always return.
Hey, Love
So yeah, I’ve been procrastinating posting on my own blog. Why? Because I’ve been busy setting up websites for other people!
The first on my project list to launch is Hey Love Designs, run by my friend Michelle in Washington, DC. She’s very creative and makes all kinds of fun baked goods and paper designs. If only she lived nearby, I would have requested that she pay me in cupcakes. It’s a valid currency, in my opinion.
*Image courtesy of Hey Love Designs
So I saw this article from UX Magazine and I’m not convinced I need to be horrified. In fact, I see a video full of people who are not web professionals but who are using logic to answer a question they don’t automatically know how to answer otherwise. They are doing the following mental calculation: “if ‘browser’ means ‘to browse’ and I use Google to browse, then Google is probably a browser, right?” It’s not perfect, but it’s not bad.
My 5-Boro Story
It was a nearly perfect spring day for a ride – clean, warm, bright. There was nary a rain cloud in sight as 30,000 bikers gathered in southern Manhattan on a cool, quiet May morning.
I, on the other hand, sat at home staring at the bottom of a puke-bucket. When I wasn’t sleeping or writhing in agony, that is.
Of all the days to get sick, why this day? Damn you, universe.
Apple, Adobe and me
I know it’s taken me a while to weigh in on Apple and Adobe’s souring relationship. It’s just become worse and worse… no Flash on the iphone, no Flash on the ipad, and now you can’t use Flash to develop Apple apps? What is this world coming to, right?
So here I am, happily learning Actionscript thinking I’ve acquired a useful and promising new skill, only to find this skill may prove to be much less relevant in the near future (if not now). Such is the way of the web, I suppose. I’m sad, but I’m not broken, and here’s why:
Amy Francis Online (flash site)
Go Like a Fox