Ma birsday

Speaking of 3D, Sarah downloaded a 3D interior design app for Lynda's flat - having fun 'moving furniture around' on my NEW iPAD! Oh, no Fortuna - Dropped Blackheath Halls :( But went to Jaime's Italian Restaurant in Canary Wharf for the inlaws' anniversary and also my birthday :) Took the ferry back to London Bridge.

Sometimes I feel like I'm celebrating mediocrity by pasting every achievement on here. Then I have some wine and chill the fuck out, because some of my most noteable achievements are just too boring to put up here (like the Marketing Society website). More interestingly, I managed to attend half an hour of a free piano recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields church at lunch time.

I got HTML5 on it

Started updating my portfolio website to be iPad/iPhone compatible, using HTML5 and CSS3.

First commercial AE work done for a presentation - it's not Pixar, but it's a step forward!

3D next...

Had dinner and Savannahs at Nandos in Clapham Junction with Chris. Back at MBA for a half site build and design. Got a text from my gran!

Awesome jQuery photo gallery implemented on INDI Natural Stone site.

Oh! Fortuna!

I made a delicious Gobi from a Leon recipe on Friday and we had it all weekend.

LEON GOBI (serves 6) 1 medium onion, halved and thickly sliced 1 carrot, thickly sliced 2 tbsp sunflower or peanut oil 1 red chilli 2 thumb-sized pieces of root ginger, washed but not peeled 5 cloves garlic, peeled 1 large tsp Madras curry powder 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp black onion seeds 1 medium sweet potato, washed and cut into 2.5cm dice 4 heaped tbsp ground almonds A good handful of sultanas ½ a small cauliflower, broken into florets 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk 150g frozen peas Juice of ½ a lemon A really big handful of coriander, roughly chopped Salt 2 heaped tbsp desiccated coconut, to serve In a large saucepan, cook the onion and carrot over a medium to low heat in the oil for 15-20 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Season with salt. Blitz the chilli, ginger and garlic to a paste in a food processor. Stir the paste into the onions once they have begun to soften, along with the spices (including the onion seeds). After another five minutes, season with salt, add the sweet potato chunks and the almonds and mix well so that everything is well coated. Turn the heat up a bit and stir in 500ml of water and the sultanas. Bring to a simmer and leave it to bubble gently for 10-15 minutes with the lid off, stirring occasionally. Add the cauliflower florets and the coconut milk and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, covered. Check that the sweet potato and cauliflower are both cooked, turn the heat off and stir in the peas. When you are ready to serve add a little salt, the lemon juice and the chopped coriander, stir and leave for a minute. Serve with rice, or naan (or both!) with a sprinkling of dried coconut on top.

Fantastic long weekend with Sarah - doing absolutely nothing for a change, which includes playing Assassins' creed, watching hoards of movies and TV shows, having cocktails in Wimbledon and getting our hair done.


Checked out Lynda's flat. Booked flights to and hotel in Amsterdam :) Painted Lesley's bump's Marsupilami babygrow. Carmina Burana this coming weekend...

Sunshine!

Hari's Indi Natural Stone logo reworked. Destiny Duo Tarot site done and live. Liam Neeson movie and Indi Natural website build. Visited Roz and Jim at Helen's house and saw Nan. Photos of Finn abound!

Watched Mirror mirror and saw Jenny for a drink in Wimbledon


Week off, doing only exactly what comes to mind. Butternut soup underway

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 large yellow onions, peeled and roughly chopped (about 3 cups) 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon garam masala or curry powder 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (about 6 cups of 1/2 inch pieces) 2 pints vegetable stock, warmed Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add the salt, pepper, and garam masala and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the squash and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the stock into the pot - if it doesn't quite cover the squash add some boiling water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until the squash is very tender about 20 minutes. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes and then puree it in batches in a blender. Be careful when blending hot liquids. Start slowly and work in batches if necessary. Pour back into the pot, gently heat, season with salt, and serve.

The most fun weekend

Lots of fun with Sarah this weekend - laughed till my stomach hurt. Read Vida's Maak'it manifesto and very excited! FINALLY sorted out a niggling Flash problem.

Another site design (Indi Natural Stone). Back at Positive Digital for 3 days - was good to see Chris and the other boys again and have Thai at Fat Boys.


Velvetines gig at the 100 club on Wednesday night was epic - I had so much fun just chilling, listening to the music, chatting to Jose and Marina, dancing with my girl and staying right to the end of the last act (Sonia Leigh).

Life goes on

Sarah's parent's 40th anniversary. Watched the last Bruce Lee movie with my parents.

Sarah is back safely, parents are back safely. APO Snowboard competition winners announced. New clients acquired and some good Flash done in way less time than I originally thought! Sewed on the NASA patches Sarah brought from Washington.

Made awesome prawn and courgette lunch. Totally kicking it on After Effects - did a short presentation for Mouse

Me, at home, dancing it off:

The super long weekend

Did the charcoal drawing of Bernard this afternoon after catching up 4 months' worth of expenses filing and seeing Sarah off to Washington. Wrapped presents and finished the second last Bruce Lee movie - Game of death. Went to Roz's birthday in Three Bridges, proposed to by the gays. Loads of work from home falling into place. Watched The Hours, stirred by Mrs Dalloway all over again.

Writing now. Writing loads. Dusted off the sewing machine and fixed a heap of clothes, dropping sizes. Painted a blackboard onto our pantry cupboard door. Made the most awesome burger for lunch. Sorted all my writing snippets chronologically into 3 main sections and printed it out, ready to read through on the plane. First 20 seconds of Snowboard clip done! After Effects is awesome!

---

Geneva, Le Roma hotel and long conversations with my parents. Snowboarding is awesome - sludge makes the best snowboard snow - feels like waterskiing.