SXSW sophomore year - equally intense, although experience helped ease FOMO anxieties. Here is a summary of what I learned, as written from a cramped airline seat thousands of miles in the air.

Things I learned from interactive?
- There are ever only 3 new ideas per year, this year’s ideas: 1) Ambient awareness apps seem cool but need to grow up (highlight, glancee, sonar, etc), 2) (social local mobile) is still hot and there’s still opportunity to improve, 3) QR codes and NFC are here but no one is using it (or using it right)

- Don’t just attend panels you think are relevant - its all relevant. Some of the most useful panels I attended were the ones I found personally interesting but would not have easily fit into “relevant to my work” bucket from the description

- Network, but unless you’re recruiting or looking for a job, don’t stress out if it doesn’t happen

- Twitter, twitter, twitter, this is how I knew about all the updates to panels and parties, even before the app told me

To be continued…

Mumford and sons #bigeasyexpress (Taken with instagram)

Everything is, in fact, bigger in Texas #sxsw #ridiculouslyawesomebutnot

And now its official, letting the adventure begin at #sxsw. despite hours of reviewing schedules, downloading apps, rsvp’s and making plans, I’m still confused.

Begin #sxsw adventure on the bolt bus of the sky, Southwest air. For a mere $15 you can pay for the decency of not fighting over a seat or luggage space!

Sitting in the subway, contemplating the Lenten season (kicked off just after the huge Mardi Gras festivals), I got to thinking about Masks. Last Tuesday people paraded around with beautiful and scary masks, letting out all their last sins before the kick-off of a very somber season.

In reality, I have long had a small fascination with masks. I’ve collected a few from different events or occasions. With the recent appearance of masks in the media, it got me thinking, however, that we wear those masks to portray a different persona or hide their own selves when we’re trying to release. However, a mask is just a tool, in reality we were masks everyday in our day-to-day lives. If I’m having a bad day at work, I may put on a Happy mask when I come home to my husband, to spare him the pains of the day. I may also wear a Tough Boss mask if I have to be stern with someone at work, when my personality would typically have me be much more laid-back. While some may think this is deceitful, I’ve come to believe that these masks protect us and provide us strength when we need it - they’re not always such a bad thing. And sometimes, if we wear the mask long enough, we realize we might not need the mask after all. Sometimes, that post-day Happy Mask is all I need to remind me that a tough incident shouldn’t ruin my whole day, and so, I take off the mask and just settle back into my happy evening at home.

Generally, my thought is “please no, IT WILL CHANGE THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF YOUR FOOD!” - or something like that. But this week, faced with a non-working stove for a sudden urge for poached eggs - I turned to my least favorite appliance to see if it was even doable.

To my surprise, the microwave poached my egg perfectly! One egg + a half cup of water + a 1-cup size glass bowl/mug + a cover (I stacked another bowl) + 1 minute on high heat = perfectly poached egg! Who knew?

New Year’s Resolution - Finish unfinished projects, January/February project off the list. Now, if only I could convince my husband to do all my OTHER unfinished projects… #2012ismine #newyearsresolutionswillstickthistime

Baked eggs in tomato and pepper sauce, inspiration comes in the form of Spanish paprika tonight.