I've moved on...
...to a different domain. Why, what were you thinking? The truth is, I just woke up one day and decided it's time for a change—a metamorphosis, if you will; or, in layman's terms, if Britney can shave her head, then maybe so can I? Nevertheless, it's been a rather handsome 10 years of talking to you, and thank you for putting up with all my moodswings and terrible dad jokes. Fear not! The hormonal imbalance and jokes are more terrible on CUBICLE, see you there.

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Secrets to switching off
while being switched on

The trouble with making a living on the internet, be it via web design or blogging, is that if you’re ‘Out of Office’, you are most likely dead, or doing your taxes. Even though this trip to Royal Palm Marrakech marks the 18th flight this year, technically I am yet to take some personal time where I can truly switch off and loosen my bikini strings without the fear of a Skype call from a client. My laptop is the ball, connected by a chain that is wi-fi – and every time I organise prison-break it either ends up in 23-missed calls or emails with titles ONLY consisting of the word ‘urgent’ in capital letters. So, for the time being I’m learning to embrace it, calling my laptop a trusty sidekick instead of giving it scary names like PiL (Parents-in-Law). I‘m also finding different ways of switching off while still being connected, one of these ways involving putting aside my primary laptop and experimenting productivity with different devices like the ASUS Transformer Book Chi T100, a laptop-tablet hybrid. Verdict? Slick and handy, definitely more of a laptop than a tablet in terms of performance. Battery life leaves something to be desired but I probably should not have watched a whole season of Sherlock Holmes before determining this.

Here‘s a few ways I get the most out of working holidays:

Created for ASUS. Snap with Tripod + Nicole Lovett + Simon Schmidt

Cardigan – Zara (similar). Dress – PYRUS. Bag – Chloe. Shoes – GHBass 1876. Luggage – Globe Trotter. Trousers – DAKS (similar)

1/ Fly with flicks

As much as I‘d like to pretend I can get work done in transit, most of the times I end up writing half an email and then proceed to adding a foundation version of my face on a stranger’s shoulder, or re-watching the same Game of Thrones episode that I saved four months ago and feeling like a pervert. (Me gusta) So now, I stock up on sunscreen at Boots.com, pareos at Net-a-Porter and movies at Amazon Prime before every trip. Best part is, the 2560×1440 resolution and vibrant display of the ASUS Transformer Book Chi T100 makes gore-flicks even more fun to watch on the plane next to a crying devil-baby. *cackle*
Also, super handy for pulling up e-tickets when you’re a doofus like me and you‘re on 12% battery after snapchatting (@sparkncube) your journey to the airport.

Instagram @parkncube

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2/ Bedside matters

I believe I have officially entered my late 20’s with this obsession: white noise. My dude found a 2-hour Youtube video of fire crackling and we’ve been falling asleep to that for months now (most nights I dream of s’mores). The alarm functionality is also handy when you want to be the first bird at the breakfast buffet, BECAUSE MOROCCAN PANCAKES. Although, the highly responsive touch-screen on the ASUS Transformer Book means I’m snoozing 35 times and waking up at lunchtime.

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3/ Yoga in your jammies

I’ve recently started a 30-day yoga challenge for the sake of my posture and howling back-pain, and so far loving the fact that I don‘t have to look up There-but-not-there makeup tutorials on Youtube before heading out to a yoga class bustling with East London hipsters. All you need is a towel, some floor space and a stable wi-fi connection.

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4/ Breakfast with a view

What’s one more window? In fact, more windows, the better, said every single realtor I’ve come across. And for the sole reason that an episode of Big Bang Theory can also be considered morning news. What‘s new in the world of finance? Suits. While I’m personally hesitant of Bing as a search engine, the News app on Windows 8.1 does a great job of collating the latest from the top sources. Of course, if you‘re like me you‘re going to want to hit up latest in Aww on Reddit after.

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5/ out of office

Let me preface this by saying I don’t believe in 1) tanning 2) lying still yet forcing oneself to keep awake, so down-time by the pool is ironically one place I do find motivation to catch up with work – even better when there’s beach/pool-side wi-fi. For those who do enjoy self-baking, this works best in downwards planking position, unless you‘re in to the whole rectangular tan on your belly and a potential laptop on fire. With that said, it‘s best to place the laptop on the floor and in shade, when I use it for Spotify I usually place it under the sun lounger.

Hat – Melissa Odabash (similar). Tunic – Tallulah & Hope

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Phone case – Casetify

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6/ ok, if you insist

Delicious are those moments when you sit in a conference call in a blouse + bikini bottom get-up. It‘s a step up from PJ bottoms, and about twice the fun.
I always bring a bluetooth mouse with me on trips, which pairs up with the ASUS Transformer Book instantly and makes photo-editing a million times easier. Also handy when you run out of space in your camera memory card and need somewhere to unload to/back up. With up to 256GB in storage, you can indeed take a billion selfies in your new bikini.

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and finally…
7/ look back at good times

It might have taken you and two of your mates to close the suitcase after an afternoon of fervent shopping in the souks, but a powerful little device like this packs even more valuable souvenirs from the trip: memories and sound-bites from the Medina.

Bracelet – Astley Clarke. X-Ring – Elizabeth & James

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Denim Shirt – Courtesy of Urban Outfitters, Leather Skirt – Vintage, Shoes & Bag – Zara, Tab – ASUS Transformer

Rumour has it that in my absence I’ve acquired a job as a professional bricklayer in a dusty little corner in Brazil; married my highschool sweetheart and spread honey on the moon in a windy island in Greece; had a few kids – mostly twins and triplets; shaved my head and attacked the tripod with an umbrella. Partially true, especially the twins and triplets bit – took two visits to IKEA to get shelves for them to sleep on. Again, I won’t apologize for ‘not blogging’, it’s pretty clear you didn’t continuously peck on the F5 (refresh) key every day of the past 2 weeks… although this has been the longest I’ve gone without putting anything up. Who knew the momentum of not-blogging is as powerful as blogging non-stop? The ball started rolling and I just couldn’t stop – not this ‘blog’ ball, the ‘life’ ball. I have many balls, apparently. Admittedly there have been big changes to my life as of late, but congratulate me? I’ve finally got something that somewhat resembles a life! Hope you don’t mind if I share a few in the next few posts, but one thing at a time – starting with how I lost 10kg…

Shot in the beginning of September with Kit, (thank you!)

Boo you whore (Mean Girls 2004)

ASUS EEE Pad Transformer; Brown Bag – Yesstyle

When device with the name like female hygiene supplement came out last year and geeks insisted on shoving tent poles into cement cracks on sidewalks eight hours before the fruit store opened, I was still MEH-ing about the necessity of such devices – as lieutenant of the 21st Century sceptics, why it’s my duty. Email, movies, music on the go, yay, like I need another thing to bother me from concentrating on walking on my super fashionista 5 inch heels that lets me breath the same airspace as the rollerbladers. All I thought was the second generation coming out with phone functions and chuckled at the eventual image of people holding up a huge tablet on their cheeks to call friends and smearing foundation on the screen. Yes yes, that’s the extent of my imagination. Dinosaurs evolved into Pokemon, same thing.

I received an email from an ASUS representative a few weeks ago that introduced the new ASUS transformer and asked if I’d like one. Koreans say you go bald when you like free stuff, I guess I should invest in a good wig soon. I had no idea, when I said yes with the same ‘meh ok’ attitude, that I’ll be carrying this buster around EVERYWHERE. I still swear by paperback and would someday like to own a Beauty & the Beast-esque library, but the fact that I didn’t need a mediocre night-light to read, or that I can pop in an earplug while reading and set the morning alarm when my eyes blur out won me over completely. The best thing about it is that the system is Android, I know Graphic Designer are all about Apple and stuff but I liked Apple before the tree conceived the fruit and now I’ve grown out of it.

What I know for sure is that gadgets like this will be taking us into the next generation of interaction and augmented reality – it’s really worth an investment if only for Angry Birds in bed.