My parents started with very little and were the only ones in their families to graduate from college. As parents they focused on education but did not stop at academics - they made sure that we knew music saw art and theatre and traveled - even though it meant budgeting like crazy.

Look architecture has a lot of places to hide behind a lot of excuses. 'The client made me do this.' 'The city made me do this.' 'Oh the budget.' I don't believe that anymore.

I've worked on films where the budgets are almost limitless and you're in trailers that are bigger than a hotel room. You're taken care of and the food is amazing the quality of the job is amazing and then you work on smaller things but it never dictates my happiness or my willingness to go to work.

Becoming food savvy is one thing but it's amazing how fast savvy turns to snooty and snooty leaves you preparing three-hour meals that break your budget and that the kids won't even eat.

A movie like House of the Dead with around $7 million budget or Alone in the Dark with around $16 million budget are much easier to make profit than the typical $50 million major motion picture.