Catching Up
hey folks. yes, it’s been a while since my last entry. apologies to all my faithful readers, who have been holding their breaths since i last dropped an entry, all negative two of you that is. anyways, the basic reason has been that i have been amazingly busy for about two weeks with the final push of studio and then immediately after, actually sot of concurrently, also sorting out last minute things concerning the semester. alas, i am finally done with it all, well, except for two short papers which i should be able to poop out in two days or so. but studio wrapped up and over all went well and all my other classes sort of wrapped up as well.
.
speaking of studio. how did that go, you might ask? well, in general i think it went allright. the last three days or so i got about a collective ten hours of sleep but in general i don’t think i had any moments of pure exhaustion. then again, when you are purely exhausted it’s sort of hard to tell anyways. but i ended up doing my “flying ship” hotel and making not one… but two cool models. in retrospect i probably didn’t have to do two models, but well, that’s the road i chose and i am not sure if better drawings would have made much difference. the reviews were constructive, some good, some bad. in general i think it went “OK” and i’m sort of “satisfied” i guess. of course, that’s said in a tone of stoicism after almost a decade of architectural criticism you sort of realize that you just have to take “the good with the bad” sort of thing. above all else, i am happy it is over, and now i have a fantastic model that photographed really well and so i know at least it will look good in my portfolio.
.
.
speaking of studio. how did that go, you might ask? well, in general i think it went allright. the last three days or so i got about a collective ten hours of sleep but in general i don’t think i had any moments of pure exhaustion. then again, when you are purely exhausted it’s sort of hard to tell anyways. but i ended up doing my “flying ship” hotel and making not one… but two cool models. in retrospect i probably didn’t have to do two models, but well, that’s the road i chose and i am not sure if better drawings would have made much difference. the reviews were constructive, some good, some bad. in general i think it went “OK” and i’m sort of “satisfied” i guess. of course, that’s said in a tone of stoicism after almost a decade of architectural criticism you sort of realize that you just have to take “the good with the bad” sort of thing. above all else, i am happy it is over, and now i have a fantastic model that photographed really well and so i know at least it will look good in my portfolio.
.
.
so over the course of about a week which was really the sort of “push” week, my days consisted of basically model building and figuring out my drawing and also about a day and a half of concerted CAD drawing, which happened and then i had told myself i would build ANOTHER model even though it wouldn’t be much different than the one i had already built. in retrospect i think i would have chosen to do better drawings but anyways, you know about that already. anyways, to build the second model involved a UNENDING push of about 30-35 hours i think, and i mean unending as in no sleep ok. haha, such is the life of architects. Sexy huh? My last bit of fun i believe was a dinner with Chris. oh, speaking of which, i must congratulate Chris on getting into UNC law school…. fantastic! actually what’s funny, is that Chris had called me a few days before hand and had told me he got in over the phone but somehow i had heard UNC but i somehow immediately assumed that he was talking about maybe a basketball victory and that was the reason he wanted to go out and celebrate. at that time, i was already getting kind of busy and i was thinking, i don’t have time to waste drinking over a basketball game. i hope i didn’t come off as seeming that getting into law school news as not important! sheesh, well, to my defense, i was preoccupied a bit. anyways, congrats to Chris.
.
when the review i was finally over, the studio went to have a quaint studio dinner in Chinatown, which was fairly nice, despite sort of dozing in and out a little. that was Wednesday. for the next two days i sort of ran around finishing up things i needed to do. thursday was spent mostly in studio again actually (after a 14 hour sleep of course) because it was the last day the building would be open before they closed it for the holidays, and since i wasn’t going to be back for another month, i wanted, and also needed to get “documenting” done. so for the rest of the afternoon i took photos of models, cleaned up photos, organized files, made copies, etc. i also went home, cleaned the bathroom, did laundry, cleaned my room. i felt so productive!
.
that evening i finally got a chance to hang out for the first time with my "IM friend" patty. i know patty in a sort of round about way having technically met him (online) back in my “manhunt days” last summer and after chatting a bit realizing that the world was smaller that you’d first think, found out he went to Harvard grad as well at the law school and actually knew in passing Sam. anyways, patty is an interesting character and i have periodically have had IM conversations with him over the past half year. in a weird way our schedules online sort of mix well since he is a chronic insomniac and i often find myself working late in studio. i have to admit that during the last few “nights” in studio, his little IM’s were a warmly welcomed respite from the monotony of cutting chipboard or drawing CAD lines. like most IM conversations, they tended to be pretty much bullshit, but i guess i got to know him as much as you can via that medium. which is why for a while we have been meaning to hang out in the flesh. actually i met him in the flesh for the first time back at that law school Outlaw/Halloween party but hey, i was dressed as a bailiff so it was hardly “me”. haha. anyways, so i went to go watch brokeback mountain for a THIRD fucking time. actually the first time i saw the movie, back at that early preview at Harvard, i had invited him because he had mentioned he liked the short story a lot but he had told me he had already promised someone else to go see it with, but a day later, when i had already asked someone else, he told me that he made a mistake and was wondering if he could still go with me. sorry sir, that boat sailed already. and then i went to go see it with Robert in Chelsea the next day. but hey, a third time? this time i found some moments i was yawning a bit but in general it was still a good movie. i mean, how many times have i seen “13 Going on 30” and i still love that movie. haha. anyways, patty in the flesh is a pretty nice guy, with issues like all of us i would guess. after the movie, i gave him my famous tour of the GSD building. haha, it seems every person who hasn’t seen the GSD building yet, i have to give the “tour” to. anyways, to pay me back he showed me a bit of the law school campus and the new temporary ice rink they are laying down in their quad. fun! that will definitely be on the list of to do’s when i get back. actually, i also want to go skating in the Commons. anyways, that was a nice break from what actually became a typical studio day AND night as documenting took me till like 4 AM. haha.
.
the next day, friday, was spent in search of my mother’s christmas present. well, also was spent returning some materials i didn’t use (so i had extra cash man!). oh, one thing, the student exhibition wall holiday card competition which i was in essence heading went over relatively well. the exhibition design was cool at least, even if the cards were somewhat mediocre. but anyways, someone won and so i had to give them over $100 (actually it comes from our student budget, but anyways). being the coordinator of the gallery wall has been an interesting experience and i hope my co-coordinator Ira can continue to put up with my A type, micro-managing personality for another semester. i guess that’s just sort of how i am. in terms of these type of “projects” i think i tend to project a lot of things into things, think things are more complicated than they are, and also not trust people enough. which can be annoying to my co-coordinator who’s sort of the exact opposite of me, who is sort of macro-managing and assumptive. somewhere in the middle i guess is the happy effective medium. anyways, Ira gave me a cute gift and i left one for her, as i was always intending to anyways, but she had quickly jetted from campus so i just put it on her chair. hope she likes.
.
anyways, friday was spent shopping and it was kind of fun. i slowly worked my way to Central Square after stopping at Dickson’s, Utrect, and finally Pearl Art (where i returned something for $20 and they gave me $40…haha!). after that i spent a few hours at Copley Place which was sort of an amazing complex in itself, found some chocolates and “other” gifts but no mother’s gifts. i had to get out of the mall though so i hit Newberry street and finally found a quaint funky jewelry shop and bought this cute necklace for my mom, that in all honestly, i think she’ll like but will probably never wear again in her life you know. haha, all the gifts my mother would like and “use” are probably right now out of my price range. like the 3 carat diamond stuf earring ($7000) and also the new diamond solitair 2.5 carat ring she looked at today ($16000_...haha. but speaking of gifts i think my Dad will like the autographed book i got him and also Mei should like the little coin purse i got her. and everyone will like the $45 15 piece chocolates!! craziness.
so over the course of about a week which was really the sort of “push” week, my days consisted of basically model building and figuring out my drawing and also about a day and a half of concerted CAD drawing, which happened and then i had told myself i would build ANOTHER model even though it wouldn’t be much different than the one i had already built. in retrospect i think i would have chosen to do better drawings but anyways, you know about that already. anyways, to build the second model involved a UNENDING push of about 30-35 hours i think, and i mean unending as in no sleep ok. haha, such is the life of architects. Sexy huh? My last bit of fun i believe was a dinner with Chris. oh, speaking of which, i must congratulate Chris on getting into UNC law school…. fantastic! actually what’s funny, is that Chris had called me a few days before hand and had told me he got in over the phone but somehow i had heard UNC but i somehow immediately assumed that he was talking about maybe a basketball victory and that was the reason he wanted to go out and celebrate. at that time, i was already getting kind of busy and i was thinking, i don’t have time to waste drinking over a basketball game. i hope i didn’t come off as seeming that getting into law school news as not important! sheesh, well, to my defense, i was preoccupied a bit. anyways, congrats to Chris.
.
when the review i was finally over, the studio went to have a quaint studio dinner in Chinatown, which was fairly nice, despite sort of dozing in and out a little. that was Wednesday. for the next two days i sort of ran around finishing up things i needed to do. thursday was spent mostly in studio again actually (after a 14 hour sleep of course) because it was the last day the building would be open before they closed it for the holidays, and since i wasn’t going to be back for another month, i wanted, and also needed to get “documenting” done. so for the rest of the afternoon i took photos of models, cleaned up photos, organized files, made copies, etc. i also went home, cleaned the bathroom, did laundry, cleaned my room. i felt so productive!
.
that evening i finally got a chance to hang out for the first time with my "IM friend" patty. i know patty in a sort of round about way having technically met him (online) back in my “manhunt days” last summer and after chatting a bit realizing that the world was smaller that you’d first think, found out he went to Harvard grad as well at the law school and actually knew in passing Sam. anyways, patty is an interesting character and i have periodically have had IM conversations with him over the past half year. in a weird way our schedules online sort of mix well since he is a chronic insomniac and i often find myself working late in studio. i have to admit that during the last few “nights” in studio, his little IM’s were a warmly welcomed respite from the monotony of cutting chipboard or drawing CAD lines. like most IM conversations, they tended to be pretty much bullshit, but i guess i got to know him as much as you can via that medium. which is why for a while we have been meaning to hang out in the flesh. actually i met him in the flesh for the first time back at that law school Outlaw/Halloween party but hey, i was dressed as a bailiff so it was hardly “me”. haha. anyways, so i went to go watch brokeback mountain for a THIRD fucking time. actually the first time i saw the movie, back at that early preview at Harvard, i had invited him because he had mentioned he liked the short story a lot but he had told me he had already promised someone else to go see it with, but a day later, when i had already asked someone else, he told me that he made a mistake and was wondering if he could still go with me. sorry sir, that boat sailed already. and then i went to go see it with Robert in Chelsea the next day. but hey, a third time? this time i found some moments i was yawning a bit but in general it was still a good movie. i mean, how many times have i seen “13 Going on 30” and i still love that movie. haha. anyways, patty in the flesh is a pretty nice guy, with issues like all of us i would guess. after the movie, i gave him my famous tour of the GSD building. haha, it seems every person who hasn’t seen the GSD building yet, i have to give the “tour” to. anyways, to pay me back he showed me a bit of the law school campus and the new temporary ice rink they are laying down in their quad. fun! that will definitely be on the list of to do’s when i get back. actually, i also want to go skating in the Commons. anyways, that was a nice break from what actually became a typical studio day AND night as documenting took me till like 4 AM. haha.
.
the next day, friday, was spent in search of my mother’s christmas present. well, also was spent returning some materials i didn’t use (so i had extra cash man!). oh, one thing, the student exhibition wall holiday card competition which i was in essence heading went over relatively well. the exhibition design was cool at least, even if the cards were somewhat mediocre. but anyways, someone won and so i had to give them over $100 (actually it comes from our student budget, but anyways). being the coordinator of the gallery wall has been an interesting experience and i hope my co-coordinator Ira can continue to put up with my A type, micro-managing personality for another semester. i guess that’s just sort of how i am. in terms of these type of “projects” i think i tend to project a lot of things into things, think things are more complicated than they are, and also not trust people enough. which can be annoying to my co-coordinator who’s sort of the exact opposite of me, who is sort of macro-managing and assumptive. somewhere in the middle i guess is the happy effective medium. anyways, Ira gave me a cute gift and i left one for her, as i was always intending to anyways, but she had quickly jetted from campus so i just put it on her chair. hope she likes.
.
anyways, friday was spent shopping and it was kind of fun. i slowly worked my way to Central Square after stopping at Dickson’s, Utrect, and finally Pearl Art (where i returned something for $20 and they gave me $40…haha!). after that i spent a few hours at Copley Place which was sort of an amazing complex in itself, found some chocolates and “other” gifts but no mother’s gifts. i had to get out of the mall though so i hit Newberry street and finally found a quaint funky jewelry shop and bought this cute necklace for my mom, that in all honestly, i think she’ll like but will probably never wear again in her life you know. haha, all the gifts my mother would like and “use” are probably right now out of my price range. like the 3 carat diamond stuf earring ($7000) and also the new diamond solitair 2.5 carat ring she looked at today ($16000_...haha. but speaking of gifts i think my Dad will like the autographed book i got him and also Mei should like the little coin purse i got her. and everyone will like the $45 15 piece chocolates!! craziness.
and come saturday, Christmas Eve, i found myself traveling on the good old Chinatown bus, getting into Manhattan about 3:00 in the afternoon. after i got into Brooklyn, i dropped off my bags real quick, and me and Yvonne and Troche went to grab some great food (Lemongrass Grill), mozied around Barnes and Noble and then Radio Shack (where we watched the end of the ultra cheesy and ultra gay… Flash Gordon movie). then we went to watch Narnia which was entertaining enough. that evening, we had our own little Christmas with presents, beer, donuts, cookies, and cigarettes. best fun i have had in a while. and no dramatic fights this time...everyone was in a jolly spirit. man, what good friend for real man. it’s these moment where the world does sort of melt away, if not for only a little while. Merry Christmas to everyone… especially all of ya’ll who text messaged me on my phone to wish me a Merry Christmas…haha, i guess it’s the thought that counts right?
.
then come Christmas day which was in essence spent at the airport. in general, no big delays, well, one which made my layover in Dallas non-existant…so i guess in the end it was a good thing. when i finally got home i did Christmas redoux, and ultimately made out with a new watch (bling!), a new shirt, and two new jackets. not bad buddy. someday i should buy that collector’s edition Sex and The City as well, but that’s later…i also want a French cuff shirt with cuff links but i think i should see wait a bit just to sort of see what the damage studio and christmas has been first before i make any large purchases.
.
and so i am here, Texas. at least much warmer than Boston. there has actually been moments already where it seemed HOT. do you believe it haha! well, the next month should be pretty mundane probably. i am working for three weeks supposedly so maybe that will be somewhat interesting but other than that i expect to use the “last” Christmas break for some reflection and to figure out a few things of what i want to do with my life. a question i’m beginning to already feel the pressure of, especially as the last semester at GSD draws closer.
.
Happy Holidays everyone! here’s a little something that's on my mind. when we were driving home from the airport my mom was speaking something about some thinking she had been doing where she realized that “my generation” probably has its own way of doing things and that she should probably let me figure it out because it’ll probably work out and that i should also found out the things i want and the way i want to pursue it. and second thing, i went to go see “The Family Stone” last night with my cousin and there was this particularly touching scene where the mother also tells the son that all she wants is for him to be happy and that she wouldn’t want him to feel like just because he had felt some sort of expectations to be “some way” that he should preclude finding true happiness because of that.
.
hmmm, in terms of the larger questions that loom in my life. all i can wonder at the moment is… what exactly is it that i am talking about??
.
posted by faux chink @ 8:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home