ilaxSTUDIO.com Archive September 2006 Entries

YOU KNOW YOU'RE (OR WERE) AN ARCHITECTURE STUDENT WHEN... | SEPTEMBER 28, 2006

(Unfortunately, many of these ring too true for me. I will bold the ones I can especially relate to).

1. ...the alarm clock tells you when to go to sleep.
2. ...you're not ashamed of drooling in class anymore, especially in the Structures lecture.
3. ...you know what UHU tastes like. (I have had glue on almost every part of my body, including my mouth)
4. ...you CELEBRATE space and OBSERVE your birthday.
5. ...coffee and cokes are tools, not treats.
6. ...people get nauseous just by smelling your caffeine breath.
7. ...you get surprised when you see a new building in your school.
8. ...you think it's possible to CREATE space.
9. ...you've slept more than 20 hours non-stop in a single weekend.
10. ...you fight with inanimate objects.
11. ...you've fallen asleep in the washroom. (in the shower, numerous times)
12. ...your brother or sister thinks he or she is an only child.
13. ...you've listened to all your cds in less than 48 hours.
14. ...you're not seen in public.
15. ...you lose your house keys for a week and you don't even notice.
16. ...you've brushed your teeth and washed your hair in the school's washroom.
17. ...you've discovered the benefits of having none or very short hair.
18. ...you've started to appreciate inheriting baldness.
19. ...you've used an entire role of film to photograph the sidewalk.
20. ...you know the exact time the vending machines are refilled.
21. ...you always carry your deodorant.
22. ...you become excellent at recycling when making models.
23. ...when you try to communicate, you make a continuous and monotonous whine.
24. ...you've danced YMCA with excellent choreography at 3 am and without a single drop of alcohol in your body.
25. ...you take notes and messages with a rapidograph and color markers.
26. ...you combine breakfast, lunch and dinner into one single meal.
27. ...you see holidays only as extra sleeping time.
28. ...you've got more photographs of buildings than of actual people.
29. ...you've taken your girlfriend (boyfriend) on a date to a construction site.
30. ...you've realized that french curves are not that exciting.
31. ...you can live without human contact, food or daylight, but if you can't print, it's chaos.
32. ...when you're being shown pictures of a trip, you ask what the human scale is.
33. ...you can use Photoshop, Illustrator and make a web page, but you don't know how to use Excel. (this is too true! I am constantly having Steven help me with excel! It confuses the crap out of me!)
34. ...you refer to great architects (dead or alive) by their first name as if you knew them. (Frank, Corbu, Mies, Norman...)
35. ...you buy 50 dollar magazines that you haven't read yet. (I have many copies of Architecture Record sitting around Steven's house that I haven't even take out of their packaging yet)

TAKE CARE OF THE ROCKS FIRST | SEPTEMBER 27, 2006

My Grandma sent me this passage in an email awhile ago and I really liked it.

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

After spending a semester and a summer away from my family and some of my closest friends, I try to spend as much time with them as I can now. I realize that the relationships I have with people are the things in my life I should hold most dearly and take care of. All of my important memories lie with my family and friends. I enjoy work and school, but when it comes down to it, it is the people that you spend your life with, not your job.

BICYCLE SAFETY PART II | SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

It's time to add another lesson to my September 18th post about riding a bicycle safely in public.

Lesson #4 - Don't play chicken with oncoming traffic.

Lesson #5 - If you are going to ride your bicycle in the street with traffic, ride in the lane on the right side of the road.

Yes, today a bicycle turned at a street and came head on at me while I was driving my car. Initially I thought the rider was turning onto the sidewalk. I thought, "No one is dumb enough to turn into oncoming traffic!"

Nope.

I take solace in the fact that winter will soon be here and all these bicycles will be in storage.

THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT RETURNING TO AMES | SEPTEMBER 25, 2006

I would say that the other good thing about returning to Ames is no traffic jams, but in exchange for that we have slooooooow drivers, which is just as frustrating.

TODAY'S FORTUNE | SEPTEMBER 24, 2006

(Why does it seem like fortune cookies never really give "fortunes" anymore? The last few I've had have been more like passages than fortunes. Anyway...)

Just this morning I was thinking about a conversation with one of my american coworkers in Rome. Actually, I think about this conversation a lot, because the topic comes up over and over again...

The topic is children. The coworker was female, had the same amount of schooling as me, and was a few months older. There was one major difference between us though - she wanted to have children as soon as she graduated and I don't. She loved seeing all the children out with their families in the city, and said that she had a "motherly" instinct. She couldn't wait to marry her boyfriend and have kids.

My response was something along the lines of "gee, I don't think I should ever have any kids." My reasoning was that I don't know how to take care of a child, and that I am too selfish to share Steven (or our free time) with a child.

She said she had the opposite impression about me - for someone as caring and compassionate enough to spend every night taking care of abandoned house cats, I surely had what it takes to care for children...

And I do like children. I like playing with my younger cousins, and taking care of my nephew, but I don't know if the motherly instinct is really built into every woman. I definitely have the cat instinct though.

THE "IN-BETWEEN" JOB | SEPTEMBER 21, 2006

Right now I am at an "in-between" job. In fact, I have been working at this in-between job - Environmental Health & Safety - for four whole years now. I knew I needed a job when I started college, and my uncle knew that EH&S needed someone to inspect fume hoods. Sure, it is not my dream job, but the people I work with are great, my job is not very difficult, and I get paid well.

Before I came to ISU, I had worked at McDonald's (EVIL!!!) for three and a half years. I worked as a crew member for a year, then I became a manager as soon as I turned 16. It was stressful and hard work. I had to deal with weird customers, (some) idiotic coworkers and awful hours. But I saved a lot of money working there and had fun - sometimes.

I have had a few internships in between - I worked with Steven at AllSMART in Lake Forest, I worked for Steve Sargent in Glenview, and I worked for Massimiliano Fuksas in Rome.

At each job, I tried to give 110%. If work was boring, rough or stressful, I stuck with it. Even if it was an in-between job, and not my dream job, I stuck with it. I thought, what is the point of leaving a job that isn't perfect just to find another that is not perfect? Why not stick with it for awhile just to make ends meet?

If everyone left every job they ever thought was boring or "sucky," no one would ever work anywhere for longer than a week. It seems like almost every job has office gossip, at least one jerk boss, low salaries, awful customers and annoying coworkers. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. We can't all have our dream job right away.

MCDONALD'S PACKAGING | SEPTEMBER 20, 2006

I am guilty of buying fast food every once in a while. Recently, I noticed that the french fry containers at McDonald's now display their national information - amount of calories, grams of fat, protein, carbs and sodium.

I was curious when I found the national information on the fry container. My first thought was, "What lawsuit is McDonald's trying to get itself out of now?"

After a quick internet search, I found this article, which more or less says that McDonald's is doing this because they are sick and tired of everyone saying that they are making the nation obese and that their nutrition information is hard to find.

What was interesting about the article is that it said this new packaging debuted at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. I never had fast food in Italy, but I also didn't hear about the new packaging either. And I have had a few salads at McDonald's since I have been back in the States and not seen the packaging... maybe they figure they do not need to put it on the salads?

I think this is a good idea, because it sure made me never want to eat fries again! 380 calories and 20 grams of fat in a medium fry that does not taste that good anyway... I don't think so!

THE LIFE OF AN ARCHITECT | SEPTEMBER 19, 2006

When you are an architecture student (or maybe any design student), you can spend all day and night sketching and coming up with ideas and have nothing to show for it.

Building design (again, probably any design) is a tough process because you have so many things to consider. Will the building fit in with the neighborhood or stand out? Will the parking lot be exposed or cleverly disguised? Will the building be arranged by program or will the program mesh together? Will there be solar gain or no solar gain? Should there be a flat roof or a pitched roof (probably somewhat of a pitch in Iowa to get rid of the snow load)? And so on and so on and so on...

I think and I sketch and I think and I sketch and eventually I need to try to materialize it all into some drawing or model to show my ideas. But right now that just feels so difficult.

PLEASE RIDE YOUR BICYCLE SAFELY | SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

Being a college town, Ames has a high ratio of people who don't know the proper way to ride their bike once they leave the driveway of their house.

For example, a few weeks ago I was at a four-way stop in downtown Ames. I stopped at the stop sign, then proceeded to turn left since I was the only car there. UNFORTUNATELY, I did not see the bicycler coming down the middle of the street on my right and when he decided not to stop for the stop sign, I had to slam on my brakes to prevent killing him.

Lesson #1 - If you are riding your bicycle in the street, you have to follow the rules of the street - this means obeying stop signs, stoplights, etc., and using hand signals for turning.

Today was even worse. I was driving on campus, and I came to a three way stop-sign. When it was my turn to go forward, a bicycler that had been riding parallel to me on the sidewalk decided that he was going to join the street by cutting me off when it was my turn to go at the stop sign. Again, I had to slam on my breaks not to hit him. He was talking on his cell phone and swerving his bicycle all over the road. I finally passed around him because I was afraid I would hit him. I yelled, "Get off the street a**hole!" but he must of not heard me over his important phone call (he then cut through the other side of the road into a parking lot )..

Lesson #2 - Choose the sidewalk or street and stick to one.

Lesson #3 - Don't talk on your cell phone while you are riding your bike unless you are using a blue tooth or hands free kit.

Ames has the worst pedestrians and bicycle riders that I have seen in any city in my life (excluding Rome, because there is not concept of a "pedestrian" there). Last year a kid crossed the street when and where he wasn't supposed to, and got hit by a bus and died (see 11/30/05 & 12/1/05 archive).

My only plea is that people who ride bicycles consider the drivers on the road. It is sometimes difficult to see a bicycle from your car, especially if you are in an area with a lot of landscaping or if the bicycle is far away. In both incidences above, I did not see the bicycle until it was right in front of me! If I can't see it, then the rider runs a stop sign or cuts me off, it makes it very dangerous for them.

When I am a pedestrian (which I am at least 5 days a week), I consider the cars around me. I wish more people would do the same.

WHAT'S IT LIKE IN YOUR WORLD? | SEPTEMBER 17, 2006

Words in my world:
adeZ [eydz] adjective- crazy, out of control, sick, irrational
baba [bah ba] pronoun- name for an endeared one
calla [kawl-uh] adjective- used to express outrage
ciao bitch [chah-aw bich] interjection- Hello/Goodbye/How are you?
gratz [grats] verb- thanks
hookay [hoh-key] adjective, adverb, interjection- okay
jah [jah] adverb- yes
kimbotmobile [kim-buht-moh-beel] noun- Kim's car
kimböt [kim-boht] noun- name of large fantasy boat
kkhello [k-he-loh] interjection- hello
Operation Tub Tub, OTT [ op-uh-rey-shuh tuhb tuhb] noun- extremist diet when you turn into a tub tub
reru [ree-roo] adjective- mentally challenged
roböt [roh-boht] noun- name of small fantasy boat

SIBLINGSHIP | SEPTEMBER 16, 2006

I wish that relationships with friends could be more similar to a sibling relationship. When one of my siblings does something that upsets me, or does some action that I think goes against their moral judgment, I don't hesitate to tell them what I think. If they're being a jerk or making what I think is a bad decision, I let them know. And I don't feel bad about it afterwards, because I know whatever happens, they are still my family and they have to keep on loving me.

But it isn't like that with (most) friends. Depending on the person, you either have to be really cautious about what you say, or not say anything at all.

Like after a friend breaks up with someone that everyone thought was really wrong for them, you can't say "Finally, I am so happy you dumped his sorry-a**!" Or to the friend who has too many late-night extracurriculars - "Please have some respect for yourself and stick to one man."

And sometimes I just want to have a discussion with a friend - not a debate to alter their mind - and they get too upset/defensive and huff off.

Being friends is about caring for each other's thoughts, feelings, health, well-being, etc. And keeping your mouth shut.

IF ONLY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2006

I wish that Data had a blog. Then Steven and I would be able to figure out some of his erratic behavior. Besides doing normal cat things like jumping onto the table, eating shoelaces, throwing his food all over the floor and defecating on the carpet, he now likes to chew off his own fur.

It started a week or two before I came back from Rome in the beginning of August. Normally when a cat cleans itself, it chews its fur a little bit if there is a knot. Steven noticed that Data was chewing on his fur a lot. Then he noticed that he had two bald spots, a big one on his left side, and a smaller one on his right side (but in the same location).

I took Data to the vet. The vet told me that there are three possible reasons that animals do this, in this order of probability - 1. They have fleas or mites that are biting them. 2. They have allergies. 3. They have mental angst. He told me number 3 was very unlikely.

The vet then shaved Data's spot down to his skin. I asked him to just shave the whole cat, but I don't think he thought I was too funny. Then he took out a razor blade and took a scraping of poor Data's skin to see if he had fleas or mites. Then he sold me expensive flea medicine - Revolution (check out this cool game on their website). After that I took Data home and the vet called later that day and said he did not have any parasites.

So we didn't know what to think. But we hoped that Data would stop chewing his fur off, because it was a not a good look for him and we didn't want to have to start calling him "Spot." Steven thought that Data's fur was growing back in, but just recently he noticed that Data started chewing it off again.

We think that maybe he does it for attention. Maybe he is upset that Steven comes home late and is sometimes gone all weekend. Maybe he is lonely and we should get another cat (wink wink). Whatever is causing it, I hope we either figure it out soon or that he stops. Neither one of us wants an unhappy, bald and patchy cat (or one with a cone around its head for that matter!).

I STILL THINK FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE ARE STUPID | SEPTEMBER 12, 2006

This is an article that was in the Iowa State Daily today. Here is my Letter to the Editor. I wonder if they will publish it.

I don't understand the people who intentionally sign up for free services such as Facebook and MySpace, then complain about losing their “privacy” or feeling like they are being stalked.

Every bit of information that you put on Facebook is readily available to other people who have Facebook accounts. If you want more privacy, you can only allow your registered “friends” to see what you are up to. MySpace is even worse – you don't have to be registered to “browse through profiles” - which means anyone, anywhere in the world could be reading your profile right now, unless you have it set on “private.”

Whether or not they read it immediately, or in a few hours, it is available for them nonetheless. If you are looking at Facebook as a place for privacy and keeping secrets, you have the wrong idea.

I imagine that when Facebook installed the “news feed” feature last week, its owners and developers were looking at it as an upgraded feature that would make using Facebook even easier and less time consuming. Since the information was already there, why not bring it to you, rather than make you search for it? When this feature was protested against, Mark Zuckerberg, an original Facebook founder, immediately issued an apology and installed new privacy controls.

When you register for Facebook, you have to keep in mind that it is a completely free service. That means you probably won't have much control over it. So if you don't want the world to know, don't type it on one of these generic websites. If you want to stay in touch with your friends the old-fashioned way, then jump off the bandwagon and do it. Most of all, if you don't like Facebook, don't use it. Better yet, be creative and make your own website, where you will have complete control. You'll still be able to spy on your friends using these websites; you just won't have to lose your own privacy anymore.

THE FIVE YEAR DEAL | SEPTEMBER 11, 2006

Life in college is so unrealistic. You have most of your day free. You can stay up as late as you want and sleep in as late as you want. Most of the things you need to do are located in one place (on campus). You get to see your friends everyday.

And as easy as it is, I think I am anxious to get started with a real job in the real world. I really enjoy researching and designing my diploma project, but part of me wishes I was doing it for real instead of still doing "pretend" projects.

STERILIZE YOUR PET | SEPTEMBER 10, 2006

Last week while I was doing research for my animal shelter design, it just broke my heart to find all these websites with abandoned animals waiting to be adopted. There are thousands of animals sitting in shelters looking for good homes, while there are people purposefully producing more animals to sell in animal shops as well.

If you have a cat or dog, please spay or neuter them. And if you are planning on adding an animal to your home, don't forget your local animal shelters. Most of the animals there are friendly, abandoned house animals.

GOODBYE STRAPPY SANDALS | SEPTEMBER 9, 2006

Autumn is on its way. I could feel it today in the cold air and the chilly rain. Fortunately, it is my favorite season. I love watching the trees change color, the leaves fall off and then stepping on them on the sidewalk, listening for a satisfying "crunch."

I love the temperature - cool enough to wear a jacket, and warm enough to go without one and still be comfortable. The only sad part is that I have to give up my sandals sooner or later. I prefer sandals over socks and shoes, and my mother gave me the most gorgeous sandals for my birthday. I suppose it is time to put them away.

I know it is silly to feel sad about putting away a pair of sandals for the cold season, but I only got to wear these twice, and I always felt so glam when I wore them.

MS. LONELY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2006

I forget how lonely I am until I have visitors... then they leave.

My parents came to Ames tonight for the opening of our Rome exhibition. I wasn't going to ask them to come because, quite frankly, my Rome work is a bit on the crappy side. But then I decided to display some of my Fuksas work (with the approval of my professor of course), and I asked them to come.

So I prepared the work and printed it out. I asked the professor (the one who gave me approval) where to put it. She said "wow, that looks interesting..." then I turned it in.

Later in the week, I went down to the gallery to see where my work was. When I couldn't find it, I sent an email to my professor asking about it. I had spent time and money preparing it, and I was confused that I couldn't find it.

My professor told me "...[we] lost track of it in the chaos of the show... they really didn't look good... [they] are not good-looking projects... [they are] pointless..."

Needless to say, I was disappointed and upset. Why would a professor approve the photos and tell me they looked interesting, just to "lose" them? Seven dollars in printing might not be a lot of money to most people, but it is to me!

I told my parents not to come, but like I said, they were nice enough to come anyway. I spent six hours yesterday and six hours today preparing food (for 200 people) for the opening. My parents helped me bring the food in and my mom helped me dish it out.

Later, as we sat down eating, I said, "That is the teacher who told me my project was bad and pointless."

She said, "Yeah I figured that out."

Of course, I asked how and my mom told me that while she was helping dish out food she was standing there waiting for the next an and the professor said curtly," What do you want?!" And my mom said, "I don't want anything. I am helping!" Yeah, what a b*tch.

(To her credit, she did tell my mom thank you and lighten up later. And she did say to me (about my work being gone) " I hope you are not very disappointed." Whatever. She is in the wrong position - professors need people skills, or at least common decency and courtesy!)

CAN I HAVE MY $5 NOW? | SEPTEMBER 7, 2006

Don't pay attention to the messy kitchen... this is what my parents forced me to cook over the weekend - MEAT!!!

NOW EVERYONE KNOWS | SEPTEMBER 6, 2006

Why is the amount of money I earned in 2005 (click here) working for Environmental Health and Safety posted on the internet? Is this pertinent information?

Yeah, yeah, I know, the earnings of state employees are public information. I am a student though! Now everyone knows the truth - I am poor.

THE BAD PART OF TOWN PART II | SEPTEMBER 5, 2006

I was worried that I was going to forget to drop off my rent check last Friday before I left town for the weekend. I kept thinking I would be halfway to Guttenberg and I would have to turn around to write my check.

But I remembered. I wrote it out Thursday night and put it in the drop-box in our laundry room on Friday before I left. I thought "Is this little check going to be safe in this box? When will my landlord come pick them up?" But I didn't think about it again; and I enjoyed my weekend (kind of).

So today when my landlord called me at work and told me that someone broke into the drop-box and stole all the checks I was frantic. I hurried home to get my bank account number and the check number, so that I could cancel the check. I was afraid to look at my bank account online and see that the check had been processed and I was down $525.

It hadn't been processed yet. But I had to be on the phone for ten minutes to get it all straightened out. I put a hold on my account over the phone then had to spend an hour in the bank setting up a new account. What a pain.

Needless to say, I spoke to my landlord and told her my previous concerns (from the last post). I had a feeling something like this would happen, only I thought someone would break into my apartment. My landlord is really nice and she takes care of things right away, but there is not much she can do until something like this happens. I have a feeling that the loud people in my building stole the money or had one of their friends do it.