We Gotta Take It
Its the end of the year. Tomorrow Sarah flies into Houston and we celebrate the new year. This will be the first time I bring a girl home to mom since I left Houston. So that's kind of something. I think it is safe to say that overall, 2013 was not my favorite year. I wrote so seldom here. There surely was a lot more adventure. I probably overall was far more productive in 2013 than any previous year of my life. Everyday was an adventure. Always something new and crazy. 2013 was never dull or without excitement. You would think that would mean I was really happy. Overwhelmingly happy even. But thats the thing. I have been so overwhelmed this year. I have had some great opportunities. I've met some high profile people. I've made a lot of friends. This was prescribed to be the year of connecting, and I did that. But it was all a clusterfuck. I was so busy all of the time. I had so much pressure from different directions where I wanted to excel in every aspect, and I didn't do that. Lots of things fell apart. I didn't get everything I wanted. I got some things I didn't anticipate. It was all strange. I think being back in school isn't my favorite thing. I need some downtime to work on me and recover from all of this. I'm pretty rested at the moment, but its so hard to believe that in ten days, the shit storm starts all over again. This time with a much better studio though... Frank Gehry, David Adjaye or Dan Wood? Hm... until then... signing off on 2013:
My 5 Favorite Moments of 2013:
1. Tequila Summer... or a summer with money. I wanted to spend the summer working on me. I wanted to get stronger, faster and save my money. But then with working so much overtime, I started making a lot of money, more than I had ever made in my life. Suddenly I was going out every night, enjoying a life of middle-class luxury. I was so happy to break free from being a broke student. I still don't know whether or not I would do it all over again... but it was fun.
2. Rowing with the Grad Crew. I have been very excited to have spent the year in two regattas and being back on the water on the regular. It has also been a great way to meet new friends, something I hope I can maintain in this last semester and continue forth in my post-graduate life. Being on the river is like a little part of home... London home. The biggest downside of living in NYC is going to be the lack of rowing... I can almost hear Philly calling.
3. Sarah. It goes without saying that one of the biggest aspects of 2013 is that I shared it with someone else. It has had its ups and downs. In many ways Im not sure I was ready for a relationship again. I was during the summer, but I had a great deal of time and freedom. Once school began, things began to get complicated and stressful. That aside, she has brought along a lot of great emotions. She's gotten me out of my "all about me" shell and encouraged me to live a little more. See New York more. Get out of studio earlier. She grounds me. Which I need. My favorite moment might have been at Katie's wedding. We were up on the balcony when "Gangnam Style" began to play. We did the dance together alone all down that balcony. It was so much fun.
4. Job Interviews. I have always really liked job interviews. I have found so many interesting things about myself through them. They're like first dates on acid. People really want to get to know the real you in a short amount of time, but then you have to know the real you at the same time. I was nervous when I began looking for a summer job. I was worried. Then I began to get interviews. I had quite a few job interviews and got offers from almost all of them. I learned how much I really enjoyed the chase for a job. It was invigorating. I suppose I also enjoyed it because I had a lot of success and ended up signing the most economically lucrative deal out of all of my friends. I learned something else of myself though. I want to interview more often. For jobs. But not for employment... I want to go after architectural commissions. I really do want to be a boss. Not an employee. It is my calling.
5. Writing instead of drawing. I really enjoyed Aureli's studio. The people were bitches at times. We didn't always get along. But I really liked the idea of reading and writing for a studio. That way once it was time to draw, you knew exactly what to do. Use the research. The "Why" has been so important to me in architecture. I see design as far too arbitrary. I really liked my project. It felt like I was getting away with something so wrong the entire semester, but I liked it so much. I was always well rested too so I could read the next day. Im still curious to see how that project goes in job interviews.
soundtrack to entry:
My 5 Favorite Moments of 2013:
1. Tequila Summer... or a summer with money. I wanted to spend the summer working on me. I wanted to get stronger, faster and save my money. But then with working so much overtime, I started making a lot of money, more than I had ever made in my life. Suddenly I was going out every night, enjoying a life of middle-class luxury. I was so happy to break free from being a broke student. I still don't know whether or not I would do it all over again... but it was fun.
2. Rowing with the Grad Crew. I have been very excited to have spent the year in two regattas and being back on the water on the regular. It has also been a great way to meet new friends, something I hope I can maintain in this last semester and continue forth in my post-graduate life. Being on the river is like a little part of home... London home. The biggest downside of living in NYC is going to be the lack of rowing... I can almost hear Philly calling.
3. Sarah. It goes without saying that one of the biggest aspects of 2013 is that I shared it with someone else. It has had its ups and downs. In many ways Im not sure I was ready for a relationship again. I was during the summer, but I had a great deal of time and freedom. Once school began, things began to get complicated and stressful. That aside, she has brought along a lot of great emotions. She's gotten me out of my "all about me" shell and encouraged me to live a little more. See New York more. Get out of studio earlier. She grounds me. Which I need. My favorite moment might have been at Katie's wedding. We were up on the balcony when "Gangnam Style" began to play. We did the dance together alone all down that balcony. It was so much fun.
4. Job Interviews. I have always really liked job interviews. I have found so many interesting things about myself through them. They're like first dates on acid. People really want to get to know the real you in a short amount of time, but then you have to know the real you at the same time. I was nervous when I began looking for a summer job. I was worried. Then I began to get interviews. I had quite a few job interviews and got offers from almost all of them. I learned how much I really enjoyed the chase for a job. It was invigorating. I suppose I also enjoyed it because I had a lot of success and ended up signing the most economically lucrative deal out of all of my friends. I learned something else of myself though. I want to interview more often. For jobs. But not for employment... I want to go after architectural commissions. I really do want to be a boss. Not an employee. It is my calling.
5. Writing instead of drawing. I really enjoyed Aureli's studio. The people were bitches at times. We didn't always get along. But I really liked the idea of reading and writing for a studio. That way once it was time to draw, you knew exactly what to do. Use the research. The "Why" has been so important to me in architecture. I see design as far too arbitrary. I really liked my project. It felt like I was getting away with something so wrong the entire semester, but I liked it so much. I was always well rested too so I could read the next day. Im still curious to see how that project goes in job interviews.
soundtrack to entry: