build it and they will come......hopefully

checking the spec's on the rotary girders

this thursday i went along on a site visit, with some co-workers, to chula vista. we went to check on the progress of the steel construction on a community/rec center that we are working on. most of the structure is exposed steel, so we went out to make sure everything was coming together correctly. a couple of months ago i had the [pleasure] of reviewing and checking the shop drawings for this building. i learned fast how much communication place a part, between the engineer, architect, and contractor. overall it was great to get out of the office and onto a site. i decided to take my camera and was able to take a few shots. as you can see, i changed most of them to black and white. i was going for sort of [lunchmen on beam in new york 1932] look, you know, that one picture, anyway. i'm not sure if i achieved it,...........maybe if we would have had some tools.











double checking the welds













welding the girders on the gym













orange pallets
(just couldn't delete the color on this pic)

if i could only get you oceanside..........

the group at the beach

this sunday i was able to meet up with some friends that i hadn't seen in a while. a friend of mine, mike, who i've known since i was in diapers, called to let me know that he and his girlfriend, krista, were going to be near l.a. and wanted to make sure that we met up. he also informed me that another rose hill high alumni, rhett was stationed at camp pendleton with his wife lori. after a conversation on the phone and using the new [google earth] program we decided that the best place to meet would be oceanside. rhett was able to get all of us on base so we could get to del mar beach, and we spent the day there grilling, and surfing. as much as i tried, to avoid getting burnt by using the standard defenses such as sun block, and staying covered, i still managed to get a tad "crispy". however, i did find out that walking into the office monday morning looking like john candy from "summer rental" is a great conversation stimulator. also, i don't know if this is possible but i think i sun burnt my eyeballs. here's to aloe.

krista and mike

pay no attention to the shadow behind the board

final jeopardy

well, the last six years of college are starting to pay off. yesterday on jeopardy, the final category was [architects]. i of course bet everything i had, answered correctly and doubled my fake money. the other three contestants, however, all got it wrong. so i pose the question to anyone out there that reads this. [what architect stated that he introduced the glass box, and then 50 years later, broke it] no cheating and remember to answer in the form of a question.

the [imperial beach] strikes back

imperial beach pier


on sunday i drove down to imperial beach, which is five miles north of the usa/mexican border to check out the 25th annual u.s sandcastle competition. now, i had read about this in my trusty "secret san diego" guidebook, but had forgotten that it was this weekend. thankfully a friend of mine reminded me. so i took the short 15 minute drive down. i was halfway expecting just a handful of teams and people on the beach playing in the sand. needless to say i was surprised to see that this little ocean front town turns it into a huge celebration with a carnival and several stages for bands to play. walking through the carnival i caught a whiff of one of the best smells in the world, funnel cake, i however resisted the urge to indulge myself in this deliciously decadent treat and made my way to the beach. walking past the entries i was amazed at the craft and detail they were able to sculpt using only sand and water and a few tools. walking past there were several "star wars" exhibits. even though i'm no star wars fanatic, i did think that the sculpture of darth vadar was the best out of all the entries. it is interesting that so much time goes into this, only to have these sculptures destroyed in a frenzy on the third day after judging. of course i'm sure the $10,000 grand prize helps with the pain.











darth_sand











crowd at beach










sand castle

over_the_line________

over the line

last weekend i made it to the world famous [over the line] tournament. to say the least it was crazy. over the line is a sport that is basically three man softball with no bases. no bases because that would require running, an it's hard to run when your completely tanked. it's a two weekend tournament held on fiesta island. some teams take it serious, others don't. actually as famous as it is, it's hard to put any of it on the television, because the teams names are so offensive, as well as the behavior of most of the spectators. it's was a great site to see. i took a bus over to the island. my bus driver looked and acted just like chris farley, see picture below. I spent about three and a half hours watching the games and other various happenings. i met up with my neighbor bruce who is a huge fan of "otl" and he let me into the silver fox's tent, a local bar in o.b., for all the free bbq and beer we could drink. i'm thinking this could catch on at k-state.

chris farley was my bus driver

ultimate [bummer]

sorry i haven't written in a while, but i have been sick for 8 days now, anxiously waiting to get over it. at first i assumed it would last a couple of days and still give me the fourth of july to get "out and about" but it is still lingering. trying to find a bright side i'm getting caught up on my price is right, macguyver, and jeopardy. i did do very well in the "building terminology" the other day. anywho i hope i can get over this before this weekend, where i will check out the "world famous" over the line tournament a few blocks from my house. if i get better and end up going expect some pictures. later.