welding [connections]

yesterday, a group of us started taking a welding class, in preparation for the work we'll be doing this summer in new orleans. we've designed a number of steel connections that, ideally, we'd like to create ourselves, but first the basics. yesterday's class was mostly spent becoming familiar with the tools and vocabulary of welding, but the last hour was spent in the shop, trying our hand with the arc and mig welders. once again, i have a new found respect for anyone that can do this art with any sort of quality, as the straight line i was suppose to create with the arc welder, turned out more like an "s". our idea, however is to start with the easiest of the connections and work our way up. hopefully buy the time we get to the complicated pieces we'll know what we're doing.

i've been [tagged] - my top five

tagged by mike of scortch!

[in the kitchen]

1 - brita pitcher
2 - vintage aluminum cups
3 - tabasco green pepper sauce
4 - hand-made dishrag
5 - hebrew national hotdogs, they're kosher



[in the closet]

1 - khaki blazer
2 - my starting line up of shirts, the "varsity team" if you will
3 - snorkel and flippers still needing to be returned to the owner
4 - box full of miscellaneous objects that have no other home except for that box
5 - vintage ties

[in my bag]

1 - i-pod
2 - thesaurus
3 - canon powershot a40
4 - a planner, that i use more and more with each passing day
5 - sketchbook

[at studio]

1 - a pencil holder made 2nd year
2 - i-tunes
3 - "thinking with type" by ellen lupton
4 - my swingline stapler, it really is better than the boston
5 - an ever growing collection of architecture business cards

[at home]

1 - jade plants
2 - acoustic guitar
3 - steel shelves that somehow have the ability to hold 90% of what i own
4 - a garden gnome in the corner of our living room
5 - my indestructible coffee table, that will be passed down in one month in order to fulfill it's destiny of being the eternal college coffee table.

i tag nicole of nickle.com and sam of insidethebox

so long [suzie q]

well, my rebel days are over. no more cross country adventures with captain america and billy. no more providing security for the rolling stones at altamont. yes, these days are forever gone now that i've sold my hog.

i had a great time these past five years, running from the police on my iron horse, breaking the law, and being wanted for public harassment. but the times they are changing. i'll be graduating soon, and entering the working world. i've traded my leather bike jacket for a three button suit. instead of going to road houses, playing darts, and listening to lynyrd skynard all night, i'll be going to aia lectures and listening to product reps. i'll be so square, i'll have corners. I am however regretting the, "born to ride" tattoo i got across my back now.













as you can see from the picture, she was indeed 250 cc's of mean machine

* note - please read with a sarcastic tone.

advice from [itunes]

so the last few days i've been in a funk. that feeling of being very confused, not sure where you're going in your life, or where it's heading, yada yada yada. when suddenly, with the magic that is the itunes shuffle function, "don't worry baby" by the beach boys starts playing. what a sign. so i'm now taking a little advice from this great song -"don't worry baby, everything will turn out all right."

[dazed] and [bemused]

what a confusing time this is. i feel it within myself and i see it within my friends. i'm on the edge. the last few inches before full on adulthood, and it's almost time to take that step, and i'm scared. i have no idea what to expect. i have no idea how the next chapter of my life is going to read. will it be a page turner, or incredibly boring. is this the beginning of a long climatic rise, or the end of one?

for the last four and a half years i've had a clear goal in my life. to finish school. in one month i won't have that goal as a crutch anymore. i now have to come up with my own, "new" plan.

this is a transition, and i hate transitions. because they force you to re-examine the ties in your life. it seems like these "ties" either have to be strengthened or cut. i've seen classmates get engaged, while other have decided to break up. some people are deciding to stay close to their friends and family, while others are venturing over seas.

is this decision i'm about to make,of where i live and work, going to decide the rest of my life, or is this just one of the many scenic drives i'll take on the interstate of life? so many questions, very little answers. is life always like this? do you ever really have anything figured out?

oh well, i'll just think about the things that i do know, and i know as i write this that i love the taste of dr.peper. ............ it's a start.

dr. pepper bottle, half empty/half full

as [time] goes by

i've always considered myself somewhat of a movie buff. there's just something about that form of storytelling that i love. movies are a chance to forget about what ever drama is going on in your own life and be taken to another place and time for a few moments. last night i ventured to casablanca. now being the huge fan of movies i claim to be, it's difficult for me to admit that i've never seen this movie in it's entirety. now i've seen bits and pieces, and it's almost impossible not hear it referenced or quoted in other movies, but i've never sat down, and really watched it. so last night i bought it, hoping to figure out why this movie is what it is.

now i'm always skeptical when i hear that something's a classic. what really makes something a classic? why is this movie so great? well after watching it, i have to join the club. this truly is an amazing movie, and i think i know why. it's theme is timeless. although it takes place at the beginning of WWII, that is just a backdrop for this story. the movie is all about what you will and will not do for love. now this theme has been used in countless movies, but this movie, shows the passion and feeling better then any that i've seen. this timeless theme of the difficulties of being in love is something everyone has had to deal with sometime in their life.

it also doesn't hurt the movie that bogart defined cool with every phrase he spoke, and ingrid bergman has a classic beauty that you don't find in the plastic filled hollywood hills of today.

i went into this movie almost hoping that i wouldn't enjoy it, and i left feeling that it was better then any movie that i'd seen on the big screen. it is truly a classic, which to me means quality and timelessness. also, for anyone that's a fan of quoting movies, this movie is a gold mine. which leads me to the only way to end this post. here's looking at you kid.