back to the [big easy]

well, tomorrow afternoon a friend named 'fish' and i are heading back to new orleans. a semester of design work is about to become a reality. the drawings are finished, the connections have been welded, and a budget planned out. now to see if it all works. the goal for the next few weeks are to build the foundation and sub-floor of the new museum, while getting new plumbing and electrical systems back in the existing house.

even though my first trip to new orleans was after the hurricane, i still felt there was something about the town that was unlike any other city i'd been in. the city was rich with culture and traditions. all originating from a variety of sources, mixed together and then given a local flavor. that's something you just don't experience much growing up in suburbia.

i hope that someday, new orleans will regain it's "big easy" status. a city that reminds us that life can be simpler, and easy going.

for now, enjoy the picture above, which seems to capture the essence of the"big easy".

[bittersweet]

well, it finally came and went.

graduation.

i remember when i thought that it would never be here. it seemed so far off when i decided to switch into architecture after already spending two years in a different major. not only would i have to wait until the next fall to start but it would then be four years before i could walk across that stage. these last few weeks however seemed to accelerate with each passing day.


switching into architecture was one of the best decisions of my life, and i don't regret the added years to my tally. not only is it a wonderful profession to study, but i've made such dear and great friends the past four years. sitting on the stage in the very back, blessed with a "w" last name, i had a mix of feelings. i was thrilled that i was done, and starting my professional life, but with my excitement was also nervousness, regret, exhaustion and some sadness. looking at the mortar boards in front of me, i realized it would be years before i see some of my classmates again. the past four years i've seen them everyday in the lecture halls and studios, but soon they'll be all gone, going their own way. their faces will soon be replaced with the faces of the firm i'll work for. but these new faces were not in my structures class, or ordered pizza shuttle with me late at night, or laughed at those things that are only funny at 3 a.m. these new faces were not there to celebrate the end of a project at bellies. but as frank sinatra would say, "that's life", one chapter ends and another begins. only in this chapter, i'll get paid for working on cad and building models, so i got that going for me, which is nice.

graduation turned out to be a wonderful day. six of us decided to celebrate our graduation together, which ended up being a blast. for a few hours we didn't 't think about the future and all the unknowns it holds. we were all celebrating the end of a long crazy rollercoaster ride i like to call "getting your bachelors of architecture from kansas state."

desgin[built]

we delivered our project to the town of of blaine today. although there were a few adjustments to be made on site, the two pieces came together nicely. with blaine being the kind of town it is, people stopped by to watch us put them up. i'm not sure if the town will use this shade structure as much as we'd like to think they will, but it's there none the less, just in case someone, someday, wants to enjoy some shade that wasn't there before. more then the function of the structure, i hope it stands as a reminder to everyone in blaine, that just because the town doesn't even receive a dot on the kansas map, and the glory days can only be found in history books, great things can still happen. architecture isn't just for the "big city" or clients with money. to some blaine may be considered a ghost town, but within it's unincorporated city limits, is a sense of community, which can sometimes be hard to find in even the largest of cities.

5 [down] see 10 [across]

today was a crossword kind of day for me. a little cool and a lot damp, with no motivation to work, just to sit down with some coffee and a crossword.

now a crossword kind of day actually starts the night before, like it did last night. i left studio late last night and walked home. just as i was reaching my driveway, i felt a drop. by the time i had brushed my teeth and settled in for the night, is was drizzling with hints of lighting showing through my windows. as i lay there, i could here the increasing rain against the roof, until it was a full out downpour. I was measuring how far off the lighting was with my macgyver-esc five second rule. i can't remember exactly how long i sat there and listened, but i know that the sound of rain storm outside, while nestled in your warm bed, is one of the best ways to fall asleep.

waking the next morning i knew it was a crossword day. it was cool, wet and grey, with the smell that only rain can create still in the air. although there were a few hints of sunshine today, it stayed mostly grey. now, i couldn't just do my crossword all day. a few hours between 1 and 5 i made it appear that i was working on studio with my cad drawings up, but now i can finish up my crossword, and enjoy the rest of the day.

now if i only knew what a four letter word for a "fellini based musical" is?