And I'm back!
It's been a while, but I've been very busy and now I'm enjoying my semester break :D it feels great to have nothing "due-ish" on my mind, it really does. I have a lot of posts on my iPhone that I had written on my way home during the busy days that I should share but I don't feel it would be right to publish them now because it ruins the whole idea of a "blog"! Anyways, to quickly recap all, I'm done with the Fall semester I passed all my courses some way much better than others. My worse is of course technical drawing, I failed the 9.5hour exam (54% lowest grade in the class :/) I was feeling really down, and I was thinking is it the time to reconsider everything? Maybe my dreams were better kept as dreams, then I was like I can't reconsider what my passion? of course NOT. Anyways I passed the course and I'm very glad that that is behind me. I have a new semester ahead, a fresh start, and I'm not gonna taint that with the despair of the Fall. Now as I break, I'm filling my time by fooling around with AutoCAD trying to get familiar with it, just for the fun of it, guided by The AutoCAD Bible by Ellen Finkelstein (which is a great guide . That's all for now, hopefully I'll be able to update this blog more often... ciaozzz

-AJ

"Quasi-stresslessness"

I am down and I'm so frustrated, and I don't think I can handle the stress! The puppet is going down the drain I got mixed reviews and my idea is hard to execute, there are just so many things to think about, it hurts! I have to change my so many things which adds more to the pain, mechanism, material, position in space and many other things are like knives of worrying that.. well you get the metaphor.. this sucks! I wanna finish the puppet on Friday and get over with it soon so I can work on whatever technical might shove in my face for Monday. But it's very likely that they (instructors) are gonna bash it crazily. This puppet doesn't feel like design, this feels like fettered contemporary art that is limited in a ridiculously annoying manner. They say that perspective is reality but sometimes one perspective becomes other's people's reality when that perspective is powerful enough to influence others.

But the knives (remember the stupid metaphor) are not just those of the puppet but with the engineering course, history course, english and of course our favorite torture "TECHNICAL DRAWING" the outdated course that seems to be so important now although it seems very pointless at the moment!

The thing is with the school of Architecture is the fact that you have to handle the stress of all the shit-load that you get and whatever bumps (or mountains) life has to shove up one's ass :D and that sucks. I have so many other things going on the personal level that well make are making a huge mess, something which obviously, no one needs.

So here's my decision, not to give up of course, it's gonna take more than that to get me to give up! Im gonna stop working today, put it all on hold just for the day, try to be stressless and continue with the worries tomorrow. But how can I forget the knives that sear with pain? (WOW that crappy metaphor turned into something beautiful)

AJ

Untitled? (Can I do that?)

I wrote this on the way home while I was in a cab on my iPhone:
"I am now on my way home, I finshed at about 2 but, I stayed an hour or so to see friends. So far today has been hectic I had a technical drawing quiz and it was a nightmare, I don't thin I'll pass it, I dnt think I'll pass this course. But I have to get it out of my way. And the assignment I was so proud of yesterday is now degraded to a piece of crap when I saw the others, technical drawing is not my thing.
I am really down and things on the personal level are a grave mess and I really can't handle them at the moment, but I have to. It is said that which doesn't kill me only makes me stronger? Well, I'm not sure this thing will be so kinds as to not kill me, on the social level at least, but that's not architectural so let's not stray far from this blogs core. (sighs)

(sighs again) The puppet is gonna be worked on today I'm not that exccited honestly although my idea is very interesting it involves a light bulb and some foam boards so safety measures should be taken ,I'm gonna rsearch that and facebook then go to bed, wake up and work till the morning on the puppet, well see where that goes but first I gotta reach home, traffic is a bitch and it seems thts gonna take a while!"

I arrived home, I had lunch watched lots of TV and wasted lots of time I slept at about 6:00p.m. and woke up at about 8:30 I worked for about 4 hours on the puppet, mostly experimentation, I have most of it worked out now, got to discuss it tomorrow with the instructors and try to finish it Friday for final feedback before the silent jury next Tuesday . I don't have technical drawing for Wednesday (YAY) so more puppet for me. I have to finish it by Friday because Im gonna have technical for Monday and I have a field trip on Saturday and my friends birthday and lots of more crap to deal with! It's hard, I'm considering change of schools, I'm shaking a bit with dubiety, or am I just tired?
Nighty night, Im going to bed now
-AJ

What Weekend?

Ok this one is gonna be a quicky :P I've been very busy the past few days so let's catch up on what we've missed.

Let me begin with Friday, I got varied feedback from the instructors (concerning the puppet) and I think im on track, although I have to start workin on the the real one very soon. Friday I got home at about 9:30P.M. what kept me at uni. was me discussing the puppet with the instructors along with some technical and a very beneficial jury session (usually juries tend to be boring but I'm suddenly seeing their benefits, I was very foolish not to have taken them seriously) so after I got home, I showered and slept till about 9 (Although I planned on waking up at 2a.m. :P) Friday I went to university at 8 although my class started at 1 but I wanted to work on my perspective in the stduio so maybe I could get some help, well no one was there but I managed.

Saturday was all perspective and it was very complex, annoying, and very intricate I had done some of it when I notied that my measurements were off by a bit and I shifted a few points so I had to go back to ground zero and start again, but it had it's benefits I drew what I considered to be the neates drawing ever. Despite the delay I finished most of it, but as usual I left some for Sunday... Like always I leave things to the last minute and I never learn!

Today, I woke up at about 9 and I couldn't get my self to draw one line, I was so jaded, I couldn't focus and the perspective was really getting on my nerves. There were too many lines and too many points and letter. At about 1 I was so pissed off I went out of the house for a short walk because I couldn't stand staying in an enclosed space anymore, when I came back I had a headache and was very drowsy so I worked on my essay a bit and then slept for an hour then had lunch, and then I did the perspective which I still haven't finished yet (last minute everything!!!) and I have a few stairs left to do and I'm back to the stage of not being able to do anything... I guess I'll trace the stairt tomorrow between classes. As for the puppet I had an amazing idea today, but I still haven't figured out how it will work out, but it should, it's simple enough :)

At this point I feel that I've knocked on the door of architecture and we're past the "door conversation" I think I began to enter, I'm truly changing at a rate I can't explain. Now as I stay away from my laptop's screen I see my perspective drawing, 2 months ago I could never have imagined that I would be able to draw something so complex, this is satisfaction, this is pride and this feeling is truly rewarding.

So notice something, my weekend was completely "devoured" by work, the one and only chance I got to leave the house was actually to take a break to come back and work some more, but it really doesn't bother me, because never has hard work been so rewarding... This is a strong enough to keep me going, although I'm very tired (no platonic shit here, I'm serious :P)

Till next time... sleep tight, (if you could) cause you never know it's value until it become a rare moment.. I guess I really have become a "Night Breed"
-AJ

Juggling too many balls...

Hello world,
It was another new day, with new troubles and more intense stress. I was working on my puppet now but I'm sick of trying to make it work, so I thought I'd write this... as a break. THE PUPPET IS A LOT OF TROUBLE (my current design project).. I'm not a puppeteer and I really don't need to be one, but I am on the other hand a designer and I was asked to design a puppet of myself with the most abstract demands, so I have to take the challenge. although the challenge is proving to be very hard I wouldn't want it any other way, every challenge is a learning opportunity (and an opportunity to fail too,.. BADLY! but let's stay more on the platonic side... it's more uplifting) . I already have my idea, the message I wanna convey and the form of the puppet... but it was all still ideas with a few sketches.... so my puppet was still pretty much virtual at that point, but a few hours ago I started making a model of my puppet to get a sense of the dimensions, the material and most importantly the MECHANISM!!! Google let me down and so did YouTube when it came to researching, but I found a couple of books about marionette making but they are too technical and detailed and they involve lots of wood carving, I don't need that! I figured out the the mechanism of the arms and the top of the body. But what doesn't seem to work out is the lower part (the legs) because the form of the upper body doesn't seem to fit well with the lower part (because its form is very unconventional). The doom might come to me soon If I have to change the whole concept, but the due date is only 12 days away, and although 12 days might seem a lot, they are not, not when I have a million other balls to juggle! So if there are any muses out there now's the time to show up... and If I were that muse I would be quick! But I'm hopeful, and I should get some feedback tomorrow when I discuss my idea with the instructors who have a tendency to bash most ideas...

It wouldn't be an "Architectural Day" (ok it's a lame term but whatever you get the point) unless I have technical to poke my tranquility (oof that was deep) Technical Drawing gave me to the most complicated structure (so far) to draw in perspective (Still one point) It's so overwhelming and I dunno how I'm gonna do it, but all I know is I should finish it by Monday. Ok Im just gonna relax and take it easy.. let's see if that works!

And just when I thought I had enough and I can't take it anymore, there comes the english course nagging at a distance with an essay which is due soon (first draft) and a Unit exam tomorrow, along with my statics final ( the engineering course I have to take) and the History that should push some more load some time very soon!

That was pretty much all for the day, I had 2 hours of sleep after I came home from university, so I should be staying up till about 2:00 am working on my model and some of that english but I guess I'll sleep earlier I should wake up early tomorrow head off to the studio and YES do my technical drawing! Who knew FUN had so many alternate spellings.. Anyways tonight I slp with one thought.. That which doesn't kill me will only make me stronger till next time... take care =D

-AJ

Catching Up and... I WANNA GRADUATE!

It has been 3 months and one day ever since I started studying architecture. I love architecture, it is my passion and that's the main reason I went into such a demanding field and it keeps me going. It's everything I hold onto at my moments of doubt. I realized my passion for architecture a bit late and there's a very interesting story behind it... remind me to tell you it later.

It is no exaggeration when architecture is referred to as archiTorture, It requires a lot of effort and work and very little sleep and if you don't love it (i.e. you're not a masochist) you cannot become an architect. So far I've been enjoying the type work I've been doing but not the load, but the load is something I'm getting used to. It's all working great except for technical drawing. Technical drawing, I find , is somewhat pointless at this "era", I'm a computer junkie and naturally I would prefer to go to CAD directly instead of nerve-wreaking moments of inking, but they say it has it's benefits, I'm very hesitant about this but I'm ready to believe it (to some point). The technical drawing course is very intensive and covers everything in 4 months (other programs take the same quantity of work in about 8 months). However, I was told that technical doesn't decide if I'm capable of becoming an architect, and it's by no means initiation. On the other hand I've been having trouble with getting grades lower than I had expected, but grades are nothing. They really aren't at this point, because this is just basic foundation and is by no means architecture. Enough with the past but before moving on, I wanna conclude with this: If I had to summ up the last 3 months in one sentence it is this: These days they feel like months, months that flash by within seconds"

As for today, the though that always seemed to haunt me was... I WANNA GRADUATE!!! but nothing comes that easily. As for the daily work... I have a technical drawing assignment (one point perspective) due tomorrow, which I already finished, but it took me lots of time mainly because it is the first time I draw perspective and I was confused by shape made of 2 boxes merged together underneath a windowsill (not as simple as it seems). GLAD that's over with! Moving on with the work I also have a lot on my mind, I have finals next month and I should probably start studying but today bears a lot of shit to think about tomorrow, I have a technical drawing assignment which will be due on Monday, and it's supposed to keep me up all night, and the most abstract puppet to design and an essay to write.... Oh and my life with all it's ups and downs (YES you get to keep your life and be an architecture student... although it is highly recommended that you abandon it) But be sure of one thing, the work can't keep me busy enough so as not to worry about a 9-hour technical drawing exam on the 29th of January which will decide if I pass or flunk the course. But it should work out.. it always does (optimism =D)

But here are 4 positive thoughts that keep me going:
A- Im gonna get to sleep tonight =D
B- I'm making some good friends with my fellow architects :P
C- After finals I get about 20 days of work-free vacation (term break and other stuff)
D- This is real, I'm where I wanna be, every second that passes is a step closer to becoming an Architect.


That's pretty much all for today, Im pretty exhausted so I better get to sleep, I have classes tomorrow.. nighty night


P.S. mind the quality of the punctuation and the structure of this post... I had to do this very quickly :)

-AJ

Welcome!

Hello there!
First of all welcome to my blog, as you can tell form the description, this blog will focus on my journey as I become an Architect. The idea came a few weeks ago, but I had totally forgotten it, and I remembered it today (while I was buying a new lead holder... don't ask :P) . This was supposed to be a personal "diary" but I thought publishing it as a blog will be more interesting. This blog will obviously grow with me and although occasional spin-offs might come up, I hope to keep this strictly architectural. Thanks -AJ