So, Tadao Ando is speaking is speaking at UBC [that's the University of a Billion Chinese for those not in the know] this evening. It's a fairly popular event. While this is merely conjecture, the rumor is that because the tickets were free and there was little-to-know foresight given to the popularity of Mr. Ando, folks were allowed to come in and take as many tickets they wanted. While that may seem like a massive and impossible blunder by the box office here, I wouldn't be surprised if it was absolutely true.
Regardless, the result was that the tickets were gone on the first day. That's left the majority of faculty and students in the architecture program here without tickets to the very event that they're sponsering. Similarly, landscape architecture and related disciplines were screwed as well.
I've been here since 5min. to 5pm. I've decided to blog a bit because I've quickly bored myself into a nice stupor.
They just set up the 'standby line' and there's been 21 people here for over half an hour. I'm number 22. It's mostly students--know of whom I recognize from any design program--but after me there's a great many professionals and older folks waiting.
So I got distracted trying to work on so artwork, but that was too productive, so I started watching the latest episode of 'Lost' but I spotted a friend from the landscape architecture program and chatted with her a bit. Then I helped trouble shoot her friends iPod Nano trouble. Aparently, some Nanos won't recharge on any type of USB 2 port, Mac or PC or 3rd party. Hers is one of them.
Hahaha!! The reader comments at the bottom are a frickin' riot!!
Anyway, it's a pretty okay place to live. I've recently moved to the bad part of downtown, so it's only gotten significantly better. I do miss my old view though...
Someone I know who didn't have tickets last night, is suddenly standing in the ticket line with a ticket. I secretly hate her. Well, until she reads this, that is...
Sorry for the delay! There was a great deal of turmoil and line shuffling as 7:30pm approached which required me to pack up my temporary emcampment as the line started to shift as people dropped off their extra tickets with the ushers or would, much more controvercially, give their tickets to people at the back or middle of the line whom they recognized or thought stood out from the rest in some way. Those standing outside were more likely to be seen by others and taken pity on for it was a chilly night. It was a dangerous game we were playing in the lobby. Would we make it?
At about 20 minutes after 7pm there was only about 10 people left ahead of me. By this time I was entertaining the mother & daughter in front of me and the designer and his friend behind me with a running commentary of the rather motley crew being ushered into the concert hall. An architecture student I know wandered about in front of us a bit, seemingly looking for someone she knew... This was it! Another ticket giver!
We've seen each other before, would I get it!?! Nah... The elderly lady in the neon pink sequence dress and red dye job was more eye catching... "It's like trolling for bass in reverse," I muse. If I knew it was going to work like that, I would have dressed up as the end all-be all of bass lures...
The Chugger Spook!
Seriously. The Chugger Spook is to bass what cocaine is to Kate Moss.
He's a furniture designer and the firm he works for is located pretty close to my place, so I'm going to have to check that out. He was saying they do a lot of the contract work for architects and stuff.
It wasn't long into our conversation though that the tender, virginal threads of our single-serving friendship were put to the ultimate test...
He and his friend were given a pair of tickets from a well-dressed couple. For some reason, I envisioned the designer and his female friend as Sandy and Kirstin in that episode from the second season of 'The O.C.' where they accidently get into a swingers party and decide to stay because they both think the other believes the relationship is getting too boring even though they both don't want to be there.
Parting was such sweet sorrow...
But I was finally alone with the mom and daughter!
It wasn't very long after that, that myself and everyone ahead of me got our own tickets--the rumor about people just grabbing entire stacks of tickets was actually true. I sat in the 1st level mezzanine. It was a bleeder section, but at least I was center stage and not on the 2nd level. And the seats were comfy, too.
The lecture wasn't the most enlightening I've ever been too, in great part because of the halting, back-and-forth nature of interpreting the Japanese into English. I didn't know that Ando was self taught, though. No student loans for him! He was quite entertaining though. He always found something to joke about and had a good time poking at the eccentricities of some of the artists and clients he's worked with. And his dog, Le Corbusier, rocks [and looks a little like a chair that Ando has in his house].
His major theme was the importance of being energetic participants in the world. As [designers] we need to be more passionate about what we're doing and make/maintain connections to society and the environment.
I would have liked to hear him talk more about his design process. And his thoughts on how he engages the places where his buildings are located through design. He touched on it very briefly. If I hadn't been so bloody far away from the mikes, I would have definitely asked him about that.
All-in-all, it was a good night at the lecture! The only regret I have was not having any beer with my quesadillas before getting into the line.
Driftwood, what do you think about the graduate program in architecture at UBC? I'm applying there for next september as a back-up because it is in my hometown. But when I toured the facilities and talked to the faculty last spring I wasn't that impressed. So I'm really applying because I love Vancouver and am thinking that I want to work there when I am done grad school. I got my undergrad in Toronto.
I'm not a student in the architecture program so I can't answer your question. You should email the secretary and ask if there are any students you could correspond with.
Oana S.-
I've read your entries about your visa troubles and your situation is truly unfortunate. While I don't want to say 'I know how you feel' because I don't think I do, I'll admit I've faced a great deal of rejection and failure in my own life. If it's any consolation, the strange beauty of life does not come from what should've, could've, or would've happened, but from those little, unexpected things that do.
Bloggin' from the Chan Centre...
So, Tadao Ando is speaking is speaking at UBC [that's the University of a Billion Chinese for those not in the know] this evening. It's a fairly popular event. While this is merely conjecture, the rumor is that because the tickets were free and there was little-to-know foresight given to the popularity of Mr. Ando, folks were allowed to come in and take as many tickets they wanted. While that may seem like a massive and impossible blunder by the box office here, I wouldn't be surprised if it was absolutely true.
Regardless, the result was that the tickets were gone on the first day. That's left the majority of faculty and students in the architecture program here without tickets to the very event that they're sponsering. Similarly, landscape architecture and related disciplines were screwed as well.
I've been here since 5min. to 5pm. I've decided to blog a bit because I've quickly bored myself into a nice stupor.
Thank God for Powerbooks and iPods.
They just set up the 'standby line' and there's been 21 people here for over half an hour. I'm number 22. It's mostly students--know of whom I recognize from any design program--but after me there's a great many professionals and older folks waiting.
This is probably going to be the most boring thing ever written on Archinect...
Except for discussions on fees and Autodesk.
actually it's quite interesting and a refreshing change...
please DO go on...
Arthur Erickson--the architect of Vancouver himself--just walked by!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
I suddenly feel so much more alive...
So I got distracted trying to work on so artwork, but that was too productive, so I started watching the latest episode of 'Lost' but I spotted a friend from the landscape architecture program and chatted with her a bit. Then I helped trouble shoot her friends iPod Nano trouble. Aparently, some Nanos won't recharge on any type of USB 2 port, Mac or PC or 3rd party. Hers is one of them.
It'd be interesting to know why folks are here to see Tadao Ando.
The landscape architecture friend I mentioned is here more because his lecture is going to be in Japanese, than his status as a major architect.
I'm going to stretch a bit... Don't go away johndevlin, you might miss something!!
apropos of nothing, what's it like living in the centre of the known universe???
Hahaha!! The reader comments at the bottom are a frickin' riot!!
Anyway, it's a pretty okay place to live. I've recently moved to the bad part of downtown, so it's only gotten significantly better. I do miss my old view though...
My Powerbook's at 25% and there's still an hour left to wait...
Someone I know who didn't have tickets last night, is suddenly standing in the ticket line with a ticket. I secretly hate her. Well, until she reads this, that is...
Oi!
Well, they've been seating those with tickets for about ten minutes. We've gotta wait another 45 minutes at least...
Yay!
The Chan Centre air
chilled, hygenic, and sharp
my ass is now numb
Sitting silent man
on cold and hard concrete floor
hemroids are painful
driftwood, this is the most interesting thread I've read in awhile!
And your Boklok dyslexia made me laugh. Hope you got in to the lecture...
Sorry for the delay! There was a great deal of turmoil and line shuffling as 7:30pm approached which required me to pack up my temporary emcampment as the line started to shift as people dropped off their extra tickets with the ushers or would, much more controvercially, give their tickets to people at the back or middle of the line whom they recognized or thought stood out from the rest in some way. Those standing outside were more likely to be seen by others and taken pity on for it was a chilly night. It was a dangerous game we were playing in the lobby. Would we make it?
oh the suspense grows
as I await the fate of
the numb-assed driftwood
My god. It's so tedious it's as if it is me waiting in line. Most intriguing thread in months.
At about 20 minutes after 7pm there was only about 10 people left ahead of me. By this time I was entertaining the mother & daughter in front of me and the designer and his friend behind me with a running commentary of the rather motley crew being ushered into the concert hall. An architecture student I know wandered about in front of us a bit, seemingly looking for someone she knew... This was it! Another ticket giver!
We've seen each other before, would I get it!?! Nah... The elderly lady in the neon pink sequence dress and red dye job was more eye catching... "It's like trolling for bass in reverse," I muse. If I knew it was going to work like that, I would have dressed up as the end all-be all of bass lures...
The Chugger Spook!
Seriously. The Chugger Spook is to bass what cocaine is to Kate Moss.
Me: "So are you an architect?"
Him: "No. I'm just a designer."
Me: "Just, a designer?"
Him: *chuckles* "Well, a designer then."
He's a furniture designer and the firm he works for is located pretty close to my place, so I'm going to have to check that out. He was saying they do a lot of the contract work for architects and stuff.
It wasn't long into our conversation though that the tender, virginal threads of our single-serving friendship were put to the ultimate test...
He and his friend were given a pair of tickets from a well-dressed couple. For some reason, I envisioned the designer and his female friend as Sandy and Kirstin in that episode from the second season of 'The O.C.' where they accidently get into a swingers party and decide to stay because they both think the other believes the relationship is getting too boring even though they both don't want to be there.
Parting was such sweet sorrow...
But I was finally alone with the mom and daughter!
It wasn't very long after that, that myself and everyone ahead of me got our own tickets--the rumor about people just grabbing entire stacks of tickets was actually true. I sat in the 1st level mezzanine. It was a bleeder section, but at least I was center stage and not on the 2nd level. And the seats were comfy, too.
The lecture wasn't the most enlightening I've ever been too, in great part because of the halting, back-and-forth nature of interpreting the Japanese into English. I didn't know that Ando was self taught, though. No student loans for him! He was quite entertaining though. He always found something to joke about and had a good time poking at the eccentricities of some of the artists and clients he's worked with. And his dog, Le Corbusier, rocks [and looks a little like a chair that Ando has in his house].
His major theme was the importance of being energetic participants in the world. As [designers] we need to be more passionate about what we're doing and make/maintain connections to society and the environment.
I would have liked to hear him talk more about his design process. And his thoughts on how he engages the places where his buildings are located through design. He touched on it very briefly. If I hadn't been so bloody far away from the mikes, I would have definitely asked him about that.
All-in-all, it was a good night at the lecture! The only regret I have was not having any beer with my quesadillas before getting into the line.
This is driftwood, drifting off...
Driftwood, what do you think about the graduate program in architecture at UBC? I'm applying there for next september as a back-up because it is in my hometown. But when I toured the facilities and talked to the faculty last spring I wasn't that impressed. So I'm really applying because I love Vancouver and am thinking that I want to work there when I am done grad school. I got my undergrad in Toronto.
loved it...
now imagine to stand in line for 3 weeks and the ticket is something that would change your life...
Alana-
I'm not a student in the architecture program so I can't answer your question. You should email the secretary and ask if there are any students you could correspond with.
Oana S.-
I've read your entries about your visa troubles and your situation is truly unfortunate. While I don't want to say 'I know how you feel' because I don't think I do, I'll admit I've faced a great deal of rejection and failure in my own life. If it's any consolation, the strange beauty of life does not come from what should've, could've, or would've happened, but from those little, unexpected things that do.
very nice said.
Driftwood,
I have done that already, but in asking you I was searching for a more informal correspondence.
But thanks.
Oana S.-
Thanks.
Alana-
No worries. Good luck! By the way, one of Archinect's student bloggers is in the UBC architecture program. Have you thought of asking him?
Aw, Oana, honey, your post breaks my heart! I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with your arrangements. More good luck to you.
Great you got in, driftwood! Thanks for this thread.
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