i was just thinking about that $500/month job offer thread...and realized that i spend about $400/month each on my house keeper & my tennis coach. maybe i should hire a recent arch grad for another $500/month to do my work and then i would really have a ridiculous amount of free time for my sumptuous lifestyle!
I saw this just moments ago in the New York Times: I wonder when
someone is going to hire a Real Architect to get the Job Done?
"At a news conference in Chicago, Mr. Obama said that Mr. Daschle, a former Senate majority leader from South Dakota, would also be director of a new White House Office of Health Reform. In that position, he said, Mr. Daschle will be the “lead architect” of proposals to expand coverage and rein in health costs."
we just had our office's 'holiday party' - papa john's pizza, sam's club sushi, gift basket cookies, and martinelli sparkling cider. At least there was no singing. not much holiday cheer around here.
for some unknown reason to me, we're part of a design-build team for a proposal to build part of an US air force base in qatar. There is NO architectural design in this project - just spec buildings from the ACE's style book. but I guess fees are fees and you gotta do what ever to survive.
I posted this query in a news article on why architects talk so much.
Anyway, speaking of talking (ha!): I heard a rumor yesterday that when Mayne presented his graduate thesis it was four blank sheets of paper hung on the wall in front of a jury and he defended it. Anyone know the truth of this rumor?!?
in the proposal that I'm working on, I just wrote that I bring a nationally recognized expertise in carbon neutral landscapes and sustainable infrastructure to the firm.
Does my archinect fame validate this claim? Does my citation in treehugger validate this claim? Does the publication of my essay validate this claim?
you are totally validated in making this claim. In fact, the AIA has asked their members to make a short video message to PE Obama, and I figured in mine I would say "If there is one human in this country that needs to be hired to work on green initiatives for new infrastructure, it's treekiller from Archinect".
If I could figure out how to work the camera in my MacBookPro, I'd do it.
mmmm I wish I had a holdiday luncheon at work...oh, wait, I wish I just had work.
I did make cookies yesterday with the remaining pie dough from Thanksgiving. They turned out ok. And since Abe didn't like the corn puree I made for him (ungrateful wretch) I turned it into a fried cross between ho-cakes and corn puffs. I'm going to try to make Christmas candy and fudge next week. Wish me luck!
I think WonderK's Hardhat has gone up in value...from Free now that
she is moving up in power.....only if she would autograph it and give the proceeds to some poor laid off architect.
what hardhat collection would be complete without WK signed (in special platinum ink) addition?
LB, yeah we have tossed that idea around. it isn't normal. for those willing to accept that kind of situation the chances of finding anyone actually competent is pretty slim.
funnily enough we have been getting e-mails from japanese students at universities here asking us if they could work for us for free as interns, in something called an "open desk" system that is common in japan. which amazes me. if people are coming to us then sejima must have gazillions of such requests...but then i think maybe she and ryue have some idea how to make that system work (both as education for student and for productivity of office). we thought about it but decided we need experience, not just a bum in a seat...
i suppose what we really need is another partner, or close to it. I think we will just take a wait and see attitude and hope we aren't making mistake.
funny that running office is turning out to be not only about design but also about strategy for making office go somewhere. its totally like driving a car in an empty parking lot. which way should we go? i guess the trick is to learn without making too many stupid mistakes (we have made a few i can tell you). and then hope we aren't driving off of cliff. that possibility seems tanatalizingly real lately ;-)
Why Thank You, Dapper. You are at least the second person I have made chuckle today. The unemployment office called, and Abram talked to him the whole time. No, I did not hand him the phone, but I had to pick Abe up to keep him from crying, and then he proceeded to yammer. I'm sure its not the worst communication the poor Unemployment guy has heard.
speaking of architects speaking, my favourite line of all times is, "Architects are like seagulls, they squawk alot and leave shit everywhere"
Also went to watch Pride & Glory with Colin Farrell and Ed Norton. Its not worth going to the cinema to see, and it will likely be on dvd early in the new year. But it was a fairly well written script
Sarah you usually make me giggle with your motherly antics, and how I remember your reticence and caution about being a new mother. I think you are doing just swell.
Jump Odd that no one was jumping at the offer - I would be more than willing to come be a partner in Jump inc. And I'll be happy with a less that 20% share. But don't completely turn away from the student idea, I'm sure many of them are trying to beat the curve when you WILL become the hottest ticket out of Japan/Canada.
btw we've narrowed the list for our 2009 main lecture and the names I selected are all in the top three (one of which is Cameron Sinclair)
Hi guys,
I have been drinking a Montecillo all night and baking. Some friends stopped by for a while.
I made double what i was taking to work tomorrow so i could keep half for me (at home).
i made one cranberry, chocolate pie and a green onion, feta and herb quiche..
I didn't follow a recipe rather i did what i usually do which is to look at 4 or 5 recipes and combine them into one i make..
Tree and WonderK if i had any say i would hire both of you
you know we did take on one pt intern, but won't get into it except to say we got in touch through archinect...which is an interesting confirmation of the purpose of this whole place.
students are great in office. it is a little bit like being a teacher again, and makes me think of pursuing teaching career more seriously. but i think it is also necessary to have staff who can do my job...it is naive i know, but our dream is to have an office of equals all churning out great stuff...but how to make that happen is still a mystery. my partner and i are both wondering how BIG and OMA set their offices up to make such good use of inexperienced but bright young architects. if we could figure it out i think office would be blast to work in.
i have a general question... someone in this here school i'm at sent around an email basically asking undergrads in the first years to help out graduate thesis students on various tasks..[model making and such] apparently this is some sort of tradition that is passed on, the junior students learn and in turn will be helped when their turn comes. now we're getting emails from thesis students asking for help [and apparently miffed that they're not getting much].
i mean, are you serious? is this really a tradition? i've been in 2 other schools in the us and this is the first time i've heard of this. the emails are starting to get a bit funny in tone -amazed at not getting volunteers at this busy point in the semester.
aml, we had no such tradition at my old school. I mean, as seniors we had freshmen mentees, and if they helped us, it was appreciated, but certainly not mandatory. Oddly enough I stayed friends with several of my mentees and helped them out with projects after I graduated :o) But YOU guys are getting the emails? I mean, you're a PhD student, right? That's weird.
I'm currently watching a really depressing show on CNN called "Planet in Peril"...it's informative but it's talking about poor people in Peru who have lead poisoning from a smelting plant. I'm considering turning to Grey's Anatomy (which I don't even like) to cheer myself up.
I got some sad news today. Turns out I have a "classic migraine presentation" and if I want to stop having 36-hour headaches then I should - gasp - avoid red wine! I am going to do some research to see if it's just certain types or what. Very sad day.
Oh I'm going to hang with Cameron at a crit on Monday afternoon at USC. Anyone want me to tell him anything?
wonderK, another thing that can sometimes work is to stay super-hydrated before and during wine consumption. This is because dehydration compounds migraines for most people, so if you take away that factor you may find that you can get away with it sometimes. Sorry to hear you've joined the ranks of migraine sufferers...
Wonder K, tell Cameron I'm going to be giving him a call (how's that). Also I'd suggest getting a second opinion, especially when it comes to removing red wine from your diet. If by chance it is so, I'd say give it up with a bang go on a tour of the vineyards of South America - shoot we could make an archinect trip of it all. And when we get to the southern most tip of the continent we'll bin whatever is left (yea right, we'll drink it all).
aml - nope sorry, the exact opposite - people complain and protest about those that have other students assist with their work
aml, we didn't have that when i was a student, but had hear it used to be common practice. i recall my partner saying he had something like that in his uni, but i may be making that up. here in tokyo the students are expected to help their professors with their work. not sure if that is better or worse. personally i think students should only use others on their projects if they are going to give them credit for it. that would be awesome....
sorry to hear about the red wine WK. i hope diagnosis is wrong.
for me its nuts. one whiff of peanut butter gives me crushing headache. peanut butter and toluene actually. oh and old lady perfume...that's the worstest.
anyway, aren't there red wines that are safe to drink without getting headaches?
sorry about the red wine Wk, but the hidration tactic sounds logic to me- worth a shot.
so guys, this is what i thought- it's a really ridiculous set of emails, because these guys are being told they should expect help, and some of them are acting accordingly. weird. yes, i'm phd but they're sending this out to the whole school [no shame!]. i had never heard of this before- now, it's mindless work, no design: mindless cutting for models and the like. but still.
thanks tc! can always count on you for these odd questions. hope everyone is doing well!
There are, apparently, many theories about what causes people to have migraines with more frequency after consuming red wine. My favorite thus far is that American red wine gives you headaches and French red wine does not. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I will see if this is true when I go home for the holidays. Along with staying hydrated and taking it easy, of course. All I know is that two of my most "memorable" headaches in the last year have both come after red wine consumption. The worst was Thanksgiving 2007 - I had 2 1/2 glasses and got sick before we even went home. I don't know that I've ever felt so bad in my life. This past weekend was more tolerable but I couldn't kick it like I can my "regular" headaches.
Anyway....headaches suck! I am, however, thankful to be in good health 90% of the time.
jump, does that mean you are allergic to peanuts? That's so dangerous. I am also thankful I am not allergic to peanut butter....
i don't know if i am allergic WK. i dinT used to be, but one whiff and i get a headache. somehow my body has decided it doesn't like them anymore.
i think it comes from my days as a sign painter in a travelling circus (yes i did do that). we painted all those signs that say 5$ for 5 balls and cetera by hand. was a great job traveling across canada and i got to see the calgary stampede from the inside as a culmination of the tour, which was awesome. BUT the fumes from that paint, set up in the back of a barely ventilated semi-trailer made me woozy at end of day...my theory (and this is just made up completely) is that i developed an intolerance for certain chemicals as a result of that job, and somehow peanuts got added to the list....or maybe the peanut thing is pure random. either way they give me a headache when i smell them.
but i can drink red wine. which is so marvelous. no peanuts butter i can handle, but no red wine would suck entirely.
aml, maybe you should write to the masters students that they are required to help you with your fieldwork and literature review. see if they think THAT is fair.
aml, at my Western state school 20 years ago that was the norm - so much so that the first year students' final crits were a week earlier than thesis presentations so they could spend the last week helping the upperclassmen. I built an entire site model for a guy, then I had three kids who did all my model and drawing assembly.
And honestly, it was a really great learning experience, simply seeing how a 5th year built things and their thought process for a presentation was valuable.
i always thought that OMA worked on a kind of editor with a thousand monkeys typing model. that is, rem as chief editor chooses what gets published & built while numerous, ambitious youngsters churn out work in a non-stop fashion. i doubt that it's efficient at all and there's probably 5 pieces of total schlock for everyone good idea/design that emerges. it would be interesting to dig through their trash can.
of course, rem probably has this down to a numbers game, i.e., he's been at it long enough to understand that for, for example, 10 interns working 80 hours in a week will turn out on average 3 mind-blowing ideas. from there, he can figure out how much he needs to pay them to keep this afloat ($1000/month?) of course, architects are more intelligent than monkeys at typewriter and if he can get the more talented youngsters from the good schools this increases efficiency which translates to $$ into pocket.
as for the thom mayne 4 blank page thesis, i had never heard of that...but it sounds similar to my own minimal thesis presentation. of course, my defense of it probably wasn't as good as mayne.
we had it too, aml. i had some great helpers for my thesis in '91. i don't know if it's still around many places but, yes, indeed, it was 'tradition' in some schools.
So I was just listening to Thom Mayne's TED Talk as I cleaned up my desk, and he said (comparing himself to a dance performance) that he works "in the mineral world", with essentially inert materials. Which is true, we architects work with matter. Yet, I think of my own work using minerals but treating them as if they are animal/vegetable. I think of everything as having a living soul.
Not to criticize Mayne, I'm way into him these days. Just playing with words.
i helped some 5th year students when i was in 3rd because they were doing cool work, and they were cool people, but this profession is filled with "tradition" and some of it should just die.
hey if damien hirst, jeff koons, andy warhol, titian and rembrandt could have understudies and hired hands doing their work, why can't an architecture grad student. the thesis is about the idea, not the technical representation of that idea.
Dubbers, I get headaches after one drink of any alchohol now, if I dont drink about 4 times the amount of water with it. I contribute this to my current situation, and its need for more water than I needed 19 months ago. The worst head-ache I ever got from wine was when I had to drink an entire cask of chianti for an Italian II skit. I wonder if the prof. noticed as I peformed my piece that my head was pounding....
I didn't do thesis, it wasn't required, but even I had people helping me on my final BIG project. They were mostly friends switched theyre major from Arch. to Arch Studies - its like a business major. Honestly, their work wasnt so great, but I guess beggers can't be chosers.
How's this for completely random, but crazy awesome....
I broke the glass lid to my 2 ga. flour jar the other day, and tracked down the manufacturer. I left them a message, and not only did they call me back, they also are going to replace the lid for free! They don't sell their pieces seperately, or direct to the consumer, but I guess they were just feeling extra Christmas-y. Yippy!!!
Wonder K - if the last time you had a headache was from 2.5 glasses of wine, I would suggest having more, significantly more if you can stomache it with a bit of hydration in between. And bit of cheese on the side.
My fucking shoulder has been hurting for a couple days now... Wasn't the surgery and the six months of physical therapy supposed to make the pain stop? If I remember correctly, that was sort of the point of that whole miserable experience.
Techno, are you trying to kill me?!? Sarah, yeah, I just need to drink lots and lots of water and hopefully that will ward off any future events.
Something is slow about my computer this morning. Fortunately I am preparing to send it to the computer doctor, but it is truly nerve-wracking putting my computer in a box and hoping for the best....
dubk, or stop drinking crappy red wine? remember MD20/20 is bad for ya. ;]
so, i am taking LB's telephone therapy and i am sitting at my local coffee shop - setting up shop - been doing it for 2 weeks now. i am creating what i think is my new sketch book - drawing in and over top of my issues of W and Times fashion magazines, coming up with "ideas" for furniture and light fixtures. thinking small scale, in order to think large scale. i am thinking about designing an addition to my home, well thinking in SU form. i have come to this realization that i don't care that it's a 1927 craftsman, really not much detailing to salvage in it, pretty much a bare bones craftsman. the idea is starting to take shape; a cutting and suturing of craftsman typologies, responding to neighborhood and site conditions. trying to utilize principals of craftsman technology and craftsmanship in a new context...
Beta, that sounds intriguing. If you do it, you will have to chronicle it here, like Steven did.
I got more good news today. The Sitter is going back to work, and loves Abram so much, that she gave me first choice to bring him back. So, come monday, he's going across the street, and I'm makng Christmas Candy, and writing Christmas Cards. I promise to get started on my portfolio as soon as the seasonal stuff is taken care of. Yippy!!! I love having a nanny. Makes me feel rich, and privelidged. *sticks nose haughtily into the air
Sarah,
That is awesome awful nice of them.
Beta, Jeff Buckely and sketchbooking sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon. I used to do this alot on my weekend spend a Sat or Sun late morning at a local bakery, doodling drinking coffee etc.
However, lately my weekends have bene busy and filled so i haven't been able to over the last few months.
This weekend should be the last one busy one for awhile. So hopefully i can get back into this routine...
What's is LB telephone therapy? Did you just get off the phone talking to her?
I need to call her someday. It seems like everyone on TC has spoke to her before except me..
nam, my number is on my profile, so people do in fact call me! But if your number is blocked I won't answer - never do.
Sarah, good news about babysitting. Can you tell us the name of your canister manufacturer? It makes me so, so happy when a company goes above and beyond in customer service, and I'd like to know their name so I can frequent them. I need new flour/sugar canisters anyway as my Ikea set has become a mess - half the lids are gone, etc.
beta, I love the sketching idea, combining fashion/body with more architectural stuff. Great idea! Maybe we need to start a thread on "how I'm spending my time while unemployed", with lots and lots of pictures!
I'd be very interested to see what people are doing in their interim times. Plus, maybe it'd make them feel like they actually should be doing something? I'm sure there's a great temptation to slack. That's not an indictment on you guys, I'm sure I'd have a great temptation to slack!
Totally unrelated, but holy man-drama, TC. If any of the TC ladies want to take a crack at this one, email away, because I'm fucking stumped.
nam, even though LB and i are the same age, she's like the Mother Superior; sage in her wisdomatically responsiveness, and rapier like wit, with an ability to crack the ruler across the knuckles of the eager, young men on the nect.
And: I'm getting a massage this afternoon! This is both wildly self-indulgent of me and simultaneously shows how non-self indulgent I actually am: my friend gave me a gift certificate for a massage LAST Christmas, and it expires in 7 days - I finally had to force myself to take the time off to go and do it!
Thread Central
i was just thinking about that $500/month job offer thread...and realized that i spend about $400/month each on my house keeper & my tennis coach. maybe i should hire a recent arch grad for another $500/month to do my work and then i would really have a ridiculous amount of free time for my sumptuous lifestyle!
I saw this just moments ago in the New York Times: I wonder when
someone is going to hire a Real Architect to get the Job Done?
"At a news conference in Chicago, Mr. Obama said that Mr. Daschle, a former Senate majority leader from South Dakota, would also be director of a new White House Office of Health Reform. In that position, he said, Mr. Daschle will be the “lead architect” of proposals to expand coverage and rein in health costs."
New York Times
12-11-08
we just had our office's 'holiday party' - papa john's pizza, sam's club sushi, gift basket cookies, and martinelli sparkling cider. At least there was no singing. not much holiday cheer around here.
for some unknown reason to me, we're part of a design-build team for a proposal to build part of an US air force base in qatar. There is NO architectural design in this project - just spec buildings from the ACE's style book. but I guess fees are fees and you gotta do what ever to survive.
I am alive. I am also in the midst of my own "transition of power" to our new grad student leader. Time to change my signature!
I posted this query in a news article on why architects talk so much.
Anyway, speaking of talking (ha!): I heard a rumor yesterday that when Mayne presented his graduate thesis it was four blank sheets of paper hung on the wall in front of a jury and he defended it. Anyone know the truth of this rumor?!?
Orhan, you must have some poop on this...
in the proposal that I'm working on, I just wrote that I bring a nationally recognized expertise in carbon neutral landscapes and sustainable infrastructure to the firm.
Does my archinect fame validate this claim? Does my citation in treehugger validate this claim? Does the publication of my essay validate this claim?
you are totally validated in making this claim. In fact, the AIA has asked their members to make a short video message to PE Obama, and I figured in mine I would say "If there is one human in this country that needs to be hired to work on green initiatives for new infrastructure, it's treekiller from Archinect".
If I could figure out how to work the camera in my MacBookPro, I'd do it.
Tree,
Yes...
LB and Orhan. Hmm sounds like an urban legend but hilarious if true...
I will be baking tonight for a holiday luncheon tommorow at work..
mmmm I wish I had a holdiday luncheon at work...oh, wait, I wish I just had work.
I did make cookies yesterday with the remaining pie dough from Thanksgiving. They turned out ok. And since Abe didn't like the corn puree I made for him (ungrateful wretch) I turned it into a fried cross between ho-cakes and corn puffs. I'm going to try to make Christmas candy and fudge next week. Wish me luck!
I think WonderK's Hardhat has gone up in value...from Free now that
she is moving up in power.....only if she would autograph it and give the proceeds to some poor laid off architect.
beta- what was the tool thread you started last year? I recall this being discussed there...
lb don't forget me! You should say "treekiller and his sapling friend WonderK"....
If somebody actually wants to buy my hardhat with an autograph on it, well, I would put that money to good use, I promise.
what hardhat collection would be complete without WK signed (in special platinum ink) addition?
LB, yeah we have tossed that idea around. it isn't normal. for those willing to accept that kind of situation the chances of finding anyone actually competent is pretty slim.
funnily enough we have been getting e-mails from japanese students at universities here asking us if they could work for us for free as interns, in something called an "open desk" system that is common in japan. which amazes me. if people are coming to us then sejima must have gazillions of such requests...but then i think maybe she and ryue have some idea how to make that system work (both as education for student and for productivity of office). we thought about it but decided we need experience, not just a bum in a seat...
i suppose what we really need is another partner, or close to it. I think we will just take a wait and see attitude and hope we aren't making mistake.
funny that running office is turning out to be not only about design but also about strategy for making office go somewhere. its totally like driving a car in an empty parking lot. which way should we go? i guess the trick is to learn without making too many stupid mistakes (we have made a few i can tell you). and then hope we aren't driving off of cliff. that possibility seems tanatalizingly real lately ;-)
Sarah, you are by far the most entertaining new mother I have semi-met.
And I'm disoriented from just finding out that Barry L. is treekiller. Congrast to you both!
I've been outed!!!! it's not like we ever appear in the same place at the same time.
Why Thank You, Dapper. You are at least the second person I have made chuckle today. The unemployment office called, and Abram talked to him the whole time. No, I did not hand him the phone, but I had to pick Abe up to keep him from crying, and then he proceeded to yammer. I'm sure its not the worst communication the poor Unemployment guy has heard.
speaking of architects speaking, my favourite line of all times is, "Architects are like seagulls, they squawk alot and leave shit everywhere"
Also went to watch Pride & Glory with Colin Farrell and Ed Norton. Its not worth going to the cinema to see, and it will likely be on dvd early in the new year. But it was a fairly well written script
Sarah you usually make me giggle with your motherly antics, and how I remember your reticence and caution about being a new mother. I think you are doing just swell.
Jump Odd that no one was jumping at the offer - I would be more than willing to come be a partner in Jump inc. And I'll be happy with a less that 20% share. But don't completely turn away from the student idea, I'm sure many of them are trying to beat the curve when you WILL become the hottest ticket out of Japan/Canada.
btw we've narrowed the list for our 2009 main lecture and the names I selected are all in the top three (one of which is Cameron Sinclair)
Cameron!!!
Hi guys,
I have been drinking a Montecillo all night and baking. Some friends stopped by for a while.
I made double what i was taking to work tomorrow so i could keep half for me (at home).
i made one cranberry, chocolate pie and a green onion, feta and herb quiche..
I didn't follow a recipe rather i did what i usually do which is to look at 4 or 5 recipes and combine them into one i make..
Tree and WonderK if i had any say i would hire both of you
Hope you all have a god night..
thanks archi,
you know we did take on one pt intern, but won't get into it except to say we got in touch through archinect...which is an interesting confirmation of the purpose of this whole place.
students are great in office. it is a little bit like being a teacher again, and makes me think of pursuing teaching career more seriously. but i think it is also necessary to have staff who can do my job...it is naive i know, but our dream is to have an office of equals all churning out great stuff...but how to make that happen is still a mystery. my partner and i are both wondering how BIG and OMA set their offices up to make such good use of inexperienced but bright young architects. if we could figure it out i think office would be blast to work in.
maybe someday....
hello tc,
i have a general question... someone in this here school i'm at sent around an email basically asking undergrads in the first years to help out graduate thesis students on various tasks..[model making and such] apparently this is some sort of tradition that is passed on, the junior students learn and in turn will be helped when their turn comes. now we're getting emails from thesis students asking for help [and apparently miffed that they're not getting much].
i mean, are you serious? is this really a tradition? i've been in 2 other schools in the us and this is the first time i've heard of this. the emails are starting to get a bit funny in tone -amazed at not getting volunteers at this busy point in the semester.
[ps. sorry for interrupting the conversation]
aml, we had no such tradition at my old school. I mean, as seniors we had freshmen mentees, and if they helped us, it was appreciated, but certainly not mandatory. Oddly enough I stayed friends with several of my mentees and helped them out with projects after I graduated :o) But YOU guys are getting the emails? I mean, you're a PhD student, right? That's weird.
I'm currently watching a really depressing show on CNN called "Planet in Peril"...it's informative but it's talking about poor people in Peru who have lead poisoning from a smelting plant. I'm considering turning to Grey's Anatomy (which I don't even like) to cheer myself up.
I got some sad news today. Turns out I have a "classic migraine presentation" and if I want to stop having 36-hour headaches then I should - gasp - avoid red wine! I am going to do some research to see if it's just certain types or what. Very sad day.
Oh I'm going to hang with Cameron at a crit on Monday afternoon at USC. Anyone want me to tell him anything?
wonderK, another thing that can sometimes work is to stay super-hydrated before and during wine consumption. This is because dehydration compounds migraines for most people, so if you take away that factor you may find that you can get away with it sometimes. Sorry to hear you've joined the ranks of migraine sufferers...
Wonder K, tell Cameron I'm going to be giving him a call (how's that). Also I'd suggest getting a second opinion, especially when it comes to removing red wine from your diet. If by chance it is so, I'd say give it up with a bang go on a tour of the vineyards of South America - shoot we could make an archinect trip of it all. And when we get to the southern most tip of the continent we'll bin whatever is left (yea right, we'll drink it all).
aml - nope sorry, the exact opposite - people complain and protest about those that have other students assist with their work
aml, we didn't have that when i was a student, but had hear it used to be common practice. i recall my partner saying he had something like that in his uni, but i may be making that up. here in tokyo the students are expected to help their professors with their work. not sure if that is better or worse. personally i think students should only use others on their projects if they are going to give them credit for it. that would be awesome....
sorry to hear about the red wine WK. i hope diagnosis is wrong.
for me its nuts. one whiff of peanut butter gives me crushing headache. peanut butter and toluene actually. oh and old lady perfume...that's the worstest.
anyway, aren't there red wines that are safe to drink without getting headaches?
sorry about the red wine Wk, but the hidration tactic sounds logic to me- worth a shot.
so guys, this is what i thought- it's a really ridiculous set of emails, because these guys are being told they should expect help, and some of them are acting accordingly. weird. yes, i'm phd but they're sending this out to the whole school [no shame!]. i had never heard of this before- now, it's mindless work, no design: mindless cutting for models and the like. but still.
thanks tc! can always count on you for these odd questions. hope everyone is doing well!
There are, apparently, many theories about what causes people to have migraines with more frequency after consuming red wine. My favorite thus far is that American red wine gives you headaches and French red wine does not. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I will see if this is true when I go home for the holidays. Along with staying hydrated and taking it easy, of course. All I know is that two of my most "memorable" headaches in the last year have both come after red wine consumption. The worst was Thanksgiving 2007 - I had 2 1/2 glasses and got sick before we even went home. I don't know that I've ever felt so bad in my life. This past weekend was more tolerable but I couldn't kick it like I can my "regular" headaches.
Anyway....headaches suck! I am, however, thankful to be in good health 90% of the time.
jump, does that mean you are allergic to peanuts? That's so dangerous. I am also thankful I am not allergic to peanut butter....
i don't know if i am allergic WK. i dinT used to be, but one whiff and i get a headache. somehow my body has decided it doesn't like them anymore.
i think it comes from my days as a sign painter in a travelling circus (yes i did do that). we painted all those signs that say 5$ for 5 balls and cetera by hand. was a great job traveling across canada and i got to see the calgary stampede from the inside as a culmination of the tour, which was awesome. BUT the fumes from that paint, set up in the back of a barely ventilated semi-trailer made me woozy at end of day...my theory (and this is just made up completely) is that i developed an intolerance for certain chemicals as a result of that job, and somehow peanuts got added to the list....or maybe the peanut thing is pure random. either way they give me a headache when i smell them.
but i can drink red wine. which is so marvelous. no peanuts butter i can handle, but no red wine would suck entirely.
aml, maybe you should write to the masters students that they are required to help you with your fieldwork and literature review. see if they think THAT is fair.
aml, at my Western state school 20 years ago that was the norm - so much so that the first year students' final crits were a week earlier than thesis presentations so they could spend the last week helping the upperclassmen. I built an entire site model for a guy, then I had three kids who did all my model and drawing assembly.
And honestly, it was a really great learning experience, simply seeing how a 5th year built things and their thought process for a presentation was valuable.
i always thought that OMA worked on a kind of editor with a thousand monkeys typing model. that is, rem as chief editor chooses what gets published & built while numerous, ambitious youngsters churn out work in a non-stop fashion. i doubt that it's efficient at all and there's probably 5 pieces of total schlock for everyone good idea/design that emerges. it would be interesting to dig through their trash can.
of course, rem probably has this down to a numbers game, i.e., he's been at it long enough to understand that for, for example, 10 interns working 80 hours in a week will turn out on average 3 mind-blowing ideas. from there, he can figure out how much he needs to pay them to keep this afloat ($1000/month?) of course, architects are more intelligent than monkeys at typewriter and if he can get the more talented youngsters from the good schools this increases efficiency which translates to $$ into pocket.
as for the thom mayne 4 blank page thesis, i had never heard of that...but it sounds similar to my own minimal thesis presentation. of course, my defense of it probably wasn't as good as mayne.
...and, yeah, i'm still alive
Liberty, I think those older guy students just wanted to hang with you.
Actually I got lucky and had the three cutest boy students helping ME!
we had it too, aml. i had some great helpers for my thesis in '91. i don't know if it's still around many places but, yes, indeed, it was 'tradition' in some schools.
So I was just listening to Thom Mayne's TED Talk as I cleaned up my desk, and he said (comparing himself to a dance performance) that he works "in the mineral world", with essentially inert materials. Which is true, we architects work with matter. Yet, I think of my own work using minerals but treating them as if they are animal/vegetable. I think of everything as having a living soul.
Not to criticize Mayne, I'm way into him these days. Just playing with words.
i helped some 5th year students when i was in 3rd because they were doing cool work, and they were cool people, but this profession is filled with "tradition" and some of it should just die.
hey if damien hirst, jeff koons, andy warhol, titian and rembrandt could have understudies and hired hands doing their work, why can't an architecture grad student. the thesis is about the idea, not the technical representation of that idea.
Dubbers, I get headaches after one drink of any alchohol now, if I dont drink about 4 times the amount of water with it. I contribute this to my current situation, and its need for more water than I needed 19 months ago. The worst head-ache I ever got from wine was when I had to drink an entire cask of chianti for an Italian II skit. I wonder if the prof. noticed as I peformed my piece that my head was pounding....
I didn't do thesis, it wasn't required, but even I had people helping me on my final BIG project. They were mostly friends switched theyre major from Arch. to Arch Studies - its like a business major. Honestly, their work wasnt so great, but I guess beggers can't be chosers.
How's this for completely random, but crazy awesome....
I broke the glass lid to my 2 ga. flour jar the other day, and tracked down the manufacturer. I left them a message, and not only did they call me back, they also are going to replace the lid for free! They don't sell their pieces seperately, or direct to the consumer, but I guess they were just feeling extra Christmas-y. Yippy!!!
Wonder K - if the last time you had a headache was from 2.5 glasses of wine, I would suggest having more, significantly more if you can stomache it with a bit of hydration in between. And bit of cheese on the side.
My fucking shoulder has been hurting for a couple days now... Wasn't the surgery and the six months of physical therapy supposed to make the pain stop? If I remember correctly, that was sort of the point of that whole miserable experience.
Techno, are you trying to kill me?!? Sarah, yeah, I just need to drink lots and lots of water and hopefully that will ward off any future events.
Something is slow about my computer this morning. Fortunately I am preparing to send it to the computer doctor, but it is truly nerve-wracking putting my computer in a box and hoping for the best....
dubk, or stop drinking crappy red wine? remember MD20/20 is bad for ya. ;]
so, i am taking LB's telephone therapy and i am sitting at my local coffee shop - setting up shop - been doing it for 2 weeks now. i am creating what i think is my new sketch book - drawing in and over top of my issues of W and Times fashion magazines, coming up with "ideas" for furniture and light fixtures. thinking small scale, in order to think large scale. i am thinking about designing an addition to my home, well thinking in SU form. i have come to this realization that i don't care that it's a 1927 craftsman, really not much detailing to salvage in it, pretty much a bare bones craftsman. the idea is starting to take shape; a cutting and suturing of craftsman typologies, responding to neighborhood and site conditions. trying to utilize principals of craftsman technology and craftsmanship in a new context...
oh yeah, and i am listening to Jeff Buckley.
Beta, that sounds intriguing. If you do it, you will have to chronicle it here, like Steven did.
I got more good news today. The Sitter is going back to work, and loves Abram so much, that she gave me first choice to bring him back. So, come monday, he's going across the street, and I'm makng Christmas Candy, and writing Christmas Cards. I promise to get started on my portfolio as soon as the seasonal stuff is taken care of. Yippy!!! I love having a nanny. Makes me feel rich, and privelidged. *sticks nose haughtily into the air
Sarah,
That is awesome awful nice of them.
Beta, Jeff Buckely and sketchbooking sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon. I used to do this alot on my weekend spend a Sat or Sun late morning at a local bakery, doodling drinking coffee etc.
However, lately my weekends have bene busy and filled so i haven't been able to over the last few months.
This weekend should be the last one busy one for awhile. So hopefully i can get back into this routine...
What's is LB telephone therapy? Did you just get off the phone talking to her?
I need to call her someday. It seems like everyone on TC has spoke to her before except me..
nam, my number is on my profile, so people do in fact call me! But if your number is blocked I won't answer - never do.
Sarah, good news about babysitting. Can you tell us the name of your canister manufacturer? It makes me so, so happy when a company goes above and beyond in customer service, and I'd like to know their name so I can frequent them. I need new flour/sugar canisters anyway as my Ikea set has become a mess - half the lids are gone, etc.
beta, I love the sketching idea, combining fashion/body with more architectural stuff. Great idea! Maybe we need to start a thread on "how I'm spending my time while unemployed", with lots and lots of pictures!
I'd be very interested to see what people are doing in their interim times. Plus, maybe it'd make them feel like they actually should be doing something? I'm sure there's a great temptation to slack. That's not an indictment on you guys, I'm sure I'd have a great temptation to slack!
Totally unrelated, but holy man-drama, TC. If any of the TC ladies want to take a crack at this one, email away, because I'm fucking stumped.
nam, even though LB and i are the same age, she's like the Mother Superior; sage in her wisdomatically responsiveness, and rapier like wit, with an ability to crack the ruler across the knuckles of the eager, young men on the nect.
And: I'm getting a massage this afternoon! This is both wildly self-indulgent of me and simultaneously shows how non-self indulgent I actually am: my friend gave me a gift certificate for a massage LAST Christmas, and it expires in 7 days - I finally had to force myself to take the time off to go and do it!
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