I am starting a new thread that is about other threads. You can talk about other discussions taking a place in Archinect and make cross references to a particular link, picture, response and whatever else you deem necessary or entertaining or thought provoking about the other thread. thus the name: Thread Central
here are some examples of comments that comes to mind:
* hey did you read on --------- thread ------- thinks frank gehry is good. hahahaharhar..
or,
*i can't believe he said that. how stupid of him. asshole.on top of it he is got hundreds of posts. gimme a break.
or,
* this is the best thread.. fuck the others..
or,
*****Thread Alert******
read the -----thread yet??? there is a dog fight going on between ----- and-----.it is about gondolas and pollution in Venice..see you there.
or,
* yeaah, i don't read that thread either. its kind a boring.
or,
*i am thinking about starting a discussion about ------------- ---- ---- will you guys in Thread Central post in it and say wow it a great thread?. it was about time 'somebody' (insert my name please) picked up on it.. and discuss it?
like whatever..
SuperWonder
Nov 3, 06 1:48 am
Whoa!
Ms Beary
Nov 3, 06 8:35 am
Good news! I took a day off yesterday to complete the tabulation of my IDP, and guess what?! I'm done!
Bad news, ms know-it-all 22 year old intern called me at home (on my vacation day) to whine about something and wanted to have one of her manipulative, twisted conversations over the phone where everything is my fault and things are so screwed up in the drawings that her great genius can't figure it out, and she can't find whole files and lines are missing and stuff is wrong. I had to talk her through opening and panning around in files I hadn't been in for 3 weeks, from my living room. Did her CAD issues warrant a 1/2 hour phone call on my day off? I told her I couldn't believe we were having this conversation. I'm going to get it today!
Anyways, good news again, I knew something would come along that would piss me off enough to get my IDP over and done with. Thanks girl!
WonderK
Nov 3, 06 8:51 am
Strawbeary, I figured out last month that I am basically done too. As soon as I figured it out, it scared the crap out of me and I stopped counting. Haven't picked it back up since.
Also, SuperWonder is back! And I still don't know who they are! It's driving me bonkers.
BTW, in case you missed it, Orhan used the phrase "suck vine from one of her many breasts" above. You should check it out.
treekiller
Nov 3, 06 9:02 am
At the library yesterday (yes, I actually moved away from my computer for a bit), I spied a book 'the history of the breast'. hmmmm
congrats on wrapping up the IDP jungle Strawbeary and WonderK- wish I was in your shoes... nother year and a half of logging time making cds [sigh]. at least I can be taking the LARE whenever I want to.
Ahhh the sounds of the aegean lapping up agains rusted fishing boats. you deserve the break orhan- safe travels!
Steven Ward
Nov 3, 06 9:09 am
although he/she has a wonderful username, noctilucent seems to have joined us in order to poke a finger in a lot of eyes. not that i mind someone stirring things up, but i'm waiting for some positive input that measures up to the beauty of the night skies that look like bad paintings.
I was thinking 'bout starting a 'favorite professor' thread to be a trip down memory lane and to help those kids still in school or applying- is this worth it?
liberty bell
Nov 3, 06 10:45 am
tk I just wrote about an old professor on the liberty bell thread - perhaps you saw it - I think that's an excellent idea.
brian buchalski
Nov 3, 06 11:44 am
i'm still alive
Erin Williams
Nov 3, 06 11:44 am
Congrats, Strawbeary. I'm dissappointed to hear that the know-it-all is basically my age. I hope that's not how people see me!
I'm headed up to NorCal shortly for a weekend of football viewing and good BBQ. Talk to y'all on Monday, when I'm back to the grind.
BTW, scheduled this vacation a month ago, and had to remind my boss three times that he signed the form. Then promise that if the guy doing renderings for my project didn't have a beautiful image for me first thing monday, that I would take it over myself, while boss had this tone in his voice like it was my fault if he didn't.... What, am I really supposed to supervise someone 15 years older than me, by long distance no less???? That's dog won't hunt.
e
Nov 3, 06 12:52 pm
i'm almost 40 and i still don't know anything.
e
Nov 3, 06 12:53 pm
oh, and congrats ladies on your hard IDP work.
Ms Beary
Nov 3, 06 2:39 pm
So, I get in this morning and am asked to pick up the slack on all this annoying line, hatch, annotation and x-ref crap, because somebody couldn't figure it out. WHATEVER! Couldn't figure it out or didn't want to do it so whined about it? All this while she gets to do schematic design on a cool new project. It didn't work that way when I was an intern...
AP
Nov 3, 06 2:41 pm
Straw, leave now and go somewhere that you'll be appreciated.
liberty bell
Nov 3, 06 2:46 pm
Strawbeary, tell the higher ups that it will benefit the office AND the whiny intern for you to not do the repair work yourself but rather teach the whiny intern how to do it. I know you don't relish the thought of more face time with her, but at least then maybe YOU can work on the schematic design while she - under your tutelage - learns the grunt skills that she really DOES NEED TO KNOW!
strlt_typ
Nov 3, 06 3:09 pm
strawbeary,
stay tough and don't give up even if it's difficult at times...like what liberty bell has suggested push that intern to correct the mistakes...it will be beneficial for both of you...you will teaching that intern about being thorough and responsible...if the intern flips out then stay mature...
vado retro
Nov 3, 06 4:50 pm
damn area of refuge...
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 3, 06 5:05 pm
strawberry,
if you see a good job opening somewhere nearby take it.
this junior you have in the office is taking over your mind and sucking your energy. and if thats not enough, manegement is giving her more slack than to you.
but, before you make your move, talk to your boss about where you want to be in the firm and ask them point blank where day see in the firm.
i know it is easier said than done, but this must be done somehow.
do not try to talk to jr., it would just give her even more power to abuse you further.
FRO
Nov 3, 06 5:24 pm
am I the only one vaguely reminded of Mavis and the pastries right now? No offence intended, it just seemed oddly familiar...
Ms Beary
Nov 3, 06 7:17 pm
Here is my situation. The place I work at has never made a dime for the last 8 years, until this year. The old principal was a trust fund baby architect that did lots of high-end, revolutionary, exciting projects. This is the firm I thought I got hired into.
We are the branch office of a truly wonderful, very successful nationwide firm that has been floating us financially and was ready to cut us off lat summer when they fired the principal and hired a new one to take over and see if he can make it work. The new principal is a great architect, but this is his first time running the show, so we are experiencing some growing pains and management overlooks. We are also taking crappy jobs from crappy clients for crappy fees and are all a little stressed out.
Other than that, I love my job. I like the location, the people, my salary, the responsibilites, the perks, the atmosphere, and the parent/sister companies. I especially like the future, where we will be a full service firm, tackling all things that design and construction encompasses, including developing projects and being our own clients. I believe (perhaps naively) that this will happen.
I am not about to leave. There is so much potential and I believe in the person running the show here.
Thanks for all your understanding, archinect, where would i be without you. Anyways, I wrote an e-mail to the PM with my frustrations. Here is our conversation, names have been changed, W is know it all, K is the principal:
I wrote: Between you and me, I don't believe W "couldn't figure out" how to fix these drawings as she claims. Is that why I'm stuck fixing them? I thought she was handling elevations anyways. Frankly, while she is quick to make a scene of anyone else's errors, she doesn't seem to notice the errors that are caused by her, not to mention things that are shown incorrectly and poor design. For instance, there are window blocks on 5-6 different layers half of them won't show up when x-reffed, there are overlapping guardrails, the downspouts are wrong, the "shoulder" course doesn't have cap flashing (yes, it is labeled the "shoulder" course), there is hatch missing in several spots, there is incorrect hatches, the floor to floor is incorrect, there are dozens of corrupt layers and large files (the ones with dollar signs are errors), the door knobs look retarded on the elevations (leave em off, or at least draw them as the lever type), stairs 2, 4 and especailly 3 were not drawn correctly, there is hatch on some of the windows, the catwalks are shown incorreclty and out of scale, the eaves are drawn incorrectly, the roof patio wall is drawn incorrectly, some window heights in the brick don't course out, the rowlocks are drawn in elevation as if they are tipped down about 80 degrees from horizontal, the elevations and the wall sections haven't been coordinated in general, each showing something different, the grade lines are incorrect, there is a random line/hatch floating here and there and everywhere, there are window frames drawn with 4" frames on one side only for whatever reason, the glass doors are shown solid with that cute little round doorknob, some stair/elev towers are shown as brick, some as concrete, some as precast, there are shingles drawn in section on the elevations (?), there is a berm drawn on one side of Building 1 but not on the adjacent side. Bored yet? Me too. I could go on and on. I have tried to no avail to bring up some of these issues with W, but she insists she can do no wrong and argues with me about EVERYTHING!
Anyways, when I was an intern, if one of my drawings didn't look right, or if it wasn't complete, I had to fix it. If I "couldn't figure it out", I figured it out anyways. I didn't complain and whine and manipulate to get someone 5 years my senior to: adjust text, freeze and unfreeze layers, repath x-refs, spell check, realign leaders, redo hatches, etc as I spent the morning doing for her. I especially wouldn't call someone at home with CAD problems and accuse them of sabotaging drawings like W did to me yesterday. I don't know what we have against redlines, I know it sucks to pick up redlines but it also makes a good product and that's why firms do it.
Guess I needed to blow off some steam. Happens a lot lately. I'm going to lunch. I've sent the drawing to the plotter, hope you like plots in color. That's one thing I didn't fix. :)
The PM's response: It was my understanding that you were the last person to fiddle with the composite elevations. At some point you were saying that the composites were not necessary for what we were trying to convey. I’ve always thought the composites were necessary to show the full intent of the project. This is why you were called yesterday to find out what had happened to the drawings that were set up long ago. I asked her to call you on the unscheduled day off to try to identify what could be done the quickest.
Though the composites may not make sense to show in the CD set they still need to be shown in the DRC submittal.
When I got back on the project Tuesday, I was told that everything was set to print on the DRC submittal. After looking at it quickly, there were many things that needed to be fixed. We approached this as a team. W fixed a number of items on the floor plans. I felt it was easier for you to backtrack through the modifications that you made to the parking garage rather than have W go through and relearn something that you know first hand. Nobody is accusing you of sabotage.
Had you been available yesterday, I would have asked you to do the same thing OR to help direct W on how to proceed.
If you have questions about the hierarchy in the office please talk to the boss.
Thanks, I hope to see you later.
My response: It was not an unscheduled day off, I cleared the half day with K, and it turned into a full day - I called to let you know. I took the day off for professional development only because I thought it was going to be a slow day anyways, I didn't just pick a day to not show up. I too, was unaware that the DRC sheets were not coolio as is. I also have not worked on the DRC submittal package, ever, this has been W's thing from the getgo. What I did to the drawings were hardly confusing, I simply abandonded the Garage Elevations file and copied this geometry into the elevations sheet to simplify things. It does not make sense to have a separate file for this little bit of linework and the polylines for the grade, I think someone went a little x-ref happy in the first place, starting the confusion ball rolling. I explained this all to W on the phone and asked her look in this file when she called. She refused to admit that the linework was in there, and ignored the instructions I gave to either copy the lines or repath the x-ref and instead berated me and accused me of sabotaging her work then hung up. I don't mind getting phone calls, I'm part of the team, but calls of that nature are unacceptable to me and show disrespect. I was also not aware that we had yet another DRC submittal late this week, maybe the project manager should have told me. This morning at 10:30 was the first I heard of this, had I known, I don't think I would have considered yesterday a "slow day" and would certainly have made myself available to make a contribution.
The composite elevations are fine in the CD set by the way, after I simplified these sheets to show the 4 NSEW composite elevations, and deleted the remaining junk (section elevations) that gave no information and printed as mud. The other things I deleted (sabotaged) were things that were drawn incorrectly and was extra garbage to continue to edit, it was my intention (several weeks ago) that this was part of what W would pick up while working on the elevations. She didn't get to it. So yet again, today we drew some crap real quick and are hoping it will get us by. Perhaps someday we will draw it correctly and it will look half-way decent and it will be coordinated with the sections and the plans. Keep in mind W did unit elevations alone in this last leg of drawings, that leaves me to do everything else.
By the way, I mentioned the errors W made below (that you did not address in your response) not because I think the project is doomed because of them, but I am concerned that it creates and perpetuates bad habits. It's not a big deal to make the errors, that's how you learn, but when one refuses to recognize these errors and why it is wrong, that's where we have problems, now and in the future. I think W does a great job, but she still has a lot to learn (as do I). It's her can-do-no-wrong, no-more-to-learn-here additude that I am tired of. I don't know if you hear us arguing back here ever, but we argue all the time. I haven't won once! I've pointed out to her many of the mistakes I gave you here, she always insists that she is making no errors and that whatever she does is absolutely correct. Earlier today I mentioned the incorrect representation of the brick rowlock in the elevations to W. She "explains" to me how those are bricks tilted up and the underside wedge is filled with grout and haven't I ever seen that before, duh? No, I guess I haven't seen it at an 80 degree tilt where the two brick courses below the rowlock are ALSO cut to allow this dramatic tilt. Not exactly wrong, but definetly not correct either. This is what I am fighting with here.
The response back to me:Thanks for pointing out the errors you see in W's elevations. If you have problems in the future with her not listening to you when you know you are correct and she’s not, don’t hesitate to call me over to referee. You shouldn’t be walking out of here angry every day thinking that your experience and diligence in not appreciated. It is.
You are the backbone of this team because the role you’re playing as “job captain†is essential. I can’t be watching for every little thing especially when working on other projects. I asked specifically for others to come in to take some of the pressure off me on this job and apparently K decided to manage this himself rather than ask the other PM in the office.
Regarding the due date. K told me on Wednesday this needed to be out on Thursday. He thought it was all ready to go but he failed to look at all the sheets. The errors were discovered Thursday morning. He thought we simply needed to print the sheets, not review them. I’m learning not to trust everything that K says. Why you were not notified is because there appears to be no official project manager on this project. Even though I’ve asked to be taken off, I’m still the PM it seems.
Thanks for the help in getting this thing out the door.
What else are you working on? Can you help with another project next week?
If you have a slow day on the horizon ask me if you can help on something else. I know that I turned you down Tuesday but with a little notice there’s always something I can find.
My final response: Thanks for the words. I know my beef is with W on these little issues, not you, and it's MY problem to resolve with her. I hate to call you over because she drew the rowlock wrong, makes me feel incompetent as a mentor to her and job captain.
French
Nov 3, 06 7:26 pm
mmm
Sorry to interrupt, but since I've been invited by Orhan, I have annoucement:
My second daugther Fleur was born august the 23rd.
She's the main reason why I've been away from these pages lattely.
Sorry for these problems with the youngsters Straw. I guess since I'm feelling a little bit older now, I sometimes feel scared by my inhability to pilot a team. That's why I mostly work on my own. To me it's been the best way to avoid these kinds of frustrations; when you are the one who decides, who takes the risk and who owns the money I think it's makes it easier to convince people to do something for you. But it may not work for everyone...
Ok now guys, it's 1:20 am and I think I should go back home since I have a lot of work left for the whole week end...
Have a nice day/evening/night
strlt_typ
Nov 3, 06 7:32 pm
that's a great name!
Ms Beary
Nov 3, 06 7:47 pm
congrats French!
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 3, 06 8:08 pm
Welcome Fleur.
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 3, 06 8:09 pm
Strawbeary, you've done it. it is all clear now. time to party. congratulations and you write with a lot of energy and mean what you write and back it up with facts. it also shows you have much bigger role on the project than w thinks. k definetly should tell w to listen to you, and learn from the job captain. w needs some security thru better ways than pointing fingers.
now this is a different view visualising your office situation for me. you earned your raise today from k.
AP
Nov 3, 06 8:37 pm
congrats French! Fleur - a beautiful name indeed. ...my father's birthday is august 24, the same day as a hurricane named andrew hit florida (in 1992)...fleur is a much nicer name than andrew...
blessings to you and your family, French. what's her sister's name?
wow strawbeary...you pack a punch for sure! I'm somewhere between you and W (in both experience and age?)...I would be more than willing to heed your instruction. to be frank, i wish there was someone like you in my office! (my studio is oddly split, a few young bucks - myself included - and a few old bucks with too much on their plates)...it would be great to have a 'tweener around to drop some fundamentals on us from time to time...
...ok...friday night...later TC...
e
Nov 3, 06 8:41 pm
wonderful news french. my father and his father also share your daughther's birth date.
Steven Ward
Nov 3, 06 9:29 pm
welcome french's second daughter! my second's due in march. you realize you (and me) are in trouble?
French
Nov 4, 06 4:22 am
Ah common Steven, it's not that bad, it'll give us good reasons to work less and spend more quality time with the family!
garpike
Nov 4, 06 4:32 am
"Hearts are not only beating
They are all counting down."
-Le Savy Fav
WonderK
Nov 4, 06 4:54 pm
Congrats French! Fleur is a beautiful name.
And congrats, Strawbeary, for taking a stand! I am glad that you enjoy your job overall and are willing to take steps to fix problems.
Now if you'll excuse me, I ran 6 miles this morning and I can barely put together a thought much less a coherent sentence. I realize this is a drop in the hat for some of you but I hurt. ttyl.
will galloway
Nov 4, 06 8:16 pm
Big congrats on the 2nd daughter, m. French. tres chouette!
strawbeary, well done, but still sounds to me like your boss just blew you off with a holding pattern response. And he was a wanker about taking time off too. sounds like they need you more than you need them too...nice thing about being the talent is you get to walk when the job gets to be too much shite...hope it works out as you wrote about above, though. would suck if you had to put up with the whiney little weasel anymore.
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 4, 06 8:40 pm
here is a Thread Central exclusive;
a phillip starck remodel in mar vista, los angeles. i think that motorcyle is part of the final design. i've never seen it not there.
taken an hour ago.
vado retro
Nov 4, 06 10:51 pm
is that a philipe stark jack o lantern in front???
Steven Ward
Nov 5, 06 8:03 am
did they just pay him for his name and get some builder to do it?
runnung siding through the garage door is clever and i bet those walls of ganged windows make a huge impact inside, but this doesn't seem quite enough, does it? maybe that room upstairs looks like the bridge of the enterprise...
vado retro
Nov 5, 06 9:02 am
is that garage operational cuz if it is its got four huge windows in it. or did it get turned into the rec room?
snooker
Nov 5, 06 9:10 am
Did he do the street numbers?
liberty bell
Nov 5, 06 9:36 am
Congrats french on oyur beautiful new little flower!! So wonderful when new babies come into the world - I hope your older daughter is excited about her new and very important role of "big sister"!!
Steven you almost had a house guest last night...my little Miata stopped running at the corner of Eastern and Newburg....alternator is shot - luckily Brian remembered we have 100 miles free towing from Triple A - best investment ever, our membership has paid for itself three times over in a year - so we paid for the addition al 30 miles it took to get back to Indy! I rode in a towtruck back home with a true eastern Kentucky character - we told stories and laughed the whole way back, it was actually great fun. And now on Monday I'll be dropping Angus at school in the Ranchero woohoo!
vado retro
Nov 5, 06 10:05 am
lb lemme know if you need to borrow any of my bruce springsteen cd's
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 5, 06 10:07 am
good morning here are more pictures of the house including the interiors.
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 5, 06 10:09 am
note the ikea kitchen.
what a hype...
vado retro
Nov 5, 06 10:10 am
1.6 mil with no garage and a pink bathroom that made me throw up a little...
Orhan Ayyüce
Nov 5, 06 10:12 am
i let my dogs pee on the lawn. g'boy rupi.
AP
Nov 5, 06 10:23 am
the exterior is clean, and the family room / outdoor patio combo seems like good space...but otherwise...
...
purple-pink stair leading from the yellow family room feels like easter.
WonderK
Nov 5, 06 10:34 am
The spaces look nice but those colors would wear me out after, oh, a few hours.
WonderK
Nov 5, 06 10:44 am
PS. I figured out who SuperWonder is! I get a gold star. I promise I won't reveal their super-identity though. Don't worry, SW is on our team.
Steven Ward
Nov 5, 06 12:16 pm
sorry to hear about the breakdown, lb, and you would have been welcome. a two-hour tow ride from louisville to indy sounds like a ..... unique, yeah that's it...unique experience.
treekiller
Nov 5, 06 12:26 pm
Orhan-
was this stark's home for a while or just a mercenary project of his?
lb, breakdowns suck. my '96 integra has never left me down.
strlt_typ
Nov 5, 06 12:48 pm
orhan,
are those windows vinyl?...
myriam
Nov 5, 06 2:57 pm
I like the exterior massing and lines. Color and balance are pleasing to me. Haven't seen the interiors yet...
Aaron Willette
Nov 5, 06 3:00 pm
myriam: I leave for Chicago via van full of bike punks on Thursday AM. you gonna be there like you mentioned earlier?
I am starting a new thread that is about other threads. You can talk about other discussions taking a place in Archinect and make cross references to a particular link, picture, response and whatever else you deem necessary or entertaining or thought provoking about the other thread. thus the name: Thread Central
here are some examples of comments that comes to mind:
* hey did you read on --------- thread ------- thinks frank gehry is good. hahahaharhar..
or,
*i can't believe he said that. how stupid of him. asshole.on top of it he is got hundreds of posts. gimme a break.
or,
* this is the best thread.. fuck the others..
or,
*****Thread Alert******
read the -----thread yet??? there is a dog fight going on between ----- and-----.it is about gondolas and pollution in Venice..see you there.
or,
* yeaah, i don't read that thread either. its kind a boring.
or,
*i am thinking about starting a discussion about ------------- ---- ---- will you guys in Thread Central post in it and say wow it a great thread?. it was about time 'somebody' (insert my name please) picked up on it.. and discuss it?
like whatever..
Whoa!
Good news! I took a day off yesterday to complete the tabulation of my IDP, and guess what?! I'm done!
Bad news, ms know-it-all 22 year old intern called me at home (on my vacation day) to whine about something and wanted to have one of her manipulative, twisted conversations over the phone where everything is my fault and things are so screwed up in the drawings that her great genius can't figure it out, and she can't find whole files and lines are missing and stuff is wrong. I had to talk her through opening and panning around in files I hadn't been in for 3 weeks, from my living room. Did her CAD issues warrant a 1/2 hour phone call on my day off? I told her I couldn't believe we were having this conversation. I'm going to get it today!
Anyways, good news again, I knew something would come along that would piss me off enough to get my IDP over and done with. Thanks girl!
Strawbeary, I figured out last month that I am basically done too. As soon as I figured it out, it scared the crap out of me and I stopped counting. Haven't picked it back up since.
Also, SuperWonder is back! And I still don't know who they are! It's driving me bonkers.
BTW, in case you missed it, Orhan used the phrase "suck vine from one of her many breasts" above. You should check it out.
At the library yesterday (yes, I actually moved away from my computer for a bit), I spied a book 'the history of the breast'. hmmmm
congrats on wrapping up the IDP jungle Strawbeary and WonderK- wish I was in your shoes... nother year and a half of logging time making cds [sigh]. at least I can be taking the LARE whenever I want to.
Ahhh the sounds of the aegean lapping up agains rusted fishing boats. you deserve the break orhan- safe travels!
although he/she has a wonderful username, noctilucent seems to have joined us in order to poke a finger in a lot of eyes. not that i mind someone stirring things up, but i'm waiting for some positive input that measures up to the beauty of the night skies that look like bad paintings.
maybe it's time to bring back least favorite archinect poster.
I was thinking 'bout starting a 'favorite professor' thread to be a trip down memory lane and to help those kids still in school or applying- is this worth it?
tk I just wrote about an old professor on the liberty bell thread - perhaps you saw it - I think that's an excellent idea.
i'm still alive
Congrats, Strawbeary. I'm dissappointed to hear that the know-it-all is basically my age. I hope that's not how people see me!
I'm headed up to NorCal shortly for a weekend of football viewing and good BBQ. Talk to y'all on Monday, when I'm back to the grind.
BTW, scheduled this vacation a month ago, and had to remind my boss three times that he signed the form. Then promise that if the guy doing renderings for my project didn't have a beautiful image for me first thing monday, that I would take it over myself, while boss had this tone in his voice like it was my fault if he didn't.... What, am I really supposed to supervise someone 15 years older than me, by long distance no less???? That's dog won't hunt.
i'm almost 40 and i still don't know anything.
oh, and congrats ladies on your hard IDP work.
So, I get in this morning and am asked to pick up the slack on all this annoying line, hatch, annotation and x-ref crap, because somebody couldn't figure it out. WHATEVER! Couldn't figure it out or didn't want to do it so whined about it? All this while she gets to do schematic design on a cool new project. It didn't work that way when I was an intern...
Straw, leave now and go somewhere that you'll be appreciated.
Strawbeary, tell the higher ups that it will benefit the office AND the whiny intern for you to not do the repair work yourself but rather teach the whiny intern how to do it. I know you don't relish the thought of more face time with her, but at least then maybe YOU can work on the schematic design while she - under your tutelage - learns the grunt skills that she really DOES NEED TO KNOW!
strawbeary,
stay tough and don't give up even if it's difficult at times...like what liberty bell has suggested push that intern to correct the mistakes...it will be beneficial for both of you...you will teaching that intern about being thorough and responsible...if the intern flips out then stay mature...
damn area of refuge...
strawberry,
if you see a good job opening somewhere nearby take it.
this junior you have in the office is taking over your mind and sucking your energy. and if thats not enough, manegement is giving her more slack than to you.
but, before you make your move, talk to your boss about where you want to be in the firm and ask them point blank where day see in the firm.
i know it is easier said than done, but this must be done somehow.
do not try to talk to jr., it would just give her even more power to abuse you further.
am I the only one vaguely reminded of Mavis and the pastries right now? No offence intended, it just seemed oddly familiar...
Here is my situation. The place I work at has never made a dime for the last 8 years, until this year. The old principal was a trust fund baby architect that did lots of high-end, revolutionary, exciting projects. This is the firm I thought I got hired into.
We are the branch office of a truly wonderful, very successful nationwide firm that has been floating us financially and was ready to cut us off lat summer when they fired the principal and hired a new one to take over and see if he can make it work. The new principal is a great architect, but this is his first time running the show, so we are experiencing some growing pains and management overlooks. We are also taking crappy jobs from crappy clients for crappy fees and are all a little stressed out.
Other than that, I love my job. I like the location, the people, my salary, the responsibilites, the perks, the atmosphere, and the parent/sister companies. I especially like the future, where we will be a full service firm, tackling all things that design and construction encompasses, including developing projects and being our own clients. I believe (perhaps naively) that this will happen.
I am not about to leave. There is so much potential and I believe in the person running the show here.
Thanks for all your understanding, archinect, where would i be without you. Anyways, I wrote an e-mail to the PM with my frustrations. Here is our conversation, names have been changed, W is know it all, K is the principal:
I wrote: Between you and me, I don't believe W "couldn't figure out" how to fix these drawings as she claims. Is that why I'm stuck fixing them? I thought she was handling elevations anyways. Frankly, while she is quick to make a scene of anyone else's errors, she doesn't seem to notice the errors that are caused by her, not to mention things that are shown incorrectly and poor design. For instance, there are window blocks on 5-6 different layers half of them won't show up when x-reffed, there are overlapping guardrails, the downspouts are wrong, the "shoulder" course doesn't have cap flashing (yes, it is labeled the "shoulder" course), there is hatch missing in several spots, there is incorrect hatches, the floor to floor is incorrect, there are dozens of corrupt layers and large files (the ones with dollar signs are errors), the door knobs look retarded on the elevations (leave em off, or at least draw them as the lever type), stairs 2, 4 and especailly 3 were not drawn correctly, there is hatch on some of the windows, the catwalks are shown incorreclty and out of scale, the eaves are drawn incorrectly, the roof patio wall is drawn incorrectly, some window heights in the brick don't course out, the rowlocks are drawn in elevation as if they are tipped down about 80 degrees from horizontal, the elevations and the wall sections haven't been coordinated in general, each showing something different, the grade lines are incorrect, there is a random line/hatch floating here and there and everywhere, there are window frames drawn with 4" frames on one side only for whatever reason, the glass doors are shown solid with that cute little round doorknob, some stair/elev towers are shown as brick, some as concrete, some as precast, there are shingles drawn in section on the elevations (?), there is a berm drawn on one side of Building 1 but not on the adjacent side. Bored yet? Me too. I could go on and on. I have tried to no avail to bring up some of these issues with W, but she insists she can do no wrong and argues with me about EVERYTHING!
Anyways, when I was an intern, if one of my drawings didn't look right, or if it wasn't complete, I had to fix it. If I "couldn't figure it out", I figured it out anyways. I didn't complain and whine and manipulate to get someone 5 years my senior to: adjust text, freeze and unfreeze layers, repath x-refs, spell check, realign leaders, redo hatches, etc as I spent the morning doing for her. I especially wouldn't call someone at home with CAD problems and accuse them of sabotaging drawings like W did to me yesterday. I don't know what we have against redlines, I know it sucks to pick up redlines but it also makes a good product and that's why firms do it.
Guess I needed to blow off some steam. Happens a lot lately. I'm going to lunch. I've sent the drawing to the plotter, hope you like plots in color. That's one thing I didn't fix. :)
The PM's response: It was my understanding that you were the last person to fiddle with the composite elevations. At some point you were saying that the composites were not necessary for what we were trying to convey. I’ve always thought the composites were necessary to show the full intent of the project. This is why you were called yesterday to find out what had happened to the drawings that were set up long ago. I asked her to call you on the unscheduled day off to try to identify what could be done the quickest.
Though the composites may not make sense to show in the CD set they still need to be shown in the DRC submittal.
When I got back on the project Tuesday, I was told that everything was set to print on the DRC submittal. After looking at it quickly, there were many things that needed to be fixed. We approached this as a team. W fixed a number of items on the floor plans. I felt it was easier for you to backtrack through the modifications that you made to the parking garage rather than have W go through and relearn something that you know first hand. Nobody is accusing you of sabotage.
Had you been available yesterday, I would have asked you to do the same thing OR to help direct W on how to proceed.
If you have questions about the hierarchy in the office please talk to the boss.
Thanks, I hope to see you later.
My response: It was not an unscheduled day off, I cleared the half day with K, and it turned into a full day - I called to let you know. I took the day off for professional development only because I thought it was going to be a slow day anyways, I didn't just pick a day to not show up. I too, was unaware that the DRC sheets were not coolio as is. I also have not worked on the DRC submittal package, ever, this has been W's thing from the getgo. What I did to the drawings were hardly confusing, I simply abandonded the Garage Elevations file and copied this geometry into the elevations sheet to simplify things. It does not make sense to have a separate file for this little bit of linework and the polylines for the grade, I think someone went a little x-ref happy in the first place, starting the confusion ball rolling. I explained this all to W on the phone and asked her look in this file when she called. She refused to admit that the linework was in there, and ignored the instructions I gave to either copy the lines or repath the x-ref and instead berated me and accused me of sabotaging her work then hung up. I don't mind getting phone calls, I'm part of the team, but calls of that nature are unacceptable to me and show disrespect. I was also not aware that we had yet another DRC submittal late this week, maybe the project manager should have told me. This morning at 10:30 was the first I heard of this, had I known, I don't think I would have considered yesterday a "slow day" and would certainly have made myself available to make a contribution.
The composite elevations are fine in the CD set by the way, after I simplified these sheets to show the 4 NSEW composite elevations, and deleted the remaining junk (section elevations) that gave no information and printed as mud. The other things I deleted (sabotaged) were things that were drawn incorrectly and was extra garbage to continue to edit, it was my intention (several weeks ago) that this was part of what W would pick up while working on the elevations. She didn't get to it. So yet again, today we drew some crap real quick and are hoping it will get us by. Perhaps someday we will draw it correctly and it will look half-way decent and it will be coordinated with the sections and the plans. Keep in mind W did unit elevations alone in this last leg of drawings, that leaves me to do everything else.
By the way, I mentioned the errors W made below (that you did not address in your response) not because I think the project is doomed because of them, but I am concerned that it creates and perpetuates bad habits. It's not a big deal to make the errors, that's how you learn, but when one refuses to recognize these errors and why it is wrong, that's where we have problems, now and in the future. I think W does a great job, but she still has a lot to learn (as do I). It's her can-do-no-wrong, no-more-to-learn-here additude that I am tired of. I don't know if you hear us arguing back here ever, but we argue all the time. I haven't won once! I've pointed out to her many of the mistakes I gave you here, she always insists that she is making no errors and that whatever she does is absolutely correct. Earlier today I mentioned the incorrect representation of the brick rowlock in the elevations to W. She "explains" to me how those are bricks tilted up and the underside wedge is filled with grout and haven't I ever seen that before, duh? No, I guess I haven't seen it at an 80 degree tilt where the two brick courses below the rowlock are ALSO cut to allow this dramatic tilt. Not exactly wrong, but definetly not correct either. This is what I am fighting with here.
The response back to me:Thanks for pointing out the errors you see in W's elevations. If you have problems in the future with her not listening to you when you know you are correct and she’s not, don’t hesitate to call me over to referee. You shouldn’t be walking out of here angry every day thinking that your experience and diligence in not appreciated. It is.
You are the backbone of this team because the role you’re playing as “job captain†is essential. I can’t be watching for every little thing especially when working on other projects. I asked specifically for others to come in to take some of the pressure off me on this job and apparently K decided to manage this himself rather than ask the other PM in the office.
Regarding the due date. K told me on Wednesday this needed to be out on Thursday. He thought it was all ready to go but he failed to look at all the sheets. The errors were discovered Thursday morning. He thought we simply needed to print the sheets, not review them. I’m learning not to trust everything that K says. Why you were not notified is because there appears to be no official project manager on this project. Even though I’ve asked to be taken off, I’m still the PM it seems.
Thanks for the help in getting this thing out the door.
What else are you working on? Can you help with another project next week?
If you have a slow day on the horizon ask me if you can help on something else. I know that I turned you down Tuesday but with a little notice there’s always something I can find.
My final response: Thanks for the words. I know my beef is with W on these little issues, not you, and it's MY problem to resolve with her. I hate to call you over because she drew the rowlock wrong, makes me feel incompetent as a mentor to her and job captain.
mmm
Sorry to interrupt, but since I've been invited by Orhan, I have annoucement:
My second daugther Fleur was born august the 23rd.
She's the main reason why I've been away from these pages lattely.
Sorry for these problems with the youngsters Straw. I guess since I'm feelling a little bit older now, I sometimes feel scared by my inhability to pilot a team. That's why I mostly work on my own. To me it's been the best way to avoid these kinds of frustrations; when you are the one who decides, who takes the risk and who owns the money I think it's makes it easier to convince people to do something for you. But it may not work for everyone...
Ok now guys, it's 1:20 am and I think I should go back home since I have a lot of work left for the whole week end...
Have a nice day/evening/night
that's a great name!
congrats French!
Welcome Fleur.
Strawbeary, you've done it. it is all clear now. time to party. congratulations and you write with a lot of energy and mean what you write and back it up with facts. it also shows you have much bigger role on the project than w thinks. k definetly should tell w to listen to you, and learn from the job captain. w needs some security thru better ways than pointing fingers.
now this is a different view visualising your office situation for me. you earned your raise today from k.
congrats French! Fleur - a beautiful name indeed. ...my father's birthday is august 24, the same day as a hurricane named andrew hit florida (in 1992)...fleur is a much nicer name than andrew...
blessings to you and your family, French. what's her sister's name?
wow strawbeary...you pack a punch for sure! I'm somewhere between you and W (in both experience and age?)...I would be more than willing to heed your instruction. to be frank, i wish there was someone like you in my office! (my studio is oddly split, a few young bucks - myself included - and a few old bucks with too much on their plates)...it would be great to have a 'tweener around to drop some fundamentals on us from time to time...
...ok...friday night...later TC...
wonderful news french. my father and his father also share your daughther's birth date.
welcome french's second daughter! my second's due in march. you realize you (and me) are in trouble?
Ah common Steven, it's not that bad, it'll give us good reasons to work less and spend more quality time with the family!
"Hearts are not only beating
They are all counting down."
-Le Savy Fav
Congrats French! Fleur is a beautiful name.
And congrats, Strawbeary, for taking a stand! I am glad that you enjoy your job overall and are willing to take steps to fix problems.
Now if you'll excuse me, I ran 6 miles this morning and I can barely put together a thought much less a coherent sentence. I realize this is a drop in the hat for some of you but I hurt. ttyl.
Big congrats on the 2nd daughter, m. French. tres chouette!
strawbeary, well done, but still sounds to me like your boss just blew you off with a holding pattern response. And he was a wanker about taking time off too. sounds like they need you more than you need them too...nice thing about being the talent is you get to walk when the job gets to be too much shite...hope it works out as you wrote about above, though. would suck if you had to put up with the whiney little weasel anymore.
here is a Thread Central exclusive;
a phillip starck remodel in mar vista, los angeles. i think that motorcyle is part of the final design. i've never seen it not there.
taken an hour ago.
is that a philipe stark jack o lantern in front???
did they just pay him for his name and get some builder to do it?
runnung siding through the garage door is clever and i bet those walls of ganged windows make a huge impact inside, but this doesn't seem quite enough, does it? maybe that room upstairs looks like the bridge of the enterprise...
is that garage operational cuz if it is its got four huge windows in it. or did it get turned into the rec room?
Did he do the street numbers?
Congrats french on oyur beautiful new little flower!! So wonderful when new babies come into the world - I hope your older daughter is excited about her new and very important role of "big sister"!!
Steven you almost had a house guest last night...my little Miata stopped running at the corner of Eastern and Newburg....alternator is shot - luckily Brian remembered we have 100 miles free towing from Triple A - best investment ever, our membership has paid for itself three times over in a year - so we paid for the addition al 30 miles it took to get back to Indy! I rode in a towtruck back home with a true eastern Kentucky character - we told stories and laughed the whole way back, it was actually great fun. And now on Monday I'll be dropping Angus at school in the Ranchero woohoo!
lb lemme know if you need to borrow any of my bruce springsteen cd's
good morning here are more pictures of the house including the interiors.
note the ikea kitchen.
what a hype...
1.6 mil with no garage and a pink bathroom that made me throw up a little...
i let my dogs pee on the lawn. g'boy rupi.
the exterior is clean, and the family room / outdoor patio combo seems like good space...but otherwise...
...
purple-pink stair leading from the yellow family room feels like easter.
The spaces look nice but those colors would wear me out after, oh, a few hours.
PS. I figured out who SuperWonder is! I get a gold star. I promise I won't reveal their super-identity though. Don't worry, SW is on our team.
sorry to hear about the breakdown, lb, and you would have been welcome. a two-hour tow ride from louisville to indy sounds like a ..... unique, yeah that's it...unique experience.
Orhan-
was this stark's home for a while or just a mercenary project of his?
lb, breakdowns suck. my '96 integra has never left me down.
orhan,
are those windows vinyl?...
I like the exterior massing and lines. Color and balance are pleasing to me. Haven't seen the interiors yet...
myriam: I leave for Chicago via van full of bike punks on Thursday AM. you gonna be there like you mentioned earlier?