construction observations

Framing hammer standing in as paperweight on a blustery day. 

Chalk dust for marking/labeling. 

Ready to go! Self explanatory. 

All three of the birds, plus a boom concrete pump. 

Measuring tape atop a finished concrete floor. All of that finishing is still done by hand, no machine that can do this with that kind of finesse.

A welded rebar "mystery burro" of some sort...I want it.

Lunches! I love imagining what kind of glorious/enormous meals the workers likely pack for themselves every day. 

Bonus snapshot! Me in all my PPE (personal protective equipment).

construction details

I am really thankful for my job for the close proximity it affords me to have to such a large and busy construction site! I walk the site maybe once a week, but I am going to have to up it to three times or so to accurately document the flurry of activity that is ongoing. Much of my job has lacked a creative slant to it, it has really just been documentation, observation, and interpretation of information/ideas (which is...slightly creative) but the good thing is that the past several months have been much BUSIER, and I have gotten a better sense of my duties and how I can be useful to the office.

I feel like I haven't had much to say the past few weeks, but those lulls in life are inevitable, so it isn't a big point of 'crisis' like I've made of such silences in the past. And I have been reading again! And generally I've found some more time for myself, which feels like a giant breath of cold, fresh air...so, no complaints here.

Today I really needed coffee.

quick & dirty

Work schedule since Friday: TJs>Office, Office>TJs, TJs>Office, OFFICE. February really sneaked up on me. I can't believe it's already the 5th. No, the 6th. There is so much to do.

trabajo en mi casa

Happy February! I worked from home today. I drank tea from my current favorite vintage pyrex mug/glass (?), wound my perpetual calendar to February (nice clean start), and James brought me lunch when he heard I was nearby (I'm grateful to have awesome considerate friends). I stepped into the backyard and plucked a tangerine from our tree, then went back inside to work some more. Dinner with sister and a trip back to the office and doing a little more work before bed. This is how it should always be, maybe. It's gonna be a busy weekend/week next week, whew...

USC CNC

This was exactly a month ago.

i made a lot of mistakes

I cut two of my fingers, got two new bruises, stained my hands with spray paint, got a haircut and a fresh batch of pimples over the past few days. These could all be euphemisms for something but they're not. Thanksgiving was notoriously memorable and the best part of it was cooking for seven hours that day with my best friend and sister Y. The past two days were full of spirit-crushing frustration and stress, but I think I've finally come out on the other side. I hope I can look back and say that I've grown and gotten more mature and sensitive and savvy about things. My boss gave me this egg today that he pilfered from an unsuspecting chicken. Eggs symbolize what, new beginnings/life/chances? I'm excited to crack it open and eat it.

CNC-ing

Milled some things on the CNC (computer numerical control) machine at USC today. It was such an exciting/boring, frustrating/satisfying, sometimes monotonous process, and in an uninsulated shed on a day that was pouring rain, it was sooo cold. All complaints and grumblings aside, this was a fun and productive day.

this place is a prison

I photographed a space yesterday...

treehouse, milkweed

Lots of trees. I worked in the morning at Trader Joe's then went to the office afterward! Worked on a few elevations and then all four of us bundled up into the car and drove out to Mulholland Drive to go look at a treehouse tree and a kitchen to remodel. It was basically a field trip. Today was drizzly, but things have never seemed so clear.

a new environment

The new workplace is full of tools, plants, and kitties! The outside at least. Inside - computers, books, models, more tools. And the bathroom has a shower! Oh boy...

happiness is...

A soft warm kitty named Smokey curled up in your lap on your first day at work at an architecture firm (finally!). Tiny steps.

calm at the moment

Work today was a nice, pleasant blur. 4 am, little paper cups of coffee, grocery aisle, cut-up finger skin, shift giveaways, failed baking and yumminess. I ran some errands once I got off - turtle wax for the car, fill-up on gas and lunching on leftovers. After that I met up with my mom and sister at Sweet & Savory where I got a red velvet cupcake and a non-menu Arnold Palmer, mmm.

Almost done reading the foundation book for my thesis paper. I say that in optimistically hoping my idea will further piece itself together and finishing the book will facilitate writing the first few introductory pages of the paper. Thus far I have notes notes notes and key words and phrases and when I space out at them something blurry begins to emerge like those Magic Eye books. Not as clear as I'd like but I'm obviously a little crazy right now likening the beginning of this project to a funny novelty children's book series. What am I saying now? I just need a respite and I'm not even a fraction of the way into my work.

Full-steam ahead!

lists

A mish-mashed cloud of words I typed up while listening to my mom and sister talk for two minutes, so that I could have something to print out to test the wireless printer.

My room inhales dirty and exhales clean. Lately my only vices are chocolate and White Russians. And berries. I have hangnails, scratches and callouses that make me want to gnaw all of them off. Inadvertently found out some things on my lunch break, though that's a game I really do not want to play. As we were closing tonight, the owner of the Italian place on our block brought us pizza so we chowed on pepperoni & jalapeño pizza before restocking. There must have been something in those pizzas because we were all going wild towards the end of the night. One of my bosses got a flame-colored succulent and I want one now, too. My toes and foot bones are in a constant state of cracking - two days off in a row might be a good thing!

building character

I've always wanted to work at TJ's - first I wanted to be the in-store artist and paint pretty pictures and signs all day but I never went for it because I didn't think I'd be good enough. With practice I think I could do some kick-ass work, but now I digress.

For the past two months I'd been working for one of my favorite former architecture instructors - designing, modeling & creating drawings for a competition for a Holocaust memorial. As soon as I finished that scheme I went off to Chicago for a week, then when I was back in L.A. I went on campus to fill out some D-clearance forms, saw my boss and then, in a turn of events, received the news I wouldn't be working for him, indefinitely. He'd done some paperwork for his taxes and realized he really couldn't afford an intern while he didn't have steady work coming in. So I was let go - but a few days before I had filled out a part-time crew application at Trader Joe's, secured an interview the next week, and two days after I was turned away from the architecture office I had a job at Trader Joe's. Funny and fortunate how things turn out. Today was my first day and it was a whirlwind of activity - I got a shirt and a temporary name tag, I helped with restocking food, bagging groceries, did a cart-run, and a bit of paperwork. This is something new, refreshing, and it feels good to burst out of the comfortable bubble of working for people I know or are on familiar terms with. Time to make new connections and learn new things.

working...

Stuff I'm working on in the office. Rhino on Parallels, yesss. I was having fun splitting geometries and deleting and separating all the layers into different files. Renderings are looking good too. Sounds boring but it's a lot more fun when you're being paid, unfortunately. I've realized that my 3D modeling skills are sooo rudimentary, especially when I go on 3D animation forums for troubleshooting! It's a whole different world, and NOW I'm finally wanting to understand and figure out EVERYTHING about it. Go figure. At least I still have a year to not be a screwball architecture student. Here's to productivity! Now off I go...