How I Crucified Myself

This is not about architecture but it is a story that must be told.

Today during sailing team practice the wind at Lake Travis was blowing upwards of 30 mph, which is really high to be out in a little 2 man sailboat. Inevitably the sailboat that my partner and I were in capsized in the very rough waters. It was chaos trying to get that thing righted, and after about 20 minutes of failed attempts I was getting exhausted. I was then instructed to grab a strap inside the boat to keep the vessel from rolling all the way over as my partner pulled on the other side. Well, I had to swim under the mast to grab this strap, but in doing so my life jacket got caught on something underwater and nearly drown me. I managed to get my mouth above the surface for some air, and also reached out to grab the strap. As the boat began to right itself I was still caught in the ropes, pinned to the mast. The mast continued to rise out of the water bringing me with it, arms flayed out in either direction and immobilized. "Fuuuck!" I yelled, as I was lifted up into the air, crucified to the mast. After I eventually freed myself we were towed in and practice was canceled. The sailing team said they had never heard of anything like that before.

When we finally got back home, I found that a tree had broken and crashed upon my bike.

Study Breaks

Her Hidden Hammer

She finds a hidden hammer
Now all the world's a nail
The salt is rising from her skin
Before her looms the snail

He'll melt under her shadow
He'll drive her leaden sail
Her tyrant sun is rising
Beneath the comet trail

She grips her hidden hammer
And swings it at the foe
The force of stolen sovereignty
Accelerates the blow

But high and wild it misses
Her castles fall from air
The nail drives deep into her heart
And pins her to despair

Forever, to despair

Feeling Paltry Amongst Punk Ass Kids

One of the maxim's I live by is to not give a shit about what other people think. A wise man once said, "Confidence is the secret to a man's success" (Obama's father to Barack), and I concur. Making an effort to think rationally and not be swayed by the misguided perceptions of society or individuals is synonymous with manhood.

Unfortunately, I seem to be having trouble with this concept during my weekly discussion sections in ARC 318L. When it is my turn to speak, I often feel intimidated and self-conscious, which inhibits the clear expression of my ideas. This intimidation stems from need to prove myself to the architecture students. They have a more thorough education on the subjects we discuss, and I often feel like I'm going to say something really ignorant. Added to this is my longing to become friends with these people who share my interests and who I, in a way, look up to. In effect, I get nervous and then immediately despise myself for allowing younger people to make me feel self-conscious. It sucks.

On the bright side, however, my response to Frank Lloyd Wright's "In the Case of Architecture" article receive maximum points. Finally, a good grade. The class also seemed to be impressed with my topic selection for our final project, which is a comparison between the modern residential architecture of South Korea and that which was built before the Japanese occupation of 1910.

In the Case of Architecture

After not being accepted for the student blogger project at UT, I got kind of pissed and almost gave up on blogging. Very few people view this site, and I've often considered that it is merely a time-wasting narcissistic endeavor. Instead of throwing it all away, however, I decided to just refocus on my original purpose in creating this site: chronicling my path to becoming an architect.

So in regards to that, my current situation is that I am halfway through ARC 318 L, a course broadly surveying architecture since a little before the Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately, I haven't devoted all my energies to this course and am not doing especially well, but hopefully things will improve from here on out. Well, right after this nap anyways...

In this class we write short response papers to weekly readings, which I will start posting regularly. I am also just beginning our big research assignment tonight and have to turn in the proposal statement paper tomorrow. I've decided to research something related to the architecture of South Korea, a country in which I lived for two years while in the Air Force.

Response to Frank Lloyd Wright's 1908 Article, "In the Case of Architecture"

Untitled

In the utter darkness, 'twixt the twilight hours
I replied to Mother, quenched her thirsty flowers
Greedy pigs so spied me, in their nightly prowl
And pounced like bloody robbers, dealing false and foul

Proffered easy money, they began to scheme
Published filthy slanders, charges base and mean
Necessity of nature, they assessed a crime
And so the whiteness of my name, was traded for a dime