New Term. New Classes. Same Old Bon.
Yesterday started my third term as a graduate student. This term is full of a lot of work, a lot of survey and a lot of inventory. I'm okay with that, its good practice. I've got an exciting lineup of classes including a buildings of oregon survey in which I am collecting data for a book that will eventually be written and published [although not by me]. Other classes are a National Register Nomination class [learning how to go through the process of getting a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places], a survey and inventory class, an internship seminar [how to get one, how to get credit for doing it] and a preservation of woods and metals class. That's the partner to my preservation of masonry class that I took last term. The woods and metals class is about half HP students and half architecture students. It includes assignments in which I will get to use my training as an architect which is something that I am absolutely ecstatic about. I actually really miss drafting and drawing and detailing.
Work is strangely interesting right now. Last term I designed a new brochure for an EMU program as well as various small projects. This term we are working on launching a new website for another EMU program. My contribution to the effort is as the data entrant. Which means I get to wade through a large amount of information and imput it into the darabase in a method similar to blogging. Its tedious and yet really interesting and satisfying because without my work there would be no content on the page when it goes live. Granted, a monkey could do data entry, but it keeps me occupied and I'm learning alot about the program that we're creating the site for. Its a very cool thing with a very complicated series of databases because the information is super varied. It makes me remember how much I really love my job.
The Great Toilet Seat Fiasco of ’05…
TheBoy and I went to Home Despot yesterday in order to pick up large staples for a "recharging station" he's got planned. While there we wandered through appliances, bathroom things, and ended up purchasing a new toilet seat. Now, its likely that we could've told our apartment manager that the toilet seat we had on the toilet was in bad shape and the maintenance guy would've fixed it; the wood had started to absorb liquid on the underside, and the metal hinges/bolts were pretty corroded. However, we were a little worried that they wouldn't let us have a new toilet seat, so we bought a lovely $10 toilet seat and brought it home. We ate lunch, and then at 3pm I went into the bathroom with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. Now, our toilet is 6" from the bathtub on one side and 8-9" from the sink/cabinet on the other. After a few minutes it became clear that I would not be able to do the job by myself so TheBoy joined me. We spent an hour and a half removing the plastic nuts from the bolts because the plastic had rusted. It was an hour and a half of excruciating pain in my hands from having to grip the screwdriver so hard. I even ended up with blisters on my right palm. After an hour and a half of TheBoy lying on the floor, and my crouching in the tub--shoes on, pants getting wet--we had only removed one of the nuts, and had managed to get the second one halfway off. Finally I looked at TheBoy, as both of us were sweating profusely from the body heat of two people in our wee bathroom and the strain of the work we were doing. I wracked my brain for an easy way to get the second nut off. Finally it dawned on me--we have a dremel!! will the dremel cut through the plastic nut? YES! We made it through the rest of the second nut in less than 5 minutes. Then I popped the new seat on, with it plastic bolts and plastic nuts and after 2 hours of work, we have a new toilet seat. At one point in the process I was singing songs whose lyrics consisted of the words "i hate you toilet, oh yes i do" followed by a string of very colorful language describing my level of hate...
A long way from home.
I got to see one of my dearest friends in Portland on Saturday. We were roommates our first semester in college, didn't speak for a year and then became very close. She and her husband are living here in Oregon while he finishes school (he did his undergrad at NDSU too). We have been talking about getting together since September when she moved here, but with the 2.5-3 hour drive for one of us its been hard. Anyway, she's doing great, and here we are, grinning like fools [click to biggerize]:
Interview Me!
So here are the rules if you want to play:
1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions here. They will be different questions than the ones below.
3. You will update YOUR blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
And here are the questions posed to me by Jodi, and my answers:
1. What are you planning to do when you finish graduate school? I know that sounds like a shitty question, and I hate when people ask me that but I don't mean "how will this degree be useful for you to make money", which is what I usually hear from people who think the arts are a waste of time. What I mean is, you are in school, pursuing what you love. When you don't have school to force you to focus on it anymore, how will you take your love of architecture and architectural preservation and continue to make it your life? I'm not 100% sure at this point. I have a Bachelor of Architecture and so I could go and complete my internship requirements and become a liscenced architect. I could also decide to go and work in theatrical design again. Specifically using my degree I could go to work in a State Historic Preservation Office. I like the idea of doing building assessment full time, reading the stories that buildings have to tell and then working out guidelines for stabilization and long-term care for the structure. I also really like the hands-on work involved in historic preservation and may decide to become a preservation carpenter. I might decide not to use my degree and go to work in graphic design or marketing which is what I get paid to do now. In other words, I have no set idea. I will probably set about doing research for some book in the field, although it is doubtful that I would ever be able to get a book written and published.
2. Can we see pics of your tattoos? How long have you had them, and do they mean anything? I got this one [on the small of my back] 3 weeks after my 18th birthday in 1999. It was a gift from my father and the graphic is one that I used in a painting that I did with my at-the-time best friend. It is the only time I have used it for anything. I am currently working on designing another piece to go around it.
This second one I got in August of 2001. It's symbolic of my life at that time, when I had finally won my battle with depression, self-doubt and self-hatred. Shortly after I had it done I wrote and saved a text document with my reasoning for its existance. I posted it here. I apologize for its somewhat melodramtic tone, I was barely 20 at the time.
3. How big is your stash? Do you wish it was bigger, or smaller? And how many unfinished WIP are in there? My stash is not very big, mostly due to lack of money or space [TheBoy and I live in a spacious 1 bedroom apartment but it lacks in storage]. The packrat in me would love a bigger stash, but the frugal part of me wishes I only ever bought what I would immediately consume. As for WIP's...Grad school hasn't left me with much time for knitting but I've currently got Rogue, two pairs of socks, MaryElla, and a second beaded cuff from Stitch n Bitch nation on the needles. Rogue may be a WIP for awhile as it is now far too warm for an all wool sweater and I've been doodling notes for a self-designed red sweater with an alligator, as referenced in the song Red Sweater by The Aquabats.
4. I see that you are Irish. Do you think that the way North Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day is in any way insulting or offensive? I mean, getting drunk and pretending to be Irish as if that is the entire nation's defining characteristic? And, while we're on the topic of your nationality, would you ever knit or wear these pants? It bothers me but I've learned to let it go. It was always a time of family and togetherness in my house, when my dad would cook and we would all tell stories. You don't need to be Irish to appreciate that aspect of it. My corned beef dinner last night was just such an event and I couldn't have been happier. I might knit the pants, but I would never wear them. I would look silly and dumpy in them, and I'm not a big fan of knit pants in general. I grew out of that phase in about eighth grade or so.
5. Have you ever eaten a Pittsburgh Salad? If so, was it disgusting? If not, would you? With ketchup or salad dressing? I have not eaten a Pittsburgh Salad. I don't think I would. I like my vegetables to taste like vegetables, not grease.
So...If you want to be interviewed, leave me a message in the comments.