I too have been spamed. So, on with the increased securtiy.

It's an Asian kind of Day

I don't know what an Asian kind of day would actually be like, but at least in the food department I am going all Asian today. Sweet and Sour Chicken for lunch, sushi for dinner. I don't know why I even bother with the Chinese food. I really don't enjoy it that much. Oh well, at least I get good fortunes. Today's was "Your life will be happy and peaceful". Nice.

Not much going on today. Work is so-so. We have a set of drawings that need to get sent to the owner's rep. today or Monday. The way it is going, it looks like it will be Monday. The plotter is sooooo sllloooowwww. Plus, I discovered that you can only send so many drawings to the plotter before it gives you error messages. I guess 60 is the limit.

This weekend looks to be pretty relaxing. I will spend most of tomorrow studying, actually "practicing" for my last graphics test on Monday. After this, I have three more exams and I will be a registered architect. I sure hope I get through them with no problems. I plan on finishing them up by the end of the year. It hasn't helped that I have taken a summer hiatus. Oh well, back to the grind.

I've been thinking about the whole religion thing. I think I have peaked my family's interest by some of my recent comments on various blogs. I have to say that I am not actively pursuing an understanding. I do get moments of thoughts or inquiry, but I am not trying to find an answer. However, it is interesting when you look at the basis of all religions (that I have looked into). They are basically the same. No matter what rituals, holidays or holy days that go with the teachings, the basic message is love. I guess when I see that, I wonder why it matters what denomination you belong to (or if you even belong to any denomination). If you can seek to achieve love in your life without being Christian or Buddhist or Islam or whatever, why are you judged when you reveal that you are not "religious". I am amazed at how people instantly judge if they find out you don't go to church, or worse yet, you don't "believe" in God. It's like you suddenly become alien and they don't know how to deal with you.

It is very interesting to come to the realization of things in life. I am not sure that I like this "adult" thing.

Why are we here?

Religion.

This is a word that can bring many connotations, depending on where and how you were raised.

Religion is defined as:
Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion

Why, then, has religion been caught up in the mega and the political. Where has religion gone?

I grew up in a strict but fair religion. I was taught that a relationship between an individual and God is personal. You are called by God to be a member of his family. The main message I remember from the bible is Love. However, I look at the world now and have to wonder if anyone truly reads the bible? I personally do not. I do not know if I believe in God and the directions given in the bible specifically. I do believe there is a power higher than us. The earth should be revered and respected. You can see the power contained in the earth by watching it renew itself with floods, fires, hurricanes, etc. Because of my beliefs, or non-beliefs, one may think I am in no position to have an opinion on the religious. Maybe I don't. But I can't help observe hypocrisies.

I find it ironic all the people who are so offended by not being able to pray in school, not being able to display the ten commandments in government buildings, not being able to throw their religion in everyone else's face. When did religion become a benchmark of how "good" of a person you are? When did it become anyone's business how you worship, where you worship, what you worship or if you worship? Why do people feel it necessary to flaunt their holiness in public. Are they better because they pray out loud, in public, before eating lunch or dinner? Are they more spiritual because they are American? Where is the tolerance, the love, the private, personal relationship with God that is preached in the book that is supposedly the cornerstone of Christianity?

This is a main reason I am not religious. If I feel closer to the power greater than us, it is not in a building and certainly not in a mega church. I feel closer when I am in nature, surrounded by the awe and beauty that is greater than me. I feel closer when I am being trusted with the deepest secrets and dreams of a friend. I feel closer when I am reading a great book or listening to beautiful music or looking at a magnificent work of art or architecture. When I see something that is greater than myself, but that touches me on a deep level. I feel closer when I am forced to examine myself and discover a flaw and a path to fixing it. These are things that are personal. These are things that I will not flaunt in public. These are things that I must experience alone.

I strongly believe that we were made to question, to constantly seek the answers to the unknown. That all of this searching will ultimately help us become better humans. But, we must put others ahead of ourselves. It will be of no use if we become better for self gain. We must love our fellow man and the environment that we live in. This is the one word that sums up the whole reason I believe we are on this earth. We must learn to love, unconditionally. Once we achieve that level of selflessness, we will be complete.

Love is: A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

Introspective

The past couple of days have been extremely thought provoking.

With the gas prices hitting home and the fate of our neighborhood school in question, I have thought a lot about community and values.

As a society, we are loosing them.

I have touched on how I feel about the energy sources and the importance of pushing for renewable energy, so I won't go into that any more. Other than saying that we can all send a message to our government by the choices we make. We as consumers are going to have to start demanding environmentally conscious materials before they will be offered.

Community.

Below is a letter that I wrote to the local newspaper concerning the potential closing of our neighborhood schools:

"The August 18th article: “Spare Rountree, School District Panel Suggests” shows the R-12 Long Range Planning Committee does not truly understand the needs of center-city neighborhoods. The committee has backed down from its original recommendation of closing the schools in order to avoid controversy. This does not address the need to maintain and improve center-city schools. It appears that the committee has not considered that many of us who live in center-city have chosen to lead a smart growth lifestyle by living close to work and school. The sprawl-promoting mega-schools are not conducive to the lifestyle choices we have made and want to instill in our children.

The small neighborhood schools do more than provide children a place to receive an education. These schools are the heart of the neighborhoods. They are often what keep the neighborhoods going, and they provide a sense of community. Saving the small schools is not about saving a building or nostalgia. It is about saving our communities. It is about teaching our children that there are more important aspects of life than how much money you make or how big your car and house are. It is about teaching our children to be good neighbors, to respect others, to give.

Closing the neighborhood schools does not enforce these values. It is setting the example that it is acceptable to turn your back on your community for a profit. We have to invest in those things that help enhance our society. Investing in center-city and in the schools in these neighborhoods will enhance our society. These are the areas that maintain our sense of place and define our community, and they are worth maintaining and improving."

With suburban sprawl, the super vehicle, supersize this and supersize that society has lost connectiveness. Whether it is connectiveness with the environment, other humans, the community, it seems to have fallen by the waistside. We have to hang on to those things that keep us connected. Our downtowns, our urban neighborhoods, those area the places that can keep us grounded. Cheaper is not better. Bigger is not better. Some things cannot have a price placed on them.

My neighborhood is a throw back to the 1940's. It is very Norman Rockwellesque. you walk down any street and there are people walking or sitting on their front porch. You wave, say hi, stop and have conversations. You help your neighbors without them requesting it. You have fun. You do not drive miles to get to your home, pull in the garage and shut yourself off from your neighbors. We connect. We know the history of our neighborhood, our city, our neighbors and we are proud to have that knowledge.

We are able to influence the children in our neighborhood. They are able to look to the adults and see them helping others, helping the community, standing up for what we believe is important. They are growing up understanding compassion. How is that going to be taught in the mega school where the child is displaced from the neighborhood he or she lives? Where that child becomes another test score that has to be raised? What happened to educating a child on life? Do they even have good citizenship awards anymore?

These are issues that are bigger than me, bigger than my neighborhood, but they are issues that I believe in.

Yessssssss

I just had the greatest news on earth! Aaron Ruell and Jon Heder will be in Joplin at 7 pm next Friday!!!! That is only about an hour away!!!! I have got to find someone to go with me. That will be awesome.

Another fun tidbit of information. It cost us $30 to fill up our 11.4 gallon fuel tank in our car. I hate to know how much it costs the suv driving surburbanites. muuuaaaahhhahhhahaha. And this is another reason to live close to work, etc. I hope this is what it takes for people to wake up and realize we have to start using alternative energy sources. Let me ammend that - alternative renewable energy sources. It won't do us a bit of good if we keep using up the earths resources. It is very ironic that Bush is so ultra christian. However, if he is such a good christian, why isn't he being a steward of the earth? Shouldn't he (and others like him) be on the forefront of protecting the earth instead of destroying it? Curious. At least I know that I am doing a lot to help the situation. I try to be conscious of the products I buy and how they affect the earth. I, by no means, am perfect, but at least I'm trying.

Okay, off the soap box.

This weekend was pretty laid back and restful. Although, I still ended up waking up this morning exhausted. Is there something about Monday mornings?

Saturday I woke up at 6:30 and finished the 6th Harry Potter book. Pretty good. Big surprise at the end. Can't wait for the last one to tie everything together.

After that, I had coffee, showered, watched some tv. When Christian got back from the gym, we went to do some shopping. I got a pair of plaid pants and a brown cord jacket. I met Christian at Borders where I picked up the last Patricia Cornwell book that I haven't read and "Bastard Out of Carolina". Wasn't that a movie a few years back? All I know is it is set in Greenville County, so it must be good. Christian got the latest Dave Matthews Band CD and a Chemical Brothers CD. That night we went over to the Burns for dinner. We ended the evening with an hour long hand of UNO. They play with some crazy rules. I didn't play because I had the baby the entire night.

Sunday, we got up, had coffee, delivered a couple of streets worth of neighborhood block party flyers and went to the Burns (again) for breakfast. Yummmy! Waffles, eggs, bacon, fruit. I was done with eating for the rest of the day. We came back home around noon. Christian went to the gym and I proceeded to take a 1 1/2 hour nap. Nice. I did some laundry and read/ watched tv the remainder of the day. It was really nice.

Work is kind of boring lately. I am in between a few projects, so there is very little that has to be done right now. Hopefully that will pick up soon. It's tough to stay motivated. Maybe I'll clean my space.

Little Known Fact

Cat's can have allergies.

Isn't that hilarious?

I started this blog writing about my thoughts on solar energy, suburban sprawl and humanities choices. That got me really frustrated, so I erased it.

The longer I practice architecture, the further I get from reasons I enjoy architecture. So, in this blog, I am going to brainstorm on those reasons in hopes of regaining my inspiration. I am going to try to refrain from comparing what I enjoy to what I actually do. That would just be depressing. I think this will be a manifesto of sorts.

Here goes.

Architecture shapes our environment, both sensory and physical. The role of architecture should be to provide a physical enclosure that protects, inspires, comforts. This can be accomplished through materials, spatiality, site, views.

As an architect I should create spaces that inspire.

I should create spaces that respect and enhance the environment surrounding them.

I should create spaces from materials that do not deplete the earth.

Architecture is of this earth and should, therefore respect it in every way. Giving back when possible.

I should create spaces that allow for discovery both internally and externally.

Architecture should be a form of beauty from the way it sits on a site, to the overall appearance, down to the way the column meets the beam. It should always invoke further exploration and understanding.

Your Summer Ride is a Beetle Convertible

Fun, funky, and a little bit euro. You love your summers to be full of style and sun!

What's Your Summer Ride?

It is hard to believe that the year is 3/4 over. Where does the time go. Aging sucks.

Nothing much has gone on the past few days. Sunday evening we delivered a present to our friends who just had a baby. He was three weeks early, so he is on the small side, but oh so cute!!! Luckily they only live a block away and said I could come over to hold him any time. HeHeHe!! Monday we went to dinner at another couple who are moving to California. We had some excellent food and conversation. Hopefully they will do well.

This week we went to lift weights on Tuesday, and watched TV last night. Very exciting, I know. We are having friends over for dinner Saturday night. Two of the couples have new borns, so that should be fun. Now all of our friends have babies. It's crazy.

Pickens (our black cat) got sick this week. He puked in every room of our house Monday. We ignored it until the next morning. Who wants to clean up cat puke in the middle of the night? He has been quarantined and on a special diet for the last couple of days. Last night, I put his food in our room but left the door open. In walks our other cat and proceeds to eat ALL of his food. She ate more in one sitting than he did all day. What a piggy. Lucky for her she's cute.

We are finally getting some rain. I doubt it will make up our 6" deficit, but hopefully it will help.

One month from tomorrow is our seven year anniversary. Wow! That's pretty good. I guess we need to start figuring out if we are going out of town, or just doing something low key. I kind of want a piece of furniture instead of a trip. :)

Well, back to work.