getting ready to leave.

Saturday was spent recovering and doing some shopping down at the Christmas market. It wasn't nearly as busy as the last time I was there, which I would attribute to the cold temperature. I also attempted to switch my train ticket to one where I wouldn't need to use a bus on the final bit to the airport. But to do so would have added an hour to my trip and cost me over a hundred euros. So the bus for a few francs is not a bad deal.

Here are a few shots from the day... I'm spending today inside working on my book stuff and catch up on my missed NPR stories.

more snow!!

some links for your architectural viewing pleasure

here and here

its getting to look more and more like winter here, which is nice. The temperature is dropping and it snowed most of last night. It was a nice treat given that the office christmas party was also held. We went outside of the city to a little farm of sorts and had a wonderful evening. Much Gluwuein. (see link for "how to") was had and a good dinner. After which went out to a bar for a while with some coworkers and it was a nice evening.
I think we got around 2-3 inches of snow and it is around -13 (celcius) here so all the chimneys are puffing smoke. Its quite nice. I think I will be spending the weekend pulling together some gift ideas as well as beginning to think about packing and what I will bring home that I dont need.






also... this was seen on my way to work during the week.. I'm not sure what it was, or the last thing that went through its head (other than piston) but it didn't look pretty...

attempting...

its getting cold around here... and I love it. I haven't had much to post about recently, which could be seen as both a good, and a bad thing. On the good side of things.. I have settled into a routine that leaves my life somewhat predictable which is a welcome treat. However, I do enjoy having a bit of news to post or something to rant about. But alas.. nothing new.. other than the weather...

its snowed a couple times but nothing seems to stick, its too wet and the ground is just to warm, despite the fact its been in the mid 20's for the past few days.

the project is going well, we've switched gears a bit, for a couple reasons, one being we needed a change of focus to relax our brains, and secondly so that we could feel like we were accomplishing something. Running into the same problems over and over again is only interesting till around the fifth time.. then its just annoying. So a change of task will hopefully give us some fresh perspective when we return to the other boards we were working on.

Other than that, only four days of work left till I return to the states. I'm excited to be returning and to relax for a while (relax being a relative term)... I'll have a lot of book work to do... but at least I'll have the time and the ability to work....

well.. off to bed....

a few pictures can be found here

so after a bit of relaxation I found my way down to the winter market in the city center. I quickly discovered I made the wrong move. It was a zoo. Im glad I went down and saw it, but wow... it was just mobbed. And people didnt quite grasp the concept that if they stop in the middle of a crowded walkway... you will be run into. Then they proceed to look at you like you're the one with the problem. So after about 15 minutes of this I escaped. I snapped a couple pictures and got out of there. I was able to find the watch store that David told me about however they no longer sell the Max Bill watches and pointed me in the direction of another store in Stuttgart. So we shall see if I can find that store for some window shopping.

snow!

woke up this morning to a dusting of snow, I think its a good way to start the weekend. After discovering this fact I went back to bed for another 3 hours, and even better way to start the weekend!! Its still trying to snow but I think its far to wet for anything really to stick. Not sure where the rest of the weekend will take me... have some ideas though (and they mainly include the office)

thoughts from the sauna

So its been an interesting few days in the office with the news I'll be sticking around for a while longer and how the project is playing out. All good things but with the news that we have a lot more time on our hands its hard to keep plugging away at the pace we were last week. I feel like I'll work in chunks of time. Sometimes I just cant get enough done followed by spaces of time where thinkgs just arent clicking.... maybe thats just the nature of the beast.

Today Johannes, Tim and Jasmin and I went to the saunas. Jasmin is leaving for the weekend so we moved the sauna day up one. It was good to go and relax. I needed it and it felt good to just hang out and talk. Discussed was the skiing that could be had as well as finding me a woman now that I'll be here a bit longer, but seeing as that hasnt been on my radar the past weeks (months) Im not so sure it will suddenly happen.

Of architectural note though I have really begun to enjoy the saunas. Once you settle into your place and have become accustomed to the customs and what people do its really a great place to go. The places are so quite, the silence only broken by the whispering of others in the room. Sometimes its broken up and creates a kind of rhythm, others its a constant background tone. The other noise that I hear is the crackling of the heaters. Each room has a unique type given how hot that particular room happens to be. Its reminds me of after the furnace would turn off in our house in Enfield Center and you could here the air vents cracking and deforming as the temperature changed.

Few more days in the week, maybe a run with Tim over the weekend and working on my book.

wow... monday just happened...

very, very cool

really like this work.. the models at the end are great..


so a interesting week already. I found out the the two other people working with me on the project will be leaving. Doug, the intern who has both worked there longer than I and is reasonably more capable than I will be returning to the LA office at the end of the week. And Steffie, the architect who runs our group will be moving back to a project she was working on before this. Leaving me on it for a while. This is a very daunting idea, but I am encouraged by it. I'm sure some other people will be allocated to the project to fill it back out but it might be me on it for a while. So we will see how it goes.. Today was very busy and a lot was thrown out on the table as "to do" items and what we would like to do with our contribution.

I was also informed that they would like me to stay until the end of Feb. They said to see this project though but I'm not sure if that is the sole reason. As this project (to my knowledge) was slated to end around the time I was originally planning on returning home in January. I don't know if this has to do with the project time being extended or to work on other projects here... or abundance of workers in the Boston office currently. Who knows.... by the end of the week I'll have an idea of how my time here will develop.

Everyday I learn a bit more...

a routine if there ever was one...

Its been quite the week in the office. Our project transitions from 100 mph to 0 and back again regularly now. It certainly keeps me on my toes. We have begun to get a little further into the project which is nice, finally gotten the larger studies under control and have begun to look at how the fabric of the city is going to develop. But no sooner than getting a good head of steam on that we were told to "hold up" by the partners we are working with. Of course we will not, be "holding up" and continue to plug away but it was an interesting thought. To just stop, and wait around, see what they are planning. Though it wouldnt really work as its hard to maintain any sort of regular communication. So we plow forward on our path, hoping to take our work and really begin to guide rather than chase our tails.

Otherwise... nothing much new going on. I went out to a birthday party this week for a coworker which was fun and on Thursday went back to the baths. It was great to get back there and relax. I was able to swim in the carbonated water a bit longer this time, and once the initial "wow this is really weird" its quite nice.

This weekend will consist of cleaning up my place, laundry. I will also spend large portion of my time on my book while I listen to my newly acquired David Sedaris book.

oh, and it appears that even european cities aren't immune to traffic jams...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy thanksgiving to those who are celebrating. My day today was a good one, but not filled with turkey and football. Oh well. Work is going well, we seem to have some good direction and clear aim at what we are taking about. Its nice to have a set of task to work on and tackle the project on our terms.

Last night when I cam home around 11 from the lectures there was a note on the door of the house. I didnt think much of it at the time and just went up and went to bed. However, this morning when I got up to take a shower and found that there was no water I realized what it said. The construction at the bottom of the street (steps) shut the water off for a few hours. After realizing this the sign made much more sense. So a little grungy in the morning before I was able to shower over lunch.

The days have been quite nice recently and its been good to walk home and get some fresh air. The weeks absolutely fly by, its truly amazing. Hopefully some of the weekends will be nice when I finally have the time, or the courage to just get out and enjoy them.

I've also rediscovered the wonder of skype, my name is xcrogers if one downloads it we could talk for free. I think when I get paid I will prob buy some credit to as it is really cheap, compared to my cell phone. Also nice is that I can run it on my ipod, so when I am around networks (ie at my apartment or at the office) I can use that to talk. Almost like a cell phone of sorts.

well I am off to bed.. a couple related pictures of the construction and the wonder of skype.



annika shared in my rediscovery of skype


they posted no smoking signs all over the place. but the fact they were grinding metal within the construction site didnt leave me with the best feeling.

here and here

the above links are to the websites of the two lecturers I saw tonight at the university in Stuttgart. The first lecture was abour digital architecture. the office had some very neat projects and application of architecture. it was hard to get into at first (ignoring the obvious language barrier) but after a bit I was able to see what they were getting at and I liked how application was ultimately used and the projects that came of it.

the second was completely different. an architect from mexico city. She spoke in English which was nice but her projects were amazing.. a completely differnt style of practice but very, very nice work.

making plans.....

tonight was spent playing cards with Johannes and some of his friends. we played uno, but with several rules that they add to make it more interesting. So combing the speed, the language and the new rules... it was very intense.. even for a game of uno. It was nice though. I think I made plans to go back to a club on saturday. But I'm not sure.... we'll see how it goes down. My lack of cash flow (paid once a month at the end of the month) makes one very conscious of budgeting. And I think I would rather go to the baths on Thursday and relax. That way I could spend the weekend doing the competition for the NH AIA. Hopefully in one foul design charette swoop I can get that done and off to Chris for printing and delivery. It would be nice to enter.. even nice to win something....


Also been thinking about plans after christmas. I think I might go to Morocco for a few days. It would be a fabulous place to travel too. I also think I might start trying for some quick day trips on the de bahn.. or even just using the S bahn to get out of the city center. We'll see.. again.. need to budget wisely.

walk to the office

this weekend has been a very lazy one. its been nice though. I went to the Lidel and did some badly needed grocery shopping. I also re-discovered the ability to do laundry at my apartment using my landlords machine. I still need to go to the laundromat to dry the items. But being able to wash it here saves on time, and a lot of money.

Johannes and I also spent Saturday night making a soup from a recipe his mother provided to us. It was amazing. Very simple but very good. It was nice to spend some time cooking and just relaxing though.

Today, after much sleeping in a managed to drag myself into the office. I figured I would take the opportunity and document a few things I encounter on the way into the office every day. the photos can be found here. (The link will bring you to the set on my flickr page.)

Other than that.. not too much. Just preparing for another week. They go by so quickly.

Hadid's new Museum in Rome.

Above is a link to Zaha Hadid's newest project. The article has some interested conclusions about the place of such a project.

This week has been busy to say the least After a week of chasing out tails I think we might have finally gotten out from under the shadow of the "which came first?". The client is interested in the typology of the architecture that is being proposed. However, we have little idea of the character of the places we are examining. So its hard for us to develop a type when we dont know what these places want to me. Forgive me if I'm being naive.

So this last week we spent creating some loose examples of how some of the spaces could break down. I think for being under a time crunch (though arent we always) and not really having a great deal of information we've gotten some good progress. Certainly there will be criticism, both internal and from the client and collaborators. But you've got to crawl before you walk right?

So it was nice when at 8 on friday we finally sent off our boards. Can be free of it for a few days and make last minute changes for them in needed monday. Then next week we can focus on getting the cart back behind the horse.

The rest of the weekend will be spent doing book work and I think I might try and get a sketch idea for the NH AIA competition done. I would like to enter it and I think that if I can get a semi decent idea and board out the door it would be some good experience. Its for a library in southern NH. I need to read the brief and see what ideas come to mind. I think that the program is quite large and the requirements of the board will make it easy. Wont be much space for anything terribly fancy. We will see....

well I finally had two solid days of sun here in Stuttgart. Might even get a third.. who knows. Today was spent preparing the studies we spent the first part of the week coming up with for a presentation. We will finish that tomorrow and I think its coming along nicely and will look good. We are putting the cart ahead of the horse coming up with the typologies before we have really had time to think about the fabric of the project. But time is tight and we need to get some preliminary studies underway so that we can get the ball rolling.
Doner Kebab tonight was amazing. I had food in my fridge but really wasn't in the mood to cook and it was nice to not worry about dinner. I snapped a picture out of my apartment window of my view.. which I rarely see. Usually when I am home its far to dark out, of if by some miracle it is during the day, it is raining.

and back to the grindstone...

so this project is beginning to rear its ugly head. The work is piling up quick and the deadlines approaching quickly and without warning. At least now we have some goals and tasks to work towards. Before this week we were floating around too much. It was hard to really pin down a direction or a method. At least now we have something to go on, and will see where it takes us.....

a few shots of a weekend...

weekend

This weekend was a full one. Friday evening I went to a birthday party for one of my flatmates friends. They had a dinner party and it was a good time. I met some more people and hung out and drank for a few hours. They had prepared some great meatloaf as well as some other dishes... really very good. I had gone to the store and bought some Jim Beam, its the first time I've had any since I came over. After a few drinks and some shots of Johhanne's mystery drink and the mystery fruit liquor thing I was feeling quite good. I managed to make the last U-Bahn home which made the trip home quite quick. Had I missed it I would have had to wait for the night bus and that would have been a whole different affair. We talked about skiing a lot, and think might try and go with them at some point while I am here.

Saturday I managed to make it over the to Staatsgalerie. I took time and went through the museum for the work and architecture. They have some nice pieces and it was good to see the inside of the building. They also had quite a bit regarding the competition and the building itself (its been around 25 years since the competition was first commissioned) so it was good to get some history there. I also went and climbed he train station tower and searched around the University for the Hysolar building. It was a nice afternoon. Upon my return I spoke to Johhannes who informed me that he and his friends had all gone to those places. We must have kept on missing each other all day. That night we all went out and hit up a few bars and explored a bit. Eventually i ended up going to a club with a couple of the guys. It was near where I originally stayed and was quite the place. It was quite full and quite loud, but a good time was had and I'm glad I took the opportunity to see what it was all about.

Sunday I slept in for a bit and then went for a long run with Tim. We went to a park outside the city a few miles and ran on the trails there. It was really nice and was good to get out and go for a run with someone. In the afternoon I went over to the office and worked on my book for a while, starting to make some progress on that as well. So it was a good weekend. I enjoy that I've seemingly settled into a routine. My boss came through the office while I was there and we discussed the project a bit and I can see a lot of work in my future, but it is good. I was feeling slightly lost at the end of last week. So I think between that conversation and getting some more info about the project itself I will be able to get some good ideas/discoveries out there.

Hope all have a great week.

http://www5.stuttgart.de/baeder/menu/187710

today after work I went here with Tim (the guy who helped me move the sofa) and Johannes (my flatmate). They found a nice public bathhouse in Stuttgart that they go to once a week. They invited me along and I decided to join them. I didn't learn until about 20 min before I left that it was a nude (and coed) bath house. Which isnt really a problem, but an interesting first introduction.

We went to enjoy the saunas, of which there are many different styles there. We would rotate between the saunas and then outdoors to cool off, or a jump in the mineral bath, or a swim in the carbonated pool. The carbonated pool was very strange.. not only because of the obvious swimming naked and cold water.. but of how it feels to be swimming in that type of water. All the bubbles on your skin.... slightly odd smell... very strange. But cool, I looked up on the web and there are many good things of such a bath.

But it was a good time. There was a bar in there so we had a beer as well. Just kinda relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. I'm sure my skin is thanking me. Well off to bed...

my place

Yesterday Tim (one of my flatmate's friends) and I went over to Abbie's place and got the sofa and other items that she didn't want. We were able to get everything in his car, it was quite amazing. God bless Ford Focus Wagons.. the fact that the sofa isnt huge helped too. But we got it all over here, and set up in my place. The shelf needs to rest against something (it doesn't like to stand on its own). But it works well enough my needs and should be just fine. The only thing remaining is to get the heat in my room working. Right now its at around 20% (maybe). I am the last on the loop and the water is low. So my landlord needs to refill the system. He is aware of this but just started a new job and has been quite busy.

Found out today that the scope of the project we are working on is vastly larger than what we had imagined. But will not need as much detail as we explore each area. So the work load is about the same. However, I think the powers that be would like us to be done with this by Dec 23 (when we all leave for Holiday). This way the people we are working with/for have time to move our suggestions into their format etc etc.. So I'll work on this until I come home for xmas and then maybe something else for a few weeks in Jan before I am done.







These pictures are of my room and the kitchen. Omitted is the bathroom. Often I hang out in Johannes's area, he has more of a separate living room area...

I have been trying to catch up on my German. Johannes and I are going to try for days where we just speak German, hopefully that will help move my studies along as well. He' a good flatmate and certainly enjoyable to have a social network outside of work.

VISA, its everywhere you want it to be.

well not entirely true.. seemingly only when you want groceries. Twice now I've encountered that food stores do not take VISA. I don't know if this is a standard practice here or if I've just discovered the two chains here that dont. The first was a natural food store (which was very pricy but good) and the second was a larger, more standard store. Both times I had to sheepishly leave my cart and the counter, go grab some cash and come back down to pay. Its not a huge hassle, but feel kinda like a horse's ass. The rest of my day will be spent in the studio. I think I will attempt some book work so that I can get that done and out of the way.

two weeks...

so the first competition is over. the boards were submitted and we will find out in mid to late December how we did. The office is pretty dynamic, people move around and form groups as projects come together and then move as they are needed elsewhere. I moved my desk just a bit and now I am working on another competition. This one is in a completely different direction than the last. The project is a master plan development. The client is redeveloping what is now their port arear and turning it into residential, educational, cultural, etc etc.... its a huge area. Something like 2.5 million square meters of land.. not counting upward development. So we are working with a team of planners and engineers to develop the initial proposal and begin to give some definition to the areas they are calling out.
It will be a very interesting project to work on. The date is a ways off so it wont be too crazy, at least not for a little while. And it is nice to get in on the project at the ground floor. To have an understanding of what is going on and not be playing catch up in understanding the project.
I think this weekend will be spend working on my thesis book and running some errands for my apartment. Maybe grocery shopping. Get some of those things out of the way so I dont have to think about them during work. Hopefully get my desk set up here as well. And next week pick up the couch and things for guests to sleep on as they may arrive.

it´s best not to do the math...

I recently had a few spare seconds (the walk home) and did the math on my salary, if computed for actual time work my hourly wage it is essentially cut in half.. So Im not going to do that again...

Been putting in some long hours trying to work on a site plan for this project which is meeting with pretty harsh criticism. Trying to work in the colors, layers and textures as well as get the information correct is very difficult. Plus still learning how they organize files and color structure makes my job even harder. Its going though.. and I just keep plugging away....

settling in...

Spent today in the office, continuing my battle with photoshop. Around 5 or so I left and went down to the main drag to get some bed linens and things for my place. My landlords are returning from their trip this weekend and my room is now vacant. So I am going to move my things in there and call it home for the next few months. Its good to finally get my clothes out of bags and set my stuff up. I'll need to discover a sofa or something and some lamps to fill out the room a bit.

I also ventured down to the laundromat and did a couple loads of laundry. It was pretty easy and didnt waste any money. I met an architecture student while there. He had recently met someone doing the same thing I am with Behnisch. He couldnt remember who though. Not many people from the states here though... very strange coincidence.

I also cooked here for the first time (i'm not calling the pizza I made cooking). It wasnt a bad experience. I made some chicken and pesto pasta. It was good and didnt take me long. Will be nice to get settled into a routine of sorts and start to get my wits about me at least in where I call home. off to bed....

wettbewerbe

it seems like its one step forward, fourteen steps back at work with the project. I'll spend all day working on something only to find out that its outdated by the time I'm done. I'm sure its just a certain amount of how projects like this go and getting on board with the whole process. But its difficult to not feel like I'm accomplishing anything. I know I am, in terms of developing the ideas and moving the project forward but the bits and pieces that are taken from each idea make it hard to see that the effort put into something really was taken all the way... I've started to work on drawings and stuff for the boards though so hopefully this type of work will at least let me leave the office at the end of the day with something concrete done that will be used/taken forward tomorrow.
The time for the project to be due is coming up really fast so I think this weekend is going to be a long one between work and getting settled into my place for good. I'm also trying to figure out how to spend my Christmas break. The office here gets a week off and I'm not sure if will take it and travel here or fly home (which they would pick up). I think I will have it figured out by the weekend.... maybe

I also need to figure out my time at the end. I have my place to the end of Jan and it seems silly not to stay and use it as long as I can. So I think I might discuss staying at the office a bit longer and then taking a week or so at the end and traveling then as well....

Greetings.... today continued the trend of being a killer day. Guess I just need to settle in for the long haul with that. I spent all day working on a study model for the museum competition. A large part of this project has to to with the path that one takes through the space and how this path then informs the building. So the model I was working on tried to show the facade of the building and how that path is shown through the roof lines and how expressive the facade becomes.

With any project I have worked on I seem to go through bursts discovery followed by long periods where I'm just stuck. I haven't quite gotten my head around my role in the team and I think its frustrating me a bit. I think this stems from not being in the project from its inception and kinda jumping on board. Its nice that the project has already gotten going someplace but Its just a lot of catch up to figure out how we arrived at this point. Plus its every day is a new set of experiences and I'm not quite sure about the office dynamic yet. I need to try and relax and just work on the task at hand.

I had made plans to run with Tim, one of my flatmates friends today. However I wasn't able to get out of the office soon enough and didnt make it. I had tried to alert him to this but I think i took down the wrong cell number. I hope he doesnt form a bad impression of me. However Johannes has said he will pass along my regret if he sees or talks to him before I get a chance.

ok.. off to bed or some thesis work

oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HANNAH!!!

office stuff

not much happened today.. slept in a bit, only to discover that today was the changing of daylight savings here in Germany. So I was able to gain an hour of sleep which was nice. After clowning around a bit at my place I went over to the office to get some work done on my thesis book as well as maybe some work for the project we are working on.

I thought I'd share a little bit about it..

I am part of a group of people working on a competition for a new museum in Canada. The current museum is expanding and our firm along with around 15 others are submitting proposals for the project. I joined the project a little late so its been hard to get into the swing of things and get my head around the whole thing. We are designing a space that will hold part of their permanent collection as well as temporary spaces. My role varies but most of my time thus far has been exploring the various ideas that have been suggested by the other team members. I'll do this through drawings, making a study model, etc. Exploring how our idea can work with the program they require as well as various other constraints. Its a nice project to get my feet wet with but even after only a few days I already know I've got a lot to learn and my time here in germany will be well spent.

Exploring

So my first Saturday in Stuttgart was spent wandering around. I slept in a bit, which was nice, and went for a run up the hill behind out my apartment. It was good to run and get some exercise. After the run I went down into the city, I had some goals in things I wanted to see but ended up just wandering around and not really seeing much of anything. I did go over to the Stirling museum, but by the time I made it over there they were closing. I need to make a list of things I'd like to do/see in Stuttgart and in other places around Europe so I can begin to think about some trips and plan my days off a little better. Though it was nice to have a day to just kinda see the city and not do much of anything. As I was walking back home I ran into my apartment mate who informed me that he and some friends were heading out for some drinks. Of course I went along... we first went to a Spanish restaurant that had a decent happy hour. We stayed there for a little while and then went off in search of some other digs. Settled on a bar where we stayed for a while. My apartment mate and his friends are all finishing up their degree's in a type of engineering and doing various internships in Stuttgart. They are all very nice and are excited to practice their english. Hopefully I will be able to practice German as well. I've downloaded a tone of german podcasts and applications to my phone to help me get into the language. And I hope socializing and getting out into the city more will also help bridge the gap.

Apartment

Another day in the books. Growing more concerned with my lack of German. I'm hoping to start picking up more and want to engage with it a bit more. My new flat mates seem very nice and I think socializing with them as well as possibly with people from the office I hope to start to pick more up. Everyone in the office seems quite surprised/glad that I found a place to quickly. They say that prices range and 400 euro's a month isnt bad, certainly could find cheaper places but doing so would prob take a lot more time. As I really havent hear back from anyone else I'm glad I jumped on this one when I had the chance, even if I am over paying slightly. Though for that price a decent sized room, nice kitchen, bathroom and good roommate and landlord seems a small price to pay. They are very hospitable, allowing me to stay in their sons room (who lives in the apartment) while the current tenant is vacating his space. I think this will be a nice place to spend my time. The landlords seem very nice, speak English and seem very down to earth and want to help make sure I am ok while here.
Work today was even a little better still.. I am trying to shake the rust off as I jump head first into this competition. Its hard to get my head around it as the project has already been going on for a bit and the others working on it know the program and conditions a lot better than I do. I dont want to waste time by pursing ideas that are in the past or proposing ideas that clearly dont fit. I think I'll prob spend some time this weekend in the office trying to catch up and bit and attempt to get on the same page. I think we will have a review on the project early next week. Hopefully I can have an idea or two picked up. Means I need to flush my scheme out and bring up to to speed with the current options they are looking at.
I will also be working on my book for the next few days. I need to get a rough draft of that done and submitted so I can take some time refining it. I think the rough drat will be wrong (in format and such) no matter how I submit it, so I might as well just get it out of the way. Plus I need to get feedback on possible formats and layout ideas. Might also sleep in, will be nice to do that for a bit rather than have to wake up so early.... maybe I will go for a run too. Nice that I dont have to worry about moving my shit again for a while. I think I might look into a taxi to the airport when I fly home... or taking a bunch home over christmas...

Stuttgart

Hello from stuttgart. Arrived here on Tuesday and have been staying in a hostel for the first few days. Not too bad, pretty basic but get the job done. First couple days at the office were interesting, trying to get a flow going and figure out what is going on. The office and the people are very laid back which is good, but deffinitly crank out the work. I've been there for no less than 10 hours each day so far. Working on a submission for a museum in Canada, pretty interesting and really good to get my feet wet again. I signed the paperwork for an apartment not too far from work and will move over there tomorrow (friday). Its a nice place and the people I am renting from seem very nice as well. Should be a very quiet place to spend my few months here. I've been delinquent in posting pictures and such as I have no solid internet connection and well.. havent had the time to take any either. Maybe this weekend once I begin to get settled in my place they will begin to emerge. I think most of my free time will be spend completing my book and getting that done for school and being rid of that project.. at least for a little while. The two people who know me the best right now are the nice girl who sold me a telephone with my repeat vists for tech support and the guy who runs the kebab place near my hotel. They will surely be missed when I move to Stuttgart-West.

Cool.

Hunkering down in the relative cool of the basement I can focus my attention to working on my drawing set. Finished a 1:30 site plan last night, still needs to be inked, but the basics are there. Going to work on some sections this evening and then touch up the bay details. I hope to have the complete set done this weekend and hopefully my computer back so I can focus on creating some computer models and or working on physical models/images over the weekend before I head down to Alexandria for a review.

Knowing I'm writing this pretty much for my own eyes it will be nice to track my progress and see what I accomplish and use the blog as a self-motivator....

First Post

Figure I should post to note to mark the beginning. I hope to use this space to chronicle the finishing of my thesis as well as my job search in and around Boston.