2012 In Review






In a rare moment of sunshine amidst all the winter rain, I was able to convince my sister to come to the cove with me to take some photographs. About a week ago, we had a huge storm where it was windy and rainy and we (along with a lot of others) lost power. During that, there were record high tides and it caused a lot of issues near the waterfront. One of those such oddities was the movement of driftwood from the shore, to hundreds of feet inland. Of course, I had to go scope this out. For those who came to visit, the last photo shown above is of the parking lot that we parked in when we went and made s'mores. 

But anyways, this year has been quite an eventful year for me. I'm going to steal what Maggie did and post a little timeline of how 2012 went down.

In January, I went to Puerto Rico with the school swim team. It was a great experience and its where I really kindle my friendships with my teammates since I'm too busy with my academics during the school year to socialize a lot. Eventually, school started back up in late January where I began my second semester of college

February I didn't blog at all. It was probably because I was getting into the new semester, and finishing up my first year of swimming. We had our championship meet in the later part of this month, where I did very well. Best times in almost all of my events, and ended up placing 3rd in one of my events, and 5th in all the rest (which was actually pretty impressive considering there are 50+ guys in each event.)

March was a good month. There was no more swimming so I was able to focus on my architecture midterm and socialize more. Spring break was really an adventure though. Going on a road trip from New York to Maryland, where I spent a few days enjoying Washington D.C. and then continuing the trip to Virginia where I stayed at my friend Ben's home. It's the month I realized my love for visiting new places, and the people who come with only make the experiences better. It's also the month that I realized I don't know how to dress for warm weather

Then April rolled around and I attempted to get back into menswear blogging, but sadly it had to take place in my lovely dorm room. I enjoyed Easter with my architecture friends (and with the pair of bunny ears I picked up) and discovered instagram. I also realized that I needed to update my wardrobe to compensate for the east coast heat and humidity, something I never really had to consider with the mild Seattle summers. I also thought about wasted time, and about social implications of actions. 

May marked the end of my freshman year of architecture school where I somehow managed to be ranked first in my class academically. I went home this month and started working almost right away as only my over-productive personality would allow me to. Of course I had to enjoy the city I had been deprived from for almost 9 months, and had a few good days

In June I went to a music festival, made fried pb&j's and finally got around to satisfying my summer wardrobe. I continue to think too much and work too much and try to enjoy the beginning of summer.

July allowed for a few more adventures. I was able to continue my menswear related escapades and had a fun day with my friend who is studying photography. I was able to make a weekend trip down to Portland, Oregon with a friend from college where we enjoyed food, a street fair, and a respective break from working. Speaking of which,  I worked too much. And of course, the Seattle trip of dreams and wonders happened and made this summer one to never forget.

Some free time in August allowed me to consider honesty as I believe it to be, as well as reflecting on how I am living my life as I think it should be lived. I got ready to head back for my second year of architecture school, and on my way back my family and I had a nice trip to Boston. But as soon as classes began the workload consequently loaded up, quite rapidly at that. 

September brought about feelings that I wish wouldn't have happened, but there were fun trips made and decisions to re-evaluate how I perceive the world around me. 

Then, in October I got in a little more adventure going to NYC for the first time and met up again with some lovely bloggers. I attempted to make 20 lists of 20 things in honor of my 20th birthday, but that didn't exactly go exactly as planned. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed having to think about my life as I've experienced it until this point and enjoyed sharing it will my readers too. In looking to the future, I made a list of 20 things I'd like to do before I turn 21. For Halloween events I dressed up for a masquerade and for a costume party, and had a lot of fun at both. 

In November I reflected a lot on the kindness of others, and how much it can mean to the people around them, appropriate for me since Thanksgiving was spent at a friends house. And of course I get stressed out and this time console myself a bit better than in September. 

It's now the end of December I can hardly believe everything I've done this past year. Lately I've just been enjoying being home, and getting back to menswear. But now that I'm back on the east coast, and I'll be traveling once again to Puerto Rico I'll be finishing off what I'll consider to be a very good year.








{On him: boots: lands end canvas >> socks: topman << green pants: lands end canvas >> belt: old navy << polo: J.Crew >> fleece jacket: Uniqlo}
{On her: boots: DSW >> jeggings: true religion << tank: Nordstrom >> cardigan: victoria secret << scarf: Dillon's, which was a gift from the lovely Mayte}

This has been an exceedingly long post and I applaud you if you actually went through it all.
Happy New Year!

Dress everyday like you're seeing an old friend




Although while I'm at school I don't really communicate with my pre-college friends, I feel like I should more often. Especially after today. Coming home, you're bound to run into some people you didn't really want to see, and you're bound to make plans with people you actually do want to see. And today I made plans and saw two people that I actually wanted to see. 

I met an old friend today for coffee, and we do this every break we're both home for. I love talking to her and we just talked for hours until our coffees got cold and she had to go to work. Then, I got to see one of my closest friends from our club swimming days, and before he-went-to-college-two-years-before-me days, and I can't believe he's graduating this year already. He's got a good job set out, and a great girlfriend by his side, and I'm just so happy for them. We saw The Hobbit which was quite good, especially considering the fact that they made a 3 hour movie not seem that long. We had a great dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and they somehow managed to pay for my movie ticket and my meal without me noticing. 

These are people that I should really stay in touch with. The good listeners of the world, the ones who love to smile. The ones who pay for dinner, and the ones who dream of the future. Not only should I stay in touch with them, but I should seek out more like them, and welcome them into my life. (Perfect example- the blogger family.)

To end off the day, my family and I finally got our Christmas tree up, lights on it, and decorated all within the time it took for a Christmas music CD to play. 
Slash to actually end it off all of my grades are finally up and I'm upset because the only class I thought I would get an A in I ended up with a B+ in. Really?! REALLY. The only thing that can make this okay is if I remain ranked first in our class, but I doubt that will happen anymore. Time to fix the resumé again.








{boots: Land Ends Canvas >> socks: H&M << green chinos: Lands End Canvas >> shirt: J.Crew << jacket: REI >> scarf: Banana Republic}

Dress everyday like you're going to see your worst enemy



I don't have any known enemies, but I do like to think that while I'm back in Seattle I'd like to dress like at any moment I might run into an old friend. So of course, even though I just met up with a close friend for lunch and dropped by my old high school to talk to one of my favorite advisers, I wanted to be dressed to show anyone I might run into that this-is-how-20-year-old-Architecture-students-from-New-York do it.

And as you can gather from my pictures and from the fact that I said I'm back in Seattle, I'm actually home. In retrospect, it doesn't seem like that long. Four months isn't really that long, but I have done so much in those past four months. This past semester I designed my first building. It didn't really seem like such a monumental accomplishment until after it was actually said to me. Professionals get the same amount of time, approximately that I got to do almost what I did. Except I didn't have any design restrictions so my work is... futuristic to say the least. I got chosen as one of the top two students from my section to present in an honor review, which is impressive at our school. (Oh, and we get published by the school of architecture, which looks pretty good on resume's and stuff.) Hopefully soon I'll stop underestimating myself, but in the meantime  I'm still trying to balance athletics, academics, two different social groups, and whatever else might get thrown my way. My tendency to over-analyse doesn't help me out much either.

With that being said, I'm going to make it a point to enjoy this break. It's short (only two weeks for me) so I want to see everyone I want to see, go to a lot of coffee shops, and get back in shape for the swim team training trip I have to go to school for.



 { boots: Lands End Canvas  >> socks: Uniqlo << jeans: Levi 511 >> flannel: Uniqlo << sweater: H&M >> jacket: Banana Republic }


Today. (Post-Thanksgiving)

 
 
I'm thankful.
Thankful that the DeMarco's took me in for Thanksgiving this year again, and for the fact that home cooked food is amazing.
Thankful for this break. I've been so productive with schoolwork as well as with miscellaneous projects, and have been sleeping 8+ hours a night.
Thankful for all of my wonderful friends. In real life and online.
Thankful for being as privileged as I am, with a great and understanding family who wants me to follow my dreams.
Thank goodness for Black Friday sales.
Thankful that since Thanksgiving is over, I only have 3 weeks until I can go home (and more importantly be done with this semester from hell.)
There are a lot of things to be thankful for in life.
 
However, since I've been back from Thanksgiving (yesterday afternoon) I've been living off of peanut butter & nutella sandwiches, honey bunches of oats and chai tea. Normally I wouldn't complain but this guy needs his food. So I decided that today I'd venture down into Troy to my favorite coffee shop for lunch. I'm really glad I did because I had an awesome burger. (Coffee shop with burgers are my kind of coffee shops apparently.) I decided to snap some pictures on the way down, but about halfway through it got really windy and blizzard-like so I put my camera away. It was like I was being assaulted by dry leaves for a good ten minutes.
 
After I ate, and was walking back up to my dorm, I decided to try and take some pictures of me in my new jacket on auto timer. That failed. It decided to get really sunny at that point so I'm either squinting/making awful faces or all you can see is shadow because I'm back-lit. Morals of the story: I'm really bad at taking photos of myself and I like my new jacket a lot.
 
Look at the pictures and pretend like you were walking with me because it would be nice to have some company.

 









this crazy thing I call my life


It's hard to believe that it somehow became late November and that I'm now on my Thanksgiving break, but I'm definitely not complaining because I need a few days to recuperate. The past few weeks have been a flurry of ups and downs. As finals rapidly approach (seeing as architecture finals are held before finals for "normal' classes), it's apparent that we had a lot that needed to be done in not a lot of time.

Our design studio has been the most intensive of all my classes. We're currently designing an addition to a preexisting museum, and we've crossed from abstract design to this-needs-to-be-a-functional-structure-where-are-the-doors-and-windows-and-fire-escapes and I most definitely did not know how to go about that. But lately I've felt like a real architect because of it. That and the sleep deprivation. Literally 4 hours a night for the past two weeks. I go to bed around 2 or 2:30 am and get up at 6:14 (yeah, 14) every morning for swim practice. I'm spreading myself rather thin.

BUT. Now I'm on break. I had my structures class today where we tested our final bridge model (which not only was the professors favorite aesthetically, but it also held 480 lbs) and that was it. I've done some laundry, watched some TV shows, went out to dinner, and now I'm listening to Fleet Foxes pandora and drinking caramel hot chocolate that Amy got for me for my birthday.

I wish most of my days were spent like this. Although I would like more sleep a night, since it's obvious my swimming performance has gone down due to it, I'm glad to be burying myself in my work. Whenever I have time alone I think too much and start to feel like I can't keep my life together. There are a few people here that I don't get to see all the time, but when I talk to them my problems are all erased for a little bit and I feel a bit refreshed. I've got to find more of these moments of solitude in the weeks leading up to break.

Lately though, thinking about the holiday season has preoccupied my mind a bit.

More on that soon though! This was just an update on this crazy thing I call my life.

Take These Thoughts


It's too often I find myself lost in my own head and struggling to find a way out. But every so often, there's just a little thing that keeps me going. One of the best feelings is having someone offer to do something for you, or get something for you, just because they can. A lot of people find this senseless - whats the point in doing it if you don't have to? I think we should look at it the other way around - if you can do it then why don't you?

Too often I get the urge to write out what I'm thinking, feeling, remembering, whatever, especially when a new emotion rises up out of casual communication. What triggered this was having my roommate ask if it would be okay if his mom would bring us breakfast tomorrow morning (because his family lives 20 minutes away and we needed to get breakfast before our swim meet but dining halls wont be open). It's just really nice having people who do that. Another one of my friends mom keeps inviting me over for Thanksgiving, which just feels so nice considering I can't go home.

Maybe it's just me, and the distance that has separated me from those who were closest, but an outstretched hand causes my heart to swell up just a little, and it puts a smile on my face.
There was one time Adam left me Vitamin Water and a note saying how much he appreciated our friendship. It was sitting on my desk as I get back from a late night in studio, and he will probably never know how much it meant to me. The card Kelsey gave me for my Birthday giving similar sentiments and a copy of The Great Gatsby was fantastic. I hope she reads this because I love her to death. My future roomates surprised me with a peppermint mocha and a chocolate croissant last weekend, just because they were out and had thought of me.

There is a theory that states birthday presents were given as a method to ward off evil spirits on the day of ones birth, and although these undertones are gone, the tradition continues. Sometimes I feel like gifts, whether on your birthday or not can ward off the evil spirits that inhabit your soul, and those that lurk in the back of your mind. How arbitrary a thought can be to one, and so significant to another.
Make it a goal this week to do at least one nice thing, just because you can, to someone you care about. It's easy for you, and will make a world of difference to them.

Halloweek

 
[hal-uh-week] (noun) - The week surrounding the holiday of Halloween. This includes the weekend before and after, especially when the holiday falls on a Wednesday, because that's when all the best costume parties are.
And I never turn down an opportunity to put on a costume.
 


 
The weekend before Halloween it was the birthday of one of my upperclassman architecture friends (who also happens to be on the swim team, and from Seattle) as well as the birthday of another architecture student - so they threw a masquerade. Being the crafty architecture students that we are, of course we made our own masks. (Yes, mine does have a beak.)
 
This past weekend was the annual "Creepy Crawl" which is a costume party for architecture students. We had a couple of hippies, Barbie and Ken, and some of the cast from Peter Pan (Tiger Lily, John, Tinker Bell, and of course me, as Peter Pan.)
 
I always have fun with these guys. And because the main portion of these themed parties involved architecture students - a lot of the masks and costumes were very innovative. We're just awesome like that.
 
You see, I've been spending the majority of the time talking about my enjoyable weekends and not about my Birthday, which is, in fact, on Halloween. This is because my birthday itself wasn't all that great. The night between the 30th and 31st I spent doing work, as did I on the 31st, and well into the 1st, because we had a midterm for design studio on the 1st. I hardly slept, let alone was able to open a birthday card.
 
However, as soon as that was over, I enjoyed the cards I received, and the package Amy sent me, and everything else that would comprise a good birthday. Better celebrated late than never at all. I think I'll purchase myself a new pair of boots soon. Happy Birthday to me!


Day 20: 21 Things to do before 21


Unfortunately, I bit off more than I could chew for my goal in posts. Attempting to do 20 posts, each with 20 things on the 20 days before my 20th birthday sounded like a great idea to me at the time... back when I had time. In those 20 days I wrote a 2500 word sociology essay, had 2 swim meets, had several architecture design studio midterms (yes, several, which was unnecessary), amongst other things. Not that I'm making excuses for myself (I am) but attempting to figure out that much content, especially when its all a reflection done by me.
So although I'm missing a few days, and now that I'm a few days late, here is the last list I wanted to post. I made one for turning 20 but most of the objectives were left unfulfilled. Here are 21 things I want to do before I turn 21 - and I really want to do them all.

- Take more photographs
- Go to the Seattle Public Library & Art Museum
- Read more books
- Take a yoga class
- Record a song (informally)
- See a musical
- Run a half marathon
- Grow a mustache
- Go to Beth's Cafe & get a 12 egg omelet
- Go to New York City
- Get a set of wine glasses/tumblers
- Go paddle boarding
- Start regularly recording my outfits
- Go to Austin for the blogger family meet up
- Use and develop at least 1 disposable camera
- Finish my resume and electronic portfolio
- Invest in a new suit
- Re-furbish a  piece of furniture
- Move into an apartment
- Get something pierced
- Get my motorcycle drivers licence

Are there any things you guys want to do in the next year?

Day 14: 20 songs

If you've ever received a mix CD from me, you generally know what I like to listen to. However, there is quite a bit of diversity on in my library, including classical, jazz, musical soundtracks, and even a little rap and country (both of which I claim to hate). Here's just a brief introduction to my musical inclinations, as seen through the first 20 songs to go through my shuffle.
Islands - Young The Giant
All At Once - The Airborne Toxic Event
5 Years Time - Noah & The Whale
I Wanna Be The One - fun.
Swallowed In The Sea - Coldplay
Dive In - Jennifer Knapp - 103.7 The Mountain 2010
The Best of Times -Sage Francis
Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat
Where Do My Bluebirds Fly - The Tallest Man On Earth
Skeleton Key - Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Amy's Halloween Mix
Messages - Xavier Rudd
The Schmuel Song - The Last Five Years (Soundtrack)
Thousand Ways - The Tallest Man On Earth
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Florence + The Machine
Ladder To The Sun (Live) - Coldplay - CD Swap '11 (Maggie Rake Mix)
How to Save a Life - The Fray How to Save a Life
Disenchantment - My Chemical Romance
The Man Who Can't Be Moved - The Script
The Planets, Op. 32: VI. Uranus, the Magician - London Symphony Orchestra-  Holst: The Planets
Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

Day 13: 20 Things I've learned since being in College


So now that I've been in college for over a year, I can look back and I've realized that I have learned a lot. Not only academically, but I've learned a lot about people, different ways of living, and myself. It's amazing what moving across the country and attending school for a subject you've never pursued before can do to a person, but more so, teach to a person. So here's just a few things that I've learned...

First, and foremost, I've learned how much I enjoy "doing things". Any time I have an opportunity to leave my room/campus to do something, whether it be making my favorite banana bread at my friends' apartment, or going into the town surrounding my campus, I will take it. Not everyone actually likes "doing things" which I am astounded by, but more for me I suppose.

Always set an alarm. Or multiple. Waking up is hard, especially when you're getting minimal amounts of sleep.

I get really grouchy and unfocused if I don't eat. Which I need to do a lot because a) my metabolism is really fast b) I have at least one swim practice a day on any given day c) when I get stressed by metabolism speeds up, so I stress eat.

I've learned people are actually pretty reasonable if you ask for a favor, because it is likely that they were in the same position at some point in time.

I now know that a lot of the large words that architects use in conversation, or in describing something although sound made up, are not. For example, gestulation, elasticate, statical, processuality, and documentate are all words I've heard a professor say, and legitimately thought they were making words up.

I now understand how foundation, masonry structures, steel and timber framing, and exterior cladding works in a structure.

It's hard to please everyone, and I now know it's most important to at least try and please yourself.

I've come to realize that the people you surround yourself with are extremely important. For your sanity, for resources, for help, for laughs, for fun. For everything.

Music is amazing. I mean, I already knew this but I definitely have a new appreciation for music and the way it can preoccupy your mind when you'd rather not be up at 4 am doing work.

I've learned how to use lots of different programs since being here, such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign, Rhino, Maya, and a few more. I guess that's what a Polytechnic Institute will do to you.

I've learned to pack light, and I can definitely refine my packing skills even more.

Organization is vital. Of physical space (since these dang dorm rooms are just so small) and of time (and my time management skills are decent, but sometimes I loose track of time, or get caught up in an assignment/activity.)

I've come to realize how much I love the Pacific Northwest.

Also, since deciding to attend school in New York I not only enjoy travelling, but I have now come to the realization that I really enjoy (planned) adventures, especially if they are in new, different places.

Similarly, I've learned the importance of bringing things to do whilst travelling. Books are good.

There are some things that you just need to take care of by yourself, but at the same time there are some things you just can't do alone - and I've just started to figure out when those times are.

Always have a pen on you. I now know that you never know when you might need to write something down.

I thought that I would talk to more people from high school, but I don't and I've realized that I don't really want to.

I've learned that architecture is all about the process, and if the process is good, a good result will come of it.

I think it's always been this way, but being in college has made me realize that the way in which I prioritize things is very important to my productivity level. Things that drop down on my priority levels (which really shouldn't) will take a very long time for me to get to. For example, I've been meaning to wash my water bottles now for about a month. I have no idea as to why I keep putting that off, but silly little things like that will go uncompleted for far too long.




Day 12: 20 Pictures taken on my phone

 
Whenever I can, I try to have my camera on me to take photos, whenever an opportunity may arise. But sometimes I decide not to take my camera somewhere, then I just have the urge to photograph something and as my phone is always on me, I take it with the (very bad) camera on my phone. So for this post, here are 20 photos taken from my phones camera. It's a little bit more insight to the arbitrary things I feel as if I need to capture - that's what a photo is to me, a permanent memory.
 
(In order from most recent to this past summer...)

 
Giant delicious cinnamon roll and chai tea latte on my weekend coffee date

We went apple picking and we ran into these two guys matching... (actually they're two guys on my swim team and they decided to match - which I found hilarious)

Brown boat shoes, mustard socks, and olive green corduroy? Just because it doesn't match doesn't mean I wont try.

Shameless outfit picture. Love this flannel from Uniqlo

Found this in the freshman architecture studio....

Card from Maggie

My campus on a nice day

One of the last days of summer spent out on the lake

The only time my name has been spelled correctly on a Starbucks order

Dinner date with my best friends before leaving for our second year of college, at yes, Flying Squirrel Pizza.

What's cuter than a puppy on a slide?

Flowers at a farmers market

The only type of soda I like - Birch Beer

Banners like this are awesome.

I also have a thing for vintage clocks.

And GIANT kitchen tools.

I made a graduation card for my friend Eva by drawing each of the dresses she wore to graduation events. You too could receive a personalized graduation card if you're as awesome as Eva. 

Another shameless outfit picture. This is my favorite flannel, and favorite raincoat...

Someone was celebrating something, somewhere...

My friends Erica (above), Kristy, and I call ourselves the three musketeers. They're pretty much the only people from high school I still talk to on a regular basis.

Day 11: 20 Fantastic Things

This here is a rather arbitrary list of a few things that I find to be, for lack of a better term, fantastic. For whatever reason that may be, each of these things is awesome for one reason or another. Lately I've been trying to enjoy and embrace more of the happenings that go on around me, rather than burying myself in work. As we approach the Holiday season, we begin to approach a lot of events.  Currently, I'm excited for all of the Halloween events I have lined up - and excited to dress up for them! The rest are either things that I've been doing recently, or things that I would love to own.


1. The new Mumford & Sons Album
2. A Pastry Affair
3. Having lunch in Upstate New York with my favorite English teacher
4. Dressing up (all fancy and whatnot)
5. Halloween
6. These Florsheim boots
7. The fact that Uniqlo is now an online store
8. This book titled Forever the New Tattoo
9. Coffee dates at Spillin' the Beans with Ryan and Kelsey
10. Being invited to dinners with the Dean of the School of Architecture
11. Socks with patterns
12. Bananas with Nutella as a late night snack
13. This belt, even if it is for equestrians
14. Mix CD's
15. Masquerades
16. Going to bed, and knowing your alarm clock wont go off in the morning
17. Salted Caramel Mocha's from Starbucks
18. This plaid shirt from J.Crew
19. Driving by yourself and singing loudly
20. Literary effects

Day 10: 20 Things I look Forwards to in Life

I have definitely fallen behind a few days, but am working to get the days back on track. So, only three days behind (oops), here is the post for day 10. This list was a suggestion from the lovely, British, Nicola.
Things that I look forwards to in life differ on a day to day basis, and the things on this list range from large scale typical western culture desires like starting a family, to small scale things like wanting to grow a mustache. However, I look forwards to the possibilities of these things happening, and whatever else life might behold.

Graduating from college.
Being an architect.
Falling in love.
Having a family.
Owning a home.
Travelling to Europe (eventually).
Being able to see the blogger family every year.
Seeing my sister graduate and go to college.
Living in an apartment.
To have the ability to grow a mustache.
Fulfilling my tattoo cravings.
Going to friends weddings.
Designing homes.
Having a salary (and no student loans).
Spring break adventures.
Nostalgic past friend meet ups (like meeting up with an old friend for coffee to catch up).
No restrictions (and by this I mean at age 21 a lot of restrictions are lifted, mainly so I can go to venues for concerts is what I'm getting at.)
Discovering new places.
When my best friends become family friends (and our kids can have play dates with each other, etc.)
Inevitably, I look forwards to seeing where life takes me.

What are some thing you guys look forwards to?

Day 9: 20 Reasons I'm Excited to have an apartment


It's already official; I have an apartment for next year. The lease has been signed and a security deposit has been paid. I will be living in a 2 story apartment - each floor has 3 bedrooms, a decent sized living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc - anything a normal apartment might have. Needless to say I'm excited and of course I has to make a list of why.

1. I get to have a place that is all my own. And by that I mean it's not a stupid dorm.
2. The big bedroom. The bedrooms are so big. Like twice the size of where I'm currently living.
3. My own bedroom. No more sharing with Forrest. (Yes, my roommate's name is Forrest.)
4. My own kitchen. I no longer will need to leave my living space if I need a kitchen.
5. Everything I might need is in the apartment (as opposed to having to leave my room for something).
6. A living room. To live in.
7. Being able to bake when I want to bake. This actually thrills me.
8. Being able to alter my own room. Like hanging stuff on the wall and furniture and maybe (hopefully) paint.
9. Furniture shopping. I obviously wont have any existing furniture to take, so I will need to go get stuff, and I love looking for furniture.
10. Getting my own dishware/glassware/silverware.
11. It is just as close to campus as a dorm. Bonus.
12. It will be super close to my architecture friends' house. I can see their house from my back window. I plan on putting in a zip line from my back patio to their front porch. (Realistic? Totally.)
13. I can host events.
14. Like dinner parties.
15. And cocktail parties (when I'm of age of course.)
16. Living with Ellen and Marissa. Yes, I am living with two girls, but it will be just fine.
17. There is a spare room that we can convert into a guest room and have people visit.
18. It's somewhere to store all of my stuff when I'm not there. (See issue number 20 of day 3)
19. Experimenting with interior design. I get to try and recreate my aesthetics in the real world! No more daydreaming for me.
20. It will be the same place for at least 2 years. Another bonus.

Here are some of my inspiration photos. I doubt my space will look like this, but I would be unbelievably happy if it did.


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Day 8: 20 Places I want to go.



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wan·der·lust

Noun: A strong desire to travel: "a man consumed by wanderlust."
 
 Here I am, sitting in my room, just like I have all day. Doing work on the computer, productive, but not ideal. At moments I let my mind wander, and it takes me to far off places. Most often it takes me to memories, most of which are of cool places with the people I love to be with. Here is a list of places I'd like to go, make memories in, with more people I love.
(in no particular order)

Austin, Texas. Blogger family, you know why.

Paris, France. Something about this place has always drawn me here. I want to go and experience what I envision in my mind to be the place of romance.

France in general. It's a country so full of history (including architectural history) and I feel the urge to explore it.

Italy. Not sure if it's for the food, or the architecture... both equally I think.

The Netherlands. Such a contemporary area where innovation is occurring constantly.

New York City. To be in what we see as the beating heart of America. To witness the grandeur and the experiences such a place must behold. (I wrote this before I actually went, but I need to go again so it's staying on the list.)

San Diego (USD). My best friend goes to school here and she is always sending me pictures of the beach, telling me she just spent a few hours doing her homework out there... in the winter. Weather envy for sure.

Disneyworld. I've been to that place called Disneyland, and it was tons of fun. I'm curious about the one in Florida, and all that it encompasses.

Cape Cod/A beach on the East Coast. I've heard amazing things about East Coast beaches so obviously I need to go to one myself.

London, England. Not only is it an iconic location for anyone, but there is a specific person it would be amazing to see there! Also, accents.

Australia. Ever since I was a little kid I've wanted to go to Australia, but then I think it was for the cool animals that live there. Now, in addition to that, I'd love to experience the culture and the difference in location from the U.S.

Sydney, Australia. More specifically, Sydney. Did anyone say awesome architecture? Oh wait, I did.

The Great Barrier Reef. Before it all dies, it's a dream of mine to go scuba diving in the reef. To witness all the different forms of life, in a world so close to ours, yet so distant at the same time.

Hawaii. I've had many a friend travel to Hawaii for a vacation and I can only picture it as a fantastic, relaxing spot. I'm craving relaxation.

MOMA. Museum of Modern Art (New York City). In order to keep up my image as a dilettante, I really need to go here and take in all the art that it has to offer a wide-eyed wanderer like me.

Toronto, Canada. My architecture friends and I have been discussing the possibility of a spring break trip up to Toronto, and although I don't know much about Eastern Canada, I still want to go because it's somewhere new, eh.

A Uniqlo Store. Anastasia told me I need to go here, because when she walked in it immediately reminded her of me. Any place that someone might envision me in a space, I obviously need to go. (Once again, this was written before I went - but now that I've gone I am very pleased that I went.)

Shelby's Apartment (when she gets one.) Because it's Shelby. And her fantastic taste in a place where she determines how it looks. Duh.

The Reitveld Shroder house. I have no idea why, but the conceptual and aesthetic ideals produced in the period of art called De Stijl is my absolute favorite. I need to see this house in person.

Iceland. A long running joke stands behind this one, in which my high school group of friends would drop out of school and move to Iceland and start our own little community. It was weird and awesome and I still want to go.

Any place you would love to go?



Day 7: 20 Reasons I Want to be an Architect

This topic was most definitely a suggestion, and it was a really good one. I knew I wanted to go into architecture, but it had to have sprouted from some sort of passion, and doing this list allowed me to reflect on what those were specifically.
At the end enjoy the pictures of what kinds of projects I've done in Architecture school so far!

1. I want to build houses.

2. It makes the beautiful practical, and thus inhabitable. At a young age I thought I wanted to be an artist, but a) I really wasn't that great at representation through drawing and b) I quickly found out that there wasn't a clear path to getting a job. Since I have to plan everything, leaving the unknown up to chance, and not up to myself.

3. I want to use it as a method in which to personalize a space. Aesthetically demonstrating your personality is a fantastic concept that I believe everyone should be able to have.

4. You produce something physical. Starting with literally nothing, and building your way up, producing physical and visual "things" (for back of better terms) is an amazing feeling once achieved.

5. It serves a purpose within society. Like, you need somewhere to live. Let me make that somewhere for you.

6. I'm passionate about design.

7. I get excited learning about really obscure aspects of architecture. Like concrete and brick mortar designs, new developments of futuristic architecture, and so on.

8. Buildings, in general, fascinate me. They're a bunch of little pieces that you put together in a like a puzzle - except that there isn't just one way to do it.

9. It is a field that combines the things that I'm generally decent at

10. The history of art and architecture is amazing. Renaissance, Gothic, Baroque, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Modernism, Post-Modernism, Parametricism, and so much more, all with individual characteristics, all linked together in some way.

11. So is the theory that goes behind it. It's like the sociology of buildings.

12. You can use logical processes for schematic design. Especially for me, during the schematic design process I need to have a reasoning for producing what I'm producing.

13. It's a relatively individualized field. Like I can technically be my own boss.Technically.

14. I think that people should love where they live, and I want to help produce that love.

15. I really can't get bored of it. It's an ever changing field, and an ever changing clientele that will challenge designs to make them for the individual.

16. The creative problem solving that goes into structure and design is challenging and interesting.

17. Analysis of buildings is fun. At least I think so.

18. It is the field in which you know nothing about everything. Or at least that's what they say...

19. As an architect, you are also a part of the interior design and landscape design process. WHICH I ALSO THOROUGHLY ENJOY.

20. Inevitably, an architect is what they make of themself.

I'm experimenting with buckling conditions in columns

Final model first semester of freshman year. (This was supposed to be on Mars...)

For our Materials & Design final we did an analysis of the movement of the human body

In order to producing this structure. Considering architecture as a "third skin"

My most recent project (still a work in progress) in which we analysed light, so I made sin waves and used them as a generative process, thus producing these volumetric modules.


© An Integral Design. Design by Fearne.