passion of the architect

longest day of work

2007-01-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

so the longest day of work is supposedly the first day back from vacation.

yup. it's only 1 pm.

i could've sworn 8 hours passed already.

damn u brad....damn u!

2006-12-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

so what do give someone for his bday when he already has everything? how about a private tour of frank lloyd wright's fallingwater and a private catered dinner in his living room.

so apparently this is what ms. jolie gave to her man, mr. pitt.

Cara Armstrong, the curator of the museum, revealed that not only had the actor thoroughly enjoyed his tour, but had also surprised her, as well as the staff, with his knowledge about architecture.

what a kiss ass.

i mean c'mon....you got the girl, the job, and the money. now you wanna take over my territory. let it be brad....let it be.

then again, if brad loves architecture and design and can still "get the girl," then i guess that gives us cadmonkeys some hope.

not a lot dammit, but at least some.

Brad's perfect bday gift.

familiar face

2006-12-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

hey....it's mama siegal, my very first studio instructor.

clean your car

2006-12-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

so my fellow cadmonkey mentions to the office who's driving to our christmas lunch thing....

it's all quiet.

then the new guy takes it the wrong way and thinks that my buddy is actually telling him that he should be the one to drive.

so what does the new guy do....he goes downstairs and cleans out his car.

i give my buddy a hard time and tell him that he's so mean, forcing the new guy to clean his car like that.

my buddy mentions that he didn't mean it like that and i'm like whatever.

so i guess the new guy is driving.

ckeck the border

2006-12-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

so the b-dub (aka the pm) wants to get the client's logo on our border just right before we send our sheets out to print.

in actuality, i think it's fine, but b-dub wants doesn't like the gray shading showing behind the logo when you print.

so we spend all this time messing around w/ the image file, changing plot settings, sending test plots to the printers, etc. etc. etc. all this just to get the image just right.

so what happens. the printers give me call and tell me we can't seem to get the image right, but we did notice that you have a wrong phone number on your border.

so i check and low and behold, our address and phone number is wrong and who worked on the border...b-dub.

hmmmm....so we spend all this time fixing a damn logo, when we don't even have our right contact info on the border which is on every single drawing.

i wonder if i should mention this before or after we send out our 50 sheets to print.

after.

guessitecture

2006-12-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

so we can't seem to find as built drawings for this one project. so here's what i'm doing....

a while ago, when we did have the as built drawings, the man actually traced over it (with no dimensions called out) to have it scanned (see scantecture) and layed out on cad.

so i am now taking that hand trace of the as built drawing, that was scanned into the computer and using that image file as a background to trace over in autocad.

and to top it off, the man wants me to email him different schemes so he can give accurate square footages and dimensions to the client.

so i'm basically using this image file, that was started by hand, to guess accurate dimensions to give to the client.

as built to hand trace to scan to image background to cad trace to dimension to client= guessitecture.

so you want me to surf the internet.....what?

2006-11-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

so the past couple of days has been pretty cool. all last week and the past days of this week, the man has given me the okay to surf the internet.

yes, i said that right, okay to surf the internet! what?

well, the real reason is because we are currently redesigning our website, so he wants me to research on the net and get some ideas. nice!

i mean it's no different from what i do everyday. it's just that this time i don't have to hide explorer behind autocad all the time (c'mon, like you guys haven't done that before) and i can browse the net FULL SCREEN! 'iz very nice.

okay. gotta go back to work now.

no seriously, i have a lot to do.

happy turkey day

2006-11-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

turkey for me

and turkey for you.

i like to eat turkey

in my big brown shoe....

i can't believe i'm still at work. i gotta get out of here.

happy turkey day all!

thanksgiving mode

2006-11-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

so this week i am officially in thanksgiving mode...

this is very much similar to vacation mode, which occurs days before i go on vacation, and christmas mode, which starts the day after thanksgiving.

it is a happy mode, where i have little or no work to do. and if i do have work, i, of course, finish whatever i need to do quickly and efficiently, in order to spend some real quality internet time surfing and blogging (why waste a good work day).

come to think of it, as i look back, it seems to me i was in thanksgiving mode for quite a while this past year, if not, the whole year actually.

yah, it was a good year.

sorry

2006-11-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

so the b-dub aka boy wonder aka pm said sorry to me the other day for yelling at me.

that was nice.

managing the pm

2006-11-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

so i got yelled at the other day for trying to manage the project manager (pm). it was pretty funny....note to self....i should manage the project manager more often...

i realized that our deadline was coming up and we were no where near completion so i decided to step up and make that known, especially since most of the stuff still left to do on the drawings were the responsibility of the all high and mighty pm.

i guess he didn't take it very kindly that a cadmonkey was pointing out what should've been done by the pm, but wasn't...(see post "the art of creating work to get out of working").

yah, that was fun.

the art of creating work to get out of working

2006-11-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

so i learned a new thing the other day.

the art of creating work to get out of working. the basis behind this philosophy is creating work that you like to do, ie. renderings, emailing, reseaching online, etc., to get out of work that you do not want to do or don't know how to do, ie. detailing, redlines, etc.

for example...(keep in mind we are working on a tight deadline)

1. i need to do details, but instead, i will research where the best price is to get plotter paper.

2. i need to do details, but instead, i will play around w/ sketchup.

3. i need to do details, but instead, will work on another project, that involves me working on sketchup, that does not have an immediate deadline and is not a main priority.

4. i need to do details, but instead, will make a holiday calender on power point, yes i said it, power point, to figure out everyone's vacation schedule.

5. i need to do details, but instead, will have my cadmonkeys bail me out because i will eventually have them doing the work i was responsible for.

BOY i WONDER, if we'll meet our deadline.

Strange Untimely Occurrances that can affect Design

2006-11-05T22:56:00.000-08:00

Last Wednsday, my boss and I meet up at a Middle School for a modernization.
By the way, the entire campus was originally done by us back in the late 80's.
So anyway, we meet the client, who was a principal then turned director for people's
affairs for the School District. We were sittin in the conference room talking about the reconfiguration and modernization of the administration building that we are in.

While this was going on, we hear someone from the lobby adjacent to the
conference room. This certain someone starts yelling and swearing, calling out
racism and then yelling out racial slurs like f******! Mexican!" "This is Bull#$%^!
It then gets louder. I look up around as our conversation gets quiet due to the loud
swearing going out in the other room. My first words were "that sounds like a parent."
The principal/director excuses himself and goes to the loby to settle the matter. We
can still hear the commotion. When the principal comes back, we find out that this
woman came in cursing out the people in the other room because her child was
suspended for cursing. Go figure!

Anyway, the lady goes outside and calls her husband to come over to settle the matter.
The principal calls the police to have her remove from campus for swearing on the
premises. I guess you can do that since its considered verbal abuse and it looked like
she was gonna get violent. The school administration then plans to call their lawyer to
issue to the courts some sort of 45 day restraining order on the lady. My boss suggests
that we could conduct this at another time while he can get the matter settled. He says no,
we can still go on with the meeting.

As we talk about the administration spaces, he then gives an example of what just happend
so that we can redesign the administration areas to isolate private spaces from public spaces. Keeping students that need to access the administration areas from the visitors that enter from
the grand entrance.

It got even more strange when a female deputy came over to pick up the crazy lady.
The lady deputy walked into the conference room and saw my boss. My boss is
actually friends with her. Small town. At the end of our meeting, we see to paramedic vehicles parked outside. Someone, I think a student had a diabetic attack. Totally strange situations.

So we look outside and assess the entire existing administration building
condition. My boss asked "What do you think?" I tell him "It's gonna be a
challenge but its gonna be fun." We look around more and my boss also says
"It looks like some sort of Battle Star Galactica hokiness going for itself."
(Remember the building was done in the 80's, so he was talking about the 70's
campy Galactica show). I then comment that I don't really like the existing color
and my boss agreed. We then leave and head back for the office.

math problem

2006-11-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

so a client is gonna move in to their new building that we are doing tenant improvements on in january. no biggie. adding a few offices here and there, completely restoring a gutted second floor, etc., etc.

we just started construction documents this week.

you do the math.

late lunch

2006-11-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

so yesterday me and my bud got in trouble for taking a late lunch. late meaning 1:30 in the afternoon.

apparently, the man wants us to take an earlier lunch when he is in the office so that he can give us work to be done before he leaves, which is usually around 3 or 3:30 pm.

apparently, what the man didn't know was that the reason why we took a late lunch in the first place was because my bud was printing out drawings for the man so that when he comes back from his lunch, he as something to look at.

as borat would say...."iz nice."

mysterious employees

2006-10-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

so for a while we've been wondering when we would hire more people in the office.....

it's funny.

we supposedly hired this one guy to start working here, but he "mysteriously" had to leave the country. i remember a while back, this one girl was suppose to start working here but her visa "mysteriously" didn't fall through.

hmmm.

and then, just yesterday, a senior architect guy, whom the man was suppose to interview, "mysteriously" didn't return his phone calls. so in the meantime, we are suppose to hire a contract worker, but the man "mysteriously" can't get a hold of her.

hmmmm. there seems to be a mysterious pattern going on here.

best damn week ever

2006-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

So let me recap my week….

Monday: had a meeting w/ some important people, apparently too important because I wasn’t even introduced to any of them. I’m just the token monkeyboy!

Tuesday: I found out why I was at the meeting w/ important people the other day. I was asked to prepare the meeting minutes. Yeah. that would be kinda hard because in order to write minutes for a meeting, you kinda have to be paying attention, which i clearly was not doing.

Wednesday: still trying to remember what happened at the meeting.

Thursday: i was pissed because my tivo didn't tape lost the other night, so i watched it online (and yes, i was totally working at the same time). the rest of the day i watched desperate housewives....no comment.

Friday: i had to draft my fantasy basketball team in the morning, then i had to catch up on all the work i was behind because i was busy funking around the whole week. whatever. i always got next week.

peace. i'm out.

lunch with former co-workers

2006-10-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Having lunch with former co-workers is always fun. It may seem awkward for some, but for me and my ex-compadres it’s all good, mainly because we all share one common thing….talking smack about the man.

All of your frustrations, your anger, and your issues are all laid out on the table. This and this happened on this project, so and so isn’t doing their job, the man is a dumbass, etc., etc., etc.,

I then realized one thing. I was the only one doing most of the talking. That just shows how much better off my ex-compradres are since leaving the firm because they really had nothing bad to say about their current firm.

Nevertheless, times to vent does not necessarily have to happen over two and half hour lunches. I at least have this blog to share to the world and to my former co-workers and also to former co-workers of former co-workers (wink, wink….you know who you are) the wonderful world of architecture from one monkeyboy’s perspective.

So please continue to read and please comment and help keep the passion alive.

God I love my job.

ARE Exam Schedule

2006-10-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

so i'm starting to study for my ARE Exams. no, i'm not a sell out. i just wanted to see what it takes to blossom from a monkeyboy into a licensed monkeyboy.

i set an hour after work to study. here's my schedule so far....

monday: monday night football
tuesday: gym
wednesday: tivo night.
thursday: hockey
friday: it's friday....you really think i want to study before the weekend?
saturday: it's saturday, enough said.
sunday: hockey

as you can see, i'm off to a great start!

what a view

2006-10-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

just got this from a fellow monkeyboy....

Read the story below first before viewing pictures! This is what I call the ultimate in architectural creativity!

This is a true story. It happened in Utah and was on the news!

A city councilman, Mark Easton, lives in this neighborhood.

He had a beautiful view of the east mountains, until a new neighbor purchased the lot below his house and built.

Apparently, the new home was 18 inches higher than the ordinances would allow, so Mark Easton, mad about his lost view, went to the city to make sure they enforced the lower roof line ordinance. Mark and his new neighbor had some great arguments about this as you can imagine - not great feelings. The new neighbor had to drop the roof line - no doubt at great expense.

Recently, Mark Easton called the city and informed them that his new neighbor had installed some vents on the side of his home. Mark didn't like the look of these vents and asked the city to investigate.

When they went to Mark's home to see the vent view, this is what they found... (Now scroll down to see attached picture)

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clients in the office

2006-10-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

so yesterday we had some pretty important clients at the office.

so the previous friday we had to clean up our spaces and "dress up" the office w/ pretty boards that we did like 20 years ago to make sure our space is "presentable" to the clients.

we re-painted our desks, cleaned up the library, hid old drawings, and so forth. the man even had some people from our other office come in to make the office look "busy" i guess. the man even told us to dress it up a little.

funny thing though. the clients were in the conference room the whole time and were in and out and didn't even tour the office.

nice.

fantasy architects

2006-10-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

so all this fantasy talk got me thinking.

what if we could set up a fantasy team of architects and cad monkeys, who'd you pick?

of course, like the sports fantasy teams, the fantasy architect team would be judged on stats of productivity, like who'd work the most hours, got the most done, brought in projects, and stuff like that.

i'll tell you right now, i'd be a bad draft pick. and if i was drafted i should be benched.

unless there's a stat were they give points for internet time. if that's the case, i'm your man.

fantasy sports

2006-10-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

so let me sum up my whole week last week.

fantasy, fantasy, and more fantasy.

i was real busy setting up my teams for fantasy football. it's really hard work, looking up stats, and then covering up those stats quickly w/ autocad and then looking at more stats, and so forth.

i even somehow found the time off of my busy schedule to set up my fantasy hockey teams. that was fun.

i even was able to partcipate in live draft to set my fantasy basketball team. that took almost all morning, so lunch came by quick.

nevertheless, it was a pretty productive week for me.

employee defect

2006-09-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

so i had breakfast the other day with a ex employee who just defected to another firm.

he was telling me how hard it was to get back in the "work mode." he looked around him and no one was on the internet and everyone seemed to be working.

that sucks.

internet modem

2006-09-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

oh, relating back to the internet issue.

so all last week i was suggesting ideas to our "IT" guy here in the office of what we could do to resolve the internet issue.

apparently the modem we had in the office decided to give up and die on us 'cause it was "too old"....this was according the mr. AT&T guy who came in to check our system.

so mr. IT decided to go shopping for a new modem all next morning but couldn't find an adaquate "business modem."

the modem we needed would take a week to deliver. so i suggested that we should just get whatever is the most adaquate modem available at the store to temporarily set us up online so that we are not down for a week and return that modem after we get the modem we needed.

mr. IT shrugged that idea and said "oh, we can't do that. it won't work. we can't return a modem..." (this is when i start rolling my eyes).

then literally not even a minute later, our tech guy calls the office and tells mr. IT to go to best buy and get a temporary modem to at least get us online....hmmm sounds familiar, eh?

so mr. IT gets off the phone, looks over at me and says "so i guess we'll go ahead and use your method monkeyboy and get a modem for now and return later."...laugh haha.

dumbass.

most productive week ever!!!

2006-09-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

so it's been in a while since my last post. reason being, i've been working my fricken arse out. reason being, the fricken internet didn't work ALL LAST WEEK!

with that said, i had nothing else to do at work, but work. and you know what i found out...work is hard and tiring. i mean i was fricken dying last week. do you know how hard it is not being able to check your email at work, update your fantasy football team, read the news, check the weather, and all that other good stuff (porn) that you surf on the net for.

it was a pain that i have not experienced ever before. it was then, and only then, i realized how important the internet is in being part of my daily life, especially during work.

i don't know how many times i clicked on that little "e" icon only to see the "page not found error." then i refreshed. refreshed again. and again. unplug and replug the network cable. control alt delelte. control alt delelte. AHHHHHH!!! IT'S STILL NOT WORKING!!!

but it's working now. we had to get a new modem.

so it's cool.

whew.

do-it-yourself architectural dialogue

2006-09-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

ever wanted to sound like a "real" architect? now you can! with this easy do-it-yourself architectural dialogue cheat sheet.

so now, you too, can converse w/ fellow colleagues, other designers, or sound like an actual juror in a critique who blurts out comments that absolutely does not make any sense at all but sure sounds damn good coming out of your intellectual ass, i mean mouth.

use it at parties to hold the conversation down, at family gatherings to show off how fricken damn smart you are, or at the bar on that girl whom you want to make babies with....guaranteed!

also great for lectures, responses to questions you have no idea how to respond to, or on clients who just don't shut up.

"never mind what it means, just use it and watch the way you stop conversation."

act now!

download a pdf of your do-it-yourself architectural dialogue cheat sheet here.

friday pic of the day

2006-09-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

please add your definition of cad monkey under comments

2006-09-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

i thought the urban dictionary's definition of cad monkey was hilarious....so go ahead and click on comments and add your own definition...

CAD MONKEYS UNITE!!! HELP SPREAD THE PASSION!!!

cad monkey

1. one who assists a computer aided drafter/deisgner in carrying out mundane and repetative cad related duties such as printing, printer maintenance, and simple text edits.

2. A low level cad person who makes edits with no regard for or knowledge of proper production methods or standards. syn.- cad hack

3. An actual monkey or ape trained to perform simple cad edits and tasks.

any combination of definitions 1, 2 or 3.

We'll need to hire a few more cad monkeys if we expect to meet the deadline.

These drawings are so f****d up! If I find the cad monkey responsible, why I'll....

by kego talbot Mar 19, 2005

urban dictionary's cad monkey definition

2006-09-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hey POTA, have you checked out the the urban dictionary site? We finally have an idenity!!!!!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cad+monkey

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=CADD

...praise hot architects

2006-09-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

just a little article my buddy sent to me about architects and hollywood...

the last two weeks...

2006-08-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

so anyone ever heard the term, "your best two weeks of work are the last two weeks of work."

here's what i've noticed from a buddy of mine who's moving on to bigger and better things....

in the past two weeks....

1. he has "worked" on the same exact drawing or at least he has been "looking" at the same exact drawing on his screen, which to me looks like hasn't changed a damn bit in the last two weeks.

2. his lunches have been gradually getting a lot longer than "his" normal hour and a half lunch and has been stretching ever so slightly to the two, two and a half hour range.

3. he suddenly has grown some kahuna's. nuff said.

4. his days are now spent browsing through the internet, while occasionally clicking back to the drawing (see number 1) that he has be "working" on for the past two weeks as way to deceive the untrained eye (the man's eye) that he is acutally getting work done during his last days.

5. he's happier.

6. being on time for work is no longer a priority. leaving early from work is a priority.

7. for some reason, there seems to be a lot of blank cd's on his desk as of late.

8. i've noticed our supplies of printer paper, pens, pencils, post-its, etc. has all of a sudden been running out a lot quicker in the last two weeks.

9. he has managed to use up all his vacation days and sick time all within a two week period.

and one last thing i've noticed....

10. he's not even at work right now.

i wish him all the best. lucky bastard!

the power struggle

2006-08-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

so i am dealing with a couple of people who represent the company that is our client on this particular project. however, i mainly go through one main contact to give out info and receive info.

so one of the guys in this group (not the main contact) calls me and asks for info that i've already given to my main contact. i tell him that so and so already has all the information that he is looking for. go through him to get what you need.

then this guy goes off and tells me that he's out of the loop, the main contact shouldn't be making decisions that he is making, what about this and what about that, blah blah blah.

i tell him, meet with your guy (our main contact) and find out what info we have given him.....translation.....i ain't tell'n you nuthin because you ain't the one in charge in yo end, the "main contact" is, so quit fishing for info that you have no right to know and quit trying to be one up above the "main contact" because it ain't gonna happen, and stop trying to play designer and calling me up everytime you feel like moving a wall or a fricken door. if yo company wants you in the loop, then you'd be in the loop.

so i called this guy the other day and left him a message to make sure he squared things away with the main contact. i haven't heard from him since.

make believe

2006-08-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

so i've discovered something. it's really, really hard to pretend that you are working. no, really. you guys should try it if you haven't already. and if you have tried it, you know what i'm talking about.

i mean for 8 hours you have to "make believe" that...

1. you are not checking your email every damn second.
2. you are not constantly checking your bid on ebay.
3. you are not checking your email every damn second.
4. you are not looking at your favorite sport teams' website.
5. you are not checking the weather.
6. you are not on youtube or myspace or friendster updating your profile.
7. you are not looking for other jobs on AIA websites, craigslist, etc.
8. you are not clicking on every single link that you bookmarked on your computer.
9. you are not instant messaging other people who are also "make believing."
10. you are not sleeping.

and that's only 10 things! right now, i'm blogging and it's tiring always clicking back to Autocad whenever someone passes my desk and then clicking back to my blog to finish it. it takes forever, like 30 mins sometimes to finish up a blog, can you believe that!

i'm exhausted. maybe i'll go back to work.

timed reaction

2006-08-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

so i was at a co-workers house party this past weekend and one of our clients happened to be there.

we've met before because i've worked on his project during the design phase. the client then was wondering who's currently working on his project.

so the man introduces my buddy, fellow cad monkey, that's currently working on his project.

the client then jokingly says "so you're the one delaying my project!"

my buddy, the cad monkey, reacts instinctively by gripping his magarita glass so hard that it cracks. it was pretty funny.

the client then responds by saying "oops, i guess i hit a nerve."

after that we all got piss drunk....but that's another story.

cad monkey on ebay

2006-08-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

anyone looking for a cad monkey?

there's a cad monkey on sale on ebay...

read the whole thing. even the question and answer section is pretty hilarious.

thanks to an anonymous commenter for the link.

check it out and tell me what you think.

cadmonkeys unite!

ARCHITECTURE TERMS(and what they really mean)

2006-08-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

1. Sense of Entry: The front door is big and far away.
2. Human Scale: less than 400 feet tall.
3. Skewed Grid: The design looked too boring with a regular grid.
4. Pedestrian-Oriented: Doesn’t have enough parking.
5. Contextual: Is surrounded by a lot of other buildings the architect couldn’t tear down.
6. Theoretical: Nobody in their right mind would ever consider building the crazy thing.
7. Signature Building: You can’t afford it.
8. Less Is More: The designer ran out of ideas.
9. Classically Proportioned: Traced out of a book of Greek architecture.
10. Postmodern: Traced out of a book of Roman architecture.
11. International Style: No country will take responsibility for it.
12. Deconstructivist: The backhoe ran into it during construction - and they liked it.
13. Seismically Designed High Rise: In an earthquake, the structure will not collapse, but will drop all of its glass and stone panels into the street turning pedestrians into a stew-like mush of pureed flesh.
14. Jury: Firing squad.
15. Design Review Board: Failed architecture majors.
16. Architecture Student: Egotistical masochist with no money

architect, landscape architect, city planner, or what?

2006-08-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

i found this from this site....pretty funny stuff....

Architect, Landscape Architect, City Planner, or what?:
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

Trees
a. are good for hiding a poorly designed part (or whole) of a building.
b. are an essential part of the environment.
c. keep the air fresh and clean.
d. make a decent building material.
e. are an annoyance.
f. look good.

Light is
a. vital to the spirit.
b. vital to life.
c. to be shared.
d. a type of electromagnetic radiation.
e. required to do work.
f. a luxury.

An ugly building is one that is
a. poorly proportioned.
b. lacking in vegetation.
c. not in harmony with its neighbors.
d. lacking in maintenance.
e. in need of a renovation.
f. out of style.

An empty lot
a. ought to have something built on it.
b. could make a good park.
c. is a potential crime magnet.
d. makes an impromptu parking lot.
e. is easy to work with.
f. a waste of space.

A hundred-story building on a small Pacific island would be
a. impressive.
b. disasterous to the environment.
c. out of scale.
d. hard to have a proper foundation.
e. a logistical nightmare.
f. stupid.

The most important room in a house is
a. the living room.
b. the garden.
c. the kitchen.
d. the basement.
e. the bathroom.
f. the bedroom, or more importantly, the number of bedrooms.

If your choices were mostly
a. You're an architect. While your designs may be visually stunning, chances are that is all they are.
b. You're a landscape architect. With designs both ecologically friendly and attractive to the community, landscape architects are well recieved by all people except Architects. Too bad there's this thing called rain.
c. You're a city planner. You actually understand that a site does not exist in a vacuum and ought to fit into its context. Unfortunately, there's very little you can do about it.
d. You're a civil engineer. Your designs are solid and work, as they follow the best way of solving the problem. Fortunately there are architects to mess things up so not everyone's living in a box.
e. You're a contractor. You don't really care what's being built, only how it's built. Or maybe you don't care much about that either.
f. You're a developer. You actually get stuff built that 99% of the population finds agreeable. Too bad the other 1% just happen to be the people in the neighborhood where you're building.

Sing it Monkeyboys!!!!!!!!

2006-08-02T17:20:00.001-07:00

THE ARCHITECT SONG

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
thinking I could not design what you had specified
But then I spent too many years redrawing what you just built wrong
and I grew strong
and I learned how to get along
And now you're back with more floor space
I just walked in to find you herewith that QS look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid plan
I should have made you pay that fee
If I had known for just one second
you'd be back to bother me
Oh go now go,
delete that door
move the wall around now
you don't wanna pay for it anymore
Were you the one who tried to break me with your RFIs
you think I'd crumble
you think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no not I
I will survive....

fricken fire engineer

2006-08-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

So I get a call from the contractor…

Contractor:
“hey, the fire engineer is freaking out! you emailed the wrong drawings to him. It’s not the latest drawings.”

Monkeyboy:
“I emailed him the drawings we got permitted for.”

Contractor:
“can you call him and settle this?”

So I call the fire engineer…

Monkeyboy:
“I emailed the drawings we got permitted for.”

Fire engineer’s assistant:
“he said he emailed the right draw…huh…what’s that…oh okay.”

What I can hear from the Fire engineer in the background:
“Oh here it is. I just opened the drawings. Tell him I got it.”

Lesson:
Open your email first and open the fricken drawings before you start freaking out over not receiving the latest fricken plans. Nice.

lunchbox incident

2006-08-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

So my buddy at work went out to lunch yesterday. The thing is, he never lets no one know when he’s leaving for lunch, that way no one knows what time he actually leaves so he can come back whatever time he wants.

so he leaves and we think he just left for the bathroom or something. He comes back about 15 mins later with a lunchbox (asian lunch plate).

Keep in mind, we are a small office, we’ve been working together for over a year, and he never even bothered to offer anyone else in the office if we wanted a lunchbox.

So the whole time while he was eating his lunchbox we was giving him sh*t like “oh, good friends always offer other friends to get lunch for them.”

Or like “hey, if I went to get lunch, I would at least offer you guys and wouldn’t be a dick and eat my lunch in front of you guys when I know I didn’t even offer you guys to get lunch.”

Or like “wow, something smells really good, you guys wanna get lunch, oh nevermind, I see that somebody already got his lunch and never bothered to offer anyone else….dick!”

You know, stuff like that. I think he got the point.

you do the math

2006-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I’m trying to schedule a meeting with the city tomorrow to meet with the same fire engineer and same building plan checker that’s been “aiding’ us with this one project to finally get a building permit.

I get a call from the contractor that the fire inspector, whom is a different person from the fire engineer at the city, wants us to go meet with her instead of him because she’s been on the jobsite and she knows the project and the issues. She says that if you would’ve met with her in the first place, you wouldn’t have to do half the sh*t the other fire guy is making you do.

We need to reschedule the meeting.

Booked tomorrow. Can’t go Friday. Next week.

Building OPENS in AUGUST.

You do the math.

too hot to work

2006-07-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

You know it’s too hot to work when…

10. you drink a whole case of water bottles….on your own.
9. you begin to see layers that you’ve never seen before pop up and disappear on your computer screen when working on cad.
8. your computer is cooler than you.
7. the only ventilation in your office is your computer fan.
6. the building property manager schedules an appointment to fix the hvac next week rather than right now (probably because it’s too hot come out and work on the system).
5. sweat.
4. sweat in places you never knew you could sweat.
3. a simple thing like breathing becomes very difficult to do.
2. you feel lazy. okay okay. that’s all the time. i shouldn’t blame that on the heat.

And the number one reason you know it’s too hot to work is…..

1. the man brings in a personal desk fan for himself and only him and nothing for the rest of the office. nice.

never ending project

2006-07-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

so way back in april i went to submit drawings to the city for a building permit. thankfully, we got it. then we got some tenant changes and had to resubmit the drawings again per these changes.

of course being the city, they had to re-check everything they looked at and permitted before, in detail, rather than just paying attention to the clouded areas that pointed out where specific changes were made.

as a result, they pointed out discrepancies in the drawings, particularly the mechanical, thus having us make more changes.

it is now july. we have yet still to go back to the city to resubmit these tenant changes.

we were gonna go submit on july 5, but i was out on vacation. then when i got back the following week, the plan checker who we needed to meet with was out on vacation. so that plan checker is back this week and we're ready to go resubmit, so i call the city and find out the fire engineer we need to meet is out on vacation till next week.

the building opens in august.

summer office

2006-07-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

so it's the summer.

i remember back in the days when i would get summers off. i wonder why that had to stop all of a sudden.

i mean i don't understand why we can't just work all hard during the fall, winter, and spring and get summers off. if you think about it, work is like education. the only difference is, we're paid to learn.

and we gotta show up everyday or else we get kicked out and then we'll be living on the streets begging for money and food and shelter and all that stuff, well, maybe not shelter because we're architects and if we had to live on the streets and i'm sure the corbu or mies or wright would come out in us and we could probably think of something cool to do with cardboards and trash bags and stuff and it'll probably look pretty good, but not functional at all but who cares it'll be the coolest cardboard/ trash bag shelter anyone has ever seen and maybe be featured in dwell or arch mag or may even wallpaper mag and then i'll be famous for that and then i wouldn't have to live in the streets anymore and then i'll have my niche designing shelter using only cardboard and trash bags to become gehry rich and famous and get my own movie and tiffany line of jewelry and stuff like that.

yeah, i love the summer.

back from vacation

2006-07-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

after a nice week long off during the 4th of july holiday, it sure is great to be back in the office!

i miss all the drama, the suspense, the joy of architecture.

i mean sure, my parents were in town, and that did provide some drama and joy over the past week.

but nothing beats sitting at your desk for 8 hours long, staring at your computer monitor with the ever so mind numbling infamous autocad black screen with drawing lines of many different colors that you never knew existed, zooming in and out and in and out and esc. esc. esc. and esc. esc. esc. all day long.......all day long.

gasp.

you ever notice that during the first days back to work after vacation seems to take forever to end?

yeah.

it's great to be back.

urinals

2006-06-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

One of us is stepping up!!!!

2006-06-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Check out Ryan Lopez's new website. www.advent-design.net

architects in movies and shows

2006-06-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

i wanted to watch the new adam sandler movie, click, this weekend because number one, it's adam sandler and number 2, kate beckinsale is hot, and number 3, i heard he plays an architect in the movie.

so it got me thinking. how many movies and shows out there had architects in it? then i found a whole list of movies that someone posted on the ARE forum. check out the list here.

i know that the new movie, the lakehouse, keanu plays an architect. probably gonna take a guess on this one and say that the movie ain't all that great.

one of my personal favorites is the brady bunch, where mr. brady has his own office at home. i still remember the one episode where i think peter had to deliver a set of drawings to someone for his dad but he lost the drawings or the drawings fell out of the tube or something and it didn't get delivered. yeah, that totally affected me as a young up and coming architect.

anyways, check out the list and add to it if there's anything missing. isn't dagwood, from the comic strip, blondie and dagwood, an architect?

probably the best portrayal of an architect in a movie is my favorite, by far, the matrix reloaded.

Profit in architecture?????

2006-06-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

Of course we as architects don't make as much as we should, especially when you're a monkeyboy....... But we all gotta eat. I just found out a few days ago that a couple of our projects were coming in the negative. One project in particular is a school building addition that I'm currently working on right now. Seems as though we've hit a negative of 30%. What the hell????!!!!! I only been on this project for only 2 months. The man, who is the senior associate, was asking us if we've been working over time. I told them no. All I've been working on are submittals and its during regular hours. So I looked into my past time sheets and found that I had no overtime hours on this project, but for two months total I've racked up over 133 hours. That seems fair, or it might mean that I'm reviewing these submittals too long and that I need to either hurry up with the reviews. My guess is somebody who's not working on this project is charging their hours to it, making it look like they're doing work, instead of charging it on general. Hopefully its an accounting error.

If this keeps up, there won't be much profit sharing once its time to pass out the annual bonuses.
Well, still now working on this project, I now have to charge my hours to another project (another one that I've been working successfully on) that happens to have a positive 30% profit.
Is anyone aware of the term "Robbing Pete just to pay Paul"? Well, that's what's happening in this office.

bookmark

2006-06-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

so my buddy here at work was showing me a website he'd bookmarked on his computer. when scrolling through his bookmarked sites, i noticed that he bookmarked my site, passion of the architect.

so i was like, dude, what are you trying to do....get me fired?! sometimes the material i write isn't the most "work friendly." i was like, you know the "management" here probably checks our computers from time to time and if they just so happen to run by your bookmarked site of my site, things might get a little interesting....

i mean i'm flattered and all that he checks out my site once in a while, but maybe he could make the bookmark a little less obvious or something.

'cause, god forbid, if "management" finds out what we monkeys do all day long, it's over. i wouldn't wanna be put on the endangered list if you know what i mean.

typical monday morning

2006-06-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

7:45 am
alarm sounds.
8:20 am
get up.
8:30 am
get to work at 8:30 sharp on a monday...no...for real.
8:45 am
after 15 min of "misc. doings," finally sit at desk.
8:48 am
still sitting.
8:51 am
turn on computer.
8:52 am
blog

damn! it's only 9:00! this day is going by slow.

zaha goes hybrid

2006-06-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

zaha hadid has designed a prototype hybrid car that is on display at an exhibit of her work at the Guggenheim musuem in New York.

the idea behind the car is that they wanted something that would be "both a work of art and method of transport." it's a three wheel car "'shaped like a water drop' for minimum wind resistance.

check out the article here. i think the car looks pretty cool. glad to see architects really designing out of the box.

contractortecture

2006-06-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

so went for a site a visit the other day to check out conditions that are being built on site because there were some discrepancies brought up when we went to the city. the contractor was saying one thing and our drawings were saying another.

so i got there and what do you know, what was being built did not match what we shown on our drawings. the tunnel corridor was built differently, doors were flipped around, i found a mop sink and a storage room that was built but not drawn on our drawings, and etc. etc. etc.

i believe this calls for a new term....

contractortecture- the art of building what is not shown on drawings. i.e. building crap and making changes that the architect is not aware of, but thinks it's okay, but really it isn't due to codes and other issues, but builds anyways only to find out later that it can't be built because the city rejects it but it's already built so i'll buddy up with the inspector and get him drunk before his inspection so that what is not suppose to be built is okay to build because it's built anyways...uh yeah.

i'm going to do my timecard now.

Moved out.......

2006-06-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

Two of the partners in the office discussed whether their teams should switch areas due to the fact that one team was over crowded and spilled out into separate areas of the office. One of the partners, whose team I used to be part of decides it was too much of a hassle to move. On Monday, one of the two partners (who actually is the CFO -chief financial officer) decides that its time for us to move.

I was sitting at an area that was behind the telephone room, where alot of the people passing by can't see what I'm actually doing. Had pretty good pinup space........ but didn't get to use it. All settled in, but had to move. We were all suppose to move this Friday. I wasn't really part of the team that was moving anyway. I rejoined my old team, the one that I was apart of when I first joined this office. I just stayed where I was until someone said something. I really liked the space, because it had a window view. Well the CFO showed up on Tuesday and asked me, "who's team are you on?" I told him I was going to move back to Team Wolff.... The man's team, Mr Chairman/President himself, and showed him where I was planning to sit. Mr. CFO tells me, that his team needs that space too. Now I was forced to move to the spot which is even closer to the center of Team Wolff. Its next to the kitchen where there are twice more traffic where I was originally was.

So now people can see me blog, and see me surf the web. I now have to stop pretending to work. So I was forced to move on Tuesday instead of Friday because one of the pm's on the team that was moving says that we should move one by one and not all together. That way, we don't crash into each other or get our stuffs mixed up. So I moved at my current spot.......... Next to the kitchen, the restrooms, and conference room. I moved next to a guy who just got over his cold, and now I caught it. So I'm writing to you, wired with chloraseptic and not even caring if the people that walk by me are looking over my shoulder to see me actually not working.

I hope the CFO's team catches my cold.

city city city

2006-06-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

so i went the city yesterday to submit an amendment set of drawings to a set of drawings we got permited a while back ago. i've clouded the changes so that it would be easier for the city to note the changes and what do they do? they pay attention to everything but the clouded areas.

i mention to them that we already got the permit for those areas, we're only concentrating on the clouded areas because that's where the changes occur. they were re-checking everything they signed off and permitted for already.

anyways, everything was going so so until there was a discrepancy with the mechanical drawings. then the contractor mentioned that what was built on field is not what is drawn on plan (ie, maybe such comments should be kept to oneself). so our plans were wrong because the contractor didn't build it the way we drawn it.

so all in all, it was a pretty good morning at the city. we got chewed out, had our mistakes pointed out to us, and will have to redo our drawings again and have the rest of the consultants redo their drawings again and reprint 3 sets each again and resubmit back to the city again to pull the permit.

to top it all off, the building is almost done being built.

060606 day

2006-06-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

what went wrong?

1. boy i wonder who was in charge.
2. unreasonable, unrealistic, no chance in hell, only if hell freezes over and i get a fat raise, deadline.
3. stop fricken designing and start drawing.
4. stop fricken drawing and start printing.
5. all of the consultant drawings should have came in at 10 in the morn, but mech specs came in at 12, and the rest of the specs came in at one. and when civil came in, it wasn't even signed!
6. printers got the prints wrong.
7. cover sheet has the wrong date. pm makes me reprint and rebind 15 sets again only to realize that date is still wrong!
8. sets were to be delivered yesterday afternoon by 5. it is now today.
9. the man and the pm leaves for a meeting and leaves all of this up to who else, the monkeyboy.
10. i can't find my stapler.

whew, it's a good thing i wasn't working on this job.

060606

2006-06-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

so everything that could possibly go wrong today has gone wrong. more on that later. i gotta get back to having things going wrong today. happy 060606 everyone. boo ha ha ha ha.

trump towers

2006-06-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

so mr. trump is planning on invading my hometown of hawaii. plans are set to build trump towers in waikiki which will consist of hotel suites, the ever so popular hotel-condo suites, dining, shopping, etc.

the location is actually just off the main strip of waikiki and is acutally in a pretty decent site. right now on that location is a bunch of little hotels, i think, so the trump towers will definitely up the ante around that part of waikiki.

check out the article here. hmmm.....i wonder if i should invest or not? it's already up for sale at craigslist. all i need is 20k just to reserve a spot to pick a suite and then 10% down to hold the suite.

with my salary now, i better ask for a raise and start saving in my piggy bank now so that i can at least reserve a suite before the next millennium.

the art of working without working

2006-05-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

so for the past 8 hours or so, i have been practicing my philosophy of the art of working without working. it's a philosophy that i am constantly trying to master in which i appear to the normal naked eye that i am actually working when in fact i am not. it's pretty exhausting.

stop or i'll explode!

2006-05-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

braille detail

2006-05-23T08:49:00.001-07:00

so my buddy here at work was working on a stair signage detail. we had to represent certain words in braille and needed to show that on the detail. so all the monkeys in the office thought of a good idea to have a little fun with braille.

check out the detail that was drawn. below the detail is a blow up what we labeled in braille. then check out the braille alphabet chart and decode our little secret message.

shhh! if you decode the message, do the same on your details and spread the word. so whenever we look at drawings from other companies, we may someday stumble on a detail with braille and recognize what it says. it'll be our way for fellow monkeys to say hi to each other.

straight up da vinci style!

10 reasons to see the da vinci code

2006-05-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

so i saw the da vinci code this past weekend and here's my top 10 reasons to see the movie.

10. gandalf. dude, gandalf is in the movie. that kicks ass. he did get a haircut and trimmed his beard but it's all good. he still kicks ass.

9. magneto. dude, i thought magneto doesn't come out on theaters until next weekend but he was totally in the movie. he was acting like a cripple though and living in the x-men mansion, but they called it a chateau or something instead, but i'm sure it was all a ploy to lure the x-men to their death.

8. remember that movie powder, yah that guy was in the movie too and he dressed like a jedi wearing his cloak and all, but instead of a light saber he used his bare hands to kick ass. awesome.

7. speaking of jedi's, the guy from the professional was in the movie. and the professional also starred natalie portman and she's hot. and she was queen amidala. so that alone is worth seeing the movie.

6. doctor octopus. i guess after getting his ass kicked by spider man, doc oct is hiding out as a high ranking priest. way to fool spidey! brilliant.

5. forrest gump. man, forrest learned to talk normal and he grew out his hair a bit. he also got a lot smarter from the last time we all saw him but still talks a lot of mumbo jumbo about symbols and stuff. he kicks ass in the movie.

4. the chick is hot. dude, she was french. even when she was angry, she was hot. i'd go watch the movie all over again just to see her for 2 1/2 hours. and the best part, with her strong accent, i couldn't even understand a word she was saying. that's hot.

3. knights templar. these guys were like samurais on steroids. they were the mafia back in the day protecting secrets and stuff. all the gangstas today ain't got nothing on these templars. that's why it took a bunch of priests to order their execution. these templars are second only to ninjas. and ninjas kick ass.

2. anagrams. anagrams are crazy. they rearrange a bunch of letters and forms other phrases for people to descramble and stuff. i'm going to start training in anagrams so everything i say and write won't mean what i mean because i'm anagramming everything. for example.... video can cure lids = da vinci code rules. sweet.

and the number one reason to watch the da vinci code....

1. I.M. fricken Pei! i waited throughout the whole credits and i knew they were going to mention thanks to the Louvre, but wondered if they were going to mention the architect. and low and behold, there was I.M. Pei's name. that right there, is worth the ten bucks and 2 hours i waited in line for. yeah.

what dimension plan?

2006-05-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

what dimensions? we haven't given the contractor any dimension plans and he hasn't called us requesting for dimension plans? how are they framing walls up with out a dimension plan? why are they framing walls up when we don't even have a permit?

oh, they're going off a drawing that we did for the framer to "bid" the project with room sizes on the drawings, but with no dimensions as to where to build the walls. so he's just using his scale and measuring off the drawings to locate the walls.

you see, there's this communication gap between the contractor and the architect. contractor wants drawings for "bidding." architect provides drawings for "bidding." contractor uses drawings for "bidding" for "construction!"

next time i send out drawings for "bidding" i'll make sure to make a note..."NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION. IF YOU START BUILDING WALLS WITH THESE DRAWINGS YOU ARE AN IDIOT. THANK YOU HAVE A NICE DAY."

do you still call yourself an architect?

2006-05-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

last week i posted "do you call yourself an architect". in that post, i linked an article on how a judge rules for councilman in 'architect' case, in which a judge ruled for someone calling himself an architect because he "did not describe himself as an architect to solicit business but to educate the voting public as to his educational background."

well here's an article i found of someone who did call himself an architect and will have four months of weekends to think about it. check it out here at, weekends in jail for man who pretended to be queens architect.

the senior partner

2006-05-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

mcdonald's makeover

2006-05-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

so i guess the hamburgers at everyone's favorite fast food place isn't the only thing getting flipped. apparently Mc-E-Ds is going all loungy and starbucky.

i remember back in the days when fast food was just that, fast food. the chairs were all plastic, hard and uncomfortable so that one can hurry up and eat their food fast.

but i guess now, they want you to hang out longer, stay a while and use their broadband internet that they are now offering, or study. check out McDonald's tricky makeover and see how the nations most famous food chain is adapting to our modern "contemporary" times.

tiffany & co. and gehry

2006-05-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

for all the ladies out there, gehry got his own tiffany & co. collection. talk about branching out in other mediums. check it out here, the frank gehry collection. there's also an interesting 8 min clip about his design process. here's another link with images of the frank gehry jewelry design collection. way to go g-man.

the monday list

2006-05-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

so it's monday. again. i got in this morning and was informed that the pm is out sick today. cool. one down. a couple of minutes later, the man emails that he has a bunch of "meetings" today and won't be in the office. woo hoo. two down.

so what does one monkey without adult supervision do for 8 hours on a monday?

a. try to decide what time to play either 9 or 18 holes of golf?
b. send one monkey on a search and recover mission for heineken or heineken light.
c. have a corporate outing at either the brass rail or the kit kat club (i heard they have a free lunch buffet...at least, that's what i heard)
d. study for the leed exam. wtf?
e. work on side jobs, so i don't feel guilty for not actually working.
f. practice my poker skills.
g. practice my minesweeper skills.
h. walk a couple of laps around the building.
i. catch up on some sleep.
j. decide which chair in the office is the most comfortable.
k. see how many times in a day i can check my email.
l. watch youtube all day long.
m. practice putting skills in the office.
n. burn all the neccessary details i'll need for whenever i start my own office.
o. dream about having my own office.
p. burn all the work i've done so far to update my porfolio.
q. start my portfolio.
r. email everyone in my address book individually.
s. play counterstrike all day long.
t. try to out surf the internet.
u. restart my computer over and over again.
v. update my myspace page.
w. search craigslists for real estate i can't afford and jobs i won't go after because i'm just way too comfortable over here.
x. bid on everything on ebay.
y. actually work on projects....hell no.....just kidding
z. take the time to come up with this list.

grand canyon skywalk

2006-05-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

so here's the new grand canyon skywalk that's set to open late this year. yeah, i heard it get's windy there. maybe i'll let a few people break the bridge in first before i go and check it out.

image of the architect

2006-05-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

do you call yourself an architect?

2006-05-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

question: "so what do you do?"

answer: "i work in an architecture firm."

question: "oh, so you're an architect."

answer: "?"

so i've been following this thread on the A.R.E. forum, if you are not licensed, what do you call yourself? this has been an ongoing, never ending debate about what to call oneself during architecture school and after.

me, personally, i have used the term junior architect, architect associate, unlicensed architect, etc., all of which are "illegal" because of the use of the term "architect." i believe the law says, and correct me if i am wrong, that in no way, shape or form am i allowed to use the term "architect" to describe what i do.

i've even used the term "designer," which i'm sure a lot of people call themself because it sounds good, even though we all know that most of us are cadmonkeys working for the man.

then i read this article, judge rules for councilman in 'architect' case. it talks about how Jack Johnson, a coucilman in aspen, colorado, was directed by the colorado board of examiners of architects "to cease calling himself an architect or face possible criminal sanctions." Johnson then repsonded with a lawsuit, which he won.

the judge in the case concluded that "Johnson did not describe himself as an architect to solicit business but to educate the voting public as to his educational background." you see, Johnson referred to himself as an architect, but explained that he had a degree in architecture but was not licensed as an architect in colorado.

there is a time and place in which you can "legally" call yourself an architect as long as you use that term in a "noncommerical context."

so whether you call yourself an architect to family and friends, because it's just easier and makes you look all "professional" and all rather than explaining to them what you truly do or to that girl in the bar whom you just described yourself as a "sexy architect," just to get her number..... it's all good.

call yourself an architect. i mean, c'mon, do we really have to wait through 5 years of school, 3 years of work, and 9, some 10, exams, just to be called architects? by that time, i could've called myself a doctor.

architecture studio ball

2006-05-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

i found this vid on youtube that a couple of guys from the university of washington made in their architecture studio. takes me back to the good 'ol days of studio. no work and all play. i didn't think i'd say it, but i sure miss those days. does anyone have any cool videos like this back in the day? if so, please do share.

houston, we have a problem.....no internet!

2006-05-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

so last friday, me and another buddy monkey was home alone at the office with no adult supervision. and we was like "alright! free day!" but there was one problem. our internet went down in the office. and being the lame, computer illiterate, only know how to do cad and check email all day long, monkeys that we were, we had no idea how to get the internet back up.

we were pacing up and down the office wondering what the heck are we gonna do now. you see, only the pm holds the knowledge of how the server and internet works in the office and he wasn't there. and we weren't about to call him to tell him the internet was down, 'cause he'll just say, "what are you doing online anyways, aren't you suppose to be working?" whatever.

so the whole day friday, we had no internet. it was the most unproductive day of my life. i don't know how many times i clicked on the explorer shortcut hoping and praying that the powers above signals the almighty forces to send internet back into the office so that a friday, of all days, when there was no adult supervision, would not be wasted.

it's a good thing my buddy monkey lived near by. he went home, got a computer game, we installed it and played all the rest of the afternoon. so i guess it wasn't an unproductive day afterall.

My "BIG" gripe with the "little Man"...

2006-05-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I just have a big problem with the "little man" here at work. (BTW - this dude is shorter than me...so you know he's little) Anyways, I've gone on a few interviews lately to try and promote within the company. This "little man" has not lifted a finger to help any of us promote, and therefore many are leaving. In the meantime, I get offered a larger cubicle...like that's supposed to make me happy? Thanks, but no thanks. My cubicle may be on the smaller size, but at least I have my own private exit door. Anyways, I finally get the call from downtown and get offered a promotion. I, of course, am pretty excited. Now, how come when the "little man" gets the news, all he can say is..."can you please let her know that she doesn't get the larger cubicle afterall!" Well, no sh*t, at this point, I really don't want it. And my last gripe before I leave this stupid place, how come I find out through other sources that the "little man" is closing my position once I leave? Therefore, I'm not getting any opportunities to come back once I leave. I'm just a little peaved right now, and frankly, I'd like to send him back to his native country..........with no return ticket!!!!

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I need a few shots of tequila now.........

architechnology

2006-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

so the man has me working on this presentation. he wants me to take digital pictures of some project boards and convert those digital pictures into slides for his slide projector presentation. i told him that "we have those boards on file. i can just take those images off the computer and make a power point presentation for you." the man, being the anti-techo man he is, refuses my offer, and says "i prefer to use my slide projector."

so i make calls to ask photo labs if they can convert digital pictures into slides. after a slight "did i just hear what i thought i just heard" pause, they respond by saying "we can convert slides into digital files, but not the other way around. you going backwards in technology."

you see, the man is old school. i mean, c'mon! convert digital to slides? you wouldn't take your engine out of your car and add horses to your front bumper to run your car, now would you? he says that he doesn't want to deal with the wires and the laptop crashing if he does a power point presentation. he likes his slides.

if funny. on the night of the presentation, the slide projector bulb dies. and i promise, i had nothing to do with it.

frank gehry movie trailer

2006-05-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

with all this talk about trailers, thanks to my inside source in the gehry headquarters, here's the link to frank gehry's new movie, sketches of frank gehry, set to release may 12th in NYC, may 19th in LA, and sometime after that to a city near you. man, first the simpsons, now his very own movie. what next? a reality show? frank gehry's the architect intern, new this fall on nbc. i can see it now. i wonder what his catch phrase would be? any ideas? way to spread the passion frank.

trailer architecture?

2006-05-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

so ownly-1 passed on this article from residential architect to me about "office of mobile design." does that sound familiar to anyone? the picture of the architect is on the left. she sure does look familiar, but yet different? i skimmed through the article but mostly just looked at the pictures. i guess it talked about how they attached a trailer to a house and dressed it up all nice inside and called it architecture. anyways, i guess green materials are in, according to the article. but can't get over the pictures. could it be? no? i don't know. what do you all think?

free sketch up

2006-04-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

get your free version of sketch up right here.

architect's salary

2006-04-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

wanna compare what you make with everyone else around the nation? here's the latest report from the AIA.

gehry on simpsons

2006-04-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

frank gehry was on the simpsons a while back. the episode was pretty funny. it showed gehry's design process, how his buildings are constructed, and how people use his buildings. very accurate if you ask me.

anyways, my buddy emailed me a link of a clip from this episode that's up on youtube. you could also view the clip below.

News Flash...Office Restroom Etiquette!!!

2006-04-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

We've all been there but don't like to admit it. As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the WORKPOOP is inevitable. For those who hate pooping at work, following is the Survival Guide for taking a dump at work.

CROP DUSTING:
When farting, you walk briskly around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30 feet to make sure the smell has left your pants. Don't look back because it will cause you to laugh which is a dead give-away that you are the CROP DUSTER.

FLY BY:
This is the act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping. Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come back again. Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER. People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.

ESCAPEE:
This is a fart that slips out while taking a leak at the urinal or forcing a poop in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment. If you release an escapee, do not acknowledgeit. Pretend it did not happen. If you are standing next to the farter in the urinal, pretend you did not hear it. No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or laughing makes bothparties feel uneasy.

JAILBREAK:
When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace. This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

COURTESY FLUSH:
The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water. This reduces the amount of airtime the poop has to stink up the bathroom. This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OFSHAME.

WALK OF SHAME:
Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just stunk the bathroom. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that thesmell does not exist. This very uncomfortable walk can be avoided with the use of the COURTESY FLUSH.

OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER:
This is a colleague who poops at work and is damn proud of it. You will often see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or magazine under his or her arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.

THE POOPING FRIENDS NETWORK (P.F.N):
A group of co-workers who band together to ensure emergency pooping goes off without incident. This group can help you to monitor the whereabouts of Out Of The Closet Poopers, and identify SAFE HAVENS.

SAFE HAVENS:
A Safe Haven is a seldom-used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex. This will reduce the odds of a pooper of your sex entering the bathroom.

TURD BURGLAR:
This is someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur when taking a poop at work If thisoccurs, remain in the stall until the Turd Burglar leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

CAMO-COUGH:
A phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you are in a stall is called a Camo-Cough. This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON, or to alert potential Turd Burglars. The Camo-Cough is very effective when used in conjunction with an ASTAIRE.

ASTAIRE:
An Astaire is a subtle toe-tap that is used to alert potential Turd Burglars that you are occupying a stall. This will eliminate all doubt that the stall is occupied. If you hear an Astaire, leave the bathroomimmediately so the pooper can poop in peace.

WATERMELON:
A watermelon is a big poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an embarrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See CAMO-COUGH.

HAVANA OMELET:
A case of diarrhea that creates a series of loud splashes in the toilet water. Often accompanied by an Escapee. Try using a Camo-Cough with an Astaire.

UNCLE TODD:
An Uncle Todd is a bathroom user who seems to linger around forever. This person could spend extended lengths of time in front of the mirror or sitting on the pot. An Uncle Todd makes it difficult to relax while on the crapper, as you should always wait to poop when the bathroom is empty. This may force you to try the DAVID BLAINE FLOAT trick.

DAVID BLAINE FLOAT:
When you just can't wait, and you know it going to sound like Jiffy Pop on a Stove. It's time to clear out the lingering UNCLE TODD's mirror crowd by going into the DAVID BLAINE FLOAT. Caught loudly, grown and flushing while floating your shoes upwardly, if they can't see your shoes they can't I.D. you later. They should start leaving, if not, repeat. When you hear the door close, and the UNCLE TODD's have gone, slowly float your feet back down to earth.

This benefits you as well as other bathroom attendees. Hope the Survival Guide helps, as the WORKPOOP is an inevitable part of life.

client request

2006-04-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

so we're meeting with a client today and i get a phone call from him.

phone rings.

client: "hi 'monkeyboy.'"

pota: "hi 'mr. very important client whom i must talk all proper to so that i can make a good first time impression with you and represent the firm and the man and show how we are very good at kissing client's arses because we do whatever clients tells us to do sir.'"

client: "thank you for the drawings you emailed yesterday, i just have a couple of comments."

i space out....

client: "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

pota: "what's that!? okay sir, i'll get right on it and make those changes."

client: "thank you. so i guess i'll see you this afternoon."

pota: "yeah, i'll see you later."

client: "one other thing. could you drive to the meeting and not let the man drive that way you guys we'll be ON TIME."

pota: "ha, ha, ha , ha (over exaggerated fake laughter). i'll let the man know. thanks mr. client guy. see you this afternoon."

end call.

it's always nice to do a little trash talking about the man with the client right before you meet the client for the first time. he knows who's really in charge of the project and does all the work. monkeyboy 1, the man 0.

Employee Web surfing not unreasonable

2006-04-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

check out this article i found yesterday, "Employee Web surfing not unreasonable." it talks about a city worker being accused of disregarding warnings to stay off the internet.

the judge in the trial mentions that "It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work."

i agree. now i gotta get back to work.

what's wrong with this picture?

2006-04-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

so what's wrong with this picture?

1. the man hands me a list of things (at 5 pm) that needs to be done for tomorrow's meeting and tells me to finish up a drawing to email to the client by the end of the day. so here i am rushing to finish that drawing to email to the client by 5 pm and it's already 5:30.

2. one of my buddies here at work is over at his desk catching up on his beauty sleep.

3. my other buddy is bitchin at his desk how he is so bored because he says "there is no more websites to search on the internet." can you even out surf the internet? is that even possible?

4. the pm is not even in the office because he is at the printers watching them print drawings to make sure they print them right. is that even neccessary? i mean they are printers, that's what they do.

5. and to top it all off, the man is gone for the day.

funk it, it's 5:30 i'm outta here.

So when did CHANEL become cheaper than gas???

2006-04-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

just another cad monkey monday

2006-04-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

so i gotta get up in a couple of hours to work for the man. i'll actually be pretty busy working on two projects for presentations that we'll have on tuesday. so i figured i'd get a head start blogging now. i ran by this dilbert comic on the net, which is different from the earlier dilbert comic i posted earlier. this is exactly how my monday is going to be. i can't wait. enjoy.

Cookie Cutter Stamp Out.

2006-04-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Our client, the Victor Valley School District, commissioned us to do 4 schools. The principal of our team low balled our fee to 3/4 of what our original fee was. The PM's thought we could do it quickly since they were gonna introduce Revit. Little did they know that although most of the team took the Revit training, much of them did not know how to apply it to the projects. Funny thing, they kept certain elements of the project in Autocad 2005.

So what they did was bring out some typical prototypes-pods from previous projects and started pasting these cookie cutters all over each of the 4 sites, along with portables.
To make things worse, they hired a pm who was not only younger than me, but also inexperienced. I knew more stuff than he did and I'm a monkeyboy just like you bloggers. As the project progressed, I helped on some of the Design Development. I was called to finished up on other projects on other teams so I left them to do the CDs.

Like I said, the monkeyboys on this project screwed things over. I and another co-worker had to come back to project and help them meet their DSA over the counter deadline. Including us, there was 11 people on the project, stepping on eachothers toes.

After the deadline, they had to fire the inexperienced pm who was younger me, and transferred another monkeyboyand a project architect away from the four projects. I was brought back into the team to be more involved as a key player.

When I first was brought back, one of the projects was DSA approved and already awarded a bid to the contractor. The rest of the projects were still needed to be approve by DSA. Site plans and details were unreadable and off scale. It was a cadmonkey's nightmare. One school, which took 7 of us to address all DSA comments, finally got passed but with a huge price. Late nights and weekends, it was like being back at school. At DSA, our Civil Engineer didn't even address any of their comments so we had to go back another day. The next time, our Mechanical and Plumbing didn't show up. We also had some access issues with some of our restrooms, but we did our part. When we finally got that school approved, we rushed on the DSA comments on the last two schools. These schools had back check appointments on the same days and weeks.

The site plans on these projects were so wrecked, line weights and hatches and layers upon layers were on top of each other. It took me a week to clean up the site plans one project. Then, our Civil, a different civil engineer from the other project, didn't finish his work. I was also dealing with our Door hardware guy who couldn't give us his hardware group #s on the gate and door schedules. Why does this office keep hiring these guys!!!???

Well, today is Friday April 21, 2006 and the last two of the Victor Valley Schools have just been approved by DSA.

An Architect? An Engineer? Nah, it’s our hero...Brad Pitt

2006-04-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I found you an article that just came out today.I know you'll love it...well, maybe the lady readers will. Guess who said, "When I walk through an intelligent building...it inspires me"? An architect, an engineer, city inspector, nah, it's none other than our hero...Brad Pitt.

Imagine great looks, hard abs, and a brain too. Hehehe! So he's not on my top 5, but I know of a lot of ladies that lust for this man (even though he cheated on his lady and is now trying to make brownie points being a self-professed philanthropist). Whatever it may be, he has "PASSION," for something. Even if he is full of sh*t sometimes, he is rather nice to look at. Anyways, read on....

NEW YORK -- Brad Pitt announced he's sponsoring an environmentally friendly design competition to rebuild parts of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

"Our goal is to kick off the rebuilding effort. It's certainly long overdue and I can only go from the reports that we get ... that it's behind, absolutely. People are frustrated," Pitt said Thursday by telephone from Namibia. "We could possibly build something that was better and took into account the historical traditions of the city and the voices of the people and turn this into some kind of good."

The actor is teaming up with Global Green USA, a national environmental organization, on the design project. Pitt, who's with Angelina Jolie in Namibia where they're expecting a child, will lead a jury of architects and local leaders to choose designs by six finalists who will then work with local neighborhoods on more detailed proposals.

Pitt declined to answer questions about the upcoming birth, however. "Absolutely not," he said, laughing.

Widespread speculation holds that Jolie intends to give birth in Namibia and that the couple plan to marry there. But Pitt would only say: "Namibia's just a country we're very fond of. It's a beautiful land and hospitable people and a place that we want to be for the time being."

The design competition will focus on the Holy Cross neighborhood in the impoverished Lower 9th Ward. Designs will be submitted in June and the finalists chosen in July.

Pitt, 42, described his reaction to watching the scenes of the devastation caused by Katrina. "Truthfully, I dare say we witnessed, to our shame, the fact that there's a portion of our society that's being dismissed and that needs to be rectified and I thought that was a real casualty overall from the event."Pitt said it was both the humanitarian and design elements of the project that interested him."

Good architecture is not about building a pretty box and putting it on a piece of land. It's about the needs of the people inhabiting it. It's about the sun, wind, the temperature of the place, their well-being, their quality of life, they go hand in hand," he said.

Pitt said he has a huge interest in architecture.

"I am a bit of a junkie. It's inexplicable really. I believe we creatures are very susceptible to our surroundings. They can actually improve our mode of life and I personally am very affected ... when I walk through an intelligent building. It inspires me," said Pitt. "To me it's like walking through a piece of art and, coupling that now with the green movement of the smarter architecture — of the healthier buildings with great design — is a very exciting prospect to me."

Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA, said that Pitt had "really educated himself not just on architecture, but green design as well. ... There will be a lot of experienced people on there as well as Brad."

The impetus for the competition stems from both a desire to help rebuild the devastated city, and to ensure that at least some of the reconstruction occurs in an environmentally aware manner that reflect a vision of New Orleans in the future.

-The Associated Press

asian stereotype....is this true or false? please comment.

2006-04-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

my buddy (who's also a fellow contributor), fruit-loop, emailed me this link that she came across on kevin and bean's website. it's pretty funny....but is it true of false? please comment so we can find the truth to this racial stereotype. have a fun friday everyone.

The Wheel O' Racial Stereotypes ask, do Asian Men really have small penises?: click here

wannabe designer

2006-04-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

i just came back from a meeting with the client, real estate broker, and potential tenants for an office building i'm working on. it's funny how the broker loves to play architect. it's one thing to suggest a few options here and there, and another to totally try to take all credit for design changes is just too funny.

you see, the broker at the meeting was mainly doing all the talking. his clients, the potential tenants, had some programmatic requirements they wanted to see before signing a lease. we were all going through these changes and i guess the broker wanted to run the show. he was suggesting we move offices here and there, put a conference room here and there, and even recited whatever little knowledge of the building code he memorized. all to look good in front of his clients.

me and the man just sat there quietly till he was done doing his presentation and said "we will take your program, come out with a space plan layout and send it out to everyone for approval." our client, the building owner, then praised us by saying "yeah, these guys are the experts. they can handle it. they know what to do."

lesson: real estate brokers can't design for sh*t.

a day without immigrants

2006-04-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

so there's all this talk about May 1st being "The Great American Boycott." the cnn article can be found here 'nothing gringo on May 1.' all immigrants, not just mexicans, are being asked not go to work and not buy anything "American" to show them politician types what they're up against.

me personally, i'm all up for it. i'm not an immigrant, but i'm sure i'm pretty good buddies with a bunch of them who are illegal, some of them who won't admit it, but it's all good. so i guess that makes me pro-immigrant and qualifies me to boycott as well. i'm not sure if one day can make a difference or not, but whatever. it's one day without working for the man. and working for the man is bad.

a day without immigrants. what would that be like? check out the trailer, a day without a mexican. a day without an architect. now that would definitely cripple America.

sleeping on the job

2006-04-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

i flew in from vegas early this morning and went straight to work. my head hurts. luckily, the man emailed that he has some wood flooring being installed at his house, so he won't be coming into the office today. translation. my ass is sleeping in because i can because i am the man.

either way, i'll be catching up on some sleep at work.

friday haiku

2006-04-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

i stare all day long.
on the screen in front of me.
must be friday. yah.

what? no lunch?

2006-04-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

yesterday we had a girl from subzero come by and give a lunch presentation.

it was actually pretty cool. she brought us these lunch packs that weren't that bad. i had a turkey sandwich on focaccia bread with cheese and mozzarella sauce. mmmmm. i also had a pasta salad that was lightly sauced with a dash of olive oil mixed with tomatoes and olives that was quite delicious. also on the side, i had honey dijon kettle chips, lightly salted, that served as a good complement to the pasta and sandwich. for dessert.....oh shoot the pm (project manager) just got back...hold on.....

...
...

okay he just stepped away. anyways, for dessert was this oatmeal cookie and boy was it filling. that was probably one of the best "lunch presentation" lunches i ever had.

you see, the thing about these lunch presentations, where people come by to plug their product, in this case it was fridges and stoves, i personally am just interested in the free lunch. i mean i'm sure what they are presenting is worth listening to, and i do learn things from these presentations.

but if you ain't bringing the lunch, i ain't giving you the time. admit it. you know it's true.

sexy architect

2006-04-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

my last blog made me kinda depressed, so i decided to cheer myself up and read an article i got emailed back in the day, "Architects 'are sexiest'".

the article talks about how some agency did a survey of women's ideal partners and voted architects as the "sexiest male professionals." one "significant plus" was "their ability to cope with pressure of work in a relaxed manner."

that is so true. i mean, right now, i got all this pressure with all these deadlines. am i worried? heck no! i'm busy blogging, in a relaxed manner. so who cares about the money! always remember. we're sexy. and that's what pays the bills! yeah.

show me the money

2006-04-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

so i do what i usually do at work in the morning and surf the net and come across this interesting site on cnn about an architect's salary. note that this oberservation is based on an Architect V, which is a project manager/ architect level with at least 4 years experience. the average pay, $48,932, looks pretty sad for someone with that much experience, who also had to go through 5 years of school (some 4 years, if you got the bootleg education). i'm just wondering how accurate this salary observation is?

another interesting note was the 50 best jobs in America. landscape architect came in 34th and urban planner came in 36th on the list. no signs of other design professions on the list, other than engineer (number 1!), oh wait hold on. a "software" engineer, not the engineers we're used to dealing with.

this all reminds me of an article my buddy emailed me once, big jobs that pay badly. the article says it best when it mentions about these jobs that "offer working conditions that only passion can excuse." and guess which job was on that list.

just remember. it's not about the money. it's about the passion. we do what we do because we love it. i mean, c'mon, would you rather stare at the computer all day and write codes and scripts and stuff and get paid a crap load of money, or would you rather stare at the computer all day and design and create (cad monkey) and get paid not by money, but by the pure satisfaction that you are really making a difference in this world by providing shelter? think about where these engineers are writing those codes. in an office building, at home, at a hotel, or wherever. and who designed those buildings. damn right. developers, i mean architects.

it's a good thing that writers are ranked 25th, 'cause i'm on my way.

tivo for designers

2006-04-12T01:58:00.000-07:00

finally, a movie about an architect and his struggles. i could definitely use that remote control.

a day in the city

2006-04-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

it's been a pretty crazy last couple of days at work. i've been busy actually working during work, so i haven't been able to post a new blog. i was working on a project in which the client insisted we get the permit this week, NO MATTER WHAT!

so we (the contractor and consultants) all went to the city this morning. there was a one hour wait just to see the fire engineer to approve our drawings. to top it off, we were still waiting for the electrical guy to come by and bring his drawings because the building plan checker wanted all our sets complete before he even looked at our drawings. his exact words were "well, you do your job, then i'll come by and do my job," then he walked away with a smirk on his face. punk ass.

anyways, the electrical guy comes through and we wait. we wait. and we wait. keep in mind that it is already 11 am and the fire engineer still has to look at our drawings, and he's only there till 12. and at 12, the building plan checker goes to lunch for an hour.

nevertheless, we meet with fire and of course he has to show us that he knows the code more than us and has more comments for us. luckily, he just noted those comments on the drawings and signed them off. one down, one more to go. building.

we wanted building to look at the drawings over the counter, but being the nice building guy he is, he says he will take a look at it later in the afternoon.

you see, building plan checkers know that you have to go through them to get a permit. so they basically have you by the kahunas. you have to laugh with them, joke with them, tell funny stories, basically kiss their ass because they are the ones standing between you and the permit.

my last boss hated plan checkers. he said that is the worst job. he called them designer drop outs, who can't design for sh*t, so their last resort is to be a plan checker, which gives them that chance to make them feel good about themselves and to play god, acting like their designers trying to change your design.

the building plan checker holds the drawings. we go to lunch, get a call from the client, and the client says "i don't care if you have to wait at the city till 5 pm, put pressure on the guy and get the ****in permit!" so we go back after lunch, tell the building guy we need this permit now, so he needs to look at the drawings. he tells us to "go home." he was basically telling us, you won't tell me when to do my job. i'll do my job, when i want to. fricken kahunas.

so we head back to the office and not even an hour later, the building guy calls the contractor and tells him to go back to meet with him because he has some questions about the architecture drawings. the contractor calls me up to meet him there, but i said no, we just got back to the office, have him call me to see if i can answer any of his questions. so i get a call. from the contractor. the building plan checker finally gave us the permit.

all of this work, for a building that they already started building and passed two building inspections already....all without the permit. gotta love this job.

fire

2006-04-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

i went to the city yesterday to submit drawings. the fire engineer had some comments on the drawings, really nit picky stuff like the symbols on the electrical drawings are too small and hard to read, you need to have symbols that you note on the drawings referred to the legend, you should note panic hardware on the exit doors....you know crap like that.

he was just trying to show how knowledgeable he was with codes and stuff. whatever. anyways, we took his comments and emailed them out to the consultants later that day to make the neccessary changes. we told the consultants we want to re-submit right away, so they rush with the changes, re-printed (3) sets, signed, stamped and got the revised drawings back to us this morning.

so we have the revised drawings, per fire's comments, and head back to the city.

the fire engineer is not in today.