I guess I am finally starting a blog. I have been mulling this over in my head for quite some time. A blog always seemed to be a good idea, I just never had the motivation to fully take the plunge and write. So day after day I sat and thought about what to write, until now, when I finally committed to putting my thoughts on paper.
Let me introduce myself first (for those of you who do not know me). I am a husband and a father, and quite honestly those two jobs take up the majority of my time, although I wouldn’t have it any other way. I do thoroughly enjoy being a husband and a father. Even though there are plenty of times I feel completely incapable of doing either job correctly. My wife and children are major part of who I am, and who I am still becoming. I do consider myself religious, and sometimes wonder if God just enjoys sitting back and watching me make things harder for myself and silently laughs to himself. At least I take solace in the fact that through my inabilities; God will at least receive some modest form of enjoyment.
When I am not performing my duties as a religious husband and father, I masquerade as an Architect by day. Traditionally an architect is looked at as a bright, intelligent, good looking and very modern and trendy individual (think Mike Brady). Yet, somehow, I missed the boat entirely on all of those qualities. In fact, I do not own a single pair of square-toed dress shoes, or even a black turtleneck (nor do I ever intend to). I do have glasses that might be considered to be trendy, but I only wear those so I can see straight when I stare at a computer screen. I wear jeans to work, enjoy wearing t-shirts, and own only a single suit (which I do not enjoy wearing).
I have met many people throughout my life, many have become good friends, some only acquaintances and some only a fleeting memory of an individual. Many of these people have asked what I do for a living, while I am assuming that this is the course for a typical introductory conversation, I do politely answer. Once my answer becomes vocal, the polite introductory conversation turns. Some people look at me as if they have never heard of an Architect. Others just respond with an “oh” and quickly change the subject. But the overall majority of people ask “Are you one of those Architects?” or something similar. Now may I politely ask? What does that even mean; those Architects? No, Architects are not aliens; they are not trendy weirdo’s who only speak math and abstract design theories. Some of us actually watch sports and mow the lawn just like regular people. My wife has even experienced this strange architect question phenomenon. So much so, that she has wondered if she should be worried for my well-being. I like to think that I am normal (whatever that really means), and can hold an intelligent conversation about a subject outside my realm of day to day knowledge.
Having said all of this, I am hoping that this blog, will give some an idea of how this architect thinks, acts and what inspires and motivates me. Architects are people too, and I guess overall, I am simply trying to bring some light to the Architecture profession for all of you, and through that allow you to see the profession through my personal perspective. Hold on for the ride!