Summary of Day 1 of Vacation

Yesterday morning i woke up and prepared my home for a bombing of fleas. This is not an enjoyable activity i must say. I had to pull all of my dishes out of my cabinets, all of my food in plastic bags, and cover up everything. That took me about 4 hours, getting everything ready. Then i loaded Deloris up in the car along with my stuff for my trip, and we got on the road.
so, summing up yesterday morning... miserable

The ride home was nice. It was definitely pleasant. I really enjoy driving and there was something really nice about watching the landscape change from coastal to what ever the east alabama landscape is called, but it is different. It also gave me a chance to think about a lot of stuff going on in my life. I have been so busy over the last week, that i have not been able to process anything, so that was nice and some what stress relieving.

I stopped by mammoth to tell everyone hello and give them a warning of my arrival. I will be working there today. Mammoth has moved into this huge building. I mean, it is gigantic. completely insanely big. Our old building was small, but i never realized how much space we needed. But it was nice to see everyone. I miss Mammoth a whole lot. It may be one of the biggest things i miss about auburn, besides my family, and of course, my kitties, Smudge and Smudge Jr.

Anyway, i went to Dudley Hall after i left mammoth, and walked around looking at projects, talking to folks. That was nice. I am going back today to meet up with Behzad.

I finally made it home. Jr. and Smudge greeted me. Smudge, who is extremely good at holding grudges, said hello, and then took off. This made it hard, because i needed to catch her. She knows how not to get shut up in a room. It took me about 5 minutes of running around to catch her. Jr., about 5 seconds.

Sorry.. i just realized how rambly this is getting. i will speed it up

I got Deloris in, stole a Heine light from my mom, and sat out on the front porch. Mom and i went to bar51, a cheesy new bar in auburn that trys to be south beach cool. No, that is unfair, but it is a little out dated to be the thing. it is aimed at not college students, but that is not gonna happen. they don't treat you like an adult there anyway. You have to give them your credit card to open a tab... what kind of adult bar is that? They do have these pretty bad ass lights, and there are some other nice moves that the architect/part owner made, but eh. I would rather be at the grocery. They are going to start serving tapas soon, and that might make the place better.

After we left Bar51, which i don't think i mentioned is in a strip mall by the interstate, (goodness, i need to stop being so mean) We haded for buffalows, down town for dinner. Then headed out to the duck, then we headed home.

Mom and i sat out side on the porch and looked at magazines and books. It was a nice evening. Now, for me, off to the porch for a little while with a book, and coffee.

Beginning My Vacation

So, I am beginning my vacation tomorrow morning. And i say tomorrow morning, because i have a bit to do to prepare for it tonight.

I am trying to get Myra's house to permit, which i am super close to. I have finished it, i am just making last minute corrections. I did my shear wall calculations today. This was the first time i have done this, and it seemed a bit more daunting than it actually was. It is weird how i can get caught up on certain things, when i am intimidated by them, but i always feel really good when i actually overcome those inhibitions and just do it. Wall sections used to do that to me, now i feel i can handle those pretty well. And as of today, i can do shear wall calculations.

I was supposed to head out of town yesterday morning, but it seemed silly to leave Myra's house waiting to go to the permit office, just so i could have an extra 2 days of vacation. Ultimately, in the end those two days will not matter to me, but i think the extra week and 2 days would matter a little more to Myra and her family. And it feels good to finish the house, and to conquer the battle of the shear wall, and to have a house go to permit. It feels good to have it done, and to be able to leave with something off of my plate, and to come back to a whole new project. And as silly as it may sound, it feels really good to work all weekend, really hard and very focused on something.

So, i am home now finishing up all of the changes. Deloris thought she would help me.

So. Yeah. Back to work, so i can head to Alabama tomorrow!

Things I virtually love

http://www.nytimes.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenorschnitzel

http://www.librarything.com/profile/zenorschnitzel

http://twitter.com/zenorschnitzel

i am an online dork!

Here is another article from the NYT that everyone should read

Fema is in trouble because trailers are making people sick!

go figure.. all of that nasty material used to make them cannot be good for anyone! Please read this.

A long day

So, it has been a long day, but super productive. i am making the final adjustments and drawings for Myra's house. I have to get that done and out by the time i leave for vacation.

We also had a pretty exciting meeting today in the office. We did our normal reports about what we were working on and where we were in those projects, but David began discussing formally where we were headed as an office. It is pretty exciting. We are going to start working with new building systems, exploring those, like the insulated concrete forms and sips panels and what not. So that is super exciting. Right now we are just going to be learning as much as we can about those building systems.

We are also going to really start getting into larger community projects, like mixed use and stuff. More exciting!

We as an office are going to continue working on the Rosetti house that sergio palleroni and brian bell's group started. I mean physically working. so, again exciting. Looking for the upcoming months here in the office.

Alright, well i have been posting a lot of old pictures on my flickr! go check them out.

me, running, shape, and overall health

me after today's run.... all sweaty and nasty and refreshed!

So i have been running for about 6 months. I don't run very far, but i am glad i am getting the exercise. I have never been a skinny one, but i think this is the best shape i have been in in a long time, maybe since i was an 8 year old in every sport possible. the regular exercise has been doing my body some good. I have never exercised on a regular basis like this, and i like it. Of course Deloris is keeping me motivated, because if i don't take her on a run or a walk she will drive me nuts with her excess of puppy energy.

me after today's run.... all sweaty and nasty and refreshed! I guess i am gettin a little smaller here and there.

So, on top of me getting a little smaller, i have also really gotten addicted to the feeling that comes along with running, or vigorous exercise. I love the feeling when i get home, when i am hot, sticky, a little exhausted and refreshed and full of oxygen. So this is what i look like after 8 months on the coast and 6 months of running.

My diet has also improved since i have gotten here. i have been eating a lot of fruit and veggies, and less bread and pasta. I have been eating less fast food, and more boiled shrimp, which is about $5.99 a pound boiled, and about the same price as anything you can get from a fast food place.

So the coast has been pretty good for my health for the most part. the only down side is that everything social down here generally happens in a bar, besides the Hands On stuff, but that is a 30 minute drive for me, so i dont end up doing that too often.


so my health status: better than ever.

ready to vacation!

I am so looking forward to my vacation. I am taking it next week. I will be printing shirts, and cleaning my room at my mom's house, hanging out with family, then heading to atlanta to see a bunch of folks. wahooooooooooo
for now, wrapping up stuff before i leave!