So this posting by noon thing is getting harder, especially when I have morning meetings. But, work takes priority over this blog. This morning I had a meeting in Bethesda to interview an accountant for my design firm. This was a really interesting experience for me, because for the first time in my professional career I was not the one trying to sell their services, but instead the prospective client. It has made me understand something that has been a subconscious motivator for many of my previous life decisions; I want to feel that I am being treated as a potential investment not just a future client. Interviewing an accountant is very similar to choosing a university, it is a decision that will affect your professional life for years to come. When I chose my university one of the major motivating factors was not a rational factor like class size or endowment or even the location of the school, instead I felt the need to go someplace where I felt welcomed and wanted. Now, I was in a unique situation, I could not afford to choose any school, I could only afford a school If i was getting a significant [...]
I just realized the other day that it has almost been 2 months since I last updated this blog. Who would have thought that I would be able to keep a normal writing schedule while I was working 50 hour weeks, but once I became unemployed I would struggle to write something ever few weeks, let alone months? So what have I been up to? Well, I have been writing an architecture criticism column for DC Metrocentric (check out the ArchiCritic category) and while at first it was every week that seemed to be nigh impossible to keep up. Now I have settled into a new post every other week, which is totally doable. I just wish that I didn’t wait until the last minute every time to write my article. The next big piece of news is that tomorrow is my last ARE exam, at least of this go-around. So far I have taken 6 exams and passed three. I am waiting on my scores for the rest. Tomorrow is Schematic Design. If the exam is anything like the practice problems I should be OK. Hopefully, with this one down, that means all I have to do is wait [...]