Blogging While at Work Is Bad for Your Health

A Day in a Life

An Architect's take on the famous Beatles song

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Drag a comb across my head,
...Looking up, I noticed I was late,
Found my coat and grabbed my hat,
Made the bus in seconds flat,
Found my way upstairs and had a cup,
And when I woke I know I'm in a dream...

Another work week. Another five days of design, drafting and specifying. Not to mention the beaurocracy and the mind bending ordeals of talking to clients (we call them end users) and contractors (I call them makukulit).

Let's start at the beginning. (pull out location map)
I live at an apartment near the university where I work, along with five other Architects. We all have our own jobs, ambitions, angst and goals in life. But that's for another entry. Lets talk about the day in the life of the Architect. That would be me.


(see interior elevations and floor plan)
The Apartment is a typical two storey unit, with two bedrooms upstairs and a common area below. What makes it special is that it is a place where we share common interests in Architecture, Design and Construction. You can find several books, software, floorplans, magazines, tools, porn (oops), and gadgets related to the practice. Plus you get to see our non-arki lives with the various musical, sports, arts and recreational thingies lying around. The latest craze for me would be the Super Mario Bros. 3 found in the computer, playable thanks to the recently borrowed joystick, and John Grisham's novel A Time to Kill.

I read the news today oh boy,
About a lucky man who made the grade,
And though the news was rather sad,
Well I just have to laugh...

(pull out work schedule)
The campus office is no different from other Architectural firms. There are computers, drafting areas, large tables, a plotter, several brochures and materials samples. At the front is located the boss's office and the Admin office (the headquarters). One large room is designated for the technical staff, while another smaller room is where the plotter and our place is.

(see details)
My workstation consists of three tables in a u-shape configuration. I have an a-3 printer beside me. The plotter is connected to my pc, so whenever somebody plots their plans, I take a coffee break, because the pc goes into slow mode. I used to have two ladies sitting at opposite workstations beside me. I used to call them Nap's Angels, though you won't hear me saying that to them. I have boxes, materials samples and brochures. Plus I have tons of work to do.

(see work schedule again)
A look into my work schedule:
Mornings:
1. Blog, surf and check e-mail.
2. Check work schedule, appointments and update work journal for end of the month activity report.
3. Drafting and design for small projects, quickie submissions and small details.
4. Eat taho at 10:00am (protein is good for you)
5. Work again, call end users, work again.
6. Submit correspondence, have it checked first with bossings, and let yourself be immersed in the beaurocracy.
7. Cool off.
8. Eat lunch (econo-meals ala dorm food, lunch outs every Friday)

Afternoon:
1. Site visits: first would be the admin building, scary project because we talk to vice presidents and vice chancellors; next would be the chemistry laboratories project, scary too because things might explode inside.
2. Walk-walk-walk. The university is big, but not that big. Wish I had one of those scooters--the muscle powered kind, skateboard with handle bars. That would be cool. Architect on wheels.
3. Go back to the office. Draft again, design, specify, schedule, talk to boss, process pictures, talk to engineers.
4. Eat merienda (dorm food again)
5. Refer to number 3 again.

Ah, Architecture. So many things to do, so little time. But at least I get to do many things. Hopefully I'm not that late in life (see gantt chart and s-curve), or else I'll have to pay for liquidated damages.

Evening:
1. Graduate school.
2. Go home, eat, listen to music, Super Mario again.
3. Review for the plumbing exam, read John Grisham, surf, sleep.

I'm not a religious person, but I do hope the Great Architect has some plans for me. He sure would try to throw some thunder bolts along my way. It's okay, but please Sir, don't specify too many bolts for delivery.

I'd love to turn you on....

posted by nap @ 7:54 AM