quiet town

i know somewhere there is a party going down
interesting people
conversation to be found

i've lived in cities where there is no solitude
made some friends here that i hope i never lose
and for now
i want to stay in this quiet town

sometimes i miss the show
but come saturday morning
theres a market on the square
its a lazy afternoon
content with thinking that there is nothing to do

in this quiet town

you know best

pancakes
bring back
good memories
dad telling me when
they're ready to be flipped

only when you see the bubbles
start to form
_________________________________________

after planting the tree
he prayed to the lord
'lord, my tree needs rain
so its tender roots may drink and grow
send gentle shower'
and the lord sent showers

'lord, my tree needs sun
please send it sun'
and the sun shone
sending the dripping clouds away

'now send frost dear lord
to strengthen its branches'
he cried
and soon the tree
was covered in sparkling frost
but by evening it had died

he sought out a friend
and told what happened

the friend said
'i have also planted a little tree
see how it is thriving
i entrust my tree to the lord
he who made it knows
better than a man like me
what it needs
i only prayed
lord sent what it needs
whether it be
a storm, sunshine, wind, rain, or frost
you made it, you know best what it needs'

the humanist in me

watching the series china rises on cbc newsworld
i'm inspired
then again
as i watch the dispair of the millions
if not billions of people
going hungry
while i sit here eating
as i just peeked in my bowl
to see the uneaten rice
i cannot but feel the need to do something
uneasy and puzzled by what i see
i sit here to watch others
who dedicate their lives to making
other lives just that much better

makes what i'm doing now
seem nothing but frivolous

reading about humanism
watching humanism
and then writing humanism
i believe there exists a humanist in me
looking for others

yet not knowing how
or maybe it isn't not knowing how
maybe it's the conflict of a mindset
i have one thing i need to do
but it would mean i need
to leave the other behind

somehow i wish it was easy
to leave the other behind
then i would just go
and do what needs to be done

fortunate to even care
about so many other things
than going hungry

just mind boggling
and i need to do something about it
whether it be soon or in years
but i will.

eagarly i wait

thouroughly enjoying spinning circles in my chair
haha
the joys of procrastination
______________________________________________'

if heaven is the only time we would ever meet
i wait eagerly for that day

longing is like
seeing but never able to touch
yearning to speak
but remaining mute

continuing my gaze and enduring the silience

house of zombies

this is the model for the project
a building for the faculty
of environmental studies

quite the different breed
it's like a zombie house in the archi building
house of the living dead?

everybody seems edgy
careful what you say
how you say it

you just might be the one
who snaps those elastic bands
we call architecture students

all the group projects are now over
i'm very glad
feelin a bit dizzy now
from over work
and probably too much wine and nachos
also elated from the release
of this drudging project
that never seemed to end

and it never ends
can always do more
and do it better
always work to the last minute

and in the end
it turned out to be a fun group to be in
the most entertaining of all groups in our class
we've created so many inside jokes...haha

_______________________________________________

friend just told me i'm a groomsman!
haha
cool

friends getting married
blows my mind

and me?
hahaha

first i have to be
best man in june
_______________________________________________


i can't believe i have to do one of these again
another thesis
give me a break
i just did one last year

just looking at my friends thesis project
in the crit space makes me wonder
do i really want to go through
all the pain, suffering, and agony again

and simply
the answer is
bring it on...
a tired enthusiam

now i have to charge up
to push another paper out
in how about 3 days
and finsh the studio design project
and i'm good

sample article titles i have to read include

the paradox of parks:
universal landscapes in the local community

mind in matter:
an introduction to material culture theory and method

i'm learning

still not done

in a very
stressful and angst state
becoming very
obsessive compulsive
not looking at the big picture

and the time typing this
seems to be the only break
other than eating

i really want to take the night off
doing nothing
reading or something else
________________________________________________

it caught up on me yesterday
not getting enough sleep

i now realize why it's bad to work
and sleep in the same room
meaning having a desk
and bed in the same room

fell asleep twice
when i flopped onto bed
in exhaustion
and each time i fell asleep
i was dreaming

game plan
this is what we do in archi
for a building systems class

calculations need to be finalized

ground source heating system

plan 2 landscaped areas **needed for plans to be plotted for final report

elevations finalized (needs coordination with model)

daylight study (size to be confirmed) section perspective

climate and program

site model massing

1:100 model

duct calculation

energy calculations

water calculations

materials and selections

entire building systems diagram

specifications of components and materials

write why systems were chose over others (ie passive over wind and solar)

write why building is beautiful how systems work together

put everything onto template

case studies to be submitted

embodied energy, toxicity blah blah

3D renderings of building

site strategy and site plan

ground source diagram

sadly my name appears beside more than
several of these categories
some are done though!

desperado

wahaha
the package i got two days ago
whoohooooo
food

___________________________________________________

desperado
why don't you come to your senses
you've been riding fences
for so long now
you're a hard one

i know you got your reasons
these things that are pleasing you
can hurt you somehow

don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy
she'll beat you as she's able
you know the queen of hearts
is always your best bet

now it seems to me
some fine things
have been laid upon your table
but you only want the ones that you can't get

desperado
you ain't getting no yonger
your pain and your hunger
they're driving you home
and freedom
freedom
well that's just some people talking
your prison is walking
through this world all alone

don't your feet get cold in the winter time
the sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
it's hard to tell the night time from the day
you're losing all your highs and lows
ain't it funny how the feeling goes away

plexi fun

_______________________________________________

bendable plexi recipe

1 sheet of plexi glass
1 sheet of 11x17 bond paper

in a fying pan
lay down the sheet bond paper
on a low heat
then place sheet of plexi glass on top
allow the plexi to simmer for 5 minutes

take off the plexi with a spatula or something
and wear some gloves
bend and mould
the plexi to a desired shape and form
enjoy
_______________________________________________

crits are like battlefields
shoot or be shot
don't shoot and still be shot
be shot and die
in any way
inevitably shots will always be fired
defend yourself or die
go equipped with armour
and predict the shots
that will be fired

real life

my dad
can't understand him
it's like i have a teenage son
that throws tantrums
and i don't know how to deal with it

sadly real life
doesn't stop with sitcom endings
this is real life
and in real life there
are situations that take time
it's not always a lesson learned
and a happy ending at the end
of 30 minutes

as is this case

coming back to halifax
everything seemed fine at home
until i received a distress call from my brother

the sky seems to always be falling
for him

my dad becoming edgy
and he's not like that
usually very easy going
and joking around
something is up
doesn't let anybody know

as the story goes
every family has their problems

i hope they can take care of themselves

you have the same traits as your parents
the way you work
the way you talk
the way you treat others
the way you cook
the way you eat
the way you move
the way you think
reflects also who your parents are

though i would like to say
that i only take the good
and not the bad
it's not true
but what is bad
i know not to do

too tired to talk
too busy to take any time
i'm just plain against it

now i hope my dad
can come to his senses
i know he's under tremendous pressure
of sorts
i hope he can deal with it

on my way

rain won't catch you
and the wind won't blow
where you're going
no one knows
it's alright now

clouds are forming
in a neon sky
you wonder how
you wonder why

if we knew the end
would we start at all
see the pride
before the fall

it's over now

we can't break up
what we can't break down
life can sometimes
spin you around

the world will always
turn beneth our feet

there's a hole in your heart
where the rain gets in
so you pull up the collar
and you start again

it's all right now
there is no right
there is no wrong

you live your life
keep moving on
i'm on my way

ids

don't know what these are
look really good in picture though...

sleek faucet

designed by friend
really good stool
it's worth not sleeping a few days

joy stick faucet

a crack in the table
don't know the use of the crack
but it's cracked very well
good design

my picks at the interior design show 2006

pressed

pressed on every side
but not crushed

perplexed
but not in dispair

persecuted
but not abandoned

struck down
but not destroyed

2 corinthians 4: 8-9
________________________________________

it puzzles me
but you understand
and will one day explain

you have fenced up my ways
made my paths crooked
to keep my wandering eyes
fixed on you

to make me what i was not
humble and patient

to draw my heart
from earthly love
to you

so i will thank you
for this puzzle
and trust where i cannot understand
rejoicing that you know
i'm worth such testing
i cling closer
to your guiding hand

________________________________________

is there one day
it isn't sunny in halifax?

this is the best winter ever
in all my life

getting sick of
doing school work
i want to do other things

second best

i root for second best
i support the dark horse
it’s always better that way
isn’t it?

is it the humility i seek
for myself
or in hope for others

_____________________________________________

couldn’t help but laugh
at our group discussion
for design session

as one student mentions
that someone could potentially
get ripped for a particular issue

it was responded with
the professor saying
‘you never know what
you’ll get ripped up for’

and then
‘the more work you do
the more criticism you will get’

and the key is to do
plenty of work
haha…
architecture is great

and today’s discussion
led to the fact that
people do computer drawings
then draw them by hand
seemingly a backwards process

the hand craft
is still believed
to impress

a balance of computer
and hand
and drawings with models
is crucial

and commonly
and clichéd phrases
in architecture crits

push it futher.
take it to the next level.
continue to develop it.
blah blah blah...

bring them back

breaks me to see the devil at work
breaks me to see people
friends
going about their ways

defending only what is made up by themselves
living in a world of deceit
on a misled path
so far it seems impossible to bring them back

made up only by themselves
they find their own reasons
to support their cause
their reason to live

it stumbles me why
it can be so easy

the devil has tricks
the lord works miricles
bring them back

be still

there are some days
i can't wait for the next
for one day to stop
and the next to begin

today
i am asked to be patient
this is one of my hardest tasks

'be still before the lord and wait patiently for him'
psalm 37:7

patience
eliminates worry
the lord said he would come
and his promise is equal
to his presence

patience
elminates weeping
why feel sad and discouraged
he knows your needs
better than you do

patience
eliminates want
perhaps your desire
to receive what you want
is stronger than your desire
for the will of god
to be fulfilled

patience
eliminates weakness
instead of thinking
of waiting as wasted time
realize that god is preparing
his resources and
strengthening you as well
_______________________________________________

hold steady when the fires burn
when inner lessons come to learn
and from this path there seems no turn
let patience have its perfect work

_______________________________________________

i don't know if i am
a relatively patient person

right now
i long for this term to be over
and for it to be summer

my rant of now now now
brings nothing
but more angst
that i don't have
and that hasn't occurred

once again

would a friend of mine please help me
translate the chinese lyrics to english
located in a picture below

that would be great
because i don't get all of the lyrics
___________________________________________

a broken conversation
with no response

my friend
he doesn't want to talk

leaving once
is more than enough
wouldn't you say?
it's plenty

i don't want to
deal with it
once again
___________________________________________

a child of god was once overwhelmed
by the number of afflictions
that seemed to target him

as he walked past a vinyard
during the rich glow of autumn
he noticed its untrimmed appearance
and the abundance of leaves
still on the vines

the ground had been
overtaken by a tangle
of weeds and grass

while he pondered the sight
the heavenly gardener whispered
a precious message to him

my dear child
are you questioning
the number of trials
in your life?

remember the vinyard
and learn from it

the gardener stops
pruning and trimming
the vine only when
he expects nothing more
from the vine during that season

he leaves it alone
because its fruitfullness is gone
and further effort would yield
no profit

freedom from suffering
leads to uselessness

do you want me
to stop pruning your life?
shall i leave you alone?
___________________________________________

why must i
time and again
question the trials
in my life?

i want to know
i want to understand

keep pruning
if you must
i will grow
only stronger
for your sake.