Associated Thoughts: Uncomfortable Normalcy
What is “normal”? Who is “normal”? Who gets to decide what characteristics get to define that for you, for me, for us?
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What is “normal”? Who is “normal”? Who gets to decide what characteristics get to define that for you, for me, for us?
I wonder how–after 15+ months of extra hours, of thinner boundaries between work and
non-work, of uncertainty breathing down our necks–how we reactivate our habit to rest.
In that vast ocean of skills, concepts, practices, and information that architects need to know–how do I find my zone, my own unique focus?
Mistakes happen. They happen all the time. But they especially happen when you are doing things for the
first time
Despite the seeming sameness of a work-from-home, socially distanced life, we have all had lots of transitions this past year. New technology, new patterns of communication, new expectations for our time, new challenges to keep our minds engaged, and our firm billings high enough, among many
Amid the few blustery storms that blow across Virginia every few winters, most of us have probably spent even more time than normal in our own home office setups, reviewing yet another PDF before yet another virtual meeting while the sun still seems to set before 5 p.m.
Other than a recent resolution to floss more consistently (stemming from the post-grad school financial shock of my first significant dental procedure), I have an admittedly poor record with immediate follow through on my resolutions.
For the last 200+ days, I have done my job as a designer alone in an empty room. Just me, a second monitor, too many open drafting views in Revit, and several friendly succulents gamely trying to figure out floor plan diagrams, code subpoints, and all the various things that we do in order to get a building designed and built.
I have a photo of each of my twenty first days of school, from kindergarten to college and into graduate school–not even the supposed dignity of higher education could stop that tradition–and in each one, there is that familiar glimmer of upcoming learning, of new-notebook-smell, a flickering gleam of awaiting adventure behind the classroom door.
Associate Director, Michael Spory shares what you should consider as you approach a potential mentoring relationship