Review Day

We convinced DuPuy not not make us take the tech exam on Friday (it wasn't that difficult, our schedule is flexible). There was just no way we would have been able to finish working on our projects and study for the exam, let alone TAKE the exam before our deadline of noon Saturday. Instead half of us took it Saturday after our deadline and the other half is currently taking it. I, obviously, took it yesterday- it took us 3 HOURS!! We were basically learning the material as we were taking it- not the best method. I still got an A though so I'm not complaining.

Last night DuPuy treated us to a play at the Georgian theatre in Richmond. We saw a Sherlock Holmes play, very funny. The actors were great! The actual seats were less than comfortable, but it was awesome to finally watch a play that wasn't directed at my high school. Before hand we went to a restaurant right next door called "A Taste of Thai"- delicious. I got green curry with pork. I am really getting into the asian foods here- I'm addicted to Indian now, I'm loving thai- go figure. I may never eat take-out Chinese again...or at least for a little while...

We are having our review today around 2. I'm a little worried as to how my drawings are going to look because we had to scan them in (and the scanner was horrible), make a powerpoint and then project them onto the wall- I've decided I'm going to lay my drawings out just in case they are illegible from the projector. In the end though I like my project and it was, by far, the best charette I have ever had to endure. No all-nighters, I cooked breakfast-lunch-and dinner for myself every day, and we were still able to play soccer!! Life is good.

About to go pack for our month of traveling on the road- this should be interesting..

Work, work, work!!

2/24/10

To keep our spirits up we all played rotation DJ in studio. We went in a circle around the room and each person had to play any song they wanted. I was suffering though- I felt SO tired around 10 and I pushed through until 11 and read before going to bed. I think its a mental thing (or that I have been consuming insane amounts of tea aka caffeine) but there is a slight possibility Justin has mono- I'm worried we all have it! In reality I think I just didn't have my normal dosage of caffeine that day and so I felt more tired than usual...

2/25/10

Work, work, work!! I really want to finish my drawings tonight- then I can add any extra detail and scan/fix my drawings for the presentation tomorrow. We will see how that goal plays out...

I am already not doing well because around 12 I got bored and went for a run haha, oh well.

We finally went into the main house at Kiplin this afternoon. I wasn't that excited about going, but it is so much nicer inside than I had anticipated! Absolutely gorgeous. Plus, I have decided I am going to have a 'drawing room' in my house- the one there was epic.

Tonight my agenda entails working until I can't keep my eyes open..then go and read some before bed. Tech exam tomorrow morning- ugh.

Charette- UK style

2/21/10

I am trying to backlog and remember what we did today- not going to lie it’s a bit fuzzy. It was a work-day, that I know. I went on a run in the middle of the day and was then forced to play soccer later- apparently no one can play without me. We went to dinner at a place in town- I got a beef and onion pie. Let me tell you, the Brits know how to make a meat pie- it was very good. I ordered an Irish coffee for the first time after dinner- not a huge fan. But at least I can say I tried.

2/22/10

I, shockingly, have decided to abandon my morning runs for a little bit. Today I went on a run sort of as a ‘break’ in the middle of the day- excellent idea. It helps to break up doing studio work. Not that I don’t love being here, but during the week the days can get a little monotonous so it helps to have something to do so I don’t just end up eating or going on the internet out of boredom.

We all went to see our cheap 4pound movie tonight. I saw Up In the Air- such a downer in the end. I still can’t get over Alex- what a bitch!! Dave and Emma saw Invictus- kind of jealous, it sounded great. Maybe it was the movie- or the act of going to the movies- but I was wired up tonight, and I went to bed at 1 mainly because that was when Jenny went to bed. Who would have thought I would be the last one up.

2/23/10

I woke up at 7:30 this morning…on my own. I think I’m sleeping too much- is that possible? Tech in the morning is not so great. It is a great way to break up the day though I have to admit. Eat breakfast- work on some studio- do tech for 2 hours- eat lunch- play soccer. Soccer was fun today- we played three games of 3v3. It is hard to get even teams with only three people- almost every game was a blow-out. After we just worked for the rest of the night. I was extremely tired though end ended up going to bed around 11 and reading- I’m really enjoying Middlesex- I’m hooked!

2/24/10

It has become a production to come and use the internet. I need to walk through the dining room, kitchen, up the stairs, through the boys’ room and into the apartment just to get a connection. It is really helping my goal of becoming less dependent on technology. Before I literally always had access to the internet- and a phone for that matter. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go back to the states and I have all this technology again!!

Today after lunch we went into Richmond- I had to plan out the rest of my meals so I wouldn’t have any food left over (or not enough). The drive over there was really freaky though because of the fog. You literally couldn’t see 10 feet in front f you- it looked like we were driving through a blizzard.

It is really weird to think that we have a review in 4 days (and are supposed to be done by noon the day before!). I am not really stressed at all- it is going to be a really low key review since the only guest crit is Nick M. Normally I wouldn’t be sleeping much, I would be completely stressed out- but jut yesterday we were all drinking G&T’s in the kitchen calm as ever. I also had a really great talk with DuPuy today about the structure of my building. Before I had always thought of it as ‘how is my building going to stand up’, but he had a completely different perspective. The way you’re building is structured is literally how it is going to look, the aesthetic of it. I wish I had been given this perspective a long time ago, maybe I would have liked tech a little bit more…

I love this semester- today DuPuy called it studio rehab, and I totally agree. The only down side is that since we are, technically, in a charette we have postponed movies until Sunday night…such a hard life we live.

2/19/20

We finally played soccer again today! I had taken a week hiatus after several minor injuries, and it felt good to play again. Afterwards I was exhausted though because earlier today we went to Richmond to go on top the castle there then do some 'detective work' as DuPuy called it. I was charged with going swimming and figuring out where the drains and HVAC is in a pool for my project- it was a success. Jenny and Emma had to help me some though because I forgot to put my contacts in and was, therefore, swimming blind.

We watched the Duchess- such a depressing movie. I think we might need to move on with the period pieces...

2/20/10

Today was an amazing day. The weather was excellent- sun almost all day! We woke up early and I presented on Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal in the morning. We got there and the sun and shadows through the ruins of the abbey were stunning. The abbey was massive- I can't even imagine what it much have been like when it was in its prime. I think that fact that it was open to the sky made it look even larger too because it was as if it were endless. The gardens were beautiful- the grass here is so green!! There were a few areas that looked run-down. DuPuy says the maintenance here is a huge production because the trees are all starting to die and there are tons of people who come here every year walking around and ruining the gardens- such a shame.

After we went to Blemhen Rocks- not going to lie I was slightly mad we were going to see some rocks after we had just walked around for 4 hours- but I was speechless. It was on a cliff and you could just climb around on these massive rocks, and on the top of them were the most amazing views. The English countryside is a beautiful sight- especially with some snow!

On the way home Sara and I got ingredients for some gin martinis- damn can Sara make a strong drink. We watched the Other Boelyn Girl, and I attempted reading some but I was too tired and fell asleep. Excellent day.

2/16 cont.

So we ended up watching Snatch- go figure. It was hilarious because DuPuy thought he had never seen it until 10 minutes in and he remembered he already had. He is the worst person to watch movies with though- constant comments!! Oh well, it was a great movie so nbd. I read my book for ~30 minutes after the movie and went to bed. I am really starting to get into this book! Plus, I want to read Maus (Jenny's graphic novel that she brought) so I need to finish this one!

2/17/10

Tech in the morning- this section is actually getting really helpful because its about HVAC and placing the air ducts and mechanical equipment. We had a work day and I took a break to go running to 'figure out my elevation' as DuPuy recommended. I had a desk crit with DuPuy later and I am really starting to move along with my design! I tried to work on my seminar topics later too, but I ended up just surfing the internet for 90% of the time and didn't get much done...c'est la vie. We watched Charlie Wilson's War at night while 'working on studio', but it ended up that everyone got sucked in and didn't do any work. After we worked for a bit until it hit 12 and I went to bed. I'm not conditioned to stay up late anymore! Its such a different lifestyle here than when I am in College Park...and its a much better one!

2/18/10

Woke up to work on studio before our group crits (I was with Jenny today). We ended up running really behind and I just worked straight through until our turn (last) and was brain dead after. Running helped, then we had tech. I have a long list of drawings I need to work out before our review- its in a week and a half!! I'm so excited to be on the road again though- its going to be like we're backpacking across the UK since we're staying in hostels everywhere we are going etc. I'm getting really pumped for spring break too...I just need to stay strong through this last stretch and have a good design!!

Tech...

2/15/10

We had a tech review- its always so confusing because half the time we are trying to figure out where Bovill got the numbers from and hwy he is using them. We gave up after about an hour and a half and worked on studio a bit more and finished the first season of the Tudors. I think we might have to succumb to buying the next season!!

2/16/10

I was in the first group to take the tech exam this morning- 9am. The test ended up taking me about 2 hours- it was a long time to look up tables in a book. DuPuy graded them right after we took them; I got a 96. I tried to do studio work after, but my brain was fried so I went on a run and gave it another go when I was done. I’ve really enjoyed this studio process with DuPuy- he is making us think a lot more about details rather than the parti or the big idea. It was a long day, so we are scheduling a movie night to wind down. Braveheart is currently the winning contender, but The Dutchess is a close second, so we will have to wait and see…!

The Tudors!!

2/12/10

In Durham we walked along the river- very beautiful. I felt like I was reading Huck and Finn. The weather was kind of crappy, but we stuck it out for a while and had a few impromptu tech lessons while analyzing one buildings- and getting more than a few odd looks. We decided not to stay in Durham and went home. Emma bought the first season of the Tudors in Durham and we ended up watching the first four episodes tonight- we got sucked in!

2/13/10

So I think its safe to say I officially like coffee now. I never thought it would happen, but I can drink it black and I don’t mind it at all. Its scaring me!

We went to see a folly in Richmond today for Emma’s fourth class. Before Emma, Sara, and I went grocery shopping for dinner tonight- Lasagna, garlic bread and apple pie. I have to admit the folly was a lot nicer than I was expecting. It was all made of the vernacular stone and had a square bottom with a octagonal top. There were four floors and a tiny spiral staircase to take you up. Now they have renovated it and rent it out to people for a few days at a time. The views of the town were amazing and the renovation was extremely nice- I wouldn’t have minded staying there for a weekend. After we went into town and walked around the market- I was quite tempted by the cheese and sausage selection, but considering our limited refrigerator space I had to hold back. We went back to Kiplin and played soccer- I got killed. Dave stepped on my other foot and boy and I in pain. Then, since the field was muddy because it rains at least once a day, I got too close for comfort to pulling my groin. I got Jenny and Dave to run a cool-down lap around the lake with me so I cold get a good stretch in. I might have to take a break from soccer for a few days…I was then called to the kitchen to start on dinner- mom would be proud of my lasagna skills. For dinner we’re all dressing up because, well, why not? After we made the boys clean up and we continued to feed our new addiction to the Tudors- now I know what Aunt Linda was talking about all this time!

2/14/10

Today was a VERY early day. We left for Hadrian’s Wall at 8:30- it was well worth it though. The wall is massive and the topography it goes through is ridiculous. I fell walking down one of the hills- boat shoes was not the best choice for today, we were practically hiking. After we drove to New Castle and (after getting lost a few times around the city) took a look at Byker new town. It was….interesting. I definitely didn’t jive with the style of architecture of the place, but the idea was good. It was a development that essentially built a wall to block the sound from a nearby highway and built housing for lower income families. There was a school, a sport complex, a church, and a few community greens. Unfortunately because of the type of people that were living there it lacked a sense of community and it wasn’t kept up well at all- one of the major battles with urban planning. We walked down to the Millennium Bridge, and then called it a day- we had to get Emma and Dave back in time to go on their Valentine’s Day date. I made meatloaf for dinner- just like home :) I was able to get some alone time and read my book for a bit, and then we watch two more episodes of the Tudors and went to bed.

2/15/10

Went running this morning- I finally ran three laps around the lake! I’m going to try and work my way up every week. Today is a work day- finally- and then we have a tech review at 4 for the exam tomorrow. It’s so weird we haven’t been working non-stop all weekend! It’s a very different lifestyle from studio in cp- and I like it.

2/11/10

We met with DuPuy in the morning to talk about our seminar papers that are due at the end of the semester- apparently Zach's mom has read them all and mine were her favorites (I haven't even read them all!). We played a couple games of soccer and then got ready for paired studio crits. It was nice to have a change of pace- single crits can only go on for so long. I was with Chris since his project's site is directly across the street from mine- I'm really liking all of our projects so far. It should be a good review! We worked for a while then went to the grocery store with our allowance from DuPuy. With our newly filled refrigerators and supplies of alcohol we all played ass hole in the study with some whisky sours (I'm really good at making them now after being the bar tender for the night) and wine until 1am. It was a good night.

2/12/10

We had tech in the morning- despite the fact that we still haven't received the exam via e-mail from our tech professor in cp...and a few hangovers...

Next we are off to Durham for the day and potentially the night depending on if everyone decided to go out- we did just get our per diem :)

2/8/10

The mac-n-cheese was a success! Everyone liked it, and I had the duty of feeding DuPuy for the night- he approved as well. Later we projected the Kevin Costner version of Robin Hood tonight- in honor of going to Robin Hood’s Bay the other day. Great movie- can’t go wrong with Robin Hood.

2/9/10

Today we had tech in the morning and then played soccer after. There were only 5 of us who felt like playing so we did 2v2 with a rotating goalie out in the fields between two trees in the allée- we have to keep rotating fields since it is so muddy from the rain and we quickly wreck the fields. Luckily there is tons of green on the estate that we can move around. It was a great conditioning workout because we were just running and passing the whole time since it was man on man. I got beat up a bit because for a while I was playing against all guys- only bruises- poor Sara is still limping around a little bit from the other day. I was pretty exhausted after and once I was tired of reading up on Fountains Abbey (one of the topics I have to present on) I took what I thought was going to be a short nap and woke up two hours later- hopefully I can sleep tonight…the good news was that we have internet at Kiplin now! A man came and worked on it with Zach for a while and eventually was able to get us internet…in the spare apartment…and only two at a time…but it works! The people at the station in Richmond are going to miss us I’m sure. After some more studio work later hopefully we can convince the guys to watch Pride and Prejudice (DuPuy bought a DVD player so no more projecting on the wall!)- I’m banking on the fact that Kiera Knightly stars in it will persuade them.

2/10/10

Woke up early on accident- I really need to get a watch or an alarm clock. My neck is still killing me, playing soccer with boys may not be the best idea. We had studio crits in the morning then hung out until tech in the afternoon. Tech is proving to be really difficult when the professor who gave us the PowerPoint slides is 3000 miles away at UMD…trapped in his house from the snow. Emma and I tried to figure out our assigned review questions and we literally just couldn’t figure one of them out. Hopefully it gets better later in the semester. At least we only have it while we’re at Kiplin. The weather has been crazy here- within 20 minutes it has rained, snowed, sleeted, and been sunny- the US gets snow, and the UK can't make up its mind. After a quick tech session and dinner we all watched Shooter in the study- I think I have watched more movies in the past week than I have in a year, its great. Interview with a Vampire was on the TV, but everyone here was too freaked to watch it- thanks mom and dad for raising me on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Reading then going to bed- such a lazy day!

Soccer was more successful tonight, but Sara hurt her knee really badly and can't hardly walk. Hopefully she gets better soon. Later DuPuy had us watch a BBC special on the history of Great Britain- part 2 of 7...the man narrating it was hilarious. Typical Brit.

2/8/10

Ran this morning then studio. Last night I was TOLD by Justing and Chris that we didn't get the station for the superbowl, but this morning I found out we did in fact have the channel and a few people went over to DuPuy's apartment to watch it. Oh well, I was honestly too tired to stay up and watch it- at least the Saints won :) Emma and I went swimming in Richmond while everyone else was using the internet at the station- still tires me out a lot, but it feels good to exercise. Now I'm just waiting at the station for everyone to be done on the internet- I've gotten so used to not having it I don't know what to do when I have it! Tonight I'm going to make mac-n-cheese like mom always did to prove to the guys that you can make it without tons of butter and it still tastes good. We'll see how that goes...

Friday- While wandering around Richmond Emma and I went into a Bed and Breakfast her parents are thinking of staying in when they visit- the proprietor was hilarious! He showed us all around the inn like he was trying to sell it to us- I have to admit it was a nice place though. Tonight we watched the Inglorious Bastards- Emma and I got it from the library. I was definitely not expecting it to be that gory, but I loved Brad Pitt’s character.

Saturday- Today was all about the coast, and I am a big fan. The drive was creepy- fog everywhere! We drove through some moors which proved to be great driving scenery, and Dave figured out how to hook my ipod up to the car so it wasn’t all BBC channels. First we went to Whitby- amazing! I love the coast. It was an old port town (Captain Cook was here!) and it was right in the medieval fabric so the street-scape was awesome. We walked along the beach and went out onto this dock- the structural stability of which was pretty dodgy- and found some fish-n-chips. I figured if I was going to have it anywhere it should be in a fishing town. Even so, not a fan. It was way too much fried food for my taste- but at least I tried it I guess. Next we drove to Robin Hood’s Bay- even better! The town was really small and placed on this giant hill/cliff to the views to the water were amazing- tons of great alleys. After exploring for a while and finding some A+ ice cream (way better than Maryland’s ice cream, no joke) we headed back to Kiplin. Trying to do studio worked was a lost cause so we printed out a plan for our site model and played rummy and watched The Deer Hunters- totally depressing. Went to bed too late to wake up to go running in the morning- were playing soccer tomorrow though so its totally ok….

Sunday- Early rise to get on the road to York. Love the city- there is a whole section of shops and cafes that are limited to pedestrian walking so it gives the feeling of a very leisurely city- even though it’s the most developed town we’ve been to since London. We were given a free three hours to roam around the town and find internet until we meet at the cathedral to go home. Currently sitting in a great café- great music, I kind of want to ask what the mix is…

Internet sagas...

2/2/10 continued

After we got back we ate dinner and DuPuy had us assemble the shelves they bought- total disaster. The shelves were pretty crappy and near impossible to put together- there was a lot of hammering going on. We did studio until we couldn’t bear it anymore, and we watched V for Vendetta projected on the wall in studio and went to bed- love that movie.

2/3/10

I woke up early and ran with Jenny around the lake a few times. We met and had tech in the morning and broke for lunch. Chris- as we found out later- had a bit of an adventure during the break. He was dribbling the soccer ball around the lake and accidentally kicked it in the water- then to save it he dragged the row boat from the follie and chopped through the ice to get the ball back- I’m sorry I missed it. DuPuy walked us around the estate and the lake after lunch to explore our surroundings- we found some great places to play soccer. Then we met for studio and presented our site analyses and discussed possible solutions for each person’s building and precedents to look at. We ended for dinner and then just worked later that night. Emma is sneezing all day long- its making me nervous since we sit next to each other in studio- I don’t want to get sick! A few of us took a break to watch TV and play Texas Hold’em until we got bored. It was 12:30 by then and DuPuy had given us a 1am curfew so we worked for 30 minutes and went to bed.

2/4/10

DuPuy was coming over at 9:30 to start individual studio crits, and I woke up a little before 9. I had a great crit– DuPuy has lots of ideas and is really helpful. I worked on a Sketch-Up massing model for the rest of studio based on the crit I got, and by 1:00 studio was over and I was eating lunch. Random- we were considering if there was such a thing as ‘too much tea’ since each of us goes through at least 2-3 cups a day. It’s the only thing that keeps us warm! We finished the chapter we were on for Tech and prayed for internet- no such luck. We were going to go swimming but its hard to get the courage to go outside when its still only ~60 degrees inside. We cooled our heals until dinner and had yet another saga with the internet. Apparently we are just past the last phone line- a.k.a. we are in the middle of nowhere and don’t get service. We gave up on studio and played rummy- Dave won- then watched the documentary ‘Helvetica’- trust me its more interesting than it sounds.

2/5/10

Its another rainy day but were heading to Richmond for a dosage of internet and a few more site analysis measurements. Dave and I went swimming first- yay! - now I’m just procrastinating going out into the rain for some quick photos and ground level measurements…why is it so dreary today!?

2/2/10

I taught Dave and Zach how to play pitch last night!! I just need to teach one more person then we can play partners- I;m so glad everyone here likes playing cards. Today we basically worked on our studio project all morning while DuPuy was shopping for art supplies. It was one of the most productive studio sessions any of us have every had- we literally worked on site analysis for four hours, in almost silence. Go figure. We were going to play a game of 4v4 soccer but it was snowing/raining so we decided to opt out. After DuPuy got back the girls and Dave tried to go swimming at the local pool but it was only open for lessons after 4- we went at 4. So now we're just using the internet at the train station and are going to go grocery shopping after. Hopefully I can get a game of cards going later tonight...

1/31/10 continued...

After coffee+internet we rushed to meet DuPuy at an old fortress right next to Durham cathedral- they changed it into a College!! COuld you imagine having a dorm room and going to classes in an old fortress!? It was amazing too because the ownership had changed a lot overtime and throughout the different design time periods so there were tudor sections, norman sections etc. Then there was this norman chapel that had been found and recovered- it was in amazing shame and very architecturally significant...you should google it. Emma, Sara and I then went to the grocery store and got ingredients for curry and started cooking. We made a group dinner and all sat down for a nice meal. We went into the studio and did some work, then I watched tv with the boys (extreme weather! on bbc) and called it a day.

2/1/10

Today we had tech in the morning after I went running- that class should be interesting- and then drove to Richmond again to pick out our sites and decide the program we want to design there. I ended up choosing a site right across from a football (read-soccer) pitch (read- field) and I am going to design a sort of swimming/sports complex and maybe have a restaurant/bar to come hang out in before and after any football games going on across the road. I'm excited- I'm going to have to do a lot of structure research though to make it legit- should be interesting. I also bought a 10-day pass to go swimming at a 'leisure center' near our house- I need to get in shape. Tonight we are going to see Sherlock Holmes- it should be cool since we were just in London for a week.