I know I said this blog wasn't going to be all about me me me me, but I don't see how I could write about things that I've never had experience with.
I had a faux job interview today at an architecture firm. The firm was not hiring, but they offered to give me an interview so I could get the experience. It was a small firm, only seven architects plus the owner/principal and the receptionist, and I got there twenty minutes early, which I suppose is better than twenty minutes late.
When I met with the owner, he asked about what I was looking to be as a designer, which is a common way to start off an interview. We looked at my portfolio, and I told him about some of my projects - he hadn't heard of a parti and I wonder if it's actually a common thing in the architecture world or just school - and we talked about projects that his firm works on.
He spoke about how the main difference between residential houses and commercial buildings is the attitude toward money. They do a few car dealerships throughout the year, along with other corporate buildings, and only one or two residential houses. When they build for corporations, they are asked to design less to keep the cost down. When they are hired by home builders, they are expected to design everything down to the furniture and then are asked to pick out art and bath towels. While residences are fun to design, he admits that there is little profit in it, which is why they stick mostly to commercial designs - they pay better although they aren't as rewarding.
He cautioned against speaking too much about college projects, as they are nothing like the real world, which I understand. He said when he hires he needs someone with AutoCAD experience and would like to find someone who knows html, photography, and quick 3d rendering programs - all of which I have, so yay for me!
Overall, I feel that the interview went well, I didn't stumble too much on my words and I think I know what I would like to become as a designer - passively designing residential houses with an emphasis on structure. Unfortunately only 5% of what I need to know will I be taught in school, the rest comes from experience.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Cheesecake (part ii)
Fortunately the baking and decorating of the cheesecake went without a hitch. Unfortunately, this is all there will be of this post.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Cheesecake (part i)
As I am not yet the owner of a kitchen aid stand mixer, I took the opportunity to use my boyfriend's mother's mixer while we were visiting for dinner. I decided to make the cappuccino fudge cheesecake as I wasn't in the mood to make both brownies and a cheesecake, which the other recipe had called for.
I had one heck of a time finding heavy or whipped cream, apparently the day after new years many stores aren't stocked well. Both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods were out, but I was happily able to find it at Shaws. The cheesecake called for four layers, the first of which is the crust, made from chocolate teddy grahms. I used a food processor for the first time in my life to crumble them with the bittersweet chocolate (which, according to wikipedia, is only required to be 35% cacao), butter, and dark brown sugar (which smells heavenly). I didn't have a spring-form pan, but I was able to get my hands on a bunt pan with a removable bottom, which I decided would have to suffice. I guess I'll just have a cheesecake with a hole in it...
I had one heck of a time finding heavy or whipped cream, apparently the day after new years many stores aren't stocked well. Both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods were out, but I was happily able to find it at Shaws. The cheesecake called for four layers, the first of which is the crust, made from chocolate teddy grahms. I used a food processor for the first time in my life to crumble them with the bittersweet chocolate (which, according to wikipedia, is only required to be 35% cacao), butter, and dark brown sugar (which smells heavenly). I didn't have a spring-form pan, but I was able to get my hands on a bunt pan with a removable bottom, which I decided would have to suffice. I guess I'll just have a cheesecake with a hole in it...
And so it begins...
My boyfriend just started a new blog. I casually mentioned that I never started one because I felt I had little or no opinion on most things; he told me that that's why I could blog - it would force me to think about things.
I am starting 2011 off as a different person. I have graduated from college. I have an apartment, and I will (hopefully) soon have a job. When I was not stressed out by school in 2010 I did a decent job of running a few days a week. Once my previous injuries started acting up, I took a break to revitalise and, since I was enjoying not getting up till 7am and having time in the evenings to work on school (or non-school) related things, I never started again. I want to change this in 2011. I want to run or exercise not simply because I need to get back in shape, but because it makes me a happier person. I can be somewhat bipolar when it comes to my moods on an daily, or hourly, or minute, basis. When I was running, these mood changes were not as dramatic and I was, in general, a better, more pleasant person to be around. And I liked myself more.
I don't know if I want to make 2011 resolutions, per se, but there are some things I would like to accomplish and resolution is as good a word as any. As I said, I would like to be a happier person, therefore I would like to exercise on a semi-regular basis. I would like to get back into reading. As a teenager I read daily; and then I went to college. Depending on the book, it would take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to finish if you had nothing else to do. I never had a few days free in college, and I didn't like reading for only an hour here or there. So I ended up watching shows instead; it was so much easier to watch a fifty minute show for a break than to try and constrain my reading time to only an hour. I missed reading, but whenever I started a book I always ended up sleep deprived or behind on my work. Since I am out of school for nine months, I want to try and catch up on all the reading I missed over the past three and a half years. I would also like to blog at least once a week. I don't know what these blogs will be about and I don't even know if I will be able to find things worthwhile to blog about. I wouldn't want my blogs to be like this introductory one, all about me, because I'm not that interesting of a subject. But I'm not political or academic or a frequent cook. I hope, however, that if I try and stick to this resolution I could find things to write about that other people might want to read. I'm studying architecture and I could find an architect and examine his/her style and what I think about it. I love to bake (although I don't as often as I would like) and I could write about my exploits in trying a new dish. I could read a new book and attempt to analyse it.
There are many possibilities out there and I'll never get any better or go anywhere if I don't jump in.
On that note, I am thinking about not sharing the link to this new blog until I (a) decide which site to blog on (do I really want to use Google?) or (b) start writing about somewhat significant things. I don't want to start a blog simply because my boyfriend did and then abandon it within a week or something.
My next post (my first post not all about me, me, me) will probably be on our "dinner party" tomorrow night. I have a friend who helped us find our apartment and, as a thank you, we have invited him over for dinner. As my boyfriend is a cook and I am a baker, the dessert fell to me. And what a dessert it will be! Once I decide what I am making... The current options are Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake, Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake, and Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake, all of which come from Smitten Kitchen, a food blogging site I am absolutely in love with.
I am starting 2011 off as a different person. I have graduated from college. I have an apartment, and I will (hopefully) soon have a job. When I was not stressed out by school in 2010 I did a decent job of running a few days a week. Once my previous injuries started acting up, I took a break to revitalise and, since I was enjoying not getting up till 7am and having time in the evenings to work on school (or non-school) related things, I never started again. I want to change this in 2011. I want to run or exercise not simply because I need to get back in shape, but because it makes me a happier person. I can be somewhat bipolar when it comes to my moods on an daily, or hourly, or minute, basis. When I was running, these mood changes were not as dramatic and I was, in general, a better, more pleasant person to be around. And I liked myself more.
I don't know if I want to make 2011 resolutions, per se, but there are some things I would like to accomplish and resolution is as good a word as any. As I said, I would like to be a happier person, therefore I would like to exercise on a semi-regular basis. I would like to get back into reading. As a teenager I read daily; and then I went to college. Depending on the book, it would take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to finish if you had nothing else to do. I never had a few days free in college, and I didn't like reading for only an hour here or there. So I ended up watching shows instead; it was so much easier to watch a fifty minute show for a break than to try and constrain my reading time to only an hour. I missed reading, but whenever I started a book I always ended up sleep deprived or behind on my work. Since I am out of school for nine months, I want to try and catch up on all the reading I missed over the past three and a half years. I would also like to blog at least once a week. I don't know what these blogs will be about and I don't even know if I will be able to find things worthwhile to blog about. I wouldn't want my blogs to be like this introductory one, all about me, because I'm not that interesting of a subject. But I'm not political or academic or a frequent cook. I hope, however, that if I try and stick to this resolution I could find things to write about that other people might want to read. I'm studying architecture and I could find an architect and examine his/her style and what I think about it. I love to bake (although I don't as often as I would like) and I could write about my exploits in trying a new dish. I could read a new book and attempt to analyse it.
There are many possibilities out there and I'll never get any better or go anywhere if I don't jump in.
On that note, I am thinking about not sharing the link to this new blog until I (a) decide which site to blog on (do I really want to use Google?) or (b) start writing about somewhat significant things. I don't want to start a blog simply because my boyfriend did and then abandon it within a week or something.
My next post (my first post not all about me, me, me) will probably be on our "dinner party" tomorrow night. I have a friend who helped us find our apartment and, as a thank you, we have invited him over for dinner. As my boyfriend is a cook and I am a baker, the dessert fell to me. And what a dessert it will be! Once I decide what I am making... The current options are Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake, Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake, and Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake, all of which come from Smitten Kitchen, a food blogging site I am absolutely in love with.
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