So I'll start a revolution from my bed

Upon arriving at my parents' home, I discovered the following:

My Dad plays Modern Warfare 2 with a fiery gusto.
My Mom plays Farmville (she wanted me to see the soy plants that she was cultivating)
They subscribe to Rolling Stone.
My Dad cheats at Rock Band so that he can play all the songs without doing the work. (Heresy!)

I have never been this confused.

Aaaand it's out. Well, technically the stone was shot to hell with laser beams, but nevertheless it's gone. The stent is out as well, and other than some soreness, I feel great!

Now, I just have to get ready for my triumphant return to LA.

More medical talk!

I had surgery today to remove the kidney stone. Very noninvasive, safe surgery...but still painful nevertheless.

The doc reports that the kidney stone was impacted, and so I guess it's a good thing that he went in after it. Unfortunately, now I've got a stent in me and boy, does it make life uncomfortable. As long as I don't...move...I'm perfectly okay and have just some minor discomfort. However, once I start moving around, holy shit.

But the stone is out!

Medical talk from here on out:

Let me get this out of the way: kidney stones hurt. Every description you've ever been given of their horrible influence on the human body is true...this, sir, is what pain feels like. My left kidney feels like it has got a knife stuck in it, and I'm overcome by nausea for most of the day. Pain meds, you say? They work for about two hours at a time, and then fade away for the next few hours in which they're supposed to be doing their thing.

If the biggest one doesn't pass by tomorrow evening, the doctors are going in after it. This is something that I do not look forward to in the least. So now I'm flooding my body with water and hoping that this devil spawn works its way out in the next, say, 48 hours.

Fuck me sideways networking is a pain in the ass sometimes.

No not that kind

Got a new Zyxel router yesterday, on mega sale, the kind that doesn't drop connections like bad habits. Unfortunately we've already gotten off on the wrong foot. Seven hours of incessant tweaking later, I can't get my media server to be recognized by anything of consequence even though there IS NOTHING UP TO STOP IT UGH.

At the very least, I have enough access to be able to look at my email and funny pictures of cats/stupid people hurting themselves. And that's really what the internet is for, right?

125 companies contacted.

12 of them have responded.

0 currently hiring.

I'm getting a lot of the "Your resume is fantastic, and your portfolio is quite impressive...but we're not hiring right now." It echoes my last job search, and once again I feel conflicted about it. I'm flattered by the praise but frustrated that even with the strong credentials I can't get work.

Tomorrow, I'll continue the emails and the phone calls. Dammit, I'm getting a job.

Second layoff in 10 months. My bosses tried to console me by saying that it wasn't at all performance related, and that they thought the layoffs were actually going to happen in May instead of RIGHT NOW.

I get the satisfaction of finishing the week, no severance pay, and my health insurance for the next nine months. Hooray me.

Two Chinese acrobats just showed me how much I can't juggle in front of 1,500 people. And it was hilarious.

I missed getting my LEED accreditation by 7 points.

One requires a score of at least 170 out of 200 to pass the exam and receive the title of LEED AP. Unfortunately, I got a 163 and henceforth will not will not get the credit. The worst part about all of this is that I can't retake the test because the governing body is has changed the standards, the rules for taking the test, and the deadline for scheduling exams under the LEED 2.2 standard (the one I studied for) was March 31st. To put it simply, I don't get another shot. If I want to retake the exam, I have to start all over again with new information, and the prerequisites for taking the exam have become so different that I may not even be able to take it any time in the near future.

Needless to say, I'm bummed. This was something I studied intensely for, and a subject matter that I care very passionately about. Unfortunately, the way it stands in my field, nobody will listen to you unless you have that shiny LEED AP behind your name. I really do feel like I'm knowledgable in the material,  and that I would be valuable asset to a team working on a sustainable project. That being said, I can't post-rationalize at a project meeting by saying that I was seven points away from the accreditation...I'd get laughed out of the room. You either have the certification, or you don't. One can only imagine how much my heart sank when I saw that I had just barely missed the passing mark for something like this.

I think what stings more than anything else is that this was my first shot at passing a professional-level exam. Becoming an architect means that there are several complex, mercilous, convoluted, (and not to mention expensive) exams that need to happen for me to get from point A to point B. LEED is considered one of the easy ones. I looked at this as a trial, sort of a litmus to see if I had what it takes to make it right now. Not being able to pass hurt not only because I didn't get the LEED accreditation, but because I feel like I couldn't hack it as a young professional. I know lots of people with my exact credentials who have passed this very test, and I can't help but wonder where my own deficiencies lie.

Ever since I got out of school, I've been wanting to definitively and quantifiably prove myself as professional...all too often, I'm scoffed at as being "green", wet behind the ears, yada yada yada. I was waiting for opportunity to come along to allow me to show that I was worth something more than just an intern. Perhaps it's shallow to think that a piece of paper would provide such consolation, but for some employers that's really what it comes down to. I guess I'll just have to wait for my next chance.

I've been working at my new job since February, and I very much enjoy having a paycheck again. It's a little difficult adjusting to the rather, well, grating management style of one of my bosses (read: he's overly antagonistic, and I think he justifies it to himself by gussying it up as being proactive). However, it's really quite nice working with some of my friends from school and working just down the street from where I live. I hardly ever drive or take the CTA now.

Currently, we're busting ass on all cylinders on a competition. It's definitely interesting and stimulating. but. I always thought that when I got out of architecture school, the long hours and all-nighters would be over. Christ, was I wrong. At least now I'm getting paid for it.

My migraines have been...fun. They've mostly gone away now that my neurologist has put me on a fancy-pants brain medication, but the side effects of the meds continue to plague me. Sometimes I hear things, see things, get really confused out of nowhere, have no appetite, and my short-term memory is pretty much shot. When I approached my doctor about the side effects, he replied with a hearty laugh; "Wow, usually only 15% of patients get side effects, and even then it's only one or two. You got every one in the book." So apparently I get to be stoned all the time. Hooray!

Last, but not least, have the LEED test on May 15th. I've finally acquired the study materials, and now I just have to wade through 426 pages of environmentally sensitive information and then regurgitate it in a (hopefully) straightforward fashion when the moment of truth arrives. Until then, I guess it's just time for a bunch of reading.

After nearly four long, hard months of looking for work...I am employed. I now work for a firm that I interned for during school.

On a similar note, I'd like to express my deep gratitude to all those who helped me get through this. Without your support, I wouldn't have made it.

The best part about non-surgical, invasive procedures has got to be the sweet, sweet stuff they give you to put you into a quasi-coma. Apparently I was under, but able to talk to the doctors and respond to their commands. If there hadn't been a camera working its way down my throat, I wonder what I would've talked about?

This was the first time in recent memory that I could actually feel the drugs working before I actually went out. In fact, I think I said in a very dopey voice, "...I think they're working..." 

Last, but not least: I have no recollection of getting home. All I know is that Cori led me around, and I woke up on our couch at 6:00 in the evening. During that time, I fielded two phone calls with my parents (I barely recollect the subject matter), left a coherent message for dinner reservations, and then confirmed them some time later. I must be a very active sleeper.

For the my first real post of 2009, some points shot all over the place:

Still unemployed, but I have a good feeling about the upcoming weeks. A couple of leads could turn out something decent. I don't know how reasonable it is for me to hope that I have a job by my birthday, but God knows that it would make me unspeakably happy. Here's also hoping that with the new administration coming in, the markets will pick up and people will start building again.

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A couple of years ago, I decided that the best time to take photographs was during the summer at exactly 7:36pm. The idea intrigued me enough that I started taking one photo, everyday, at that time. Some time later I used a slightly more developed concept in my photography class using multiple shots of the same subject at variations of time.

I was walking around Chicago today after picking up some coffee, and caught the Harry Weese prison out of the corner of my eye and thought to myself that it looked particularly striking today. I checked my watch...3:36pm. While the hour was not quite there, the precision of the minute made me thoughtfully smile. It made my day.

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I just finished a mass cleaning of my school email account. I managed to pare it down from nearly 1500 emails to only 390. It felt oddly therapeutic to cast aside droves of digital record detailing my five years of misery at that horrible place. While I can still see it from my window if I squint on a clear day, it makes me happy to know that I no longer have to deal with that shithole anymore. I'm so glad that part of my life is over.

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Goals for 2009: (Resolutions are stupid)

1. Get a job. One that's close to home, provides health insurance, and has a reasonable work environment. Is that so much to ask? (PLEASE HIRE ME.)

2. Lose some weight. I have a nagging suspicion that my acute health problems of late have something to do with the fact that this is the heaviest I've ever been in my life. I'm a little scared to face it, but I think the quality of my life may get dramatically worse if I don't do something about it.

3. Start a band. I'm absolutely not joking. I think that this would be a really fun thing to try out at this stage in life, and I've even got a friend or two that wants to go for it. I've written a few songs, and started working on an arrangement of a meta-cover of "Landslide"..it's a long story.

4. Pay off all credit cards. When I get a new job, this is completely within the realm of possibility and the thought excites me to no end.

I've always liked the way this survey was constructed, so here goes:

 

Better, more lengthy post to come. It will feature long words with lots of syllables, I promise.

Made it to the second round of interviews! Yes!

As of today, I have emailed every architecture firm in the city of Chicago. Some have already gotten back to me; most have not. The few that have came in the friendly guise of form letters, which essentially said  that while they were happy I was interested, they weren't able to hire. One firm that had a posting on their website even apologetically told me that the job offer needed to be taken down because it was no longer feasible.

The graphic design job has sadly been put on hold until January; understandably, the company doesn't want to hire until the beginning of next year. I wonder if that's going to be a theme this month...

However, a slight glimmer of hope. I had a phone interview last week with someone who was actually interested in hiring. The poor guy said that he got several hundred resumes after creating the job post, and he wanted to talk to everyone that sent him a resume. The interview did, however, go really well and I'm hoping to talk with tomorrow. Hope hope hope.

Also, I signed up with a headhunter this week and I've got some hope that I'll find something there. Who knows. I've got another appointment with an architectural temp agency...we'll see what they can do.

Lastly, it looks like I actually qualified for unemployment. While the stipends are less than half of what I was making before, at least it's some form of income that I can count on. If nothing else, it's enough to pay for health insurance and rent until all this madness gets sorted out.

Keep your fingers crossed, world. I'm really hoping for something big to happen tomorrow.

Today, sent out another batch of emails to firms around Chicago. I think I may have found one potential lead, but it's too early to say anything just yet. I'm going to call them tomorrow to confirm that they got my application. And perhaps beg them to hire me.

Got a dose of sobriety today while talking to a fellow almnus in the same situation. She got laid off two weeks ago, and has all but given up on finding a job in architecture. She's been looking into seasonal employment, but most retail places have finished their seasonal hiring spree. I am still determined, however, to find a job.

Also made a few phone calls today. One place had me resend the resume, which was kind of nice to hear (rather than a "NO WE HAVE NO PLACES OPEN."). Another place sadly explained that they had nothing open, but would like my materials nevertheless. Even an old professor of mine told me to look her up if I was still unemployed when the economy picked up. Hopefully, that won't be the case.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to take a more direct route. Phone calls to the places that really interested me, and a final round of emails. Then, off to the hiring agencies to see what they can make happen.

I stayed up all last night updating my portfolio. The work was spread across the computers and two operating systems, which made life quite complicated. (Note to self: create a networked folder so that we can share files throughout the house. I'm a geek...this should have happened months ago.)

After that work was done, I found myself still wide awake in the wee hours. I messed around with some renderings, wrote a little music, then shuffled off to bed. Unfortunately, when you consume yourself in an arduous task that is of grave importance, it tends to weigh on you a bit. I stared into the dark for some time while I tried to figure out when this was all going to be fixed.

With the work on my portfolio completely done (or done enough that I can send it out), my assault on the architecture world began in full force...or as I like to call it, Operation Underworked.

I looked up the few contacts I have that still have work, and threw some IMs and emails their way. LinkedIn has so far proven to be not that great a resource, since I'm unable to discover anything new from them. My graduating class was small, so I already know where people are working or if they have work at all.

Spoke with a friend of mine last night...even though his firm is massive, they just came off a 10% layoff spree and will probably cut more. This seems to be the typical story around the city.

The search thus far in numbers:
Total Emails: 19
Replies: 0
Interviews: 0
Jobs: 0


Tomorrow, another round of emails. I just need to stack the odds in my favor...the way I see it, if I apply to every single office in the city, someone is bound to want me.

First day out of work:

- Updated resumé, posted it on Monster and Careerbuilder
- Applied to two places on Careerbuilder
- Sent an email and resumé to another office
- Started updating portfolio

The score thus far:

Emails: 3
Interviews: 0
Job Offers: 0