chronicle confessions

do you have something on your mind that you just need to release?  Something

you'd like to proclaim to the world?  Sometimes it helps jumpstart things if

you say it out loud. I introduce the chronicle confessions.



You know how in those hot Southern churches you had to get up and confess...

and you would hear way more about folks business then you wanted too....

well now is that time, you'll feel better once you do it and you are able to

hide behind a veil of secrecy: me.  Send me your confessions and I"ll

anonymously compile them into one or two e-mails...



I'll start:







Im an insomniac.  I stay up until all hours of the night for no reason and

then struggle through the work day.  This is a problem.



I miss my boys from college because they looked out and lent a helping hand

for me when nobody else would.



When my car was broken into, rifled through, but nothing taken, I honestly

had to stop for a second to think if there was some girl that was out to get

me.... I'm sure it was kids from the neighborhood... those boys are mad

niggerish... but this all leads me to believe I need to slow down with the

hoes..



I feel emotionally invincible. like at this point in my life no one can

really upset me... I think this is a bad thing.



I need to start being more responsible with my money .. I'm counting every

penny in my account to start paying a mortgage (haven't found a place yet)

..I have some money coming in on a freelance job, but that hoe ain't paying.

 I need to be more aggressive and get my money.



CD of the moment: Aya - "Strange Flower"

My intern is a fu*king trooper!

My intern is a fucking trooper.  I'm starting to move on up in the world I

guess.  I made a plea for being overworked to infer if i was going to

continue to bust my ass the way I was, I would need some additional

compensation.  I knew they wouldn't pay me more, but they did give me an

intern.



Having an intern is a beautiful thing.  It is a completely different way of

working.  Instead of doing the work, now you spend most of your time,

checking someone else's work and making sure that you are keeping them busy.

 It frees up your time and allows you to focus on the  things you really

need to focus on and not spend your whole day typing up transmittals every

time you need to send out a drawing.  I understand the importance of keeping

a record of who you gave what when, but transmittals take up way too much of

my time.



I thought back to when i was an intern and how working for someone else

usually sucks unless they respect you, give you a certain amount of leeway,

and generally make you want to work for them.  So rather than focus solely

on the type of work I gave her, I also spent time focusing on the bond

between my intern and I.  Not once do I brush her off or make it seem like

something else I'm doing is more important to her.  I answer her questions. 

I sit with her, talk to her and teach her.  When she fucks up, I tell her,

"that is fucked up.", and now she knows better than to show me some

unfinished bullshit.  She loves me.  But most importantly, she works hard

for me.  I let her know I have high expectations of her and she does

everything she can to meet my expectations.



But I think I may have pushed her too far.



See, we had a big deadline we were pushing towards and there was still a lot

to do.  There was more work to do than we could actually finish, but that

was okay.  I knew if we got pretty close, we would be in good shape.  So in

her rush to get to the office by 7:30am to start the day, she stumbled a

little bit and twisted her ankle.  As I roll in around 9ish, the other girls

are gathered around her looking at her foot asking her if it hurts.



I survey the situation then say, "It looks fine.  You don't need your foot

to draw anyway.  Get back to work."



Although I was joking, it didn't quite sound like it.  So after everyone

left, she actually started drawing despite the pain.  I go back over to her

desk and tell her she should go to the hospital to get it checked out. (I

should've made her ass check out a laptop though!)  She calls from the

hospital 2 hours later........... "it's broken."



damn, I am such a prick.



Two hours later, her chunky ass rolls back into the office on crutches!!!

Comes over to my desk and says, "how much do we have left to do?"



I was stunned.  she came back to work with a broken foot.  No drugs.  Pain

and all, and stayed later than I did to make sure we met our deadline.



Either she is the most dedicated worker I've ever worked with, or her ass is

just plain crazy.



~C



CD of the moment: Wax Poetic - "Nublu Sessions" (ft. Norah Jones, N'Dea

Davenport, and Saul Williams)

Chicago's housing market

The housing market in Chicago is out of control. Either you live way far away from everything in order to get something nice, or you live close by on the cusp of the hood. So my realtor set up a series of parameters that pick a price range and location of a property. Then I get the e-mails of all the listings in that area which meet my requirements. After I go through them all, I pick which ones I want to see and she sets up the appointments.

So I scrolled through the listings and picked out 5 properties that seemed like they had potential. Let me take you through the 5 site visits and the lessons I learned.

1. The picture in the listing always lies. What appeared to be a nice two story brick townhouse in the photo turned out to be a coach house on the very back of the lot. The original house had burned down in a fire and there was still a pile of rubble near the front of the site. After entering the house we realized this wasn't really a house. It was formerly the garage that had been enclosed and turned into a big room for the washer/dryer with a small apartment on top. The only thing inside the apartment was a couple of stereos, bathroom stuff (shampoo, soap, etc..) and about 9 pairs of shoes in the closet. No bed, no TV, no books. Just music, shoes, and showering. What more does a man need.

2. When the price is too good to be true, there is a reason. So in examining this listing it proclaimed an empty lot next door would be included in the purchase price for an additional $10,000. It was near a school, and needed some TLC. So near a school means there are a lot of kids running around playing on your steps, bouncing balls off the side of your house while spitting red soda at each other. So you have sticky ass steps leading up to your house with bees flying around while ray-ray and neeshee fight over the hula hoop. Ray-ray's lightweight ass don't need to playing with a hula hoop anyway, get that brotha a plastic sword or something.

3. Speaking spanish is a plus. So we walk into this cute little house, and it had a strong chemical stench of something. I couldn't figure out what it was, then we went downstairs and the owner is telling us that when they put the tiles down in the basement, they got glue all over the place and he was using chemicals to get it off. He had some Mexican cat down there breathing all this toxic chemical aroma and I start talking to my man in Spanish. He starts telling me that with the big rain we had earlier in the day water just "gushed right in through that door!" and proceeded to explain within earshot of the owner how they installed the drain in the wrong place and whenever it rains the basement floods and I would be a fool to buy that house. Muchas gracias amigo.

4. Talk to the neighbors. So we approach the next place and we see the old man on the porch across the street laughing at us and shaking his head. We open the door and the stench was so bad we didnt' even bother going inside. As we come right back out of the entry he's laughing at us. I head over to him and this is what he said, "Those dumb ass niggas ran that motha fucka to shit! All dem dogs and shit all up in da motha fuckin house. The bitch that lived there was a real sweet woman, then she died and them dumb niggas lived there for a motha fuckin year before they finally came and kicked those dumb motha fuckas out." Thanks for the info man. See you at church.

You have to understand that my real estate agent is a real perky, happy-go-lucky white chick with real big tits that just jump out and slap you when you see her. (I wouldn't have it any other way.) I have to give her credit. We were a little lost and she was about to pull over and ask the brothas on the corner for directions. Either she is incredibly naive or a fucking trooper who doesn't give a shit. I can't tell if this is her game face or if she's really just this cool. i mean, I wouldn't even have asked these brothas for directions.

5. A house is not a home. After being frustrated with our picks so far, the last place to see was a condo that had a lot of square feet for the price. It was accessible to transportation, huge living room, jacuzzi in one of the bathrooms, washer/dryer in the unit. hot! I could even get past the fact that I had to move the brotha playing the stereo on the front step to get to the door of my unit. It's on a pretty busy street and there are 5 salon/ barber / hair braiding stores in the first floor as well as a liquor store. Now, I came to realize this is the closest liquor store to a nearby public house hi-rise, so all the drunks were outside arguing, making noise, carrying on. Then we were on our way out and they were arguing right in front of the door. For the first time, my realtor froze. I said, I'd go first and as soon as we go outside there was a crackhead touching her trying to get her belt from her. "That belt sure is nice white girl. Why don't you let me have that?"

For the first time, she felt uncomfortable, and I felt the need to apologize for my people. I know her white clients don't take her to places where crackheads are arguing!!! It sucks because I know I can damn near get a whole house near the hood with a backyard and a garage for the same amount I would spend living near the Gap / Starbucks / sushi spot in a studio. They would both be the same distance from downtown, in some cases, the hood is closer. But just because you have a house, doesn't mean it will feel like home.... not when you've got to slide your money through bulletproof glass to get a bottled water.... not when you've got crackheads that will harass your guests. Who the hell is ever going to come to your house if they're going to have to move little punks blasting E-40 sitting at the entrance to your condo?

This is my current dilemma. I've reached a crossroads and not sure which way to turn.

~C

CD of the moment: Aya - "Strange Flower"

RIP Ray Charles

Please spare me all the bullshit about Ronald Reagan.  From what I have

learned, he was probably one of the absolute worst presidents in terms of

issues that mean anything at all to me.



He fought to keep Apartheid in place so that thousands of blacks could

continue to have their land taken from them, forced into camps, and/or

murdered.  He illegally invaded 3-4 central american countries including but

not limited too Guatamala, Honduras, and Nicaraugua.  He sold weapons to

Iran.  He approved Israel's invasion of Lebanon.  He ignored the AIDS

epidemic and helped label it as a 'gay man's disease'.  He started this

whole president as puppet thing that put W in the oval office.  And they are

now talking about putting his face on the 50 cent piece instead of

Kennedy??!!  Are you serious??!!



This Reagan shit has got to stop.  I'm sorry the man died, but I think a

more important person died this week: Ray Charles.



That's right.



Ray Charles died today and this is a man who touched more people in a

positive way then Ronald Reagan every could have dreamed about.  There will

be no state funerals, no people lining the streets in the sweltering heat,

no congressional speeches, no visits from British royalty, and no 24 gun

salute.



Ray Charles epitomized soul music.  He was able to transcend rock, blues,

gospel, and country to become one of the most universally recognized figures

in music.  Not to mention he was a helluva piano player.  And by the way,

did you know Ray Charles was blind?  Ray Charles' smile, his vigor for life

and general good nature came through whenever he spoke, whenever he sang or

performed.  I ask if you knew he was blind, because I don't think he did. 

He didn't live his life as if his inability to see was some sort of

deterrant to success.  I think I have problems half the time, but I couldn't

imagine being blind, especially as an architect.  Sight to me is one of the

most precious gifts you have and you should cherish the fact that you are

able to see the words in front of you.



What we can learn from Ray Charles is that we should all be thankful for

what we have and the little obstacles that we allow into our mindset that

prevent us from accomplishing our goals should be ignored.  Our problems are

not as big as we think they are.  So the next time you're down and think

about how much work it will take to reach the goals we've set for ourselves,

think of Ray.



~C



CD of the moment: Gonna go home and pull out some Ray Charles.

HGTV is the enemy

So in between golfing, high school graduations, dancing until the morning at a gay bar, and having my car broken into, I spent a lot of time watching TV this Memorial Day weekend and couldn't help but be fascinated by these home decoration shows that are on every other cable channel. Most of these home makeover shows only do one thing, prove that taste isn't always in the genes. They focus on how to take ugly rooms, badly decorated, and turn them into slightly less ugly, still badly decorated rooms for the enjoyment of people who don't know any better. Yes I am on my architectural soapbox right now. So what.

One of the most distressing things about the amount of insanely tacky makeover shows is the lack of any alternative. The US television audience is terribly underexposed to good quality modern design. This could be because 95% of modern design exists in other parts of the world, and sadly the high quantity of developer driven stickboxes in the US have force fed the public into believing that these new homes are really nice. It's kinda like pop music. Since people aren't given much of an alternative, they accept what they are told is 'popular' and internalize it as something that they like.

This is not to say that modern design doesn't have its share of Charles Jenks' philosophical nonsense or Philippe Starck recklessness (which I happen to like), but in no way does it compare with the wince-inducing jankyness of most design styles presented on television.

Where did we go wrong as a country set to embrace the modern world way back when? People like Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson were making products for the masses, who were embracing them. Somewhere along the way floral wallpaper, dull chairs and busy flatware -- not to mention McMansions and the influence of the Southwest -- took over, and we all found ourselves on Ugly Street with someone from television there to document our lack of curb appeal.

This is not to say modernism is the only way to go (well, it is, but who needs the e-mail?), just that it's about time some other perspective was offered. Maybe someone contemplating a remodel could be gently redirected away from generic appliances or poorly conceived, meritless architecture, toward something more uplifting, more design-conscious or environmentally friendly. How can we, as a country, learn about clean lines and the philosophy of less is more if the majority of what we see on television celebrates fat loungers and train station themed living rooms?

Maybe we're just a country that needs, not surprisingly, to be educated about design. Maybe we need to be told that, yes, vinyl siding sucks, that mirror is hideous and that's the ugliest "entertainment center" known to man. No, it isn't cool to have your house look like everyone elses on the same block, and red walls aren't as cool as you think they are.

Here's a Design Within Reach catalog. Sit. Study.

No, an EMPHATIC HELL no, two grand and 48 hours is not enough to redo your whole house.

and the design revolution will not be televised.

Here are a few links to set you straight:

http://photos.innersource.com/group/6610
http://www.therme-vals.ch/?language=en
http://www.vongirsewald.com/schaulager/
http://www.dezain.net/2003/prada/
http://web.mit.edu/evolving/stata/photos/photos.html
http://www.objectsby.com/hudsongb.htm

~C

CD of the moment: Aya - "Strange Flower"