RoughDesigns

Bio and Backstory

"The Architect"

 

Nature

or

Nurture

  

.....That is the question.....

  

Nurture:

I grew up around people building things:


  • Grandfathers were the ultimate DIY'ers.  Built their homes, even blew apart rock to make room for them.
  • Pops was no bantam weight on the DIY front.  He also put together electronics and radios, something he brought home from the war.


Nature:

All those apptitude tests said this was the carrer for me, and they were right! 

 

Reality:

Is never that simple.  My personality appears more complex, modern testing appears less conclusive, giving me attributes all over the place.


I suspect this is due to spending so much time out in the country.  Nature abors a vacum, so,  when you're isolated, you become what you need to be when you need to be it.  It's a corollary to the oft proven effect that given any group of people, someone will fill each role needed.


Any time I had to run with something of my own, I did so. 

Then
When others needed work, gracefully sequed the projects and tasks over to them.
I suspect that's the country boy again, you can be as cantakerous as you want in the sticks, but when it comes down to it, you all have to pull together when needed.
Which
Would then explain why I am so much a team player.
 
 

"The person"

 

 

Here is the most asked question I get now a days.  

Why is someone under-employed rebuilding a country house, for that matter, why not sell it? 

Why not become a CAD expert, or Revit, or 3D Studio, or Rhino, or LEED......... 

Why waste time on.....

 

Certificate in Green Building Design

Why? 
Why not LEED?
What I learned earning the Certificate in Green Building Design is timeless knowledge.
LEED is to a growing extent (according to experts I've talked with) time sensitive, and after a few versions go by, you become dated unless you have a steady supply projects going for LEED Certification.
See below for more on LEED.
 
Family home.

-Cashing it in and giving it to mom to pay for a nursing home wouldn't last her long.  It needs to be modernized and for the RE market to recover before it's worth hundreds of thousands. 

-Crash course in reverse mortgages:  Start with assesed value, cut in half, deduct paying out all debts, deduct inspections and fees, deduct required remedial work, deduct survey...... what to you get - Cracker Jacks!

-I got 2 trucks of material 2 wks before being let go, and was 3 mo into major elec. work.  Election year retoric made is sound like recovery was around the corner (5yrs ago), so I kept on course.  

-I started this in a  recession as I thought it would be a cheap perk for the firm I worked for to offer to our staff, consultants staff, etc.   Ski in winter, cool forest in the summer.

-Be nice for friends, friends of friends, etc. who might be in dire circumstances and desperately need a vacation but were broke.

 

LEED
To study for GA and then study again for AP after getting experience is simply inefficent.  I don't have time to be inefficent at anything.  Low wage job means lots of hours, no ability to hire help, so it's a DIY world for me, taxes to plumbing, adding to my skill set, and of course, trying for a mainstream job in the profession.  
Also
LEED 4 is just coming, and has life cycle costing, the Holy Grail of Sustainability.  This will  strip away illusions and excuses, give us the solid gold legitamcy needed to advance Sustainability in the face of skeptics.  I've taken quite a few study courses, instructors are admitting those who acredited in earlier versions, often need alot of study to work the newest version.  Hence, I bide my time and wait for version 4, and hopefully and employer who can provide the LEED experience needed for AP.  I simply can't afford to pay to work for someone, pay for study, pay for the exam, and pay for CEU's to stay acredited, money is just too tight now.
 
CAD - Revit - 3D Studio etc..... 
Which one, which version?  It takes a year to be true guru, in each.  Who supports me, my mother, others while I do this.  No firm has ever given me a chance on the boards, even back when they were boards, because there was so much more I can do so well, that others don't, or don't want to unless forced, which is no way to staff a project.   I've caught CAD disasters in the making at my current job, I've massively edited sheets for change orders, I've edited the raw code of an ACAD file removing the corruption so it could be saved, but since I can't PROVE via multiple sets of projects I CADDED myself, I can't get a leg in the door for that entry level CAD job. 

KIVA


I have a KIVA offer for prospective employers.


I realize just how hard it is in this job market for employers.  Hhundreds of applications per job.  It is impossible to even contact the top of the crop.  


It makes getting feedback on ones personal marketing materials and efforts pretty hard, and without feedback, it is difficult to improve.


For anyone willing to give some feedback, or better yet, an interview (even if no job is available), just for the critique, I'd be more than happy to send you a gift certificate for KIVA. It's a win - win - win.  I get feedback, someone trying harder gets a pat on the back and a chance, and you get to do something good.


How cool is that?