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Clouds and Cellos

Last night we went to the concert at Flag Pole Hill.  It was the Dallas Symphony Orchestra playing some great American music.  Of everything they played, the best were the fight songs of the military branches.  I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy listening to the orchestra play, it’s very powerful.  At one point I laid back on the blanket and looked up to the sky while they played away.  It was a good moment.  I was relaxed and reverent – perfect for Memorial Day.  This photo isn’t from  last night, but the general feel was the same.  The sun was starting to go down and a handful of clouds were scattered across the sky.  Welcome summer time.

Red, White and Blue

Happy Memorial Day.  You know my favorite thing about Memorial Day?  The flags.  People fly their flags on Memorial Day.  It gives me goosebumps.  As a little kid, we would go out to the front yard with dad when he would put the flag up for Memorial Day or July 4th or any other good day for national pride and remembrance.  Good memory. I don’t have a flag, nor a place to fly one really.  But, when I do, I will.  Enjoy the day, and take time to remember those who gave it all.

Parc Guell

Came across this old pano a couple days ago when transferring files from my old computer to my new one. This is from the three crosses at Parc Guell in Barcelona. When I studied abroad there I remember I would often make the trek to the park just to soak up the view. One day, prior to my hike up to the three crosses, I happened upon a guitarist who was playing. I sat for a while and enjoyed, then bought his CD. When I need to feel peace, I find myself pulling up his album on my iPod.

This pano is manually spliced together, unlike the others I've shown you, which were merged automatically in photoshop. There's something nice about a manual splice.

It's in her name

This is Cameo. I take lots of photos of Cameo, I can't help myself. She's real good around my camera. And, I've posted a pic of Cameo to the blog before. She is sweet, sweet. She and I play some serious frisbee together occasionally. Then we follow frisbee time with a treat, which is exactly what she is staring at in this photo. Trust me, those endearing eyes are meant for the cookie, not me.

LOST no more

Meet the LOSTIES. Preston, Kemp (Michael), me, Lyndsay, Brian and Alli. Oh, and Oreo, the cat. This crew has pretty much watched every episode of the series together. And last night was the final episode. It was the end of an era. If you've never seen LOST then I can't explain it to you - it's just too out there to synopsize. The show had a smoke monster, a disappearing island, time travel, electromagnetic pockets, and so forth. Wierd stuff. But, the characters on the show were awesome. They were in constant struggle and always depending on each other. Which is proably what kept me tuning into it.

First Kings Five

Nine years ago this summer I started down the path to architecture. I thought quite a bit about it through my junior year. After researching various kinds of engineering, I began to be drawn to architecture. This made sense because I had a love for both science and art. Choosing a college within the university was a looming decision, which I had toiled with in my head for some time. And, it was going to take no less than divine intervention for my decision to be made. Well, that's exactly what happened.

I remember very vividly the moment I discovered architecture was to be my path. My youth group had gone on a trip to West Virginia to participate in the Appalachia Service Project (ASP), a mission of the United Methodist Church dedicated to helping rebuild homes in need of repair in the Appalachia region. The drive to West Virginia was long so we stopped in Knoxville on Saturday night at Fountain City United Methodist Church. We spent the evening there on cots, then woke up the next morning to attend the church service, before heading on our way. Since we stayed the night at the church we were naturally the first ones to the sanctuary the next morning. To pass the time before the service started, I pulled out the pew bible and started reading whatever I came to. As I was flipping, I remember thinking very clearly to myself how I'd like to read something about the building of a church - half-thinking it was a far-fetched wish that I might happen upon that in that moment.

With architecture on my mind so much around then, I had given ample thought to what type of architecture I would want to be a part of, should I head that direction. Sacred architecture was what stood out to me. Hence my wanting to read something in the bible about the building of a church. Just seconds after I thought that to myself, I flipped to 1 Kings chapter 5. My jaw literally dropped. That chapter is about the building of Solomon's temple. It goes on and on about the dimensions and materials and methods of building the temple. It speaks also to the massive labor it took to accomplish the construction. I was half in shock and half teary-eyed, because I knew I'd just been called. It was the most amazing feeling I have ever had. I wanted to tell someone, anyone. I looked side-to-side considering sharing the moment immediately with a pew mate. But at the same time I knew that only I was going to truly understand and appreciate how powerful an experience I had just had. So instead I began to carefully read the chapters about Solomon's temple, then I jotted on an offering envelope the chapter I had flipped to so I wouldn't forget that moment. I've kept that envelope since then. It's a beautiful reminder of that experience and the beginning of my journey in architecture.

And, the wing nut, well that was part of a devotional later in the week put on by the ASP staffers. The point of the wing nut devotional was that the two wings were symbols; one wing was to represent your experiences on ASP, and the other wing to represent your life at home away from ASP. And the circle between them was a symbol of bringing the two together. It was fun that night during the devotional, because I knew how I was supposed to bring my two wings together.

It's been a long road to becoming an architect - one that isn't over just yet either. Architecture is no cake walk, and I haven't always loved it. Despite the woes I feel every now and then on my road to getting licensed, it's a great profession that I thank God for bringing me into. I just hope I can make an impact within it one day, somehow.

That's my story. Thanks for hearing it.