this is NOT an architectural post

CHAOS / OUT OF CONTROL. are we ready to deal with tools that produce uncontrolled results? do I know the consequences of writing something in a blog? Do I care?  Should I? Should I do less thing but keep a closer look at them? Should I let things to grow wild? Do I know what the consequences are?

SURPRISE OR NOT? And there you go, I found some days ago that my blog, this one, tamopaya, the one you’re reading right now was on the links page of the EastCoastArchitectureReview blog. Like, WTF and then WOW and finally COOL & Thanks.

INTERNET. That’s why I love Internet, suddenly you’re open to the world, and everything becomes out of control, and my blog has a life without me, it’s autonomous. Everything I write can be reproduced anywhere, and one day you see that a very friendly person is refering to your page.

REALITY CHECK. Sadly I haven’t been writing a lot about architecture lately as I haven’t been doing mainly doing architectural stuff over the last year and the few things I’ve done I cannot published them yet as I am hoping to get lots of money for them, so all my ideas are confidential at the moment.

PROJECT ABSTRACT. The blog was thought to reflect architectural issues, thoughts, events, ideas, stupid realities, everyday stuff and everything you can imagine. It was thought to be the home for a diary of the office, an inside view to the way we work, we chat, we think, we party and we travel, but the setup is taking so much long than expected.

STAND BY.  unbelievable useful engineering concept. we are there, we are ready, we are shut down, for now.

VARIABLES. time, location, funding, opportunity, contacts, chances, competitions, contracts, intentions, friends, infinite

Next Stop. Sydney Australia.

mirando al techo. (una tarde en madrid) / looking at the ceiling. (a madrid afternoon)

En cualquier otra situación hubiera seguido haciendo cosas, si hubiese estado en la oficina seguro que seguiríamos trabajando, el paquete lo tendria la secretaria, mi ordenador seguiria siendo mi ordenador, y la vida seguiria igual, sin un pensamiento de mas. Si tuviera una buena conexión a Internet seguro que habria pasado el tiempo mirando las paginas habituales, comentando en twitter, actualizando cosas, leyendo articulos. Pero no, estoy en una casa que pese a ser de mi familia me sigue siendo extraña, y sin conexión a Internet. El paquete esta enfrente de mi, apoyado en la pared, un tubo de planos de 70×12 cm, con un cd y un sobre, todo envuelto en papel kraft, deberia decir mal envuelto. Espero que los de la mensajeria lo recojan para llevarlo a Atenas. Eso es lo que hago, nada mas. Mirar al techo y esperar. Después he quedado con el grupo a tomar algo, y mas tarde a cenar con una amiga, pero hasta entonces espero, estoy aquí atado, por mi paquete, por el futuro, por la ilusion y esperanza del ignorante. He hecho una llamada de telefono, he colgado y ahora espero. Podria leer, he traido libros conmigo, pero no conseguiria pasar de la segunda o tercera linea, podria ver la television, pero no conseguiria centrar mi atención. Bloqueado en la espera. Divagando sobre los 3 dias que voy a pasar en Madrid, pensando en toda la gente a la que voy a ver. Es raro la condensación de encuentros que me provoco cada vez que vengo. Una lucha entre el quiero ver a mis amistades y el me gusta estar tranquilo y no hacer nada. Nunca veo de forma tan seguida a tanta gente. Parece que mi vida se sigue basando en el principio todo o nada. O no pasa nada o pasa todo a la vez. Pasados estos tres dias, ire a Portugal a encontrarme con una amiga de Australia. Desde luego no hay manera facil de hacer las cosas, o al menos no debe ser tan divertida. Oporto-Lisboa-Faro y después por España.  Nota al margen. La conoci en Londres.

No todo es tan interesante como parece cuando uno lo escribe, ni tan emocionante, es simplemente normal. Mi normal.

En fin que estoy mirando el techo, esperando al de la mensajeria antes de irme a tomar unas cañas. Todo lo que voy a hacer en Madrid estos 3 dias parece muy absurdo mirado desde una perspectiva, todos son compromismos y objetivos que me he auto impuesto y elevado a la categoría de obligaciones, se supone que se hacen por gusto, pero eso depende del momento, y por supuesto ninguno reporta dinero, asi que son un hobbie. Vaya hobbies mas raros, con lo bien que una esta en casa, o no.

Sigo mirando al techo.

a nice trip around

I am back from a long road trip across Spain and Portugal, I actually came back on thursday, but it has taken me some time to recover, plus I had a nice PS going 90 km away to see one of my idols. It’s been a 2 week trip and much longer since I last wrote in the blog. No excuses, not worth, not true. I’ve made a competition I knew I was going to loose, but it was fun doing it, I injured my shoulder, I’ve had research meetings, and I’ve had one of the best trips ever going around the country with some friends. It looks like a busy agenda, but somehow it feels like an empty and void period for me. Maybe because what I am doing and what my mind would like to be doing are different things, not sure yet.  The trip has made me a long lasting impression, one of those things I am sure I’ll remember forever, it was intense, fun, busy, full of anecdotes and challenges, I had some of the best and deeper conversations in very long time,  I’ve faced the mirror, and tested my cultural and professional knowledge, I talked to people from other backgrounds to see how different we are, I’ve been drained out in so many ways, and I have to say I really liked.

small break, readings and snacks.

It’s been 6 months since I came to spain, and they have gone extremely fast. I can say that I have done many things in this time, most of them unique, fun, exceptional, things that I was not able to do before, all those things I always wanted to do but had no time for, It’s like extended holidays, after 4 years of overworking, but somehow I cannot help but feel a bit guilty inside, like if I should be doing something other, like if I don’t deserve this, though I do. I am lazy, that’s a reality, and maybe I feel guilty about that, not about my time off. I always feel I should be doing more, and doing it better. Demanding and tiring.  I’ve thought about stopping all this, about giving up and having an easy life, why not, just kick back and enjoy, 9 to 5 job and make the most of it, but somehow i feel that would not be fair and that I would not be happy, but who knows. By now, I’ll just enjoy my time off, at least 3 more months and an exciting trip ahead.

I’ll try to post more, some funny things ongoing.

going to the show (36 hours and 3 countries)

Some things take time and effort, some others take money, some other will and determination.

The impact of big mass events is growing bigger and bigger every day. Some events are not only having an impact on their own city where they occur, but they make people move across the world,  making their impact bigger and more spread. This effect has been happening for a few years now with periodical events of great significance and duration like Olympic games and Soccer World Cups for the las 25 to 30 years, but nowadays it happens for a 1 day only events as concerts. Not only people from within the country move to the capital for the show, they come from all over the world.

This post is a brief record on what does it take to go to one of those big concerts and everything that is involved with it. 36 hours, 3 planes, 3 countries,  standing queues, rain, and much more for a 2h 20 min show.  And it was worth, no doubt.

Madrid 7.3o am. Walk out to the street into a diverted street with a few cars stuck at the start of the rush hour.

Madrid. 8.00 am Underground to the airport. Rush hour in action.

Madrid airport. 9.00 am As quiet as possible. Plane taking off at 10.30

Dublin. 12.30 pm. Walking down O’Conell street. You can feel U2 are playing in town today. 80.ooo people expected in the stadium, around a third or a half coming from outside Ireland, T-shirts, street improvisations and pre-concert shows are everywhere. Special tran and bus services in & out of tonw. (O’conelly train station special information board)

Croke park. 3.oo pm Queuing in the rain, people cheer the sound check as if  it was for real.

Croke park. 5.3o pm Doors opened at 5.oo pm to enter into the circle. I was there since 2.30 pm.

Croke Park. 6.oo pm People sitting on the ground waiting for the supporters to come out, it’s like a big family picnic, but nobody knows the others.

Croke Park. 7.00 pm. Standing in full, while the seating area is empty while supporters play.
U2 came on stage at 9.oo pm

Croke Park. 11.30 pm  After concert moment, Pics, greetings and phone calls.

Dublin. 12.oo am. A huge crowd walks on Dublin streets in their way to downtown,

Dublin airport. 1.30 am. People sleeping on the floor over glass pavement.

Dublin airport. 4.30 am, It looks like rush hour or a massive city getaway, it’s only 4.30 at the Dublin airport checking area.

London Stansted. 11.00 am. A few hour to kill whilst changing planes. Something to read, something to eat.  Fancy some seafood??

Alicante. 5.oo Why should you put police at the border check, just let the people come in.

Oh, yeah, there was one gig in the middle of this. U2 played home @ dublin,  it was awesome, I was there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFIdFUa_hUc&feature=channel

(http://www.youtube.com/user/U2006com) 24/07/2009

europan, submission, meetings, zaragoza, alicante

Last three weeks have been a bit busy, from a competition deadline to some meetings with city officials and a day visit to zaragoza.  Not much to talk about, but some images to sum it up.

Submission was fun as always, there is something happening on those nights that it’s tough to explain and probably people won’t get it unless you’ve been through it.  it’s that 5.oo am moment in which you just have to finish things up and there is this text missing or an explanation, and you need a drink to keep awake, and suddently someone comes with a brilliant solution, or something that at least at that time looks brilliant.

Gerardo working on his leopard chair, that’s classy, eh, hahaha

Laura on the phone, what was it about, oh yeah, ….”hey A. could you tell me how to open AutoCad? I have forgotten, sorry to wake you up for this. “

My workspace window at madrid school of Architecture. They have the fence so students don’t jump in desperation.

My workspace at the place I usually crash in Madrid. it’s all about comfort.

After submission the meetings came, and so I went to Zaragoza for a day, firstly a traditional walk through downtown Zaragoza, where you cannot escape from the looming cathedral. Walking around town you can find anything you want, like a guy talking about his life with a green background for television, or a nice commercial passage, or a Wi-Fi square in front of the cathedral.

This was the street where I had to go for the meeting, lucky I found it, someone is asking for a parking spot?

Well you know, I come from Canada, and I am burning in hell right now, you can see my redskin, apart from that, yeah, I like it whynot.

the trip came to and end, a night ride to Alicante back,  speeding in the desert.

in the space between

In the space between I can get lost, I can live.

Space between paper and real, between outdoor and indoor,  between the two faces of a wall, between public and private, between up and down, between mine and yours, between successful or not, between past and present, between conscious and unconscious, between what I am and what I think that I am.

There is always a gap, a space between, between my real and everybody else’s real. There is a gap between what we do and what we wanted to do, it’s not a line, a wall it’s not a line, it has thickness, the space between has thickness,  sometimes so big that you actually live inside and cannot scape. There is gap, it has no point to deny, I want to embrace the gap, the gap makes things interesting. a gap in the professional practice, in the understanding of our job, our life.

Unfolding the space between, discovering it, living in it, enjoying it, feeling confortable in the space between.

The space between cities, between friends, between jobs, between moments, between events, between your eyes and what you look at,  space between thoughts and words, between action and reaction.

I live in the space between

dedicated to a longtime friend.

e.

workspace as it should be.

I am back at Madrid school of Architecture, my favourite place to work these days in Madrid due to a free Wifi network, a lot of work spaces with plugs and so on and with a very cheap cafeteria. Clases are over, and only a few exams missing for the students, but surprisingly the workstations are packed with people. It shows how high is the demand for this type of pleces, friendly spaces where to meet, connect to the internet, study, great access to one of the best architecture libraries I know, …. and a big parking lot for cars,

You can bring your drinks to the place you are working, there is a huge screen showing video-installations or different lectures, you can stay outside on the grass just chilling. If you have something “professional” to do and you don’t have your own office in town there is no better place than this, even if you have you own office it might be worth coming here, the atmosphere is so much lively and open.

I enjoy the feeling because I feel I belong to something other, something bigger, like if all these people would have a goal in common, it feels as if somehow we have some interest in common, I guess architecture in its wide conception.

When I was studying here I never came o the building to work, I always did it at home, no laptops at that time, no wi-fi system, no work spaces, just a few old computer for printing, what a huge change in a few years.

the feeling is like I always imagine my own office, completely free, nice chats everywhere,  a lot of effort but in a nice comprenhensive enviroment, almost as nice as google offices, but without free food.

was this an exercise of live blogging? Not sure what it is, can you blog “not live”?

lockers

Madrid school of architecture LOCKERS!!!!!

I am back. “sort of”

It’s been one and a half months since last time I posted something in the blog, my longest drought ever. I am really sorry, I’ve been missing the blog and wanting to write but I could not get myself to do it. Basically writing emails, proposals and essays make me not to be willing to write on the blog afterwards. Every time I am on the computer I am writing, and most of the times it’s the same thing once and again, and then the answers to that and so on, so I don’t want to write on the blog, and there is no much to write about either. The only other exciting things I’ve been doing were going back and forth to Madrid (4 times) and London (2 times), reading, and doing house renovation at home. I improved a lot my tiling skillss as well as my false ceiling construction ones.

No much left over, hopefully moving again in 4 months or so, in the meantime maybe some more travelling, up in the air. Got some cool picks I’ll upload over the weekend.

It sucks.

blowing in the wind

a ride through the lands and roads of castilla,

…the answer and the entertaiment in blowing in the wind my friend, we are riding through the wind

countless, sameless, useless?? futureless? beautifulness????

blue diamond sky in a spring afternoon, they roll as if they’re gonna be the forever.
timeless