Think outside the box? Sometimes it's necessary to think inside the box, but fly under the radar.
That's a quote from Thomas Umbhau, AIA.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday
It was Monday and Monday was good.
Got up a little late - I've been feeling a bit out of it. The sleep helped though.
Arrived at the studio and worked on my bike; I swapped out all of the cables last weekend and am in the process of getting the new handlebars to work. Alas, there was no solution to be had, but I foresee it being in the form of duct tape and cut up coke cans.
Made some phone calls. Had a nice conversation with a colleague that I'm contracting some work for. Followed up with some invoices.
Did some filing,which made the studio feel better - things were starting to pile up...as does happen from time to time.
Worked on my main project, a barn. I like the barn clients, they are very nice and easy to work with. I did a lot of detailing in the horse stalls and on the structure; moved the crawl-space access to the mechanical room; there's more room in there.
Had the weekly coordination meeting with the barn-folk. It was short, I really had nothing to pass on other than I made the adjustments that we discussed in our last meeting and was proceeding with knocking this thing out for them. Next step, send my structural plans off to an engineer for his review.
Now I'm at home. There are three attention starved cats who are demanding an audience. The wife is house sitting out in Rafter J. I would join her but have to get up at the crack.
That's about it.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Occupational Health
Sitting down to get going. I hear ladies down the hall chatting before their power dance class. Outside someone is belting out the lines from "Don't Stop Believin," by Journey. Kids are playing outside, I hear an adult female voice patiently informing them that they will need to come back inside after two minutes.
Yes, the window is open and fresh air is coming in.
The door to the hallway is open too. Though I closed it after the power dance class down the hall started...they really get into over there, it's a good thing.
The building in which my office is located is a recycled Junior High School that was built in the 1940's. It is now privately owned and hosts offices, dance studios, artists, even a couple of apartments. The roof is lined with solar panels and the building collects so much power that it sells power to the city.
The feeling here is one of community, people are happy to come here to do whatever it is needing to get done.
In my space, I feel creative. I feel charged. I feel good.
This is important because, as the purpose of any business is to make money, the well being of the earners often takes a back seat or worse. While this is ignored, the place where many people spend more of their day than anywhere else in their lives can turn negative.
A key goal that I strive for is to keep the workplace healthy and enjoyable. When I get to work, I want to enter an environment where I feel charged about what I need to be doing and where I'm doing it. I want to foster that feeling in others. When I come home, I don't want to unload frustrations on my spouse an keep my home under a dark cloud. Again, this is important.
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