Glacial

I.M.Pei once said that the secret to being a great architect... aside
from doing good architecture... is out-living all your peers. 



How true... Architecture will always be an old man's profession. The
fact is, most of the modernist master starchitects around today ( Gehry, Meier... even Thom Mayne...
the self-described rebel of the profession... are way past their 60s)
only started coming up with really good work during their 40s and 50s.



With this in mind... its kind of frustrating for me, because I feel, at
times, that in some ways I've gone through an unnaturally steep
learning curve... thanks of course to my training under my dad, and the
few, key opportunities I've been able to take advantage off.



Of course, its good to get a head start in my line of work... but I'm
afraid of burning out and losing steam... or worse... checking myself
into a heart bypass because of all the stress and pressure on my
shoulders.



Walking around Makati during lunch... I get to see all sorts of people
from my generation... people in their 20s and early 30s... and I can't
help but wonder if they get better breaks and opportunities because
they are in a line of work that rewards youth, energy and fresh ideas-
maybe marketing... or business... IT, etc. Because these fields are
relatively new in the history of civilization, they also move faster...
at the speed of light... of the electrons that display this webpage on
your screen...



Because Architecture has been around since man's first informal
settlements... and since we deal things that are solid... concrete from
the earth, metal and steel from ore, glass from sand/silica... all of
which took millions of years to form... its no wonder why careers in
architecture move at a glacial pace...



Software versions are measured in years, even months... interior
renovations on a per turnover basis... buildings in years and
decades... city and suburban plans in lifetimes and generations.



I feel impatient, because I know I can take things on... and that even
if it would be something new, I can hit the ground running... 



But who am I kidding... I'm only 22... a whole lifetime ahead of me...
a whole bunch of things to  learn...  I just have to let God
mold and temper me... hopefully in the future... I move from
being stuck in the bridge of the knife... onto the cutting edge.



Time is on my side.