Postscript to the 2004 Dreambuilders Competition by ALI

Ah yes... my first post for 2007...

Yep, I've resigned from my corporate job, and rejoined my family's design practice. Things have been hectic since the year started which is why I haven't had the chance to steal a few moments and post anything on this page. I feel very liberated being able to learn and do things at a much faster pace, with a little bit more authority, and to have the chance to focus on something that I really like to do (architecture, versus land development and real-estate).

Also, I've decided to drop the whole corporate gig and try to focus on the church/retreat center we're working on for my high school. Hope to post some of my revised sketches soon. Not to mention... I also have a few sidelines to finish/develop and I have to get myself back into the architectural frame of mind for the board exams this June. Review starts mid feb and I'm afraid that the year-and-a-half I spent in real estate may have taught me things that don't necessarily help prepare me for the boards.

I've realized that after seeing all the layers, the brownosing, the facades, insecurities, inefficiencies/indecisiveness and packaging in it... (not mentioning some of the good parts too... like... uh... I'm sure there are some good parts... like the good people inside the organization, the few mentors from within and the engineers I've worked with onsite.) I might not be a good fit for the corporate world. Yes I know, I can be relatively carinoso and charming/political when I have to be... Its just that, its frustrating to know what needs to be done, but not have the leverage and accountability to be able to do it.

Anyway... they still owe me a commitment. And I'm going to hold them to it. 2 and a half years of waiting for a 2 month apprenticeship position abroad is just proof of the inherent inefficiency within. That competition I won was back in 2004. Its 2007, and they still haven't awarded the prizes. Ganun nalang ba ang mangyayari sa amin? I refuse to be the product of a corporate anniversary photo op. My co-winners/placers and our schools deserve better, especially given the reputation that they've held up to the public.

But the irony of the situation is... I'm not mad about it. Because after seeing how the system works. I'm not surprised that these commitments did not move because it was no longer in their interest to carry through. Boo hoo, out there, in the real world, millions of people are getting shafted at work or in life one way or another, and I'm just another one of them.

I've tried to be extremely patient and classy with dealing with them. My co-winners from Cebu have actually reacted earlier and in a much vocal way. I thought that by being the silent, classy person and taking the high road would induce them to act, besides, they remain to be one of the biggest potential clients for any architectural design firm in the Philippines. I thought that I couldn't harass or pressure them about it because I wouldn't want to irritate a potential client. But I thought wrong. I was negotiating a strong argument from a weak position.

Before joining them, I thought that working with my father will be hell because of the stress, pressure and lack of freedom. I now know better, because after going through things, and having to shelf my emotions, and whatever limited or boundless creativity and abilities I had for the sake of the system in place, anything would be better now. Because here despite the pressure, I am accountable... and I face the challenge and rise to it.

The strong feign weakness, the weak feign strength.

And that will be my last word on that.

Dec 24- Batulao with the Family

Yearend Reflections

Dec. 29, 2006

(Last day on the job. Marella - a good friend and confidante, is flying off to DC)

One of my dad's favorite quotable quotes is how people are like mango trees... and how we don't bear fruit unless we are pruned, trimmed, hacked and burned... pushed to our knees.

After several consecutive years of breakneck growth, achievement and fulfilment, 2006 was a year when I got pruned/hacked. It's been a humbling experience to go through a virtual reset of my life.

From being a college senior, to a corporate salt mine freshman.

To come from a small design firm (where I was at least relevant to things), to a large real-estate corporation (where I am merely a replacable automaton in the large machine)...

To make hard decisions and to have them backfire on you and not get the result you've been aiming for...

To see many of your good friends and peers move and get opportunities abroad, while I prioritize my local internship...

To be an idealistic kid in the middle of a sea of people, just making a living... and to realize the luxury of believing in something in the midst of the harsh realities of life...

To be an idealistic kid, eager to make a change... and to be pushed down by the circumstances...

To hold people/organizations in such high regard, and get betrayed by the system.

To realize that you don't have the leverage...

To see your old man- and by extension, yourself get shunned by big corporate clients...

To want something, work for it, and not get it.

To love and let go... and to long in your solitude...

To find God, and stumble so many times because of your weakness...


If you're one of the rare multiply netizens who'd drop by to read my blog, you've probably noticed the waves of angst in the links.

I learned a lot. I've been humbled. And I hope this makes me a better person.

Cheers to 2006. Thank God its over. It has woven steel into my nerves, and strengthened my resolve.


2007 will be a pivotal year. I hope that 2006 has prepared me well for it.

City Manifesto

The three red lights blink
He follows to and from the east
as she weaves through
in the rush of the moment
forgetting his identity
yet she leads him back
and helps him find it

The three red lights flare
at his teary eyes
as he remembers the places
from the city to the suburbs
from the city to the hills
and canyons on its outskirts

Manila
Ortigas
Cainta
Quezon
Alabang
Tagaytay
Paranaque

Dubai?
Singapore?
Hong Kong?
San Francisco?
Washington DC

Adventure or escape?
constriction and release
each curb and corner
each encounter
liberates and frees

The bondage of asphalt pavement
gives way
to the freedom of the runway

As the city turns
May she find her place
in the grand scheme of things

The city found me
and my connection with it
continues and thrives
as I long to grow and
build on my foundations
and maybe some day
find the city
and help build her

Nonetheless, cities are abound
and will never be in short supply
for the waves of builders like me;
but none can ever be
my emerald city
glowing in the night
fleeting, ephemeral
eternal in my memory

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas and a great year ahead to everyone!

Cheers! 

Archinect - Making Architecture More Connected (since 1997)

http://www.archinect.com

You know you're an arch./student when ...

1. ...the alarm clock tells you when to go to sleep.

2. ...you're not ashamed of drooling in class anymore, especially in the

Structures lecture.

3. ...you can distinguish tastes of various glues better than a french wine taster.

4. ...you CELEBRATE space and OBSERVE your birthday.

5. ...coffee and cokes are tools, not treats.

6. ...people get nauseous just by smelling your caffeine breath.

7. ...you get surprised when you see a new building in your school.

8. ...you think it's possible to CREATE space.

9. ...you've slept more than 20 hours non-stop in a single weekend.

10. ...you fight with inanimate objects.

11.... you've fallen asleep in the washroom.

12. .you're brother or sister thinks he or she is an only child.

13. ...you've listened to all your CDs and cassettes in less than 48 hours.

14. ...you're not seen in public.

15. ...you lose your house keys for a weekend you don't even notice.

16. ...you've brushed your teeth and washed your hair in the school's

washroom.

17. ...you've discovered the benefits of having none or very short hair.

You've started to appreciate inheriting baldness.

18. ...you've used an entire roll of film to photograph the sidewalk.

19. ...you know the exact time the vending machines are refilled.

20. ...you always carry your deodorant.

21. ...you become excellent at recycling when making models.

22. ...when you try to communicate, you make a continuous and monotonous

whine.

23. ...you've danced a fav club dance number with excellent
choreography at 3 am and without a single drop of alcohol in your body.

24. ...you take notes and messages with a radiograph and colour markers.

25. ...you combine breakfast, lunch and dinner into one single meal.

26. ...you see holidays only as extra sleeping time.

27. ...you've got more photographs of buildings than of actual people.

28....you've taken your girlfriend(boyfriend)on a date to a construction site.

29. ...you've realized that French curves are not that exciting.

30. ..you can live without human contact, food or daylight, but if you can't

print. it's chaos.

31... when youre being shown pictures of a trip, you ask what the human

scale is.

32. ...you can use Photoshop, Illustrator and make a web page, but you don't know how to use Excel.

33. ...You refer to great architects (dead or alive) by their first name, as

if you knew them.(Frank, Corbu, Mies, Norman...)

34. ...you make numerous photocopies that you haven't read yet.



any additions ?