The Tales of a Reviewee

Whenever anyone goes through a hill, we all have this mindset.

Passing the Licensure Exam and getting the license to be an architect seems like mountains and hills we must climb and trek. It seems like impossible. The very thought of studying hiatus again for almost 2 years break from all the scholarly activities is tiring and stressful already. I don’t know with most of the students, but for us, architecture graduates, books are an enemy, and most of our scholarly/academic books are covered with thick dust and us preferring articles on website over academic books that are more pleasing to the eyes, full of color and has pictures. In some sense, studying is already draining.

                   This picture pretty sums up with what I’m trying to imply.                            (c) real owner of the picture.

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Tales of a Reviewee?

First, we look the definition of review, whether or not we’ve understood really what “Review” means.

Free Dictionary definition of Review

Reviewing is just “To examine with an eye to criticism or correction”. In our case, it was never been like that, our review became an intensive weekend class, the 5 years of education was reviewed in a rush, from 8 am to 5 pm. You can never tell if your 5 years were gone into waste or you were not paying attention in college because some subjects discussed was already foreign in your mind palace. And you’ve realized, you do have tons of reading to do.  And every week tons of reading materials are piling up. EVERY WEEK.

Reading Materials to be read versus done

 

But I’m not here to rant about our system of “reviewing”, I’m just saying it was never easy, and will never be. A lesson I’ve learned when we were already in Manila and I can see a roommate of mine who was very relaxed and seems like not stressed of all the readings she has to do. “Reviewing” or whenever in the “battlefield” you can not  foretell your fate. All you just have to do is do your part, study with all of  might, and leave the rest to God. 

Whenever one think of reviewing or goes to an arduous studying, some would imagine of a reviewee with books piled and dusty, reading inside a very dark lit library. In my imagination, it was never that case, I imagine me being like John Nash in the film Beautiful Mind, trying and pressuring himself to publish a truly original study and please skip the timeline when he turned himself into a beautiful mind and fast forward to getting his “honor” from his fellow professors.

I wish I can be as brilliant as John Nash.

I wish life will be as easy as ABC’s, reality bites, life has never been like that. But life promises you that “whatever you sow, you will reap whatever you sow”. 

What really happened to our 3-month long review? And how did I survive?

Again, I could not have made it without a Village who, first, prayed for all of us. Second, batchmates who became one team, one family and a village. We never left anyone alone, if one needs help in his subject, we all willingly help. If one needs ears to listen in her emotional outbursts, we automatically lend our time and ears. We MAY never have passed with a great mark without each other. We may never have learned the lessons we’ve learned without every single batchmates’ help and there presence. Each one of us were woven into a single tapestry, to make a story, to made an impact and to be part of a history. In the end, we were thankful for the Almighty who have orchestrated everything.

Team Carluyan. Team USC. #LoveOfAFriendship

and for a new-found friend, Anj!! It’s just a setback, I’ve been in that exact feeling of disappointment. Always remember that God gives trials to those whom He knows can make that impossibility to a  possibility. 🙂 So go on, never be discouraged and fly!

 

The “May I Always Build” Journey

“May the Architect be high-minded; not arrogant, but faithful; Just, and easy to deal with, without avarice; Not let his mind be occupied in receiving gifts, But let him preserve his good name with dignity… Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

We are full of ideals before the review started, we aspire to be the “starchitects”, well at least people are looking forward to. But being an architect is so much more. During the almost 3-month review journey before the licensure exam, we’ve (my fellow aspirants) hurdled countless of reading materials, 16gb worth of review materials from our friends both architects and fellow reviewee’s, and all the stressful nights burning the candles and trying to finish one reading material to another. It was a SERIOUS business. Some of us deactivated their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts. And some stopped their night lives, stopped shopping and started saving.

Our Mantra everyday when the review started. (c) to the real owner.

“Going the battlefield is not just giving up our comforts,

but giving up everything wholeheartedly and keeping

your focus on the battle ahead of you.”

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So what really is my take home lessons about the journey?

First, Trusting the Almighty everything and surrendering all the burdens to Him.

I’m the type of person who is almost the control freak, trusting is difficult. I always want to do it MY OWN WAY, but this journey it not really what I WANT, not I CAN control of, and not I AM FINE ALONE. Elementary trusting and surrendering to His plans is what I’ve learned. I can’t fully say that I’ve really learned to trust Him, but I started to unlearn, relearn and learn.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)

Second, I CAN’T DO IT ALONE. It really is true that “It takes a village to raise up a child” but it’s truer that “It takes up the whole village and batch to be a TOP PERFORMING SCHOOL”. I can attest to that. Before I left Cebu for the One-month-long intensive review in Manila, I’ve been in doubt. Why? because I have to adjust to my roommates. Second, I have to learn to share and help my roommates in whatever and whichever help I can give. and Thirdly, I have to adjust in the place. I’ve been to Manila to and fro but never I’ve stayed longer. I’ve got to experience the “real” Manila and it was never that inspiring and fun without my classmates, friends and new found friends.

Our school got the “TOP PERFORMING SCHOOL” from the recent licensing exam result. I was in dismay when I didn’t get to rank but a good ole teacher told us when we visit our dear school after the result came out, “Ranking is just the individual performance, but ranking as the Top Performing School is a cumulitative performance and you have done great! You have given the school honor and we, your teachers are very proud of you”. I don’t know if it’s just a consuelo de bobo but yeah, that teacher was right! We were victorious because we’ve become a village, we have become a team. And, we do have hundreds if not thousands who were praying for all of us. We could  not have made it without the prayers of our fellow villagers.

Some of the “TEAM” when we went to our School after the result came out. #LoveOfAFriendship

Thirdly, I have realized that Architecture and being an architect is not just fulfilling my dreams, our dreams but it’s a responsibility we have to fulfill. Our journey does not end when we passed the exam, but our real journey begins now, that we are finally architects. We have a lot to fix regarding the norms of the practice here in the Philippines, and we still have a country to fix and lift-up. I can still remember one of my teachers in the review telling us that “we should all start giving back to our country”. It’s not “What my country can give me?” but it’s “What can I give to my country?”

To my fellow passers, MAY WE ALWAYS BUILD!

A Hypocrite’s Practice.

BEWARE: Corruption Ahead.

We become hypocrite to a  special certain extent but I’ve become too discouraged when I heard a favorite teacher’s hypocrisy from somebody who ‘truly knows’ the hypocritical practices of Architecture in this country. Quite discouraging for an intern,aspiring architect; who is one step closer to being one. I mean, corruption is never an alien in this country, but I never thought of Architecture and Construction to being too dirty and full of hypocrites.

Corruption in Architecture and Construction
(c) http://3.bp.blogspot.com

I’ve heard and seen enough. It’s incomprehensible.

Anyone, please enlighten me. At least, a little hint of hope.

Listen to a Father’s Tale.

Old people has always something to tell, it’s not that they are boasting of how resilient they were but “those were the good (sad, horrific) old days”. it is common for them to tell the younger generation to “learn” from their mistakes and experiences. it’s quite enriching to learn from people of their past. I mean it’s like reading a book, meeting different kind and type of characters that, to every end of the story everything and everyone is molded into certain plot and eventually everything makes sense.

I hope ours also does makes sense. Anyways.

I have another story to tell and brought with me a lesson for us to learn.

You already have encountered my boss (from my previous rants) and he has many stories to tell. His experience in life is not most of our youths today, he was the breadwinner and works for school tuition fees. He’s quite focused and dedicated. Life then was difficult, very difficult. So what is extra ordinary of his life? Simple. He never made the monetary hindrances his dream and goals. He wants to finish Architecture when he was young, what he did was wakes up in the morning earlier than most of his peers, and go for the newspaper office and go he went to deliver these newspapers. He worked from dawn till evening. After his newspaper deliveries off he went again to send his siblings to school, worked as a shine boy part-time and many others. He really is a resilient man.

When he got his bachelor degree in Architecture, off he went to Singapore to earn a living and support his siblings who then was still in Med School. Worked as a designer then looked for greener pastures in Saudi,I’m not quite sure whether he really worked in Saudi but he did mentioned an interview. Despite of his work experience he still pursue Masters Degree in Holland and eventually went back to start an office.

Everything didn’t go that smooth as other professions would be like, like any business the difficult stage is starting to operate an office and finding projects. My boss always told us time and time again, Architecture is difficult and getting projects are more difficult more than anything in the world. There will be turn down from clients, yet he said nothing bitter sweet starts with success. He planted the thought that it will be rough but head on,to hope for betterment in every hurdle so push harder,that their is nothing wrong with being idealistic towards the profession but forever remind ourselves that always get grounded with life’s realities.

I have nothing to ask for, my boss already has given us a sneak peek and I’m glad. There is nothing wrong in listening to the tales of our forefathers, just bare in mind that it is always ‘garbage in,garbage out’. Not everything is worth listening to, so filter what comes inside our minds.

I Learned My Lessons

Injuries. We all get injuries, we may be an athlete on training or not. To be a better athlete, we go through pain (like injuries) for us to get better.

“The Motto of Champions: … If injured, you can rebound and return bigger and better…and continue to inspire!”  – T.F. Hodge

I was once an athlete, was part of a varsity team. In my sport, injuries is a norm and giving up on the pain is a sign of weakness. I’ve been trained not to show any weakness or else it might be an advantage for my opponent. Of the way of this world, giving up means failure. Well for me, I gained something.

I’ve been fighting for an injury I got 3 years ago. I thought it was fine and “healed” by time until I got my knee snapped 2 weeks ago. This injury is a reminder of my disobedience and stubborness. Disobedience because my mom’s been telling me to stop the sport I truly loves and begin to focus on what is certain and stubborness because I persuade my mom and never seek wholeheartedly the counsel of the doctors. This knee pains and few monetary and time I spent are the results of my wrong choices I made in the past.

“Study the past if you would define the future.”
― Confucius

It takes a whole lot of humility to accept what this knee have become and admit that I’ve made a mistake and these are the consequences. To tell you the truth, I can’t accept and admit it yet. While writing this blog post I’ve got thousands of reasons and people to blame with. Very Stubborn indeed!

Anyways.

Lessons Learned?

1. Humility is a BIG word. And given by Up Above through and by grace.
2. Don’t just forget the past, learn from it! It is wise to learn and never go through it once more.
3. Band-aid solutions ain’t gonna cover the cracks forever.
4. Excuses will never cure the injury.
5. Asking help from family and relatives won’t hurt at all (especially given with a negative answer).
6. No pain, No gain.

Series of Exemplary Actions: Honed by the Potter.

I didn’t get to write and update for quite sometime, the start of my year was already a roller coaster. I mean, it’s still in the first quarter and many things already happened. I had been slacking, stressing and recovering at the same time. For countless of times, I urged my self to write but nothing comes up. Been juicing my brains and heart out but no juice is pouring out.

Lately, I’ve witnessed several homo sapiens who have done quite out of the packaging box. And my brain is perfectly kept on prompting me to write about it, and here I am now. Writing.

 

For the past months I have this leave-not work urgency. Work have been stressing me so much that quitting is my next option. My love (architecture) became a work, a burden. And here goes my boss, after our one-on-one talk, he made me realized that we’ve been both a difficult person to each other. I hated him so much, at that time being. He’s so frank and quite right about me. He’s words pierced me, stabbed me up front. Despite everything , he gave me a chance to prove to myself and himself that I am worth the expectations from my peers, from my teachers during college and from his expectations. He didn’t gave up on me, like a father does in his lost child. To make a long story short, everything went well after it. My performance in the office in my opinion improved and got to prove to my self that I can, and will be able to survive the profession.

Little things like that never happen too often, l am thankful that earlier in my path to being a practicing architect, I’ve been honed and shaped to betterment. Thank you so much sir!

I’m crafted into perfection by the Potter’s Hand.

The joy of learning is as indispensable in study as breathing is in running. Where it is lacking there are no real students, but only poor caricatures of apprentices who, at the end of their apprenticeship, will not even have a trade. – Simone Weil

 

Tenth and the Last of the Ten: Picture of thy self!

The scariest moment is always just before you start. –Stephen King

Yes, it’s been a headache for me, to ever start a blog post because I don’t know what to write, I don’t know if it’ll be relevant, and whether it will be worth it. But for this blog challenge, I’m scared that it’ll come to it’s end! Despite of my constant battle, we are now in the end. The last challenge for the blog challenge! For the last post for the countdown, it’ll be a picture of thy self!

 

Graduation Day!

This was during my graduation day, the “day” I actually made my mom proud!  All glory only to the Him, Master Architect!

Fifth of the Ten: Places

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

My favorite theme for the blog challenge: Places! I have a lot of places I wished to go to, given with unlimited resources and ready-to-travel visa’s.  I will rank my top places basing on Architecture, History and Culture.

6 Places:

1. Mesopotamia, corresponding to modern-day Iraq. I think Filipinos are not allowed to travel to Iraq for the reason which I don’t know, but I do really want to go there. Mesopotamia is considered the birth place of Architecture. And having Architecture as the chosen profession, I’d like to pay a visit and maybe I can still see for myself what’s left of the Ancient structures.

2. Europe. Because it is a Continent with countries worth visiting for. They also have contributed so much for the human race, they’ve set standards and class. They Have Parthenon, Stonehenge, Roman Aqueducts, they started the idea of Baths, Greek Temples of different gods and goddesses, they have a Çatalhöyük,  they have the Colosseum, the Ampitheater, different Byzantine Churches like the San Vitale,  they have magnificent Gothic churches like the Cathedral Chartres, Duomo, Milano. They also have the Hagia Sophia, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, they have the Eiffel Tower, they have the Bauhaus. I think we don’t have enough time and space to mention all of it but it’s worth a visit.

East End of the Cathedral Chartres.

3. Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun. A country with the best model for discipline and perfection. A nation who is deeply rooted with its history and its identity. They even have their own measurement used for their Architecture: the Ken. The use of construction modules keeps proportions between different parts of the edifice constant, preserving its overall harmony. For Japan, it’s always been harmony, nature and nation.

4. Vietnam. Whenever I hear Vietnam, I never fail to remind myself of what the Vietnamese did during the Vietnam War: To always protect the mother ship! I can’t remember the full detail of what the curator said during a museum visit but it did a great impact to me.

Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay. A natural Architecture.

5. South Korea. No, I don’t want to go to Korea because of the K-pop, but because they have a lot of museums that showcases their culture and history.

6. China. After the giant’s been finally awaken, we can feel their power, their rise to power. We felt it during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, we felt it when Shanghai’s been starting to host World Expo’s, we felt it when China’s been building magnificent and “impossible” infrastructures, and we felt it because they finally rose to power.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
― Henry Miller

Revolutionary Architect: Zaha Hadid

Abu Dhabi Performing Arts (concept)

Zaha Hadid, the first woman who won the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in its 26 year history, an equivalent for the Nobel Prize.

Pritzker Prize purpose is:

To honor a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.

Zaha Hadid won the 2004 Pritzker Prize, internationally known for both her theoretical and academic work. Each of her dynamic and innovative projects builds on over thirty years of revolutionary experimentation and research in the interrelated fields of urbanism, architecture and design.

She’s  known as an architect who consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture and urban design, her work experiments with new spatial concepts intensifying existing urban landscapes and encompassing all fields of design, from the urban scale to interiors and furniture.

Boundless, fluid interior space and organic lines composes and characterizes her designs.

Zaha Hadid’s philosophy according to architonic.com is that she continues to be boundless in her creativity and designs and pushes the boundaries of architecture and of urban design in the pursuit of a visionary aesthetic in all fields of design.

Indeed a revolutionary! Happy Birthday Zaha Hadid!

Zaha Hadid Architects [http://www.zaha-hadid.com]

Lesson from a Wooden Sword

Wooden swords are commonly used for training in Kendo, the way of the sword.  Kendo, like any other martial arts, provides a medium through which we can learn about ourselves, learn to control and discipline our body and emotions.

Looking to the history of Japan, during the mid 14th century, the bow was replaced by the sword as the primary weapon of the samurai. It gained its utmost status that there was a need to propagate and disseminate the techniques. Many people developed their own techniques, and taught these to eager pupils keen to enhance their chances of battlefield survival.

Because of Japan’s influence to other Asian countries, the way of the sword spread all around the world and today, it is  gaining interest all around the world, and more and more international practitioners are joining.

And some parable actually was made, and again it helped me and encouraged me once more as I was looking for wisdom for my thesis. Funny that, I’ve been digging a lot of old articles and books these days for inspiration.

These parable/lesson is again not of my own but another article written by Mr. Edwin Franz Arcellana. The Article was written for our camp Journal who actually was published by More Than Medals.

Google Image Result for Kendo

Once there was an eager young man in medieval Korea who wanted to learn swordsmanship and martial arts. He approached a master swordsman and asked to be accepted as a disciple. “I’ll train ceaselessly and do my best in the art of swordsmanship! I’ll be your best student and all of Korea will be proud of you and me! How long will it take for me to learn everything?” the student asked.

“At least ten years,” the master replied.

“That’s too long!” the young man objected. “I will work twice as hard as any student and train more than anyone! How long will it take for me to learn?”

“Thirty years.” the masted said calmly.

“What?!” the student protested. “I can’t wait that long. I don’t have that long a time! I’ll do anything to master the art and learn swordsmanship as quickly as possible.”

“In that case,” the master said sternly, “You will need fifty years. A person with no patience and keeps rushing is definitely a poor student.”

The young man was humbled and agreed to do whatever the master told him to do. The master gave him only one rule to follow: he was not allowed to ask about or even touch a sword. For three long years, what the boy has done was to cook, clean the house, wash the dishes, and do errands for the master.

Do you somehow recognize these scenes? I don’t know if you’ve watched Karate Kid but the story is just too similar. For 20 year ago film, it was the wax-in and wax-out I remember. But for the recent movie with Jackie Chan, it was put the jacket unto the holder, drop it, put the jacket unto the holder again, then drop it again. I mean, If I was the student I’d be extremely impatient too, but as what the master said. A person with no patience and keeps rushing is definitely a poor student. 

During these years, there were days when the master would approach the boy secretly and hit him with a wooden sword. Over the course of time, the student developed a keen sense of preparedness. As time went by, he knew and sensed when an impending attack or blow was coming.

Only when he had developed this heightened awareness, or sixth sense, did the master proceed to teach him the art of swordsmanship and the martial arts. The student then made rapid progress, for now he was not in a hurry. He had learned to make friends with time. He became a better person and a better student.

 

The prevalent spirit of the 21st century is doing great things fast, achieving more in lesser time. yet becoming a master swordsman, engineer, architects, designers, musician or doctor requires more than foresight or even passion. Patience and submission are essential prerequisites to greatness.

 

[To my classmates and myself, don’t be in a hurry, be patient. Out time to earn that degree will come (sooner, a few months left) Let’s just relearn everything. We may have less than a week before our deadline, let’s just push our selves more and quitting is not in our option]