I woke up today and realized it is September. My absence started out as a Coffee Break. Then a Mini Break. Followed by the Summer Break. Well, Fall is around the corner, it is time to get away from the Break and start Blogging again. I haven’t been idle; I was just changing some of my priorities and I don’t know why I let the Blog fall to the wayside.

So, what has been going on the past 3 months? Way too much but let me break it down. This is what a busy summer can look like in the life of an Artichoke.

This all started with a Project Closeout. I was traveling almost every week starting in June. If you have not put it together, while I live in Tucson. None of my projects are in Tucson. Right now, the closest project I have is a 1.5-hour drive. For me that is close, however, the project that was wrapping up was about 7 hours away in Northern Arizona. I realized that with that much travel, it takes away time to get other stuff done. For a half day meeting, it involves 3 days on the road. If I push hard, I can do it in 2 days.

Last spring, I started a major remodel in my Upstairs. Most of free time has been spent on doing the construction. The way I look at it, part of being an Architect is really understanding construction. The best way to learn construction is to do it yourself. This is my second major remodel of a home while living in it. I don’t mess around either, if you know me and have seen any of my postings on Facebook, I do it all. This remodel involved complete demolition of two rooms and their two closets. Just last week, I finally hung the sliding barn doors on the studio. That was the last major bit of construction, now to do my own punch list. By the way, I already have the list and there are only five items on it.

My standard mode of practice is to do activities at the worst time of year. I received a nice set of sandstone/flagstone pavers. At about the same time, the back yard has had in the WORST spot (from the point of view of a planner) as section of hexagonal paver blocks. I end up moving 90% of the pavers. Which was 437 pavers… yes, I did count them. In words of Billy Crystal, both the front and back yards look ‘fabulous!’ 

July was one of the busiest months. I was at the office a total of 3 works days, and total of 8 days at home for the month. I did squeeze in a small Family Vacation. We splurged by staying at the Hilton at Universal Studios. And having a good time in Los Angeles. The month also included a substantial completion, building grand opening, 10 project celebration, trip to Dallas and the usual marketing. I was hoping for a calmer August. August was spent at home studying. 

Right around the time of my last blog I took a study class for LEED Green Associate Exam. I’ve been studying on and off until 30 days before I set my exam. Then I really hit the books by studying 1 to 2 hours a day, each day. Good news, I passed the exam. I get the joy of adding even more letters after my name. Small bit of information, for anyone who is a ‘LEED Green Associate’, The use guide states that it is not ‘LEED GA’, but an acceptable use is ‘LEED Assoc.’ and note that period after Assoc. Once the dust settles over the next few weeks, I’m going to start the LEED AP BD+C. I’m sure it will be blog worthy.

If you look back a few months, and couple of articles. You will see my blog about coffee. The main take way during that time was finding balance in everything I do. I’ve been a little off balance, but I hope to get back on track real soon. My goal for finding some balance on the CSINext front is to get back to my weekly blogs and wrap up 2019 with the same vigilance that I started.

…and now for something completely different.
Gorillas burp when they are happy