spring has sprung...

early evening sun streams in through my window as i sit here and type. but, being the month of april, there is the very real chance of a "plump" of rain at any time. this doesn't detract from the fact that spring seems to be here, and brought with it the feelings of excitement and optimism about being outdoors and planning exciting activities for the summer ahead.

alas, it doesn't look likely that this summer will afford me the now traditional trip to iceland to volcano watch. instead i hope to be gainfully employed around edinburgh in order to make it through the very important 3rd year of my course. 3rd year is important as it is the final year of part 1 qualification - the first of 3 hurdles towards becoming a qualified architect. so, it means head down and hard work. money will be needed to get me through it.

something else which fills me with excitement is the fact there are less than 2 months of this academic year left before the long summer vacation. which is a great milestone. already my thoughts are turning towards next summer and the possibilities for my compulsory practice year which comes after that. being a bit of a nomad, i am already planning to get away from edinburgh for the year - either to work at home in shetland for half the year, to save money, then taking a wild and exciting trip away around the globe. or, alternatively, to buy an old 4x4 and head to iceland to work there for a year. much depends on getting the right kind of opportunity with an architectural practice. but at the moment, it is great to dream of the possibilities.

4 weeks of time off from college are almost at an end. i've had a great and fun-packed easter break which has included a trip to berlin, a stint at home in shetland, as well as some great socialising here in edinburgh. i feel enthusiastic about facing the new and final term of the year - an interesting project to design a school of boat-building. shouldn't be hard for a shetlander!

for those of you who don't know or have forgotten about my other blog - drop by www.archsutherland.blogspot.com to check out my work.

here's a little taster of some of the things i've been up to.

TEC2001 and TEC2002

A few weeks ago I added a post about this term's project. I'm pleased to report that it is almost over. For the last 6 weeks I have been designing a glorified shoebox as a solution to an aircraft hangar brief. It isn't sexy at first sight, being as it is a mere box,... but i hope that the very slick finish in stainless steel will sex it up a bit. Deadline is Monday, which means this weekend has been a non-stop marathon of model-making (I hate Wonderland Models for their bad advice on soldering!!!!) and producing very technical and time-consuming drawings. But all over in 36 hours!

new horizons

the last few weeks have been tumultuous, one way or another. upheaval,... change,... rather than anything too traumatic. the most significant development being starting a new job, working as a PA for professionals in a large property development company. i am working part-time hours alongside my studies,... and so far it works well. i just hope i can manage to make up the lost time in the studio in my free time.

so, with new found wealth (!!!???) and more freedom from employment at weekends i anticipate a return to the good old days of weekend jaunts to see friends and have wild times across europe. the first of these will be a long overdue trip down to cambridge - hopefully to coincide with the lents boatclub dinner! so, here i come.

deleterious effect...

dear readers.... it is with great relief that i can post news of having deleted myself from the world of online social networking. yes, facebook, gaydar, myspace, you name it. so, apart from this meagre blog, i am virtually anonymous in cyberspace once again. so you're going to have to email or call me if you want to find up what i'm up to,... unless its posted on here of course. haha. but i have control over this, at least!

back at school,... again!

i can't believe that my last post was at the start of the year. well, now we're a term down and about to start another term. this time we face the exciting challenge of designing a hangar for a vintage aircraft - largely a structural project because one of the main considerations is accommodating the large wingspan of the plane without columns to support the roof. i'm not too good at the technical side of things, so this term could be challenging. wish me luck.

Back at School!

Well, another long summer is over. Why do we get such long summer holidays as students? Is it just so the academics can get a long break? Or time to actually get on with their own research? Either way, I've had a good summer, but a large part of it has been spend working just to be able to afford the rent on my flat. I'd much rather have continued with my architecture course and just taken a nice 3 week holiday somewhere. Fast track degrees, that's what we want when we're turning 30!

So, what did I do with my summer apart from working,... I hear you cry. Well, 2-3 weeksin August were spent in Iceland with Nick on volcanoes and with Thor gaying it up in Reykjavik. Then in mid September I went back to the rock that is home and went to a most fabulous wedding. And just before the start of term last week I enjoyed a little trip to Sweden, which included a couple of nights in Stockholm - one of my favourite cities. I accidently wandered right to the front of the Architecture School at the Royal Technical University there, which just happens to have an exchange link with Edinburgh College of Art! Hehe... is someone trying to tell me something?

Anyway,... off to plan for the big 30.

Which Famous Leader...???

What Famous Leader Are You?
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Did I say summer?

Yeah, .... those of you who haven't been to Scotland but have the received wisdom notion that the weather here is changeable,.... are quite right. Sometimes we Scots like to dispel the myth that the weather here is all over the place, but I think today I want to re-enforce that. On Tuesday I got sunburned in the park - it was a scorcher. Today, I have under-layers on and a nice warm coat,... buttoned right up to the neck.

But its the tourists that I probably feel most sorry for. They come on their european tours in the middle of summer fully expecting a little warmth,... even in Edinburgh. But today they were cowering in the wind and creeping around looking for shelter. Respect to the Japanese painting and drawing group whom I spotted bravely perched around the Royal Mile, artistically absorbing St Giles and the rest of the city scape. But it surely can't be easy to paint with gloves on?

School's Out For the Summer...

I can't believe it - first year of architecture is over. We've had a pretty insane couple of weeks working up to the final deadline. But now we are free! I'm off to work my butt off and enjoy the summer - including two weeks in Iceland! Yae! Catcha soon, cool cats. xx

Well, well, well....

I'm suddenly tremendously enthusiastic about blogging! I have even created a new blog where I will post stuff from my life as an architect - it hasn't got anything on it yet, but it's called archsutherland.blogspot.com

I'll give you a teaser though - with some of my scribblings and skecthes.... a CAD 3D image of a rooftop room and terrace, and some sketches of my library which I'm designing at the moment.

xx

almost nobody...

... ever reads my dreary blog, but I thought it might be time to add a few lines, just so those few people who do tune in don't think I've dropped off the edge of the world.

Well, things in Edinburgh are going pretty well. Since my last digest of news I've spent a week in Paris on an architecture study visit - which was great fun and I'm now (at last) a great fan of Paris and various things French. My former housemates Agathe and Alexis should be delighted to hear this.

The Shetland Folk Festival was held at the start of this month, and through an old and dear friend (Mhari) I got involved as a raffle ticket seller and went home for one of the best weekends I've had in absolutely ages. I can't rate the SFF enough - the islands come alive with revelry. The music is great and the party just never stops. My hit acts were Americans Crooked Still, Canadians Mauvais Sort, Terra Folk from Slovenia and Orkney's excellent Lazy Boy Chair. Check them out if you can.

College is treating me well. We have only a few weeks of term left before embarking on a lengthy summer break - which, as usual will see me spending a couple of weeks in Iceland doing a bit of volcano climbing, hot spring bathing and gaying it up at Reykjavik Pride. But I'll also be busy working in Edinburgh - mainly at the very excellent Hewats Restaurant - where I've been a happy part-time waiter for the last month or so. The food is as good as it gets and we're an extremely friendly bunch of staff - so do drop in for a special bite.

Love and lots...

more model mayhem...

Here are a couple of my favourite models from our current project to design an island retreat for a writer. And beneath, one of my currently favourite songs - Heartbeats by The Knife.

Piracy is Illegal

"Valderee, valderah, my nap-sack on my back"

Check out this intrepid traveller! Caught on camera buying luxurious foodstuffs in M&S. "This isn't an ordinary backpacker - this is a juicy and ripe Icelandic backpacker!"

another crazy night in edinburgh!!!

MIKA - we love you!

You surely can't have escaped noticing that a hot new talent tops our British charts. Yes, the afore described MIKA is the latest entertainment sensation to Grace (Kelly?) our ears - an boy, what a pleasure it is too. Check out his number one hit!

Congratulations!

Brushing with nature...

A third-year print-making student has created an odd installation in our sculpture court as part of a college exhibition. A live hamster powers a wheel which in turn powers a cam which causes the front leg of a stuffed hamster (raised on its back legs) to wave up and down. Very odd,... and slightly distressing. Not least for the live hamster, having to animate his dead cousin.

This was my first brush with nature today, and it wasn't going to end there. Only about 30 seconds later, while walking out of college down to Lady Lawson Street, I was confronted by the unusual sight of a fox trotting towards me on the other side of the driveway. "How odd", I thought. But quite pleasing. Certainly the closest I've ever experienced these beautiful and timid creatures. Well, maybe not so timid. It carried on past me, quite unperturbed by my presence.

Then,... later still,... on arrival at my flat, I encounter yet more livestock! This time in the form of a mouse,... scurrying first across the kitchen floor, then, horror of horrors, into my room,... then back into the hallway and into the utility room, where I promptly locked in, hoping that the snug fit between carpet and door would keep it quarantined until a trap can be procured! The hamster and fox I can cope with,... but the mouse is doing my head in! It is probably gorging itself on my washing powder as I write, before nesting in the box to have a litter of 16 micelets. I will never be able to wash laundry again. Save me from a clean clothes catastrophe!

Merry Christmas to me...

I have a habit of buying Christmas presents for myself, and they usually involve travel. Christmas treat 2004 was flights to Iceland, which opened a whole new chapter in my life. Christmas 2005 saw the purchase of flights to Sweden, which was my first ever Christmas away from family. This Christmas (2006) I reaped a wad of cash from family, and I'll be using this in the most fabulous ways. Firstly, I'm buying a hydration back pack to encourage me to train for the Landmannalaugar to Þórsmork run (a cross-mountain ultra-marathon of some 55km in Iceland). My second indulgence will take place on Feb 24th when I head down to Newcastle for a day out and to hear the fantastic talent (in every department) that is MIKA! Check this guy out!

Happy Christmas!

Greetings, friends! Christmas is practically upon us, though it barely feels it. The weather in Shetland is mild and still, a little more like October than late December. We've haven't had more than a sniff of winter,... thanks to a few sleet and hail showers.

But I think Christmas arrived today. I went to a small and remote church on the far north part of the islands for a christening (baptism, actually). The tiny church in the little village of Ollaberry is situated close to the sea. I took a pugh next to the window so that I could look out across the water and watch the low sun shine in through the windows to cast a warm glow over the full congregation. Candles took over when the odd cloud slid past. It was perfect. The organist was a bit quiet, the guy singing behind me kept getting the words wrong, but apart from that it was nice.

Now, I'm warming some mulled wine and cider to have a festive drink before heading out to the watchlight service for yet another dose of the christmas message. Oh, how wholesome.

So, dear friends around the world, I hope you are having, or have had a pleasant christmas. May you have a wonderful 2007.