31 Aug 2022 Wednesday - Meeting a former neighbour

We have never met as children, when we were neighbours at Cloud Estate. We meet today at the tennis courts (I think Richard might have brought him along as they are both doctors) - Fabian is a GP working in London. His family lives in House#2, we are in House#4 (No. 40) - his father (James Chen) came to Pa's wake. Today, Sean and I visit No. 36 to look at the condition of the house - which has gone through numerous extensions, the type that renders it necessary to turn on the lights during the day, and the air-con in the afternoon.

He is a chatty fellow, and I promise to send him photos of our renovation when it is completed.  
 

30 Aug 2022 Tuesday - George and Louis

George will be based in KL to support PH and SL

Today is a busy day, site meeting with the full team and sorting out many of the back-logged items. The builder has a lot to do in the next few days, we are not sympathetic as much of it is due to their own inertia. We will observe from a distance and assist when we are able, or come down on them on non compliance.

By noon time, things took an upward turn as we ate lunch with Leong and Freddie. I was waiting to have a meeting with George and the engineer for a housing project.  

George was one of the original team members when we left DNA to set up MWA. I see his return as a sign of things coming full circle, and reinforcing our team's strength. 

Talking to Yap about flat slabs and fin walls

Louis is another strong candidate who has decided to re-join our team; he will be based in Kuching and will work closely with Sean and hopefully sit for their professional exams with LH, SL, and George.

Louis at the hotel site, photo taken before he was scolded for stepping on the pod before it was secured to the building structure

29 Aug 2022 Monday - post-Covid company trip

 I am not sure why this photo floated up to the surface after 6 years (28.5.2016) but I am very proud however that many of these people were still with us or re-joined us for our following company trip to Bangkok.

28 Aug 2022 Sunday - new doors

Sam is posing by our new front door, built using construction methods from the RTC renovation: perforated steel panels, steel framing and glass. She said that she's dressed in a similar green colour as the original timber door, that we had since moving in 28 years ago. So, it was a momentous occasion.

Another new door was installed at the top of the stairs to separate the latest cats; Hades and Tuxy from the dogs. It is shut some times during the day for them to roam around upstairs, while the dogs are outside. I imagine that some of the cats will be housed at No. 40 when it is ready this October.

Tuxy

27 Aug 2022 Saturday - to get more efficient

This is a 15-minute sketch and colouring in, in an old poetry book I bought for RM 3.90 at a book sale. After I did the sketch, I showed it to Sara - wow! that's nice, Dad. 

I reminded myself that most times it takes only a short while to convey the message - a phone call to tell the electrician to lock up after he's done at the new offices, a text to accompany some sketches to confirm a door location on a floor plan. These things takes minutes to do, but not when I put it off for a week. 

I have colleagues who prepare these tasks, projects for me to review and transmit, but I have a bad habit of sitting on them instead of reviewing them at once and completing the task. 

It's something I need to sort out, or risk having things pile up. Or worse having unhappy people who feel that their punctuality is not fully utilised. 

26 Aug 2022 Friday - moving day

As much as I love this part of Kuching, I am very glad to get out of the building into new larger premises. Sure, it is not as romantic without the history and location, but we have more space for more interns, models, books and all on one floor. Extra bonus - it is a 9-minute walk from home.

 

25 Aug 2022 Thursday - Melaka

 

24 Aug 2022 Wednesday

 

23 Aug 2022 Tuesday Singgahsana

 

 

22 Aug 2022 Monday

 

21 Aug 2022 Sunday - reading books again

 I started reading books again.

This is a easy feel good read, it suited the mood I was in; a combination of tired and lazy. It rained heavily in the morning, making it more conducive for a lie in after breakfast to read a book. 

Mike McIntyre was a journalist, he gave up his job to travel across America without any spending money. He did so by depending on the kindness of strangers, hence the title of his book. He narrates his encounters with total strangers in his journey of self discovery, overcoming his fears of the unknown and unexpected, and in doing so he also uncovers life stories of his fellow Americans. It appears that those with the least are the most generous in giving Mike a lift to the next town, hot meal, a warm bed, a kind word of encouragement. 

Though I know that this is a book and not a documentary, I half hoped that there would a follow-up episode about the people he met. But that would take much away from the idea of this book, which was to invite us to take our own journeys of self discovery. In this book, even those who did not take the journey were affected by it - in the final chapter Mike discovers that in the span of his journey, his girlfriend Anne had decided to embark on her own journey, without him. 

Years ago, I read another book of the same name but that one wasn't about travel, it was about war reporter Kate Adie. I will find it and give that another read. 

20 Aug 2022 Saturday

 

19 Aug 2022 Friday

 

18 Aug 2022 Thursday

 

17 Aug 2022 Wednesday

 

16 Aug 2022 Tuesday - '...overhead at lunch - how I decided to become an architect'

At lunch today, two architects were talking about their children's interest in arts and crafts. One talked about her son's cardboard models of real and imagined weapons, planes and ships while the other's son had started a visual journal often supplementing his written entries with sketches of what he sees in front of him. A favourite of his is a point-of-view sketch of 

I had an intern who joined us after completing his Form 5, we sometimes take them at this young age as a friendly gesture to the parents of the student. For the young people to gauge if architecture is the right course to pursue, after a month of internship and shadowing one or two of our architects. This student was well prepared; he had taught himself CAD in Form 3 by watching YouTube videos, and had an impressive portfolio of drawings and photographs. He knew he wanted to be an architect at a young age. Last year, he completed his Part 2 and now sits at a workstation near me living his ambition.

Not all of us have this clarity at such a young age. 

 

15 Aug 2022 Monday - middle of the month

It is the middle of the month, but I am not in the new office yet. It is still a bit too smelly and dusty. But my table looks good by the window - though it will eventually move elsewhere in the office. 

So instead of working from the new office, I stayed at the club after tennis and worked productively until lunch time. 

We met up with Freddie and George, who was in town for a week. George worked with us for 3 years before leaving for KL and Part 2 studies. I expected him to be a little more hardened by his KL and Part 2 experience, but he is still the same smiley-soft spoken George. He is taking time off and applied to one place for work - he wants to stay in KL as his fiancé has a permanent job there. 

For some reason, I did not feel like working anymore for the rest of the day. I had done enough over the weekend. So, we came home and I prepared another 'workstation' in our bedroom; to take advantage of the aircon and also it has a nice backdrop of books. 

14 Aug 2022 Sunday - children

Sam took this photo of us - I wasn't aware of its existence until recently. 

It is not a particularly well taken photo; the focus isn't great and the light pole is in the way. But I like it - Sam caught me walking out of the frame; a parent leaving his children as they grow up. They are sharing a laugh, a joke long forgotten (although I suspect that if I ask Sean, he'd remember). It reminded me of something he said at lunch, about how Sara would refer to him for an opinion about someone, or advice about something. 

They have grown closer over the past two years, and that's something to be grateful for. And write down on an uneventful Sunday. 

 

13 Aug 2022 Saturday - the big table goes to new office

KM asked me when I showed him this picture, if this was a minimalist office; bare cement floor, empty walls and a single table in the middle of a room with only one redeeming feature - daylight. No, I told him that I was applying gentle pressure on my colleagues and the contractor, by moving and sitting in this new office space starting Monday 15th Aug 2022, exactly as I have told friends and work mates, that I will be in our new office by the middle of August. 
 

yellow marks my spot

12 Aug 2022 Friday - Sean meets Rewi

 

11 Aug 2022 Thursday Tecktonicity

 

10 Aug 2022 Wednesday - our homes in the UK

 

9 Aug 2022 Tuesday - steel framing and wind loads

 

8 August 2022 Monday - 32 minute tabata

I learned three things about three people today. 

The first person is still not really into the work yet, but will do the necessary to get through the day. More curiosity would be good, more initiative to go beyond what is asked - I will need to help with this. I was so impressed with Shan Ming when she toured us the building - I could see that she was interested in her career and in developing her position at work. That is a good benchmark.

The second person contacted me via a text message; the second in as many days - inquiring if I knew of a particular incident or person or incident which involved me or my work. I am not sure why he is asking, and what my answer (if I gave one) would benefit or interest him. The sceptic in me saw this as bait for me to start a chat with him. The chat might unearth information which might annoy me and ultimately ruin my day. So, I answered as briefly as I could, making it sound like I did not care to know. But I continued to think about it for the rest of the day. 

The third was through a call from a friend, someone whom I introduced to a charity programme which turned out to be an opportunistic attempt to milk the good will out of school kids to paint a mural for her business (she refers to is as non-profit). I thought a swim would help clear my mind of these nagging thoughts. 

But I continued to think about it during my swim. Until I stopped my swim to text Ida, telling her that i would no longer involve myself and that she should think about her own position as well.

The tabata with burpees and kettle finally cleared my mind, and then it was time for dinner.

 

7 August 2022 Sunday

 

6 August 2022 Saturday - a Sensible House

 

5 August 2022 Friday Live, Laugh, Loft

 

4 August 2022 Thursday Renna

 

3 August 2022 Wednesday