5.2.2024 Monday - preparing to launch

 

11 May 2023 Thursday - railing design, a lunch reunion and a dinner reunion

Changing design and sub contractors - simplifying it to its bare essentials with 3 added functions: a guardrail is a guardrail is a guardrail, until you add an upper frame which conceals a light (to read the menu, to see what you are eating and to provide ambient lighting), with a narrow counter top for drinks and small plates, which is also a horizontal barrier deterring people from getting too close to the edge. The change of the sub-contractor is also a good thing, I am tired of listening to excuses.

I wanted Teck to meet all my architects, today Sherlin briefed him on the YKS proposal she answered questions clearly and expressed opinions with confidence. He must have been quite taken by her because at the end of the meeting, he gifted her a belian cigar box. It is nice and heavy, well-made and too difficult to carry back to KL. I will use it to put cookies in, and have it on the conference room table. 

Members from the 'alumni' came for lunch - Vivian, Freddie and Bryan

Joyce and I worked in Port Moresby, with Hwong and Andy

I promised Joyce that I would cook lunch for her and her family, she dropped by with bottles of wine and brought her husband Joseph and eldest daughter. As usual, others in the alumni heard and arrived for lunch as well - many people sitting around the table eating food I cooked. I am making plans for Joyce to work on the interiors of our projects, she is good and might be a bit short of work. 

At 630 - we had dinner at Robyn's new place, she prepared a nice dinner for Sam and I, Swee and Ivy. We watched the sunset from her balcony.

7:00 p.m. I have not seen this aspect of Kuching before, neither have I seen the jets of water from the riverside fountain which appeared at 8:00pm

 

10 May 2023 Wednesday - PAMSC meeting

idea for a ceiling, light fitting in a lift lobby

 I look forward to our monthly PAMSC meetings, they joked and say that it is because I don't have any friends. But I think it is because I am able to report progress and productivity - our fortnightly newsletters. Tonight is special because we tabled our proposal for a design festival in November and it was accepted. Of course they will accept it, another member was meant to organise one for March this year but that petered out into a series of half day lectures.

I went for a long swim before the meeting, and arrived earlier to order the food (lots of vegs, one meat) and have a quiet sketch and drink before the others showed up. Tonight was special as well because we have 3 new members, young architects Alfred, Johan and Lau. I will invite them to participate in our events.

21th November 2022 Monday - work blues

A slow start to the week, not a good one but not because something bad happened, in fact quite a few good things happened at work. This type of lethargy is unusual for me, for the start of a week - but I know what the causes are:

1. I need to talk more with the others, Leong especially now that he has shifted over to their side of the office.

2. One of the young ones is struggling with work, he needs to talk more; on the phone to contractors, consultants and also speak up with opinions and decisions. I expected more from him, I ll have to work more closely with him. 

3. physically, I should be refreshed from the break from squash, etc but I am not - my ankles are sore and I was struggling with squash on Sunday (I hate that)

But mentally, I was quite refreshed by the design conference and intend to spend more time to record what I heard and saw.

9 Aug 2022 Tuesday - steel framing and wind loads

 

29 July 2022 Friday - colonising airspace

 

14 July 2022 Thursday - detail therapy

I felt good after drawing these early in the morning, although I fluffed about for two hours before sitting down to draw. This is 45 minutes of work to record my conversation with Freddie yesterday evening. Something that I should do more often. 

We used this to brief the builder on site later in the afternoon. It took longer than it should but the steel guy was trying to demonstrate his ability to understand our drawings, and not succeeding. My drawings must be clearer.

At lunch, we met Khai and his friends. Later he came over and asked if there was a vacancy in my office. Freddie offered him a job interview., and remarked that something interesting always happens when he and I meet up.  We must do this more often. 

 

10 June 2022 Friday - raising the roof

 

1 June 2022 Wednesday - Ari Gawai

 

18 Jan 2022 Tuesday No tennis, all rained out

In recent weeks, several people asked me how I can manage so many different things at one time; the practice, the teaching, the newsletter and the regime of exercise and activity (cooking for colleagues each Wednesday and my mother on Sundays). It is primarily because I have good people in my team; Sam to tidy up the loose ends for projects and manage finances, colleagues who have initiative and ownership and HJ who runs the editorial team like a school mistress. It also helps that I enjoy a challenge and like our work products - whether it is a door detail or another newsletter published on time. 

 

6 Jan 2022 Thursday Revisiting an old friend

 

Finally able to fly and visit the hospital site after two years, it was good to see the hospital abuzz with people going about their business - no doubt earning its worth. People were pleased to see us as well, Sukma and a couple of general workers whose names I forget - it was good timing as well because yesterday the hospital was featured in the PAMNC newsletter. 

I have decided to submit the hospital for PAM Awards this year, we will need to take more photos - of the hospital at work, people and spaces.

Still hard at work after dinner, I finished Teck's hotel for what it's worth, to send it tomorrow morning before we get busy again with the Tapak Lapangan. I am looking forward to looking with Teck as we are with HJ in the Alor Setar project, and even happier when his guys told us that he has absolute authority over the design, :-)

we plan to open up the middle section of the building to create an 'outdoor dining terrace'