Into the real world

Crystal Lake, IL
///May 2013

Urban farming Aquaponic Bay #502

Machine Rendering - SKP - Octane - Photoshop

(*click on the image to view in full)

It has been two weeks since the last post, however this rendering was done last week. I am currently working on one for next week. 

Thanks to Chipman Design Architecture, I am no longer job hunting. I was hired about two weeks ago by CDA as a production architect, working under the Noodles and Company team. I titled this blog post "Into the real world" because the transition from my last job to this one is night and day. Architecturally speaking, my new job is not that different "drawings wise", the difference is in the level of professionalism and general atmosphere. Aside from "Causal Friday" I have/and the rest of the office looks like what you would expect from an architecture studio. At my previous job, dress code was jeans and a nice shirt...if you traveled, throw on a sport coat. I really enjoy ‘dressing the part’ each day, it really does feel good to dress well. There have been so many moments these past two weeks that I have just smiled because CDA really knows how to do things the right way, something that I have previously not too often experienced. These kinds of things are little things...for example proper file storage, procedure for sending/receiving drawings, and a code book library! We have had two lunch/learns the past two weeks, of which I was one of maybe 30  people that showed up for the lunch, previous experiences with L/Ls I was one of two or three awkward people explaining to the presenter that I am really interested, even though I know we will never use anything they are offering. 

Literally I feel refreshed with this new experience. This is one of those times where you remind yourself not to take things for granted. 

I have to be honest, my previous job offered me an experience that most will never experience right out of school. I was truly blessed, a little strangely professionally reserved, but blessed by the experience.