It’s Super Bowl Sunday and I am sitting in my spot on the couch, computer on my lap, and the TV is tuned into the most watched sports event of the year. I have a few posts that are in the queue but I thought I would take today to get a handful of smaller things off my proverbial plate.
.
How Much Did You Say?
The house across the street for mine was for sale – it’s under contract now (took about 3 days). It was listed for $1.175 million dollars [needle scratching record]
WHAT?!?
Of course the picture above is my house, I didn’t feel like getting up off the couch to take a picture of my neighbor’s house (I don’t particularly care for it).
I’m not sure how I feel about this … my first reaction is “holy crap – that’s a lot of money.” Their house is twice the size of mine, and is full of things like granite countertops, walk-in closets, same number of bedrooms to bathrooms … beams on the ceilings and probably faux finishes on the walls. Okay, well … I have beams on my ceilings too. I love my house for all it’s charm and style but my concern is that as the prices continue to rise in my neighborhood, my 1967, two thousand square foot house becomes closer and closer to a “tear-down”. It makes me sad to think that unless I add some square footage and a few more bedrooms, my house will probably not exist much longer after I leave it.
.
Summer in February
Despite the fact that it’s February 3rd, it was 72 degrees outside today with beautiful blues skies and fluffy white clouds. While I wish for cooler weather every year, there is something incredible about taking a day down a the lake with the family wearing shorts and flip-flops this early in the year. Wonder if this means summer is going to be brutally hot. I mean, I know it will be brutally hot but I mean even brutally-er hotter.
Yeah … probably.
.
I’d Like More On My Plate, Please
I haven’t really talked about it here on the site but I have taken on a role at the Texas Society of Architects as Chair of the Digital Communications Committee. I have been collecting and organizing all sorts of notes and stats that formulate my ideas on new directions for the Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects last month. All of this effort is in preparation for our first meeting this coming Friday, February 8th. There are 12 people on my committee that will be coming in to Austin, Texas from all over the state so it should be pretty exciting to see what we can accomplish this year.
I’m under no delusions as to why I was asked by current Texas Society of Architects President Larry Speck to chair this committee … it’s because of this site, my Life of an Architect site. What I find interesting about that is other than the fact that I have been writing on my site for three years now, is that I supposedly have my finger on how “digital communication” is supposed to be done.
Hmmm …
Doing what I do here is relatively easy because it’s just me doing whatever I want. Whenever a group of people get together, and now there are a lot of people trying to cultivate content and connections, the variables change enough so as to become something completely different. My challenge, along with the other members sitting on this committee, is how we can keep things interesting and of some value to the visitors.
Yeah – I’m definitely going to be asking for your help.
.
Aloha
In just over a month I will be taking a break and heading off with the family to the Hawaii – specifically, the islands of Maui and Lanai. It will be spring break for my daughter and this is how we plan on spending the break. We’ve taken a family vacation to Hawaii before – back in 2009 when Kate was 5 years old. In the three years since our trip (when the picture above was taken) Kate has become a strong swimmer and this time around snorkeling will probably play a role.
The only downside to an early March trip to the golden sandy beaches of Hawaii is that my summer bathing suit preparedness schedule has been moved up (because I’m not ready to be the guy who swims in a long sleeve t-shirt). Since I started writing this website, I spend even more time on the couch with a computer in my lap. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but I did make a promise to myself that I would try to become slightly more active. In a show of family solidarity, my wife and I have been eating better, talking walks, and doing these terribly unpleasant fitness boot camp types programs 4 or 5 times a week. I’m miserable – but definitely leaner .
… at least until March.