As you all know, my current supervisor... hmm... nicely put, he's senile. (Yes, that is nicely put. I could say a lot worse!) His job is "Studio Manager," which means he is in charge of running the schedule, making sure the work goes to the right people, and checking our work before it goes to the department head. He fails at all three. Instead, typically, he tries to do my job, either leaving me nothing to do or assigning me work I would have assigned to someone less expensive. I feel I could do his job better than he does it, and I'm an Aspie! (We're not too good at the inter-relations part of management.) This is the same guy who kept threatening me with taking away a promotion to my current job.
I know it's hard for firms to hire experienced architects these days. The recession in the early 90's followed by the silicon boom means there are precious few architects in their 40s at the moment. As entry level architects, many lost their jobs in the recession and then went into a different line of work, leaving those of us carrying on in the third millenium with few architects who have 15-20 years of experience. We are importing many from other states, but California's licensing process is both a deterrent and a roadblock. Intellectually, I know these things. My emotions, however, are simply annoyed that my company could manage to hire such an incapable bufoon.
The lack of mid-level architects is a large part of the reason there are so few female architects I can model myself after. Although schools of architecture have been graduating roughly equal numbers of male and female architecture students for around 20 years, very few stayed in the discipline. Because architects, once licensed, may remain licensed until they are dead, it leaves us looking at the older generation for the m/f architect statistics, which makes things decidedly uneven.
Fortunately, my department finally hired a new project architect, who starts next Monday. Project Architect is the title of the position between the Studio Manager and me. Now, I'm a couple months away from getting my license, so eventually she and I will be on the same level, but for now, she will be a buffer between my current supervisor and me. (Please? I'm begging here!) Yes, that's right, I said SHE. This will be my first female boss in the architecture profession! I've met a few female architects before. There were 2 at my last company, fighting against that firm's glass ceiling. There was one that I met through the girl scouts while in high school. I'm so pleased to finally have a role model. She even has 2 small children! I can model how she balances work and family life!
I hope I am not getting my expectations up too high. I want so much from this woman: a decent technical architect, a personable manager, a buffer to take the crap from mister senile, a role model for an architecture mother, and a mentor. That would be a hard enough combination to live up to, without also having to report to a senile studio manager!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
Yeah, it's the 10th already. So what?
Here are my resolutions:
1. I will discuss with my doctor my potential Aspergers Syndrome and visit see a specialist.
Your Aspie score: 140 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 55 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
2. I will get my architect's license by passing the board exam on the first try. (please?)
3. I will study for my oral board exam at least 4 nights and one day per week.
4. I will get an 10% or greater raise. Check.
5. I will become pregnant.
6. I will see a specialist about my knee.
7. I will have the brake pads repaired on my car before I ruin the rotors. (I really hope it isn't too late)
8. I will go camping at least twice this year, and at least one of those times will include Justin.
9. I will do the dishes more than once a week.
10. I will buy shoes that do not leak.
11. I will build a mini city. Please visit me!
Here are my resolutions:
1. I will discuss with my doctor my potential Aspergers Syndrome and visit see a specialist.
Your Aspie score: 140 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 55 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
2. I will get my architect's license by passing the board exam on the first try. (please?)
3. I will study for my oral board exam at least 4 nights and one day per week.
4. I will get an 10% or greater raise. Check.
5. I will become pregnant.
6. I will see a specialist about my knee.
7. I will have the brake pads repaired on my car before I ruin the rotors. (I really hope it isn't too late)
8. I will go camping at least twice this year, and at least one of those times will include Justin.
9. I will do the dishes more than once a week.
10. I will buy shoes that do not leak.
11. I will build a mini city. Please visit me!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
What I can Be
I'm pleased with the news from New Hampshire. So pleased, in fact, that I can't help but break into song:
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my guitar in my hand
I would be a rockin’ woman
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my surfboard in my hand
I would be a surfer chick
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my pitchfork in my hand
I would be a farmin’ woman
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my basketball in my hand
I would be a basketball star
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my test tubes in my hand
I could be a scientist
A scientist,
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my clipboard in my hand
I would be the president
The president,
A scientist
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
An alien,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I’m glad I’m not back on the block
Girl Scouts is the place for me.
It's where I learn what I can be.
What I can be:
The president,
A scientist
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
We're rooting for you, Hillary!
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my guitar in my hand
I would be a rockin’ woman
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my surfboard in my hand
I would be a surfer chick
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my pitchfork in my hand
I would be a farmin’ woman
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my basketball in my hand
I would be a basketball star
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my test tubes in my hand
I could be a scientist
A scientist,
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I wish I was back on the block
With my clipboard in my hand
I would be the president
The president,
A scientist
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
An alien,
A rockin' woman
Hey hey bo diddly bop
I’m glad I’m not back on the block
Girl Scouts is the place for me.
It's where I learn what I can be.
What I can be:
The president,
A scientist
A basketball star,
A farmin' woman,
A surfer chick,
A rockin' woman
We're rooting for you, Hillary!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Growing up at last
For many years as a older child, I refused to go read in the "Young Adult" section in the library. I preferred, even at 14, to read books in the children's area. It's not that I had poor reading skills. It's just that the themes in the Young Adult books didn't appeal to me. They seemed to be all about either girls who were so vacuous that they could have been black holes, or about teens making out. Neither type of book interested me. By the time I was 18, though, not only was I feeling uncomfortable in the children's section (you get a lot of weird looks from the librarians) but I was finding that the books were far to short. I'd just start to get interested, and the story would end!
As a college student, I continued to visit the children's section of my campus library. For one thing, the campus library used the library of congress model instead of dewey decimal. All the adult fiction was mixed straight in with the non-fiction. That's hardly a good way to find a good read! For another, the children's books were all older. The library had a very tiny budget for their children's section, so all the books tended to be from the 50s to the late 70s. They were books I had never read before, since my public library expunged their older books. I loved exploring there, especially the smell of the old books!
Harry Potter changed all that. My mother lent me a copy of the first book, which I read in one afternoon on the concrete stoop in the daycare playroom. It was hardly a comfortable place to read, but I was too enthralled with the book to get up and move to the couch 4 feet away. I knew the next 2 books were already out, so when I got back to the university, I went to the library to find them. Now, I mentioned that my university hadn't had any money for books since the 1970s. They only got 6 new children's books a year! Harry Potter was not something they carried. A trip to the bookstore with my first paycheck of the year was clearly in order!
At SLO's B&N, I could not find the first 3 HP books. I searched all through the kids section and couldn't find them! Finally I asked... turns out HP were "young adult" books. What, me? Reading a teen book? Couldn't be. I read kids books! But then I realized something. B&N carried all kinds of Young Adult books. They even had a couple shelves labeled "Fantasy" books in the YA section! Finally, I could read the same themes I read as a kid in the children's section, but longer! Over time, I discovered some of my favorite authors in the teen section: Tamora Pierce, Diana Wynne Jones, Diane Duane, Charles DeLint, Dia Calhoun and Pamela Dean.
Justin also introduced me to Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin, from the adult book fantasy section, but I found nothing else in that section enjoyable. Over 75% of the books in that section had covers with women in skimpy clothing holding swords. Before you say "Don't judge a book by the cover!" think about it. These books are about a male main characater who has a female partner that he rescues... constantly. I HATE these kind of books. They are the teenage boys' version of the vacuous girl books! Even when the woman is the main character, most of the time, she ends up falling into a man's arms and ignoring her quest! Once again, the themes just didn't appeal to me. Aside from Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin, I stuck to the YA section.
After I graduated college, I found that I began to get looks from the bookstore employees and teenage girls when I went in the YA section. They were the same looks that I used to get from the childrens' librarians. Guys! Don't worry! I'm just reading!! I promise, I won't hurt anything! Mind you, I give the same look to old men who are in the YA section. But they aren't there for the books, right? So for a few years now, I've felt slightly uncomfortable in the YA section. It doesn't help that half the people I know make rude remarks when I say I like to read those books (you know who you are!). I'm not self confident enough to not worry about the remarks and the looks. I am confident enough to keep doing what I want despite these negative ninnies.
I truly see no problem with reading kids' books until age 18, anyway. Isn't that what Young Adult means? a YOUNG ADULT! How is 15 or 16 a young adult?! I realize that there needs to be a place for teens in the library/bookstore. Someone has to read all those Babysitter club books, after all! But I see no problem with skipping that section altogether. Not everyone wants to read about how the popular girl made fun of the outcast and kissed the jocks. I also see no problem with a 25 year old in the YA section. That's still a YOUNG ADULT!
Having said that, I realized a few months back that I am starting to tire of the YA section. I'm once again finding that I've read (and own) almost all the books that catch my interest in that section. Also, they're starting to be too short again. I've spent slightly more time in the Adult Science fiction/fantasy section lately, but I'm still running into the same problems. Can't anyone write a good feminist themed book, without talking animals and a love story (see Daughter of the Empire)? Hmm... I wonder what would happen if the talking animals fell in love with the vacuous teen girl!
So imagine my surprise last Saturday when I happened upon Charles DeLint's books while wandering through the adult fantasy section! Apparently, all those books I listed on my Amazon wish list and couldn't find in the bookstore? They have been there the whole time! I was just looking in the wrong place!! I'm pleased to actually find something worth reading in that section. Maybe this is the start of a whole new era!
As a college student, I continued to visit the children's section of my campus library. For one thing, the campus library used the library of congress model instead of dewey decimal. All the adult fiction was mixed straight in with the non-fiction. That's hardly a good way to find a good read! For another, the children's books were all older. The library had a very tiny budget for their children's section, so all the books tended to be from the 50s to the late 70s. They were books I had never read before, since my public library expunged their older books. I loved exploring there, especially the smell of the old books!
Harry Potter changed all that. My mother lent me a copy of the first book, which I read in one afternoon on the concrete stoop in the daycare playroom. It was hardly a comfortable place to read, but I was too enthralled with the book to get up and move to the couch 4 feet away. I knew the next 2 books were already out, so when I got back to the university, I went to the library to find them. Now, I mentioned that my university hadn't had any money for books since the 1970s. They only got 6 new children's books a year! Harry Potter was not something they carried. A trip to the bookstore with my first paycheck of the year was clearly in order!
At SLO's B&N, I could not find the first 3 HP books. I searched all through the kids section and couldn't find them! Finally I asked... turns out HP were "young adult" books. What, me? Reading a teen book? Couldn't be. I read kids books! But then I realized something. B&N carried all kinds of Young Adult books. They even had a couple shelves labeled "Fantasy" books in the YA section! Finally, I could read the same themes I read as a kid in the children's section, but longer! Over time, I discovered some of my favorite authors in the teen section: Tamora Pierce, Diana Wynne Jones, Diane Duane, Charles DeLint, Dia Calhoun and Pamela Dean.
Justin also introduced me to Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin, from the adult book fantasy section, but I found nothing else in that section enjoyable. Over 75% of the books in that section had covers with women in skimpy clothing holding swords. Before you say "Don't judge a book by the cover!" think about it. These books are about a male main characater who has a female partner that he rescues... constantly. I HATE these kind of books. They are the teenage boys' version of the vacuous girl books! Even when the woman is the main character, most of the time, she ends up falling into a man's arms and ignoring her quest! Once again, the themes just didn't appeal to me. Aside from Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin, I stuck to the YA section.
After I graduated college, I found that I began to get looks from the bookstore employees and teenage girls when I went in the YA section. They were the same looks that I used to get from the childrens' librarians. Guys! Don't worry! I'm just reading!! I promise, I won't hurt anything! Mind you, I give the same look to old men who are in the YA section. But they aren't there for the books, right? So for a few years now, I've felt slightly uncomfortable in the YA section. It doesn't help that half the people I know make rude remarks when I say I like to read those books (you know who you are!). I'm not self confident enough to not worry about the remarks and the looks. I am confident enough to keep doing what I want despite these negative ninnies.
I truly see no problem with reading kids' books until age 18, anyway. Isn't that what Young Adult means? a YOUNG ADULT! How is 15 or 16 a young adult?! I realize that there needs to be a place for teens in the library/bookstore. Someone has to read all those Babysitter club books, after all! But I see no problem with skipping that section altogether. Not everyone wants to read about how the popular girl made fun of the outcast and kissed the jocks. I also see no problem with a 25 year old in the YA section. That's still a YOUNG ADULT!
Having said that, I realized a few months back that I am starting to tire of the YA section. I'm once again finding that I've read (and own) almost all the books that catch my interest in that section. Also, they're starting to be too short again. I've spent slightly more time in the Adult Science fiction/fantasy section lately, but I'm still running into the same problems. Can't anyone write a good feminist themed book, without talking animals and a love story (see Daughter of the Empire)? Hmm... I wonder what would happen if the talking animals fell in love with the vacuous teen girl!
So imagine my surprise last Saturday when I happened upon Charles DeLint's books while wandering through the adult fantasy section! Apparently, all those books I listed on my Amazon wish list and couldn't find in the bookstore? They have been there the whole time! I was just looking in the wrong place!! I'm pleased to actually find something worth reading in that section. Maybe this is the start of a whole new era!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)