My lost architecture life...

Last week I watched My Architect: A Son's Journey, a documentary movie made by Nathaniel Kahn, the secret son of legendary architect, Loius Kahn. It was norminated for best documentary for Oscars in 2003. Apart from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it's possibly one of the best movies I've seen this year.

Friends of mine'd know that I was once doing architecture and quit because I thought the course was too easy and I didn't want to waste my talent. Close friends of mine would know that I quit because I didn't like the course and I couldn't handle the pressure.

I felt relieved after the movie. Not that it was a wise choice to quit architecture as most architects are either bastards, alcoholics or drug abusers, just that I couldn't be as brilliant as Louis Kahn. And hell knows how many unknown architects out there are switching their careers to become chefs or marine biologists (not kidding).

I felt relieved because if I'm going to be unknown and forgotten, I want to at least enjoy my life for myself, not others. If I'm going to die trying, might as well be for something that is significant to my life. Therefore, I don't regret quitting a professional course.

Society wants us to think that being a professional means being successful. That's why we see waves of graduates trying so hard to be a doctor/lawyer/accountant/architect. So what happens to the farmers? Refrigerator repairers? 7-11 cashiers? No, don't give me shit like you don't look down on them. EVERYBODY look down on mobile jobs. Don't try to tell me that you think everybody is equal. Think about it, if your children come up to you and say they want to be a blackjack card dealer or a street mime when they grow up, will you approve? For me, I'd be rolling on the floor trying not to suffocate out of laughing.

Actually, forget all I've just said. It's all excuses. I couldn't do it because I couldn't handle the responsibility. I hate responsibilities. Architects have the biggest responsibility of all. A doctor handles a life at a time. Lawyers, well, it's about justice and law enforcement. You lose a case, at least someone's a winner. Accountants, who cares? They're going to hell anyway. Now architects, they build buildings, skyscrappers, toilets. If something goes wrong, say, the building crumbles, they're responsible for 5000 lives. Shit, Justin, See Cing, Yee Shi (my architecture friends), how can you sleep?

I say blame the civil engineers.

Yea yea I used to be a science student.

On my way back to uni today, I say a small crowd outside the state library. I saw this sign:

Win $100 if you can solve these questions:
1) Prove that A² + B² = C²
2) Construct 4 equal triangles with 6 equal lines.
3) Double the area of a square by drawing a diagram….

I’m pretty sure at some point of my life I’ve been taught the Pythagoras theorem and other mathematical stuff like that. And I’m 100% certain I didn’t give a damn to remember anything about it. So just when I was trying to recall some high school math this dude came up to me and gave me a lecture.

So basically these guys are just trying to prove that people in Australia, especially the young ones, are just plain dumb. According to that guy, all the questions just require simple logic to solve, just that most of us are just too lazy or refuse to think a step further. If we can’t even solve the problems now, by the time we get wrinkly old and reach the legal age to vote, we won’t even remember the word “theorem”. Now how can we be considered as the smart voters when we are all just Mr. Potato Heads?

I have to admit I felt ashamed at the fact that I didn’t bother to remember what my geeky math teacher taught me. I do agree that dumb people vote for dumb leaders. I actually like the ingenious approach these guys are using to raise awareness. I have only one small, tiny, itsy, bitsy question:

What. The HELL does the theorem Pythagoras has to do with my life?

I know, math is important and has always been a major part of our lives. But as and advertising student, do I really need to know the sum of two squared lines? So I’m eating a piece of cake, in order to save time I should cut the cake diagonally instead of horizontally then vertically. And I get to save 3 seconds! Whoopee! I am now the fastest cake eating person alive! Oh shit! The person on the next table knows that theorem too! Can’t let that happen, kill that motherfucker!

I understand what those guys are trying to do. And they proved their point. Just that most of the question barely has any connections with the lives of the majority. The solutions to those questions require “out of the box” thinking. You have to think uncommonly, which most of us can’t. It’s like saying “Hey you can’t juggle balls on fire nor perform knife throwing; you’re out of the voting booth!” Even as a non Australian I have to say anyone deserves to vote. The quality of the voters is a complete different story. Don’t confuse them together.

It's the same oat bags fellas...

I've sensed lots of tension around for the past few days. People have been whispering and asking for each other's room points. Speculating who and what and where to apply, calculating the probability of when and how. Delaying plans of this and that. Spying on who's applying what, and which to avoid. There's even people who are trying their best to squeeze as many room points as they could as if the points will actually drip down their papers like water form a wet towel. And this is what I have to say:

IT DOESN'T MAKE A FUCKING DIFFERENCE.

Ok. you can call me a hypocrite since I'm in a comfortable position to say such thing. Yet the fact is, I've contributed to IH and as a senior I do deserve the points. And to tell you the truth, it's all about that. You deserve a good room if you have lots of room points. If you do not have lots of room point, you will not get the best room. It's as easy as that. Don't try to alter room points, don't try to take the president as a fool, don't put down Clean Up when you've only moved a chair, in the end you're just making a fool out of yourself. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.

We are living in the same college anyway. If things don't work out, fuck it. If you can't stay together with your friends, fuck it. Life goes on, better things will come, make new friends for god's sake. It's as if only people with lots of room ponts deserve to be your friends.

It's just sick, all the politics going on. I dislike the new building system. It encourages students to be calculative, it sort of wrecks up friendship, and worst of all, it is not the IH way. Come on people, it's a horse race but in the end we get the same oat bags in our barns and we'll still be living under the same roof. No point breaking your leg racing to get back to the same spot.

Collateral Cruise

Caught Collateral yesterday night.

I don't know but somehow, Tom Cruise seem like such an old man now. He reminded me of Richard Gere in Red Corner. Gone were the days when he was always the young hero in the movie. Now he has to experiment with different character. You know, be the bad guy. (not in the movie, but by divorcing Nicole Kidman. Haha.)

Yea, actors always say that. "Exploring my acting capabilities", "involvement in various characters." For me that's just another way to say "you're old and get the fuck out". When he did Rainman Dustin Hoffman had to be his co-star. Dustin Hoffman had to kiss his ass! In Collateral he is the supporting actor to the black taxi driver. Now I don't know about you, if I'm Tom Cruise and some director ask me to star after and get killed by a black dude in a movie, I will get the hint.

But the movie was all right. I'd rate a 6.5 out of 10. At least we get to see a different side of Tom. Not the smiley "Show me the money!" silly face or the frowning "I'm a white samurai!" eyebrows. But the "GOD DAMN IT I'M GETTING KILLED BY A NIGGER AND I CAN'T EVEN SLEEP WITH JADA PINKETT SMITH" face when he died. Sweet.

Whoa.

Testing one two three.
Shit this blog sure look ugly.