blacksburg

IMG_1019.jpg, originally uploaded by faded.memories..

a much anticipated weekend

Family Weekend ‘05 is just on the horizon. Not to imply that this is an annual event. I think it’s been 2 years since my family has been up to blacksburg. But, a lot changes in 2 years. More on that to follow. So on Friday, they will pile in the car or two and embark on the 4 hour journey from south Carolina.

I also haven’t seen my family since coming back to school. Needless to say I am getting excited. It has been hard to work this week and keep my focus, the weekend keeps creeping into my mind. mom, dad, my sister carrie her husband chad (change one, carrie wasn’t married last time they came up, a much welcomed addition to the fam, though), and my aunt brenda and uncle doug! Are all coming up.

Now. I love Blacksburg. This town is near and dear to my heart. I have spent a quarter of my life here. Yeah, 6 years. Wow. So, when someone takes an interest and wants to come see “where corey goes to school”, I get excited! I will love playing tour guide (change two, Blacksburg. So much has changed since they were last up. Growth, essentially. Many new additions to the town). Showing my family the in’s and out’s of Blacksburg. All the nice spots that common passers-by wouldn’t even dream of finding.

You develop quite an intimate relationship with a town, especially one as quaint and small as Blacksburg. And especially after living here for so long. (you may be thinking 6 years is not a long time, my response… it’s purely relative.) 6 years being in one place is like an eternity for me. Summers have broken up the years, though.

Anyway. this place is home to me. You become part of a place. And that place becomes a little bit a part of you. Perhaps that is something I think inspiring about architecture. You are actively involved in the shaping of peoples lives. That’s deep. But it’s true.

Enough about the city. For in this case it is only a tool, a prop. When my family comes, the city becomes a stage. It becomes much less about the town as it is about providing an opportunity to spend time with my family. The stage is set and the actors arrive in a few days. We will then raise the curtain. Pausing here and there to act out a scene, and then moving on. The camera will be in-hand, poised to capture these moments that will be happening for the last time. This is the final act of the play. My last fall in Blacksburg (cue tear rolling down cheek).

And like any good play there will be drama, humor, conflict, love, happiness, etc. all leading up to a great ending (well, at least in this play)! so, I try to do work, and keep my mind occupied until Friday afternoon when the van pulls up and some of the key actors in this play, the story of my life, jump out and run to greet me, my parents, my sister, and my family. My Family.

The critics have given good reviews, and I cannot wait to experience it!

oct snow

, originally uploaded by faded.memories..

not sure i could've anticipated the snow when setting out for today's hike.

go to bed.

October 25
Its 37 degrees outside.
And I have to walk home.
My project will stay here.
But I will leave.
I know. It will follow.

Not always on my mind,
It is always present.
Ideas coming… going
Somewhere I couldn’t follow tonight.
Typing kept my mind occupied.

I am leaving now.
I’m off to follow my shadow.
Across the asphault.
Through the parking lot,
Across the street,
Another parking lot,
And then over the blades of grass
Leading to my door.

It will be 71 in my apt.
(new space heater)
thanks to my roommate.
Me. I prefer cold.
Him. Warm.

The high will be 49 tomorrow.
Blacksburg weather: subtract 10 degrees.
And I will walk back to studio.
My hands taking turns holding
My computer.
So one can freeze,
While the other thaws.

Then I will sit,
Here.
Where I now sit.
And it will be 37 degrees.
And my project will be here.

beauty in the fall

thoughts of fall, originally uploaded by faded.memories..

electric peak

electric peak, originally uploaded by faded.memories..

images of memory

My music plays in the background but it doesn’t warrant my attention. My eyes are begging for sleep judging by their heaviness, but I continue to sit and stare. I am captivated by the memory of a place, a place I knew so well. It demands my attention and so my thoughts are carried away.

I can remember the smell of my room, as I sit on that bed that was soft and hard at the same time (but it was my bed) and open up a book and read to pass the time after work, or put on my headphones in meditation on something I just read. I remember the daily repetition of actions, reaching over to my ‘shelf’ and grabbing my much used and worn journal. My favorite pen not too far off. Staring out the window I contemplate my thoughts. My gaze mainly fixed on the forest laid out before me like a rich green blanket full of texture. The kind you love to wrap up in on a cold winter day with a cup of coffee in hand.

This place I knew so well, it now seems but a dream. Its grandeur and beauty cause me to disbelieve the reality that it exists. Could I have been so fortunate as to be in a place such as this? Who am I to have had the opportunity to know something this big? It seems so far, yet the images are right here before me, reminding that I was there. That I did experience this. God, I miss it so much.

So, I hold onto these images and claim them as truth. I grip them tight and pull them close. I keep them fresh in my mind. Constructing and reconstructing a place I knew so well. These recollections remind me of a different place, of a different time. Of a different me. The me I was then.

Drink at the fountain of youth. These images are my fountain. They remind me what it is like to be a child again. They remind me of simplicity. They teach me how things can be. With them comes peace. Peace of mind, peace of heart. I am thankful for memories. Thankful that the past is the past but that it is also sometimes a hope for the future.

goldsworthy

goldsworthy
Originally uploaded by faded.memories..

13 months

So last month makes it one year since I started this blog. This tells me a few things: I have never felt that a year goes by so fast. A year usually seems like a fairly long time, but not after reading over the old posts. It almost seems like yesterday, and also, I don’t post a lot. Going back and reading posts from a year ago is quite a revelation. It is interesting to see where I was at this point in time a ‘whole year’ ago. I remember the time, and I remember if it was a good time, or if it was a time that was tough, a time that I struggled through. Maybe a time like the time right now. But then, I read ahead and I see good times to come. I realize that time and the time ahead are a part of all time. But more importantly that they are a part of His time. And that He is here. How comforting to know. Practicing the Presence. Mark case. An interesting and very thought-provoking book. I think that came from campolo. But it was just that.

Thesis.

How is it that such a small word can induce so much fear and frustration? I mean especially when you don’t even know what it means. Equally as frightening is the fact that I just wrote that last statement and I’m already about 8 weeks into my thesis project. Architecture is so elusive, yet it is all around me. Especially sitting here in studio.