Tag Archives: Professional

2001 in Review

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2001 started off okay, with a decent-paying job for an architecture firm in the Sears Tower. But the firm turned out to be run by idiots, and simply finding the energy to show up each morning was becoming difficult.

In March, I managed to scrape together enough money to spend a week in London. It turned out to be the high point of the year. But a week before leaving, I received a call informing me that my father was diagnosed with cancer.

Soon after getting back, I bought my first car in about 6 years. Right around the time the first payment was due, I lost my job, and remained unemployed for about the next two months.

Soon thereafter, my just-purchased car began showing ominous warning signs that the engine was on its last leg.

I finally got a job with the noise abatement program out at O’Hare. I soon learned more about commercial aircraft than I ever cared to. I also learned more about rotted framing, NIMBY politics, shady contractors, and incompetent subcontractors than I ever cared to.

After lots of hesitation, I finally got involved out at the Illinois Railway Museum. And in early September, I led a group of SubTalkers on the first-ever field trip to IRM and all over Chicago. This turned out to be another highlight of the year.

Less than two weeks later, I watched in horror as over 3000 people in one of my favorite cities were murdered on live television.

It was around this time when I was relieved to learn that my father’s cancer seems to have been put into remission.

In October, my car finally crapped out once and for all, leaving me in a financial mess and unable to make it back out to IRM for the foreseeable future. I ended up replacing it with a $450 Trans Am, which I have grown to like.

December found me filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, but looking forward to possibly getting a fresh start on life in Philadelphia next year.

And the year finally ended on a positive note, with me taking a week off to ride Amtrak down to NC and back for the holidays. Exploring the DC Metro for the first time was an added bonus.

The year had some good points, but overall it was mostly pretty crappy. I feel pretty confident in saying good riddance to 2001, and here’s hoping 2002 is better for all of us.

Happy New Year from Chicago.

(originally posted on the SubTalk forum at nycsubway.org)

Cheesteak on my Mind

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As I mentioned in a previous posting, I lost my job a couple weeks ago. My job search since then has been going rather badly, having scored exactly one interview out of at least a dozen or so resumes I’ve sent out so far. The interview went well, but the job in question qoes something like this:

1) Idiot buys expensive house near O’Hare Airport
2) Idiot is shocked to discover that jet airplanes make noise
3) Idiot, naturally, sues the City of Chicago
4) Judge decress that the city must pay to soundproof Idiot’s home
5) City hires architecture firm to oversee soundproofing of Idiot’s home, as well as the homes of several hundered other similar idiots. This is where yours truly would come in.

Needless to say, it doesn’t sound like a very exciting position, but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.

In my previous posting I also mentioned that with things in Chicago going so badly, I’m giving some consideration to leaving the city once again, possibly to Boston, Philadelphia, or the NYC area. After looking at a lot of information and doing a lot of soul-searching, right now I seem rather torn between sticking it out in Chicago or moving to Philly sometime this fall.

Reasons to stay in Chicago:

  • I’ve grown very attached to Chicago over the past eight years of living here.
  • Chicago is a very healthy and beautiful city
  • Most of my closest friends live here
  • Chicago has a very good architectural community
  • I wouldn’t have to move all my crap 1000 miles again

Reasons to move to Philly:

  • Drexel University’s co-op program will let me work full-time and still get my degree by taking evening classes
  • Philly, unlike NYC or Boston, has plenty of affordable housing
  • Philly is very close to NYC and Washington, and within a few hours of Boston.
  • Several of my close friends in Chicago have family in Philly and visit regularly.
  • Despite my housing fiasco last summer in Boston, part of me is still itching to broaden my horizons a bit by spending time in another city.

I applied to Drexel today just to see if they’re crazy enough to accept me, so I should have an answer within a few weeks. In the meantime, here’s a few questions I have for any Philadelphia residents or experts:

1) Most importantly, any idea what Philly’s job market is like for architects? In what esteem is Drexel’s co-op program held within Philly’s architectural community?

2) I know there’s a couple people here with connections to Drexel. What are your general impressions of the university? Strengths / weaknesses? Be candid.

3) I’d be looking to get a one-bedroom apartment for less than $750 a month, close to public transit (preferably MFL, subway-surface or regional rail), but also someplace where parking wouldn’t be a hassle. From the rental listings I’ve seen, it doesn’t look like I’d have much trouble finding a place. I’d most likely end up in Northeast or maybe South Jersey just because it would be a somewhat shorter trip to NYC, but I’m open to any other suggestions.

4) This may be a bit of a stretch, but how hard would it be to work in New York City and still take evening classes at Drexel? The commute would be a bitch at the very least, but I’m exploring all my options here.

5) How healthy is Philly’s underground nightlife/arts/music scene? It can’t possibly be as sterile as Boston’s, but I’d still like to take advantage of such things without trekking all the way up to New York.

Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions… FYI, I probably wouldn’t be moving until October at the earliest, so the SubTalk field trip to Chicago wouldn’t be in danger.

(originally posted on the SubTalk forum at nycsubway.org)