February 21, 2006
January 25, 2006
The bandwagon
I think I’ll get married too.
January 01, 2006
Resolutions for 2006
- Get married
December 18, 2004
Christmas in Connecticut (and New York)
Christmas greetings from Queens, New York! I’m up in this northern neck of the woods for a week sharing the holidays with friends.
As Paul Harvey might say, here’s “the rest of the story.”
July 05, 2004
1:01:49
I now sit in front of my computer, typing these words while wearing my “oh-so-coveted t-shirt” - just ask my oh-so-envious roommate. I was able to make it from start to finish in just over an hour.
June 20, 2004
#96462
It’s two weeks until the Fourth of July. That means I’ve got fourteen days until I make my way through Buckhead and Midtown along with 55,000 of my fellow Atlantans (and a few very fast Kenyans) during the Peachtree Road Race. I’m stuck in Time Group Nine - the last to leave the starting line - so I’ve got approximately 75 minutes to run the 10 kilometers (~6.2 miles) from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park and pick up my oh-so-coveted t-shirt.
May 01, 2004
Poster Child
While waiting for a load of clothes to dry this morning, I hopped on the internet and cruised around some of the ususual architecture-related I have bookmarked. After jumping from link to link, I finally came upon ScottishArchitecture.com, a website-based initiative run by The Lighthouse, funded by the Scottish Executive, and informed by their Policy on Architecture to “involve nation wide communities in issues relating to the built environment.”
Because I’m currently trying to make some decisions about graduate school (Atlanta, America, or abroad…) I decided to check out this site’s Secondary School Resources. My index finger was stopped mid-click when I suddenly recognized that debonair young man pictured slaving away at his drafting table.
“It’s me!”
How funny! I don’t typically see myself in profile so it took me a while to confirm my own identity: Georgia Tech t-shirt - check, sideburns - check, Sanford mechanical pencil - check. I’m still wondering about that tuff of hair falling down my forehead…
So now sit back and bask in my self-promoted 15 minutes of fame. Maybe I’ll get to sign some autographs the next time in Scotland. Maybe not.
Note: If you do visit ScottishArchitecture.com you might have to refresh the homepage a few times before my mug magically appears.
February 17, 2004
Calling All Kesslers
So… this afternoon I met a lady whose maiden name is Kessler. Since the surname isn’t all that common, we vainly tried to figure out if/how we are related. She’s from Macon and my dad’s family comes from Savannah, and that’s about as far as we made it. I didn’t even ask this lady for her first name, so beyond a bit of novelty for this weblog entry, no great strides in genealogical progress were made.
Viva la blog!
Here I am again after yet another lapse in weblog entry postings. To be honest, I no longer get the what-a-wonderful-update-to-my-website-this-will-make feelings during the course of a typical day. And I hate to think that leaving the glamorous life of a world-trotting student to get one of those “job” things has taken all the fun and adventure out of my daily existence. So…
December 07, 2003
Up to Speed
Where do I begin? Since I seem to be updating this weblog only once in every other blue moon I suppose there’s quite a bit of catching up to do. Well, here’s my not-so-decent stab at it.
I got a car; I got a job; I got a place to stay.
The car’s actually a small SUV. I had a job before, just not a full-time architecture one. And the place to stay is only temporary.
I’m still adapting to life back in the US. I loved the convenience of not needing a car the past couple years while in Europe, but life in these United States necessitates a personal motor vehicle. Sure, there’s public transit, but most people would consider MARTA the laughing stock of Atlanta. So instead I cruise the town, guzzling up the gas and clogging the freeways.
From what they tell me at work, everybody gets stuck building a model their first week on the job. And sure enough, my first three days were spent cutting and pasting pieces of foamcore to make a massing model of a doll house of the Swan House. That’s right - not just a model, but a model of a model!
And since I’m living in a new location, I’ve got completely new contact information. Of course all my old email addresses still work, so if you’d like to reach me via phone or regular mail, send me an email and I’ll get you my new details or whatever other info you’d like.
OK, now that that is all taken care of, maybe I’ll start typing here more often. Maybe…
August 22, 2003
Welcome Back, Kessler!
I’m substitute teaching once again. I’ve got my résumé and portfolio in the hands of some folks at architecture firms in Atlanta, but while I wait for the proverbial fish to bite I’m back in the classroom. Pero ahora no enseño español. Yesterday and today I taught algebra and on Monday I get a shot at physics and geometry.
Do I want to become a regular, full-time teacher? Nope. At least not until after I get my feet wet in the “real world” of architectural practice. However, I don’t regret one minute I’ve spent trying to instruct high school students. Teaching’s a relatively thankless job. Teachers definitely aren’t in the profession for the pay! But I must admit there’s little more rewarding in this world than helping someone else to learn something new, to grow academically, to think independently, and to accomplish what once seemed impossible.
So for now, you can call me, “Mr. Kessler.” But if you’re looking to hire a recently-graduated architecture student, just give me a call!
May 14, 2003
Soy profesor de español.
I’m back in the United States. I’ve graduated from Georgia Tech. I’m teaching Spanish to high school students. I’ll fill in some details later.
March 09, 2003
À bientôt
We’re having a going away party tonight here at the apartment for my roommate Todd. His National Guard unit has been mobilized so he’s returning to the States to be deployed.
As much as possible I’ve tried not to become too concerned with this impending war. America says yes; the French say no; what’s left for the UN and NATO to say? I’ve heard and read enough stories and conspiracy theories on all sides of this debate. I think it’s starting to make me sick. Being an American, regardless of my opinions, doesn’t make me too popular in most of western Europe. Spending eight months in France won’t make me an instant hit back home either. I sympathize with the French; I sympathize with Americans; I sympathize with the British; I even sympathize with Iraqi citizens.
And now one of my roommates is having to go home with only two weeks of classes left to be directly engaged in this conflict. I don’t want him to go. Maybe I’m losing my patriotism, but I’m about to lose a friend.
February 24, 2003
Al Gore et moi
In case anybody was wondering (Matt), here’s full disclosure of my connection to Al Gore.
- Al Gore was in The Last Party with Laura Dern
- Laura Dern was in Novocaine with Kevin Bacon
- Kevin Bacon was in My Dog Skip with Clint Howard
- Clint Howard was in You’ll Never Wiez in This Town Again with Pauly Shore
- Pauly Shore was at the Marriot Bay Point in Panama City, Florida with me once upon a time.
February 21, 2003
J'ai 23 ans.
According to the birthday card I received from my parents today, I’m “the greatest kid in cyberspace.” This means:
- at the ripe old age of twenty-three they still consider me a kid
- they are disillusioned about their son and his possible connections to Al Gore, inventor of the internet
- they are tired of only email contact these past few weeks and are trying to subliminally ask for a phone call
I’ll focus on item #3 and give them a call before I go to bed tonight… that is if they don’t call me first!
February 20, 2003
J'ai 22 ans.
Tomorrow’s my birthday. Today I’m straightening up my room. Yes, things truly are that exciting here in Paris!
January 10, 2003
Joyeux anniversaire
Yes, it’s sad but true. On this day six years ago I FTPed my first piece of HTML onto the WWW. Thus began the process of creating what appears on your computer screen in front of you today! We had finally gotten internet access at home for Christmas 1996, and by New Year’s everything was up and running. Within a couple weeks I had downloaded enough software, viewed enough source code, and gathered up enough narcissistic pride to join the growing multitudes by making a personal website.