Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Back in Los Angeles: Career Limbo

We have arrived home yesterday evening around six...
The last two hours of the road lasted longer than two days. As the freeway lines increased in quantity toward LA, the driving experience got more and more combative.
All in all, I would relate the driving experience more to point A to point B delivering cargo than taking an adventurous and vacation like "road trip."
I liked the banality of Interstate 40, which allowed me to imagine the road as a truck driver wannabe. In fact, I am now thinking that I wasted a lot of my years trying to be an architect.
I know this will pass, but the roar of trucks and endless interactive experience of driving is what I am occupied with right now. I really don't give damn about Peter Eisenman and the rest and their work as architects and what makes architecture relevant. I wish architecture was less important and I was an Indian trucker stopping in Texas Panhandle and ordering samosas for dinner after doing an eight hours of driving. I wish I had a nice truck with an ample cab. I wish I didn't take this trip and feel the carier limbo I am in right now.

8 comments:

Brendan Crain said...

Only an architect could wish that architecture were less important, because only an architect really believes that it is... ;-)

mad architect said...

Orhan this too will pass

Anonymous said...

Orhan,
Are you saying architecture is more banal than trucking?
While there is certainly a pleasure and simplicity associated with driving and the open road i think that your contribution to architecture or at least my perception of it, is just as important from a relative point of view.
Plus, are truck stop samosas really that good?

Orhan Ayyüce said...

re truck stop samosas;
do you think those guys would survive if they were to serve mediocre samosas to truckers who have been pulling up with their appetite all the way from florida?.;.))

Anonymous said...

orhan,

A close friend of mine studied economics at Evergreen State College in Washington, least that is what he told us. Then he hit the road as a truck driver, in Wyoming, North Dakota and Ended up halling organic food from Vermont to NYC. Then after having a close call in taking someone elses life in a wide right hand turn he bagged it. Worked in a Scandanavian furniture company, which he always fondle refered to as the wafer board company running their shipping. Met the girl of his dreams I might say re met the girl of his dreams. Worked in a coop for a while while unemployed and applied to graduate school for an MBA. He as accepted and took
a campus job to help make ends met,
next thing you know is is associate dean of admissions....he has since moved along to a couple of other Ivy League Colleges in the same capacity. I will always think of him as a Truck Driver.

Anonymous said...

Orhan, good point.

Orhan Ayyüce said...

Anonymous,
that is a pretty great story...
i know some very successful truck drivers too. one of them is a great writer of urbanism.

Orhan Ayyüce said...
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