My office mate has taken up day-trading. He watches graphs and charts, trending up to three years. I haven’t heard of opportunities in day-trading since . . . about three years ago. It’s a good conversation – it’s an opportunity to look forward, to invest in growth, to expect success. Expecting profits in one day is not as hopeful as expecting profits over a year, but it’s better than expecting a day of loss, and I like keeping the positive spin. The vibe in the coffee shop is different today – the tables are full of people who have jobs instead of people who are trying to invent jobs. People are sitting up straighter, cell phones are on conference calls, the man across from me now is wearing cuff links.
Our office is in a season of production as well. Conversations that were opportunities over the past 3, 6, 12 months are all this month’s deadlines. It’s a collision of things to do. This is the rains-it-pours scenario. I’m making fewer promises and I’m working full days. Still, the summer schedule looks too open, but we’re working now.
There’s a boldness that comes with busyness. That’s very, very good. A would-be client asked me this week about building a stock house plan, and I was able to spin the question into designing the house instead, meeting the client’s needs and hopes, reusing the existing house instead of razing it, and connecting with the site in the way that a house wants to do. I’m asking clients to keep up with me, to stay involved, instead of the other way around. We’re even getting paid more often. The past two years of taking jobs under mixed circumstances, of negotiating into complications – these experiences are yielding some new capabilities, and I look forward to serving our clients better in the future because of what we’re learning today.
And we have some really good jobs. I can’t wait to hear the piano at Faces Lounge or to get photos of Nelson Orthodontics. And the house we’re designing for Cityspace Development will soon be built four blocks from downtown, and it will look like it’s always been there. I’m still holding my breath on the big apartments, turning a little blue, but that’s on the drawing board for the afternoon.
Thanks for staying with us. Stay tuned. Stop in often.
Andy Osterlund AIA | LEED AP
Andrew Osterlund, Architect, PLLC
GREEN | URBAN | SMART ARCHITECTURE
19 W Hargett Street, Suite 700-A | Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 889 6823 | www.aoarchitect.com | TWITTER: aoarch
