Weeks 6 & 7

We started off week 6 getting a real project from National that they had "solicited" from the business units. I chose to do a detention center in Texas. It taught me a lot about understanding the project completely before diving in and starting. We ended up doing a model of existing and new construction, a flythrough, and iPad interaction. It was a great learning experience. On Tuesday of that week we went to New York City again to oversee the World Trade Center construction. We stopped by the site "trailer" that was actually an office space Turner rented for the entirety of the construction. We are doing the transportation hub and coordination on tower 2. Then, we got to go to Tower 7 which had breathtaking views of the incredible construction and memorial sites below. It was one of those moments when you realize the culmination of your efforts in the past have paid off.

That weekend, my parents (from Charlotte), Lindsay (from Atlanta), and I (from New York) went to Chicago for my cousin Elyse's wedding reception. She got married in Las Vegas a few weeks prior and decided to have a reception for family closer to home, unfortunately (I would have loved to go back to Vegas). While I was on the way, mom called to tell me that Aunt Lois was in the hospital with what would become an exploded appendix. I never realized how strong my aunt was, with all the pain she endured, until that weekend. However, the day ended up being really fun and busy for me as I was acting as photographer, part DJ, and Skype expert to bring Aunt Lois in on the wedding. I hope I lived up to Elyse and Todd's expectations :-). Uncle Bob also gave me a book of my specific genealogy that was very interesting and thoughtful which took many years of research. Overall, it was an awesome weekend to see Lindsay, the rents, and extended family (oh yea, I got to see the hospital room I was born in (from outside), so that was cool).

Week 7 at work was dedicated to MEP coordination which isn't too hard, but we took a look into new softwares such as Solibri and Tekla BIM Sight in addition to the industry standard of Navisworks. Early on in the week, one of my superiors asked me to do a tutorial on one of the iPad apps I demonstrated, so that was an ego boost (apparently I'm the iPad expert, which tempts me to go develop some construction apps on my own). Also during the week I heard from Brittany Lusk, an old classmate, who was seeking my professional advice on BIM (if I have any to offer being so new to it, lol) for the competition team she is on this year. It's nice to give back to the program that I got so much out of.

Another delightful weekend was spent with my amazing girlfriend in the ATL. We ran a fun 5K in the dark as part of the firefly run. We dressed in glow sticks and LED lights. Surprisingly, I ran the entire race wit her and we got a time of 32:30, which ends up to be a 10 minute mile. Anyways, off to the last 2 weeks of training, then the true beginning of the tough part of my job.

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