kevinnowak.com

Mug Shot.

They needed a photo of me for work; our internal website as well as for proposals and what not.  This is what we ended up with...not too bad I guess. 

  

Desk.

Finally got around to getting a photo on my desk at work. 

  

Makes it feel like home now!

New Job!

As some of you have already heard, I've finally landed back in the world of architecture!  Sports architecture to be exact.  Yes indeed...a full time gig here in Philly.  It's with a firm whom I've been talking to for quiet some time now.  Many interviews, lunches, and even a breakfast right at the end with the firms president that I think sealed the deal.  After that we ironed out the details and I started on Halloween of all days. 

I've been there a few weeks now and it's been great.  I'm involved in a few interesting professional and collegiate sports projects that are keeping me extremely busy.  There have already been a few late nights but it's what I enjoy doing most so I don't mind at all.  It's a really great group of folks too and I'm excited to be a part of the team.

So...with a new job in my back pocket we put on our glad-rags and set out for a celebratory dinner. 

  

We chose a place called 10Arts.  It's a bistro/lounge by famous NYC chef Eric Ripert that's inside of the Ritz hotel on Broad.  [It's a bit ironic to have eaten here as I had just finished Anthony Bourdains' book "Kitchen Confidential" and he mentions Ripert many times throughout. Very good book too and an intriguing look inside the darker side of the restaurant business!]

Once again we were eating dinner in a converted bank building and the interiors were stunning!

     

  

We arrived a few minutes early for our table so we found a seat at the bar for a few drinks. 

     

Once seated we had some tough decisions to make!  I started off with the fried and breaded oysters while Kel went with the creamy cauliflower soup, both delicious.

     

For the main course I had the striped bass with mussels and yukon golds and Kelly chose the tagliatelle pomadoro.  I had to switch out the bass for cod since they had run out.  Oh well.

     

Both dishes were tasty, but I kinda wish I could have had the bass.

For desert we ordered up a few items to share, the frozen snickers dish and the pumpkin tart...and of course a cappuccino for me.

     

Overall the meal was good...but not very good.  We were kind of expecting a bit more for the price.  

Worst Job Ever?

I ran out to get some lunch today and came across what could possibly rank right up there as the worst job ever.  Matter of fact, I half expected Mike Rowe and a film crew to come around the corner and get some footage for Dirty Jobs.

  

This crew of 5 or 6 guys was at a nearby Wawa convenience store sealing and re-striping the parking lot. On a 95 degree day! 

No thank you!

Boston Garden, A Unique Perspective.

For the life of me I can't recall if I've ever shared these photos or not.  I checked back through the archives of kn.com and I can't seem to find any evidence that I did, but for some reason I still remember posting them.  Who knows.  So if this is a repeat just move along and if this is the first time you've seen them, well then enjoy.

 

Last week I purchased a few tickets to an upcoming Celtics game when they're here in town against the 76'ers.  I love the fact that tickets are still available for the 76'ers even when a big time opponent is coming to town.  Seems like nobody follows basketball in this town...heck, they don't even get a 5 second mention on the news down here.  Anyway, snagging these tickets got me thinking about the time I got a little behind-the-scenes look at the TD Bank Garden in Boston...

    

Back in 2004 when I was working on the new ice arena at Boston University we were having some issues with mounting the game lights up in the "rafters" so set up a quick walk-through at the Fleet Center [as it was called back then] to see how they handled it. 

Being up in the catwalks above the court provided for some really great shots...a view too many people get to see! 

  

  

  

    
  

  

  

  

Go Celtics!

Philly Job Search, Version 2.

Hey gang...I just sent out the email below to a number of friends and colleagues in the architecture world and figured I'd post it here as well.  I sent a similar email a while back that generated a number of good job lead prospects and I'm hoping this one will have similar results.  I've even sweetened the pot to a $200 AMEX gift card to the person who gets me the lead/tip/recommendation that eventually lands me a full-time job!  

Think you can help out?  See below!  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hi Everyone!  With the the busy summer season now winding down and people returning from their vacations I thought this would be as good a time as any to again let you know about my search for a new position here in the Philadelphia area.  I sent out a similar note a while back and as a result I was able to make a few good contacts here in town.  I'm hoping this email will garner a similar outcome. 

As many of you know, since moving down here to the Philly/NJ area I've been in search of a new position with an architecture firm in town.  For the past 10 months I've been doing some project management for a small software technology company here in south Jersey, but I'm certainly itching to get back into the architecture/construction world, what I really love to do!  With the economy as it is, I feel the best way to get my foot in the door at any firm is with a reference or recommendation from someone who knows me. 

Ideally I'd like to remain in the "sports architecture" realm, as that's what I've primarily done since finishing grad school, but I would be very happy at a firm that has a vibrant college and university student life portfolio. 

If you know of any openings in the Philly/NJ area please let me know or please pass along my name.  I'd be happy to email you my resume, references and even some project samples if you feel they'll help.  Even if you know someone in the architecture/construction/engineering filed here in Philly that just might be good for me to talk with, that's great too.  The more people I can connect and chat with the better! 

As a bit of added incentive, any lead, tip, or reference that eventually leads to a full-time position will get that person a $200 Amex gift card as a token of my appreciation for you to use however you like. 

Thanks again for all your help and please do stay in touch!

Wanna Get Away?

You know those Southwest Airlines commercials right...they have a scenario where someone makes a boob of themselves and then they play that catchy jingle that says "Wanna Get Away?"  I can imagine that's exactly what this truck driver was thinking this afternoon as he nearly tipped over his trailer in our office parking lot.  There's some sort of food production joint across the way and they get deliveries all day long with these 18 wheelers.  With the large snow banks and slick conditions we've been having this guy didn't stand a chance.  The truck ended up precariously perched for about 3 hours until help finally arrived. 

         

         

         

the rescue crew [or big ass two-truck in layman's terms] was able to slide the rear wheels out and "right the ship".

         

3 hours of this guys day down the drain and probably a few hundred bucks for the two, but at least nobody got hurt and his truck didn't get damaged.

New Hampshire and the Library.

We were up in NH not too long ago to visit with Kristin and Ryan for a bit.  Ryan was working over the weekend but he was still able to get away from the hospital long enough to grab dinner with us and chill for a bit.  On a whim we made a last minute reservation at a place called The Way We Cook in Manchvegas that Kel and I saw on TV Diner a while back.  [You can watch the actual review they did here]  Since our table wasn't ready until around 8:30p they did run out of a few dishes, but other than that the place was amazing!  We met one of the owners, Jim, and our waiter was a riot.  He even threw in dessert for us since they had run out of those dishes.  What a guy!

       

               

        

         

         

        

After dinner we stopped at this little arcade and laser tag joint that is right around the corner from thier house.  It was a riot and we of course won some awesome prizes playign skee-ball. 

           

         

        

Last time we were up in NH over the summer Kristin and Ryan were thinking about converting this space that the previous owners used as children's playroom into an office on one side and a library/reading room on the other.  A great uncle [or something like that] had been up to visit and did a sketch for them of some built-in's on a napkin so they showed it to me to see what I thought.  It was bad.  No, it was atrocious.  I felt it was my duty to help out and after only a few hours we had a much better solution.  A few weeks later the carpenter came and below is the final product.  It looks just great with the yellow walls and the white shelves.  Nice color choices guys!

    

      

    

Up next is an island for their kitchen...it's certainly big enough for one, but I guess the original owners just didn't have enough money to put it in when they built the place. 

Of course after Kristin and Ryan saw our Team Photo's with Nick and Jules they wanted to get in on the action too...so we put the new library to good use as well as the dining room they have with no furniture on it and bright red walls that the previous owners painted!

    

    

    

Don't you just love Ryan's authentic Indiana Jones hat?  As you can tell...I've been experimenting a bit with some color/B+W photos.  I think they look kind cool.

  

O'Neil Kitchen.

Last spring Matt's mom, Virginia, asked me to take a look at her kitchen.  It was dated, dingy, and in serious need of a facelift...a major facelift!  Not to mention, it was not very functional.  Just look at where the stove is located, not very convenient to the sink and fridge.  As you can see in the existing floor plan below, the entire first floor is very broken up and didn't have much of a flow. 

    

Here are some existing photos:

             

        

After a quick visit to take measurements and have a look around I quickly came up with a few schemes for Virginia to choose from and soon enough she was on her way.  Eventually the kitchen, bathroom, dining area, outdoor deck, and the enclosed porch were all rolled into the project.  Essentially the entire first floor.  Virginia even made tweaks to my original plan along the way and the project came out better than ever.  I think she's really happy with the result and feels it was worth the 6 months of construction!  Since Matt's dad lost his "den" space they turned the enclose porch into a sitting room complete with a wall mounted TV and a sweet leather recliner where he and the dogs can sit and watch the games!  You can see the TV through the door in the first photo below.  Here's the final floor plan. 

       

     

  

    

    

    

         

    

The bathroom is a typical bathroom, small.  That makes it very difficult to photograph.  The shower curtain is temporary...a full glass door is on order. 

          

    

  

And finally...the family dogs, who are just glad construction is all over!

  

Not yet an Architect.

As many of you who follow kn.com already know, I've been pursuing my professional architects license for several years now.  It involves a few years of what is essentially an apprenticeship before you can sit for the ARE [Architectural Registration Exam].  The title makes it sound like one test...but it's actually 9.  Yes, 9 different tests!

I had taken the first 8 tests over a period of about 20 months and sat for #9 back in October.  The first 8 went very well and I passed them all the first time around.  By no means were they easy, but I hit the books hard for each one and got the job done.  The pass rates for each of the tests is around 65-70% so going in to #9 I knew I had the odds against me.  Matter of fact...I don't know anyone who had passed all 9 on the first trip through.   Sure enough, my luck ran out and I recieved a nice crisp FAIL letter in the mail this past Saturday.  It was a real kick in the pants for two reasons...#1, because I had to wait nearly 3 months for the results instead of the standard 4-6 weeks.  Apparently there was some problem with the scoring so they had to hold the results while they got it sorted out.  The second reason I'm pissed is because it happend on what should have been my last test.  If it was #2 or #3 I'd be okay, pick my chin up and keep going.  But I was really hoping to open that letter on Saturday and be done.  Nothing left hanging over my head.  Oh well.  If there's a plus side to having to wait 3 months for the results it's that I only have 3 more months left before I can sit for it again. [They have a mandatory 6 month waiting period].  So...I'll buck up, hit the books harder than ever, and hopefully be done once and for all in the Spring!  And for all those who have been asking me how I've been doing over the past 6 months with these tests and offering support, I can't thank you enough.  I really do appreciate it. 

If not passing the test got my spirits down, it wasn't for long. This morning I signed up for the 2009 PMC and there really aren't many things that bring a bigger smile to my face than the PMC!  Kinda makes me want to get on my bicyle right now. 

I have a ton of photos and stories from the past few weeks that I'll post here over the next few days.  Hope you enjoy 2009 and stick with kn.com!