Rome wasn’t built in a day….
(cc)
Thanks, Sophie, for reminding me of the patience, determination, and hard work it takes to bring a dream to its fruition. Indeed, Rome is still in its infancy here – still trying to get the infrastructure in place. One step at a time…..
One first step of success is my new job in a little architecture firm. Harkening from Milan, Luigi Rosselli has been here creating architecture for almost 17 years. He runs a laid-back yet focused office with 4 architects under his supervision. We crossed paths because a friend of mine in Paris is a good friend of his wife, so Isabel connected me up with them. As it turns out, Luigi is a very well respected architect here who has won many awards for his high-end residential projects and swank restaurant designs. I was lucky enough in timing – Luigi asked me to help out for a month on a house remodel and pool addition (!) – and in the meantime, they’ve won a competition for a winery which I will be heading up in July – I’m jazzed about my job to say the least. They didn’t have room for me in their tiny office, so I’m actually in a room by myself two floors up – a bit lonely, but they’ve set me up with a radio and my own printer, so when I come to work, I almost feel like I’m coming into my own office. The bonus is that I have a nice view over the street and huge amounts of desk space – and I get to pick the radio station.
Other than setting up my workspace, my first task at work was to drive to the planning department to pick up a project model that our office needed back – Luigi handed me the address, the keys to his car and then thought he might ask if I’m comfortable driving here (they drive on the left hand side). I responded that I hadn’t driven here, but I have an excellent driving record and thought I would be fine. He agreed that it was easy enough and advised that if I saw a car in front of me driving toward me to simply move to the left and all would be okay. With that, I set off in his nice car to Waverley council – and returned without incident.
So, I’m jazzed to work on this pool project – just a few weeks ago I was thinking to myself how great it would be to design an aquatic facility here (Australians take their pool design seriously) – so when Luigi offered me this job, as modest of a pool that it is, I figured it was a sign. That and the fact that he used the term “olde worlde” (in his Italian accent) to describe one of his more conservative clients – with that kind of humor, it confirmed my hunch that this office was a good fit. Ah…..the pool project – this client’s house is quite grand, in a very up-market neighborhood on the harbour. From the house’s terrace, you can watch sailboats glide by on the water – or you can even drop through the yard to the gate which leads to a path to a little strip of beach and the local yacht club. The new pool will sit nicely in the lower terrace of the yard – with a modest pool house for entertaining (all louvered walls and sliding glass panels) and frangipani trees for shade (we’re losing the lillypilli trees).
And did I mention the espresso machine? It seems that no office can function properly without readily available espresso. Luigi’s is no exception – so there’s coffee made to order at 10 (traditional coffee/tea break) – and then espresso after lunch. And Corado seems more than happy to show off his barista training by making everyone coffee everyday. Needless to say, my formerly non existent coffee habit is a thing of the past…..a cappuccino is mighty nice at 10!
Oh, and to follow up on Hunter’s lawn bowling entry, I must confirm that, yes, I’m a big fan. I haven’t been this excited about a game since UEC (Ultimate Extreme Croquet) debuted on the Kitsap peninsula April 2004 – Brett can attest to the high adrenaline rush of cut-throat UEC. Lawn bowling doesn’t share that, but it does have the same find-a-safe-place-for-your-beer strategy and knock-your-opponent-out tactic. Plus, what nicer way to spend a sunny afternoon with friends – a little sport with leisurely conversation, good beer and snacks, nice scenery - and most lawn bowl clubs are very well sited with some of the most sought after views.
Thanks, Sophie, for reminding me of the patience, determination, and hard work it takes to bring a dream to its fruition. Indeed, Rome is still in its infancy here – still trying to get the infrastructure in place. One step at a time…..
One first step of success is my new job in a little architecture firm. Harkening from Milan, Luigi Rosselli has been here creating architecture for almost 17 years. He runs a laid-back yet focused office with 4 architects under his supervision. We crossed paths because a friend of mine in Paris is a good friend of his wife, so Isabel connected me up with them. As it turns out, Luigi is a very well respected architect here who has won many awards for his high-end residential projects and swank restaurant designs. I was lucky enough in timing – Luigi asked me to help out for a month on a house remodel and pool addition (!) – and in the meantime, they’ve won a competition for a winery which I will be heading up in July – I’m jazzed about my job to say the least. They didn’t have room for me in their tiny office, so I’m actually in a room by myself two floors up – a bit lonely, but they’ve set me up with a radio and my own printer, so when I come to work, I almost feel like I’m coming into my own office. The bonus is that I have a nice view over the street and huge amounts of desk space – and I get to pick the radio station.
Other than setting up my workspace, my first task at work was to drive to the planning department to pick up a project model that our office needed back – Luigi handed me the address, the keys to his car and then thought he might ask if I’m comfortable driving here (they drive on the left hand side). I responded that I hadn’t driven here, but I have an excellent driving record and thought I would be fine. He agreed that it was easy enough and advised that if I saw a car in front of me driving toward me to simply move to the left and all would be okay. With that, I set off in his nice car to Waverley council – and returned without incident.
So, I’m jazzed to work on this pool project – just a few weeks ago I was thinking to myself how great it would be to design an aquatic facility here (Australians take their pool design seriously) – so when Luigi offered me this job, as modest of a pool that it is, I figured it was a sign. That and the fact that he used the term “olde worlde” (in his Italian accent) to describe one of his more conservative clients – with that kind of humor, it confirmed my hunch that this office was a good fit. Ah…..the pool project – this client’s house is quite grand, in a very up-market neighborhood on the harbour. From the house’s terrace, you can watch sailboats glide by on the water – or you can even drop through the yard to the gate which leads to a path to a little strip of beach and the local yacht club. The new pool will sit nicely in the lower terrace of the yard – with a modest pool house for entertaining (all louvered walls and sliding glass panels) and frangipani trees for shade (we’re losing the lillypilli trees).
And did I mention the espresso machine? It seems that no office can function properly without readily available espresso. Luigi’s is no exception – so there’s coffee made to order at 10 (traditional coffee/tea break) – and then espresso after lunch. And Corado seems more than happy to show off his barista training by making everyone coffee everyday. Needless to say, my formerly non existent coffee habit is a thing of the past…..a cappuccino is mighty nice at 10!
Oh, and to follow up on Hunter’s lawn bowling entry, I must confirm that, yes, I’m a big fan. I haven’t been this excited about a game since UEC (Ultimate Extreme Croquet) debuted on the Kitsap peninsula April 2004 – Brett can attest to the high adrenaline rush of cut-throat UEC. Lawn bowling doesn’t share that, but it does have the same find-a-safe-place-for-your-beer strategy and knock-your-opponent-out tactic. Plus, what nicer way to spend a sunny afternoon with friends – a little sport with leisurely conversation, good beer and snacks, nice scenery - and most lawn bowl clubs are very well sited with some of the most sought after views.
posted by Hunter Williams at 6:23 PM
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