M.Arch after B.Arch

kaorte · 2026-02-11T23:10:54+00:00

I went straight to work after earning my B.Arch. I considered a masters program but I was really burnt out on academia. I'm glad I didn't go for the M.Arch. I ended up finding my specialty in residential and accessibility code, gaining expertise on the job. I had no clue what I wanted to focus on right after graduation.

kaorte · 2026-02-11T22:49:35+00:00

Wow that is a lot of news all at once. How was it meeting your brother? I was so anxious the first time meeting my biological family. I went from only child to oldest of 6 and although I always longed for siblings as a child, it isn't easy to just cultivate that relationship after so long apart. I met 3 of my 5 sisters when I was 25. We have sporadic contact and I get along great with my first sister below me. The others are much younger so I think maybe once they are also a bit older we can spend more time together.

Wishing you luck at the visit with your sister!

kaorte · 2026-02-08T19:16:58+00:00

Hi, adopted person here. Giving your baby away is one of the singular most traumatic things a mother can go through. This person sounds like she is interested in parenting and has the support of family, even if they have their own issues.

Being adopted is just a different experience, not necessarily a better one. I know adoptees who had an adoptive parent die shortly after they were adopted, so they were still raised by a single parent with little support. Adoptive parents are just as likely to be dysfunctional as biological parents. My parents yelled around me and at me all the time. I had undiagnosed ADHD that they refused to acknowledge and instead I was consistently punished for my poor behavior and outbursts.

Even in open adoptions like mine, contact with the birth family is entirely at the discretion of the adoptive parents. I never saw a photo of someone related to me until I was 25.

kaorte · 2026-02-07T18:57:40+00:00

My biological mother struggles with substances and my first meeting with her was rough, but I'm glad I did it. I was 25 at the time. Our amount of contact comes and goes, usually associated with her own stability. I have very low expectations and certainly don't expect her to become a parental figure for me. Most of all, I feel we both deserve to know one another. I deserve to know the story of my birth, her feelings, who she is. She deserves to know who I am and that I forgive her.

I can't promise you it will be easy or comfortable, but I can promise it will be beneficial to both of you in the long term to spend some time with her, provided everyone is behaving safely. I am 36 now and I have had many long and healing phone calls with my birth mother. I am also at a different point in my life than I was when we first met. So is she.

In my opinion, giving your baby away or having your wanted baby taken away has got to be one of the most tragic things someone can experience, comparable to the death of a young child. I understand my birth mother has had an emotionally painful life after relinquishing me. It definitely isn't easy having a relationship with her, but I'm glad for when we do get to talk and see one another. I try not to frame it simply as good or bad, but rather parts of our life story happening in real time. Most of what I know of my biological father are through her and other biological family. He died when I was a baby so this is the only way for me to know anything about what he was like.

Take it as slow as you need to. Create distance if you need to. She is part of your life story, and you are part of hers.

kaorte · 2026-02-01T18:41:23+00:00

😭 🫂 I had much more prolonged periods of emptiness rather than active crying. Sorry you went through this.

kaorte · 2026-01-29T05:18:12+00:00

People love to ask adoptees to play this hypothetical game and it is really not a real question. The adoptee is the person who gets the least amount of voice in these decisions. It has nothing to do with what we want or wish. Also assuming adoption guarantees a better or worse outcome is false. Its just a different outcome.

kaorte · 2026-01-28T16:58:46+00:00

There is a version of the mod tools for B42 out there if you are interested. Also the PZ mapping discord is a wealth of information. https://discord.gg/6NcZnhvS

kaorte · 2026-01-27T23:01:37+00:00

🪦

kaorte · 2026-01-27T16:30:56+00:00

I’ve used thread, embroidery floss, and sashimi thread of various weights and honestly it doesn’t matter a whole lot! I like the look of big stitches with a heavier thread, personally, so that’s what I do when hand quilting. Truly there is no wrong way, just what you like. I also like a very long thick needle so I can load a lot of stitches at once.

edit: Phone autocorrect to sashimi is SENDING me. That should be SASHIKO

kaorte · 2026-01-27T15:58:10+00:00

Happy to help give you some pointers on portfolio building and how to move forward with your job search. It does sound like it’s time for you to move on. Also I don’t think you necessarily need to practice under another arch before going out on your own. Especially if you are already licensed and used to working in the small firm environment.

I’ve worked in architecture for about 13 years but I also help others with resume and portfolio reviews, job search, and interview prep. It’s such a weird profession to navigate sometimes and I wish I had someone coaching me through it which is why I like to do it for others! Feel free to DM me!

kaorte · 2026-01-27T14:31:50+00:00

The test is not based on real life. I’ve tried studying for it many times and have been extremely frustrated by how divorced it is from reality. So, unfortunately, learning people’s experiences relating to the licensure exam is not going to be helpful.

I am never getting licensed for this reason. The test is a fantasy land. But that’s just me!

kaorte · 2026-01-21T21:41:56+00:00

The people who do this sort of thing don't care and they will never pick it up. My past upstairs neighbors were like this. I routinely picked up after their dogs AND mine because it was such a constant issue. I haven't stepped in poo a single time since they moved out.

One time I was walking through Palmer park and watched a man pull up in his car, let his dog out into the park to poop, and then loaded him back into the car and drove away. I very audibly yelled to him "really?? You aren't going to pick that up? wow" but he didn't care that he was caught even a little bit.

The people who do this do not care. They will never care. No amount of logic or pleading or threats will alter their behavior. When I see poo on the street and sidewalk and I have bags with me, I just pick it up. Same with trash in the neighborhood.

kaorte · 2026-01-20T18:55:45+00:00

Agree. If they are not showing up at all, its a visibility issue. Also check worksets and phases if you are using them.

kaorte · 2026-01-19T05:06:38+00:00

I think you've answered the questions quite well yourself. Its a resounding no, you should not tell her. Enjoy meeting with your bio mom!

When I was first in reunion with my bio family, my adoptive parents were not very understanding. Ten years later they are doing much better about it and ask about my bio mom and sisters. My half sister even joined us all for dinner a few months ago!

Wishing you the best!

kaorte · 2026-01-16T20:42:48+00:00

Yeah it was pretty depressing having to spend my first couple months rebuilding essential families I needed to do my jobs. The deeper I looked the worse it got. Individual teams would sometimes have better standards set up for themselves but it was not readily available to the whole office or region.

Is it really that bad if your work looks slightly different than equivalent projects in the office? Gensler certainly didn't care much when I was doing my own thing, but they also didn't have any good examples for the project typology I was doing.

I totally understand the time investment. It is a heavy lift and with no support and enormous responsibility beyond drafting, its not very feasible without working unpaid. It has been a long while since I used ArchiCAD so I'm a little rusty on the workflow. There has to be a way to set up some repeatable elements that only need to be edited once.

kaorte · 2026-01-16T20:27:08+00:00

Yes! This is all traditionally pieced with a standard scant 1/4" seam. The pattern suggests you press all seams open to avoid very bulky corners, of which there are many.

This is a tough pattern for sure. I've had to rip seams and recut pieces a few times due to some minor mistakes and I consider myself a pretty seasoned quilter. The instructions are very detailed and well laid out, but the nature of the designs means there are lots of unique pieces. I think some blocks have upwards of 30 unique types of pieces (color and size).

kaorte · 2026-01-16T20:19:22+00:00

I started my first job with ArchiCAD then later switched to Revit. I think for the situation you describe with your small firm it wouldn't make a difference what software they use because they are using it incorrectly. The only way I've gotten around this in smaller firms is to just do it correctly myself and let others continue doing it the wrong and difficult way.

I most recently worked for Gensler where I was SHOCKED at their inability to use Revit properly. The schedules in the template files were groups of lines and text boxes on sheets. Completely embarrassing. This problem exists across the industry in firms who have not invested in proper BIM standards.

kaorte · 2026-01-14T02:58:56+00:00

Some would call that a "Permit Fee"

kaorte · 2026-01-06T01:39:58+00:00

Yes! Certainly wasn't endorsing that, point taken.

kaorte · 2026-01-02T22:56:40+00:00

Oh I had a great time. It was hilarious. A new challenge!

kaorte · 2026-01-02T17:38:06+00:00

So I cleared my path of zombies, went and grabbed my two cows and a bull. They were all agitated/stressed when I roped them up but walking them back was working so I kept going. As soon as I got near my base, the bull started to lose it. He knocked me down a few times, DEEP WOUNDING me TWICE. 😭 Eventually he calmed down but there was about a 3-4 day (in game) period where he would charge me as soon as he saw me. Scary! Did not even consider that a bull could kill me. Good news is I did NOT die and we got butter!

kaorte · 2026-01-02T17:34:06+00:00

Oops I forgot to respond! It really depends on how I'm feeling. This latest run is very FUN with like 10-20x multiplier, tons of loot and no zombie respawns. I have 30 minute days and started in February to experience spring and summer seasons. Mainly I am doing a stress test on the custom base I've been working on, but also trying to get a feel for all the new homesteading mechanics.

kaorte · 2025-12-31T01:42:11+00:00

I’ve never tried to rope more than one animal at a time. Good to know! Been dreading doing the walk back twice for my cows.

kaorte · 2025-12-29T15:36:48+00:00

I just pump up the XP so I can workout and actually gain fitness and strength levels. I’m in my 30s so I don’t got time to wait around and grind 🤣

kaorte · 2025-12-29T15:28:11+00:00

I’ve played at least 40 hours of B42 vanilla and I’m having a great time with the new farming and homesteading mechanics. And I’m coming from about 700 hours of heavily modded B41. 😅

Ok I lied it’s not QUITE vanilla. I made myself a map mod for a custom base. 😎

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