I love what I do. There is no question in my mind that I made the right decision when I was 5 years old to become an architect. Sure there have been some bumps along the way and there is uncertainty to my future. Despite having been at this for a while, some things you just have to discover for yourself. I collected these off twitter a few weeks ago, thinking that I might find some use for them.

When you’re an architect …

· you have probably heard all 1,000 songs off your iPod, all in just one night

· you spend hours looking at & buying arch books but never have the time to actually read them

· you can’t afford your own taste

· you hate the shelter magazines your clients love

· CAD is your co-pilot

· your closet is mostly full of black clothing

· there are no people in your travel photos

· you don’t think twice about taking notes on your lunch napkin

· instead of scissors, you use an x-acto knife to cut everything

· you turn impossibilities into possibilities

· folks want free design advice during dinner parties

· you help communities improve their quality of life

· every project has budget challenges

· you will only drive a black, gray, or silver car

· you’ve paid too much for your education, but don’t get paid enough in your job

· CD’s don’t mean money or music

· obsessive compulsive disorder is not a disorder at all… it’s your way of life

· you will go into an off-limit area to look at a construction detail

· you have carpet sample doormats and tile sample coasters

· you will die an architect, there is no retirement

· you go to the theater and look at the ceiling

· you can buy glossy coffee table books and claim them as a work-related tax expense

· you can live without human contact, sunlight, water or real food for days … but if you can’t plot, that’s bad

· the most important date in your calendar is your next deadline

· paying $200 for a paper lamp seems perfectly normal

· if someone asks “can you model that?” is not because you are attractive

· your vacations always become research

· you stare more at the buildings than the people gathered around them

· you draw, write, sketch and plan on a Moleskine

· you like to complain about other’s work

· you hate the font ‘times new roman’

· you see the sun rise… and set… and rise…

· the statement “It’s only 1 A.M.” seems perfectly reasonable

· you visit an art museum and take pictures of the building

· everybody at parties will tell you “I thought about being an architect but I couldn’t do the math”

· when you go to a restaurant, you look at the walls, roof, and structure before you check the menu

· you slice your finger and the first thing you think is “don’t bleed on the model”

· you know CAD, REVIT, Sketch up, 3dmax, Corel, Illustrator, and Photoshop … but struggle with Microsoft Excel

· you will be kick-ass and admired as much as you are unappreciated and misunderstood

…

Feel free to add your own, I’m sure there many others worth adding to the list. Cheers.