Article Snippet: "Being new to New York and the university, and naturally somewhat of a loner anyway, I didn’t join in the collective moans and groans of the group... "
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
The Riddle of E.B. White’s "Here is New York" and Architecture" - A Narrative Essay [Truncated - Excerpt Only]
Setting:
University Auditorium "Arts and Architecture 101"
The Assignment
“Download this book from the university database or the web, read it, and write an essay that has something to do with architecture. I will begin accepting your essays on Tuesday and the deadline is Friday of next week,” my Professor blurted.
Then he hurriedly shut off the screen, scooped up his notes, corralled his mess of colored laser pointers strewn all over the small presenter’s table on the stage, and haphazardly threw the whole lot into his leather document holder - an old, large, ugly thing; resembling the bulky bag you’d see Indiana Jones lug around for snatching priceless artifacts from ancient, snake and scorpion infested, booby-trap ridden Egyptian tombs.
It was just after lunchtime on Friday afternoon.
The following Monday was a national holiday; therefore, no classes would be held. That meant all of us could enjoy a long weekend. Consequently, everyone - especially my professor - was very eager to start off the long weekend as early as possible.
After he exited the auditorium, I could hear the murmurs of indignation welling up among my fellow classmates of this Arts and Architecture course. To them, the prospect of an essay assignment eating up any morsel of their partying time during this long weekend was an outrage!
Being new to New York and the university, and naturally somewhat of a loner anyway, I didn’t join in the collective moans and groans of the group.
Instead, I wanted to get a head start on the essay and hopefully have much of it done before my habitual midnight jogging.
To me, my plan of attack was simple: read the book, look for any mention of significant architecture, extract any architectural descriptions, give a brief historical overview of the structures, and submit my impression of its symbolism of the past versus today’s appraisals.
But as I explain in this essay, that plan was soon trashed early on. And the connections between E.B. White’s “Here is New York” and architecture resembled nothing that I could have ever imagined...
By JaiChai
"Really Appreciate You Stopping By. Truly hope to see you again!"
About the Author
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Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
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After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his girlfriend, teenage daughter and two dogs.
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"My mind was a terrible thing to waste..." - JaiChai
(This post contains excerpts from The Riddle of E.B. White’s "Here is New York" and Architecture - A Narrative Essay - JaiChai, 2017. Revised 12-6-2020. Simultaneous, multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.)
