Recent encounters (a first post).

I think writing about what I’ve been up to recently would make a nice ice-breaker.

My blogs name, The Ultimate Racing Machine: I love horse-riding and we have 4 Thoroughbred stallions at my university. Thoroughbreds were bred for stamina and speed, ultimately evolving them into “The Ultimate Racing Machine”. I also love cars, especially fast, premium models (BMW) and my blog’s name also rhymes with their punch-line: “Ultimate Driving Machine” (though they’ve changed it).

I read Micheal Pollan’s “A Place Of  My Own”. The story of a little hut’s life, as it gets built by a writer, all with the help of a local contractor/carpenter Joe and his architect friend, Charlie. A really good read.

My little sister brought a copy for me. That’s how I got my hands on the book. Some of my favourite quotes from the book:

• [on "why Mike wants the hut, a separate building, in his backyard] “It might be that I wished for a place that stood a little apart from this life of mine, but only to get a better view”.

• [why architects/engineers have a 90-degree fetish] “They don’t catch dust, rain doesn’t sit on them, easy to add to, gravity rather than tension holds them in place. It’s easy to build in new counters, shelves or to arrange furniture, bathtubs and beds. We are 90 degrees to the earth”.

• [a new phrase I read here first] “Too hip to be square”.

• [why wood is such a common choice] “There was optimism in wood”.

I’d love to be able to stop right here, but there are just a few more things I’d like to include, continuing the list above:

• [Mike gets excited that he is learning quite well, Joe tells him] “Careful, a guy could get hurt patting himself on the back like that”.

• [About roof leaks in architects' designs] “That’s what happens when you leave a work o art in rain”.

I’ll be posting more on: horses, CAD, translation, awesome things I come across online, my “wants and needs”, Istanbul, relationships and religion.

Thanks!