Prompted by the latest bi-weekly question of @abundance.tribe, I had the chance to do some deeper soul-searching on the age-old question I have been confronted with since school days: what am I going to be when I grow up? Okay, okay, @abundance.tribe has narrowed it down to the second half of this year, but at the moment a few months are just about on the same level for me as eternity.
Staying Put and Learning New Things
I have to admit, it was not this bi-weekly question that first got me thinking about this... Actually, the question has been floating around in my mind quite a bit lately, especially over the last couple of weeks, since I came back from the construction project in Mazunte. So what now? I couldn't help wondering, even though ever since the pandemic, I tried not to make very firm plans. Instead, I wanted to see which way the universe was taking me, and thus plans developed on their own. In the end, I felt fortunate enough that all of them took me to remote locations, where the Covid (and the any subsequent insanity) were mere news facets from somewhere far away. My actual experience was more dominated by the awesomeness of nature immediately around me, and wonderful construction challenges on a daily basis.
So in the end, this last year-and-a-half were not too different from my usual pattern of doing things: I would go off to places like the coast of Oaxaca or the desert of California to do amazing things, while my wife remained in Mexico City. Following those gigs, I would spend a number of months (maybe a year even) with her in the city. During this time I would do what I have always been doing in my in-between times: teach classes of English and German. Though I actually quite enjoy the interaction with students, the reason I never liked this work too much was because of the commute. Thankfully, this has been taken care of during pandemic times. Yey for online teaching!!!
So at the moment I have no clear plans for the rest of the year. Mazunte will resume, as always, after the rainy season in December, or most likely January. California... I don't know. But while I'm sitting around at my computer in the city, I may as well use the time to learn something new. I know just the thing...
Designing Buildings ... In Detailed Visuals
Okay, so while being active in natural building, one doesn't get around looking at plans. These could be your conventional drawings of the architect or engineer, such as the ones we followed at the Doighouse build on Vancouver Island, or the colorful plans from Earthsip Biotecture with its in-your-face details. But even the tiny art studio in California, I thought up and scratched on a napkin, benefited from some accurate lines drawn with a ruler.
Nowadays, there is a range of software to help visualize any plan, whether it may be for a building, a piece of furniture, or a landscape design. The one that was recommended to me is called SketchUp. And just like any serious software, it comes at a certain price, and one needs to know how to use it. On the other hand, being able to use SketchUp is also a sought after skill, which is also worth its money (or so I've been told). In any case, I think it would be of great benefit for me to learn how to use SketchUp. For the Mazunte build, it certainly created a cool look, even though lots of aspects of the buildings changed on the real building before we could adjust the plans.
Primarily for Work, but not Exclusively
The first month of the software is free to use, and there are numerous instructional videos around to help you get acquainted with it. This of course means taking the time and actually using it, but I can see myself spending way more time on it than I originally planned, simply to figure things out.
Once I have made good use of the free month, I may be ready to spend money on it. This could mean buying the program itself, or taking a professional training course, which might actually include the software, if only for the duration of the course. Eventually I will not get around paying for SketchUp, especially if I want to use it for earning money.
Ultimately, I can see myself accepting jobs of drawing plans using SketchUp, from the comfort of my home, similarly as I am teaching languages these days. More importantly, though, I'll feel much better designing buildings in the greatest possible details, with all the additional help that a software can provide. If I start in June, I think by July I should feel quite competent with SketchUp, at least ready to benefit from a paid course. Keeping it up, I may even be ready to look for work by the end of the Summer.
Any Suggestions?
Do any of you have any experience with SketchUp, or any similar software? I would love to hear any advice you may have on either the program, the work, on learning how to use it, and on working with it. It would be much appreciated.