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Mcfarlin United methodist church

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I grew up in a small town about twenty five minutes south of Norman, so we used to come up to campus for dinner fairly often. For some reason, we always ended up driving by this church, and it always took my breath away. It was massive compared to the church I went to, I think that is why it impressed me so much. When I was younger I thought it had to be the most impressive work of architecture in the world, looking back it definitely is not. Either way, this building still catches my eye every time I drive bye it, it always brings back good memories of quality family time. I have never been inside, which is weird because I grew up Methodist, so I am going to make it a goal to go to a service there as soon as COVID is eradicated.

Ruby’s Restaurant

This has been by far one of my favorite places to go to over the years. As a whole it is one of those small town motels that a lot of truckers stay in, but it has a little restaurant in the middle of it. I have known the owners for years and I actually met the guy in the gym that is one of my other posts. What I love is the design of the interior. It has one of those classic diner designs that feel very comfortable to be in. There are many morning I go there just to have some coffee and talk to my friends. We always talk about how we feel like we are in a movie when we are in there (I always say I feel like I am in the diner from Pulp Fiction). The environment of that building is just a comfortable place to be and very friendly.

the sweatshop

Although it seems a little cringe worthy to include a gym in my list, I could not help but add it into my blog. This building is rather simple and not very impressive to the eye, but I have spent a lot of time in there. The building actually used to be a restaurant on Main Street in my home town. Now it is a gym that is one of the few functioning buildings in my town. It is actually the only building to have any colorful lights to look at during night time so it does stick out. Besides being a place that I workout at, it is a place that has its own little community of people within my town. Every time I am in there I see someone I have gotten to know over the years of going there and it is not uncommon for us to have conversations with multiple people in there. I guess you could say it is one of the few social hotspots in my town for adults.

Steak and ale restaurant

I put this restaurant in my blog because it was my family’s favorite place to go when we all lived in Houston. I can always count on my family to talk about a memory from when we were younger and it was usually in this restaurant. As far as restaurants go it was pretty standard although in my memories it is some of the best food I have ever had. The main thing I loved about it was that it always seemed like a positive experience when we were there. I can never remember having one of those dinners where someone had a bad day or there was an awkward silence. These restaurants actually went out of business sadly, but we were in the process of moving to Oklahoma already so we did not really notice till we went back to visit. One thing that also really sticks out to me was the way these restaurants were designed. They kind of looked like a house that I would imagine in medieval times or something.

oU FOOTBALL sTADIUM

Football season started again! (OU vs. UTEP)

I chose to include the OU football stadium in my blog because it has been a significant part of my Fall season since 2009. I moved to Oklahoma in 2009 from Houston, Texas and at the time I remember not knowing anyone from around here. I was also really into skateboarding as a kid, and when you move just outside of a small town into the countryside it becomes difficult to stay enthused when you do not have friends to skate with. One day however, my grandfather told me he had got us season tickets to the home games at OU. Until that point I had never played football, watched football, or even had a favorite team. So going to my first home game was truthfully my first football experience, and when we went it was something I will never forget because ultimately it helped change my life in Oklahoma. I quickly started loving to watch the Sooners and even decided to play football for my school. It was through football I made a lot of friends that I still have today. It also has kept me and my grandpa close because we both love talking about it. We have seen a lot of great games and a few bad ones, but those seem to be more rare. I also believe that attending these games helped shape my decision to come to OU because walking around campus before games really helped me familiarize myself with the campus and I knew I wanted to go there. Unfortunately the Corona virus has kind of put a damper on things this year because we could not get our season tickets, but I certainly look forward to going next season if I have the opportunity!

The Kizer Household

          

  Above is a picture of my parent’s house. My dad is both the architect and the builder, as he designed this house and saw it through to its conception. We started construction on the house when I was only four years old, so I have many memories of working long nights and making many trips to Lowes in order to get supplies. When constructing this house, my dad considered geographic location into his design. The house is made of styrofoam and concrete with steel rebar reinforcements meaning that it can withstand high category tornadoes. My dad loves round arches so as you look at the photos, you can see the multitude of arches in each picture. Down below is a picture of the inside of the house. When I told my dad that I was going to write about our house he insisted I also post a picture of the inside so you can see the high vaulted ceilings with the big archways. I love this house! I have so many fond memories of aiding in its construction to growing up in it after it was finished. I also love how unique it is! I always enjoy talking about the house and giving first-time guests tours whenever they walk in.

MASP

MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand) was designed by the famous architect Lina Bo Bardi and is located in one of the most important avenues in the city of São Paulo, the famous Avenida Paulista. This region is considered one of the city’s main financial centers as well as an important point of culture and entertainment. This building is not only one of the most important cultural institutions in Brazil, but also a very important building for me, personally. Both the interior and exterior of this building are impressive. Inside, it houses the most important and embracing western art collection of Latin America. Outside, underneath the large suspended volume is a place open to everybody, where you can find local artists as well as hold public and/or political meetings.

On Sundays, this avenue is open to pedestrians and there are dozens of cultural and recreational activities going on. And this is where the MASP became so important to me. My friends and I would spend almost all our Sundays hanging out in Paulista and our meeting spot was MASP. Sometimes, when we didn’t feel like doing anything, we would just sit underneath MASP, listening to live music from a local artist, and talking. Due to this reason, MASP became much more than just an amazing museum and architectural piece to me.

Gould hall

Gould Hall will always be a special place to me. Gould Hall was the first building I had ever been inside of at OU. The first time I toured the building I was told that the architects designed the building backwards. Whether that is true or not I have not ever officially heard. I do find the building to be unique in its design. The building is not a hard building to get turned around in. One of the things I find most interesting is that it is used for a learning tool for many of my construction classes. The building has all exposed MEP throughout the building showing, which has been used for learning and explanation in many of my construction classes.

Indiahoma High School Library

I went to a very small high school and, for part of that time, I had an amazing librarian who was also an archery coach, yearbook instructor, and art teacher. She was amazing and my senior year I spent almost all of my day in this building with her. This building looks like it belongs in a small town, but it doesn’t come to mind when people think of libraries. It had almost no windows and it was not large at all. When I first saw it, I didn’t realize it was a library and I was not impressed by the siding chosen. The exterior is not very pretty but I came to love it for all the fun I had in there. I read to children in there, painted my best artwork, designed a yearbook, spent time with my friends, and I got to meet one of the most amazing people I have ever known. I still talk to her, my sister and I shower her with praise when we approach the topic of high school. I am glad I got to spend so many hours every day inside of this ugly but fun building.

Physical Sciences Center

As a freshman, I came to the University of Oklahoma to get a degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry. This major is fine, I enjoyed most of the classes but there was one thing I always hated. It was this building. I had a class in it every single day and I couldn’t think of a worse place to be. The lower floors, and where I had my classes, have no windows. It feels so dreary and slow inside those classrooms and lecture halls. When I first saw it, my friends referred to it as the “Blender” and I thought this name was very apt. Not only does it look like a blender, but it also takes kids in that are happy and spits them out shredded after long classes without an ounce of sunlight. I have had just one class in it since changing majors, and luckily the teacher was energetic enough to keep us engaged in the material. However, if I never have another class in it, I will consider myself blessed.