Staying Productive

Andrew Tait

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

My team of 5 has been whittled down to three.  With one urban planner gone for six weeks (which allowed me to take his nice desk by a window) and another gone for one, it was quiet around the office.  Nonetheless, the show must go on.  What had been a tag-team project with Matt was now mine and mine alone, at least for the time being.  That it made it moderately challenging, especially carrying such a substantial load but I did enjoy the freedom of working at my own pace.

On Thursday I finally finished up a report of early findings of the Business Industrial land in Upper Hutt after two weeks of site visits, data entry, data entry, and spreadsheet formatting, and then more data entry.  But it all paid off.  At some point, maybe on Monday or Tuesday, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Trends were starting to form.  Then finally, on Wednesday I finished up all the data entry and could start categorizing, sorting, and making charts about nearly 500 Industrial properties in the city.  I learned that Upper Hutt is using its Business Industrial zoned land pretty efficiently.  There a few spots around town with large tracts of developable land but by and large most things are developed.  Here’s a brief shapshot from the report.

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This week has also been filled with some exciting activities during work or in the evenings.  On Monday night, the ImageWellington crew from Gloabalinks met up to celebrate Josh and Jenny’s birthdays.  It was a festive and adventurous evening and, being a Monday night, it felt like we more or less had this metropolis to our selves.  Tuesday was spent eating noodles from a local shop during my lunch break and then contributing my minimal amount of knowledge to New Zealand quiz night with Anton and his mates.  Wednesday I got to Skype my parents which is always an exciting time.  That night I felt like a local going to Ashton (the 9 year old’s) elementary school performance of Maori song and dance.  Then finally, on Thursday, the office welcomed Steffiny (another intern from Mercer) to New Zealand with a Kiwi-American food exchange.  I contributed a well-received Memphis style banana pudding.  This has been a busy but exciting week and I hope the remaining 3 continue on that trend!

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Stay tuned for a post about my upcoming weekend to Hamilton to visit Hobbiton and watch the All Blacks, New Zealand’s world famous international rugby team.  It’s sure to be a blast!

Published by Andrew Tait

I am a sharp, young team leader that can bring your construction vision to life through thoughtful planning, organized and efficient implementation, and a lasting faith that the next project will be even better. My specialty is in the office sector at 10-130,000 SF, though I've also built event centers, cafeterias, and photo studios. With JLL currently, I work with Seattle-based companies to construct satellite corporate offices across the U.S. and Latin America. With strong skills in project management and aptitude in client relations, I aim to take on new and innovative project types to best serve my client's needs. Previously, I served as a Project Manager at Grinder, Taber & Grinder, which is Memphis' premier general contractor, overseeing the details of constructing warehouses, medical offices, corporate headquarters, and banks. Educated at Rhodes College with a degree in Urban Studies, I became an expert on the economic and social impacts of redeveloping and preserving blighted brownfield buildings. Using skills in GIS mapping I complemented this study with strategic site selection analysis and demographic research. On the side I run half-marathons, hike with my family, sail and enjoy working on public relations endeavors and event planning for community groups.

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