Paul has been building Lego creations for a little over two years and finds his sanity depends on this fascinating hobby. He's a workaholic and has an especial knack for dissecting pre and post Colonial texts. He's an on-fire-for-God Christian (my favorite kind of Christian) and prides himself in ridiculously long words like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (a type of lung disease).You can check out some of his amazingsauce creations by clicking here!
Take a look at our interview:
Nicole: So, this is quite a hobby you have. How long have you been doing it?
Paul: Lego has this restriction that they plaster on their boxes "NOT FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3" So, had it been an option, I'm afraid I would have been at this hobby for maybe thirteen of my fourteen years, but alas... I was restrained from "the brick" until the age of three, when I was given my set of Duplo. Lego now runs through my veins, and I've picked it back up after a few years of dullness, as a way to stay sane... amidst homework... and school... and life.
Nicole: I've seen some of your creations and a lot of them are pretty complex. With school and life, how do you find the time and how long does it normally take you to complete a Lego creation?
Paul: Generally, I'll finish some homework, slap myself for not working harder, build for a few precious minutes, slap myself again for not working, and get back to work. Eventually, these five minute build times generate masterpieces. It depends on the complexity of the build I have in mind, but their effort is usually measured in hours. At one point in a singularly challenging build, I made the genius decision to set the work-in-progress by my alarm clock. I wake up the next morning to the sound of my alarm, and make the classic smash to the snooze button. The result was another few hours of RE-building time.
Nicole: That is incredibly frustrating. What's one of the worst building mishaps you can recall?
Paul: One word: Disorganization. It plagues me around every turn. Bricks have the tendency to look like a nuclear bomb has struck when you've been in a building groove.
Nicole: (laughter) Have you ever considered architecture as a potential career path?
Paul: With the way I like to destroy things once they are built, no. I don't think that would be a good idea.
Nicole: (At this point, Nicole laughs like Ed the hyena from the Lion King. Nicole has issues. Do not judge her.) I could see where that could be an issue. You told me earlier that you know the molecular make up of Lego plastic. Care to share?
Paul: Of course! Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is a straight chain of hydrocarbons with four gas constants linked to it, and to a smaller hexagon of carbon atoms bonded and double-bonded together. The result is the familiar little piece of plastic with eight little bumps on top that has become a universal symbol of awesomeness.
Nicole: That's great! Surprisingly, I actually understood most of that. Besides designing (and destroying) Lego creations, what are your other hobbies?
Paul: One of the great joys in my life is dueling, and slicing invisible opponents with anything resembling a sword. My parents eventually got worried, and signed me up for fencing, a sport which I now thoroughly enjoy. I also horseback ride and play chess against myself. Other times, I often find myself running blindly through the woods, at which point, I usually revert to Cheerio eating contests... against myself. I have no siblings, and I love it that way.
Nicole: If you were running through the woods and found yourself face to face with a angry, yelling anteater, what would you say to it?
Paul: Hi! You look mad.
Nicole: Oh! Before I forget, explain SNOT.
Paul: So this guy comments on one of my creations, and he's like "great SNOT work!" I reply back something like, "yeah, thanks jerk."(That did not happen by the way.) Anyhow, I did a bit of sleuthing, and eventually found this great post by some genius who figured out that a lot of the Lego terminology was too confusing and too... offensive if taken the wrong way. SNOT stands for "Studs Not On Top." If you were given a few Lego bricks to put together, you would usually just stack them. More complex building requires more complex techniques like sideways or upside-down building. (SNOT) Basically, whenever you have Legos that face sideways or down instead of up, you have used the SNOT technique.
Nicole: What is your proudest moment as a 'legoer'?
Paul: Photographing and perfecting models and then sharing them with the world gives me much joy. It makes me feel happy inside. Like a little cheesy smiley face giggling in my soul... I digress. It makes me happy when I get nice little comments like "awsum MOCs u rock!!!1!!1" on my creations. I don't know. The whole hobby is so fun and rewarding, each little Legoing moment is just a great part of a proud history of an art form that reaches all the way back to 1916. (MOC, by the way, stands for "My Original (or own) Creation")
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So, instead of saying "there you have it, folks" after each interview, I'm just going to yell random colors.
