زﻳستن چون گل سرخ – ﺑرﮔردان آزاد از ﺳﻬﻴل ﻓروزان‌ﺳﭙﻬر

دیدگانی که به دیدگانم خیره میشوند

و لبخندی که بر لبانش ناپدید میگردد

این است چهره‌ی بی​‌آرایش آنکه بدو دلبستم

و آن هنگام که مرا تنگ در آغوش میگیرد و نغمه​‌ی شیداییش را زمزمه میکند

زندگی را گلگون میبینم چون گل سرخ

او از دلدادگی سخن میراند و از زندگی روزانه

و من در واژگانش خویشتنِ خویش را میابم

اوست که به اندرونی دلم راه یافته است

او شادمانی من است و نیک میدانم چرا

او از آنِ مَنَست و من از آنِ او

از آغاز تا به پایان زندگی

سوگند به زندگی، سوگند به گل سرخ

و همینکه او را میبینم

غوغایی درونم را فرا میگیرد و بر کوس دلم میکوبد

شبهای بی‌​پایان شیدایی

و سرخوشیهای آن

زنگارِ درد و غم از رخسار هستیَم میزدایند

سرخوشیهایی که مرگ را هم یارای پایان دادنشان نیست

و آن هنگام که مرا تنگ در آغوش میگیرد و نغمه​‌ی شیداییش را زمزمه میکند

زندگی را گلگون میبینم چون گل سرخ

او از دلدادگی سخن میراند و از زندگی روزانه

و من در واژگانش خویشتنِ خویش را میابم

اوست که به اندرونی دلم راه یافته است

او شادمانی من است و نیک میدانم چرا

او از آنِ مَنَست و من از آنِ او

از آغاز تا به پایان زندگی

سوگند به زندگی، سوگند به گل سرخ

و همینکه او را میبینم

غوغایی درونم را فرا میگیرد و بر کوس دلم میکوبد…

La vie en rose

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l’homme auquel j’appartiens

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose

Il me dit des mots d’amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose

Il est entré dans mon cœur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause

C’est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie

Et dès que je l’aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat

Des nuits d’amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Les ennuis, les chagrins s’effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose

Il me dit des mots d’amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose

Il est entré dans mon cœur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause

C’est toi pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie

Et dès que je l’aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat…

Sag nicht auf wiedersehn, und sag nicht goodbye!

365 days ago this day I left Jacobs to experience the wilderness outside after working for about 7 years with my friends. Although it was a bit sentimental to leave my friends behind, I really needed that change. Yesterday, some of my former colleagues and I had a get-together drink which made me feel a bit nostalgic. So, I thought maybe republishing one of my last post for my former colleagues around the world together with their kind comments (Even some of them told poems for me! Look at their comments!), and the leaving card they prepared for me would be a good idea on this specific day! This way, I can prove despite being very busy these days, I haven’t forgotten them and the good time we had together.

I think just looking at the comments below my text proves how Jacobs was successful in embracing the “Culture of Inclusion” and “Diversity”.

So here is what I wrote for them and their kind responses:

 

Sag nicht auf wiedersehn, und sag nicht goodbye!

Have you ever experienced to be “sadly happy” or “happily sad”?! These two expressions will most certainly define my feelings at the end of this month when I will leave Jacobs to join another company in London… It is now a few weeks since I signed my resignation and sent my exit interview to Jacobs following to accepting a better offer from another company. It was an absolute pleasure and great honour working and befriending with you Jacobs fellas and in fact, the very best thing I liked about working with Jacobs. For sure there were things I didn’t like about this company and I did honestly mention them in my exit interview (hopefully Mr Jacobs will look at my criticism positively and try to improve things). However, I do strongly believe Jacobs people are wonderful and unforgettable.

For sure, it will be very difficult for me to say farewell to you my lovely fellas and so as my favourite singer, Vicky Leandros, asks “Sag nicht auf wiedersehn, und sag nicht goodbye!“ I’m not going to say goodbye to you, well just to Mr Jacobs for now. Because you know, as JacobsConnect proved, this amazing huge universe is, in fact, a very small world when you appreciate and embrace the importance of diversity, the culture of inclusion and will to discover/experience/try novel things in your life. So, I’m sure I’ll be in touch with many of you, at least electronically, and you never know, we may work together again in future or see you in a corner of the world in our trips.

There are a few groups here as my legacy that either I initiated or have participated in. I’d really appreciate if some kind people volunteer to take over the administration of them and keep them alive and active when I leave the company:

  • Bridge Engineering: As a bridge designer I founded this forum to discuss and share our work experiences, problems we may encounter in our projects, etc. I’d appreciate if somebody who is into bridge engineering volunteers for its administration, so I can add him as an administrator before I leave.
  • Eurocodes for Structures: As using Eurocodes are somehow a new and challenging experience, I founded this forum to share our knowledge. Now we need a new admin who is a structural engineer and has worked with Eurocodes.
  • Mathcad: Another group I founded to discuss about this great software Mathcad. I have to admit we were not very active in this group but please somebody who has worked with Mathcad rise his/her hand, so I can add him/her as the new administrator.
  • LUSAS: Anyone has extensive experience in using LUSAS for computational analysis of bridges, composites, etc? Please raise your hand…
  • History Forum: This is a casual non-professional forum for amateur historians and those who love history. Of course, Jacobs has its own Environmental Sciences and Planning Cultural Resources (History, Historic Structures, Ethnography, Archaeology & Heritage) which is more professional and work-related. But is there any volunteer to administrate this casual group after me?
  • Jacobs Dancers: This is a very interesting group our friend, Ganna Kudrey the Magnificent, established and when she left the company nominated Kateryna Kornyeyeva (our other super wonderful Ukrainian friend) and me as the new administrators. Katya herself is a wonderful dancer and I’m sure will do a great job in administrating this group with her amazing experience when she has time. Feel free to join the club and rock it.
  • Chelmsford Office: This is a group established by my better-than-brother, Behzad Akbari, for Chelmsford employees of Jacobs and I was just helping him. Feel free to support Behzad and oh, there’s a piece of news there about me in the most recent edition of Chelmsford Office Newspaper by Chris Seaman. I was so humbled. Those of you who are not working in Chelmsford are also more than welcome…

Matt Waddicor asked me for a final shot for Sarah Daniels’s interesting Timeless Ties group. Well, I was more into cravats than ties and recently haven’t fastened anything regularly I have to admit. But yet they kindly accepted me as a participant and it was indeed joyful. I think while they’re possibly looking to see another shot of me with another cravat and waistcoat and a glass of champagne or white wine in my hand, may I break the rules a bit and purely for the sake of a casual change and diversity, submit the below photo? It’s me as a tourist in one of the beautiful historic villages of Iran in beautiful Iranian traditional costumes. I always regret a lot why I didn’t buy the costume there from the old lady in the shot.

I do hope we will stay in touch, at least electronically… You can either contact me through my LinkedIn profile or my own website which hasn’t been updated for a long time and I have to do it as soon as I find an opportunity. Here is also my photography website.

And finally, may I take the opportunity to thank you all very much again for your sincere friendship. It was indeed an absolute pleasure and great honour for me to know, befriend and work with you all.

No goodbye!

PS: My last day with Mr Jacobs will be Friday 31st October 2014. So, I’ll be still here till then!

Comments

Kateryna Kornyeyeva (15-Oct-2014 12:29):

Sohail it was pleasure to get to know you and hope you will have great time and experience in the new company. Thank you for nominating me as a dance group administrator as well 🙂 Will keep in touch, and I will for sure follow your photography career as well.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 12:46):

Katya, the pleasure was all mine indeed. Who better than you for administrating that group? Especially and absolutely “no goodbye” to you as we’re already very good old friends and will stay in touch in Facebook or whenever either you and your family come to London or I come to Ireland. 🙂 I have also the great honour of being “Uncle Sohail” for your little angel. 🙂

Angelita Litonjua (15-Oct-2014 12:31):

Sohail, no goodbye indeed! Thank you for your friendship, too! 🙂 We’ll miss you!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 12:48):

Angel, for sure “no goodbye” to you too my dear friend and for sure I’ll miss you too. xx

Sarah Daniels (15-Oct-2014 12:44):

All the very best, Sohail. It is a pleasure knowing you!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 12:50):

The pleasure was all mine Sarah for knowing and befriending with you…. And ha, your New Gate! 🙂 You have a very bright mind full of wonderful ideas…

I wish you all the very best too and for sure “no goodbye” to you to my friend. 🙂

Robert “Matt” DiPalma (15-Oct-2014 12:51):

Godspeed, Sohail! We wish you all the best in your future endeavours!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 12:55):

Thanks mate. My very best wishes for you too. 🙂

Vartika Jain (15-Oct-2014 12:57):

All the very best Sohail…

I will missing your initiative of equalizing JC level to salary hike 🙂 ….

God bless you.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 13:41):

Ha ha ha, thanks for reminding me Vartika. Actually I’ve got about 4000 points here and the title “Pioneer”. I’m going to put them on sale at eBay and get some money!!!! 😉

People, here’re some very good quality, made in USA, organic JC points and title “Pioneer” for sale. All with 7-day money back guaranty and free delivery!!! Happy bidding!! 😉 :p 😀

David Haines (15-Oct-2014 13:04):

Goodbye and good luck!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 13:42):

As explained above, “no goodbye” but good luck David.

Phil Butler (15-Oct-2014 13:10):

Sohail, it’s been an absolute pleasure to get to know you even if it is only electronically. I wish you all the best for the future you will be missed.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 13:43):

Phil, very same feelings and wishes here too mate. “No goodbye” to you too.

Alberto Sanchez (15-Oct-2014 13:12):

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr, may I wish you the best in your future and remember always the persons you left behind as friends and good old mates.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 13:45):

You may Alberto, you may! 🙂 Of course you were wonderful unforgettable friends. “No goodbye” to you too and all the very best my friend.

Alejandro Carranza (15-Oct-2014 13:14):

Hey Sohail Forouzan-Sepehr wish you the very best!

Please keep in touch my Iranian friend, and do not forget to contact me when you finally make that trip to Mexico.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 13:53):

Mi queridisimo Mexicano amigo, Alejandro, I may forget my home address or keys but most certainly I will never forget you and our extraordinarily beautiful country, Mexico. Actually a few days ago I was looking for your either LinkedIn or Facebook profile but couldn’t find any trace from you. It was a great pleasure knowing and befriending with you and will be a greater pleasure to stay in touch. I will inbox you my email address and hope you don’t mind to exchange yours.

Very best wishes for you and hasta luego either in Mexico or Iran or any other amazing corner of the world.

Angelita Litonjua (15-Oct-2014 13:58):

Sohail, I would like to have your email ad, too. Can we please exchange?

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:22):

Sure. I will.

Alejandro Carranza (15-Oct-2014 16:00):

Sure my friend! See ya soon!

You can find my profile on facebook and LinkedIn as Alejandro Carranza.

Have a great day my friend! 🙂

Paul Wheeldon (15-Oct-2014 13:18):

Sorry to hear you are off Sohail. We in the Tribe will be less for lack of your sartorial elegance.

Does this mean that Angelita has got out of buying you that incredibly expensive tie?

Enjoy where you go next. 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:00):

Thank you very much for your kindness Paul. I have the same sadness for leaving the tribe too, but it’s life… My best wishes for you too my friend.

Oh for sure don’t worry! Angelita is always more than welcome to buy that tie for me and shows her generosity! 😉

Shamim Huq (15-Oct-2014 13:43):

Adios amigos, bon voyage, farewell, godspeed, au revoir – my friend. We will miss your presense Sohail Forouzan-sepehr. I hope that when you decide that the wilderness is enough 🙂 😀 you will return and it will delight us.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:04):

My very dear friend with beautiful name Shamim, “no goodbye”, “no adios”, “no khodahafez” and “no au revoir” to you! I’m not good in saying goodbye and so I don’t.

I do hope we will work together again in future too. You never know, maybe in future my new company will take over Jacobs and we’ll be all colleagues again! 😉

Ha, do you think Mr Jacobs will censor my last sentence?! 😉

John Lane (15-Oct-2014 13:55):

Best wishes in your new endeavour Sohail, Bonne chance mon ami.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:15):

Merci beaucoup mon cher ami, John. C’est gentil. My best wishes for you too.

Jean Early (15-Oct-2014 14:05):

Sorry and sad to hear you’re leaving Sohail Forouzan-sepehr.

Good luck with your new job & I hope that our paths may cross again sometime in the future!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:21):

Thank you my friend Jean and please be sure that I’ve got absolutely the same feelings. 🙁 But as I explained above, “no goodbye” to you but best wishes for you too. 🙂 I’m sure our paths will cross again somewhere and sometime in the future. 🙂

PS: As I said in one of my comments above, I hope my new company takes over and buys the whole Jacobs, so we’ll be colleagues again! 😉

Frank North (15-Oct-2014 14:30):

All the best to you Sohail, Be Safe, Take Care and may peace happiness and joy be yours always!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:33):

Thanks my friend. Same wishes for you too.

John Fay (15-Oct-2014 14:34):

Alas! We will miss you.

I’ll not say goodbye, but I will offer you the blessing of “fare thee well.” May you have joy and success in your new endeavors, wherever they may be.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:48):

Thanks my knowledgeable friend, John. For sure I will miss you and your valuable posts, too.

Heath Lutz (15-Oct-2014 14:38):

I’ve always been a proponent of “until next time”. I also wish you well in your endeavors and wanted to say what a positive contribution you have made to our online community.

In that spirit, “auf wiedersehen” and “au revoir” which both literally means until we see (each other) again.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:50):

Thanks so much Heath. I’ve also always enjoyed your contributions and yes very well said, till we see each other again.

Cora Carmody (15-Oct-2014 14:44):

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr – until we meet again.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:52):

Very well said Cora. Till we meet again my friend. 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 14:57):

Guys and girls, do you know how you can recognise Iranians apart from their accent?

…

Iranians’ farewell at the end of the parties, meetings, etc always takes about 3 hours even if the meeting itself was for half an hour only!! 😉

In this spirit, I’ve proved to be too much Iranian as I’ve started this “till we meet again” thing 3 weeks before my leave!!! 😀

Frank North (15-Oct-2014 14:59):

But Sohail, if you hadn’t started early however would we have had time to say farewell? Good Planning!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:08):

Thanks mate. To be honest, this was exactly my intention. Always planning things in well advance with plenty of time to do things without rush. 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:24):

Furthermore, in this way Angelita will also have enough time to buy that tie (Calligraphy Tie) for me before I leave!!! 😉 :p

Angelita Litonjua (15-Oct-2014 15:37):

😀 😉 :p 2+ weeks!

Paul Wheeldon (15-Oct-2014 15:01):

Keep this up Sohail and you will get your mystical blue staff before you leave the company. I trust that Sarah has one waiting for all who become guides. 😉

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:10):

Ha ha ha, you’re right Paul. I think this post will make me a champion or guide or something! Then I’ll put the new titles and point on eBay for sale and make some money from them!!! :p 😉

Jean Early (15-Oct-2014 15:40):

That’s fine as long as you don’t push me off Page 3!!!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:51):

Don’t worry Jean. I’m not a pushy person! 😀

Alberto Venni (15-Oct-2014 15:30):

I wish you all the best for your new adventure, Sohail Forouzan-sepehr. It was a pleasure to talk about photography with you!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:35):

Grazie mille my friend, Alberto. It was indeed a great pleasure talking about your trips and photos, too. No arrivederci but best wishes till we meet again…

Alberto Venni (15-Oct-2014 15:40):

Thank you very much! If one day you’ll be travelling to Florence, let me know

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:41):

Wow, you live in Firenze. Sure, I will. 🙂

Alberto Venni (15-Oct-2014 15:48):

Actually I live in Fiesole but I was born and raised in Firenze, near Santa Croce!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:49):

Wow, I’m packing my luggage to come! 😉

Alberto Venni (15-Oct-2014 15:52):

September-October is the best time for visiting Florence (if the weather is not too bad)…….

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 15:54):

I think it was either in September or October 2008 when I last came to Italy. We were in a group with t-shirts and shorts enjoying the warm lovely weather where the local well-dressed Italians were in their warm cloths and boots… 🙂

Brenda Gibbons (15-Oct-2014 17:06):

Good luck! It was nice meeting you.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 17:13):

Thanks Brenda. 🙂

Denise Hofmann (15-Oct-2014 17:11):

Farewell until we meet again. I do wish you all of the best in your future endeavors. 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 17:13):

Thanks Denise. Till we meet again. 🙂

Martyn Williams (15-Oct-2014 21:42):

The bright flame that is JC dims, a little but noticiably with the leaving of a leading light.

Well meet and safe journey.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 22:26):

Wow Martyn, I’m truly humbled by your beautiful poetic words. And interestingly you’ve used the meaning of my surname in your expressions! I can’t thank you enough my friend. 🙂

Martyn Williams (15-Oct-2014 22:40):

Genuine pleasure – the whole ‘second brightest star in the sky’ thing did not work out!

Timeless Tie’s loses its only touch of class. :p

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (15-Oct-2014 23:08):

Martyn, I guess in your previous incarnation/life you were a great Persian poet. 🙂

Ram Reddy (16-Oct-2014 23:59):

Kabhi Alvida na Kahena – translated from Urdu, means never say goodbye!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (17-Oct-2014 11:22):

Thanks Ram. Yes, absolutely no ‘Alvida’! Till we meet another time.

Sue Pei Lim (17-Oct-2014 08:53):

Wish you all the best, Sohail. 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (17-Oct-2014 11:24):

Thanks Sue. It was a great pleasure knowing you. 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (17-Oct-2014 11:32):

I’d like to also thank Heath Lutz for his kind words about me on his post “Sohail Forouzan-sepehr” at Global Recognition.

Julien FILOU (20-Oct-2014 12:50):

Sohail.

à bientôt.

et le meilleur pour toi et tes proches !

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (20-Oct-2014 13:51):

Merci beaucoup mon cher ami, Julien. C’est très gentil.

Mes meilleurs voeux pour vous et vos proches, aussi.

À bientôt. 🙂

Atul Paralkar (21-Oct-2014 16:22):

Best wishes Sohail! You will be missed.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Oct-2014 16:28):

Thanks Atul. 🙂

Paul Harper (24-Oct-2014 11:40):

Sohail, my friend, I am truly sad to see you go. Your brought your own special dimension to our little community (and of course your wonderful cravats and waistcoats). A vegetarian and a lover of fine food. I will raise a glass to you in ‘Avesta’, our only Iranian restaurant in Belfast.

You had me guessing a few weeks ago about your big news – if nothing else I introduced you to Labi Siffre? I suppose that part of the guessing is over!

Best wishes,

Paul

PS – I did love the film ‘No One Knows About Persian Cats‘ which won a special prize at Cannes a few years back. Indie music and the underground music movement in Teheran may not be your thing, but am sure that Matt or some of the other guys may have heard of it, or if not will get a chance to look up.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (24-Oct-2014 12:11):

My very dear friend Paul, thank you very much for your kind words. Go raibh míle maith agat go mór. 🙂 I can never forget our very interesting conversations here and for sure it’s also very sad for me to leave you and other wonderful Jacobs fellas…

I think we’re connected as I was thinking about wonderful Irish Riverdance, one of the most beautiful and my best favourite dances… Also, at the same time when you were writing about the Iranian movie, I was reading your post about Bacon number and tried several Iranian actors and actresses, but couldn’t get any number greater than 3! I haven’t watched that movie yet but heard about it. We have a joke in Iran (a sad one though) saying “according to the law, whatever makes you feel good or please you is forbidden!” So yes, underground music in Tehran, Tabriz and other cities are not just about Rap, Metal, etc; but can also include some amazing jazz, gypsy, even soprano opera, etc too and there’re a few ones I really love. There’re a young Iranian couple in US who’re not only amazing singers and musicians themselves, but also they try to discover the hidden talents in Iran and introduce their works in their Facebook page. Their band is called “Eendo” which means “These two”.

As I said in my above blog post and comments, for sure I’m not going to say goodbye and instead prefer to say: “Féach leat go luath” to you. I do hope we’ll stay in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Sohail

Paul Harper (24-Oct-2014 12:29):

Sohail, yes we will stay in touch. I have a brother in Essex (Braintree), so may catch up with you there. You beat me to LinkedIn! We are connected now via that.

Take care,

Paul

Hossein Jafarzadeh (26-Oct-2014 21:19):

Good Luck and Wish you all the best!!

Angelita Litonjua (26-Oct-2014 21:36):

Hello Hossein! Congratulations for reaching the Adventurer status level. Enjoy connecting! 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (27-Oct-2014 18:19):

Thanks Hossein jaan. All the very best for you too. I trust in my absence you and the rest will keep the Iranian community of Jacobs active and alive.

PS: A bit of linguistics for non-Persian speaking fellas: The word “jaan” I used after Hossein’s name is pronounced almost exactly like “John” and means “dear”. 🙂

Angelita Litonjua (27-Oct-2014 19:56):

How are you doing short timer?

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (28-Oct-2014 09:41):

Busy busy busy… 🙂

Angelita Litonjua (28-Oct-2014 11:25):

Okay just checking up on my friend. That’s all.

Mark Wisbey (29-Oct-2014 13:59):

Good luck & best wishes for the future 🙂

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (29-Oct-2014 14:04):

Thanks MW. 😉

A Tribute to My Dad

In August 2014 and just a few weeks before his 71st birthday, my Dad sadly passed away and I rushed back home to take care of my Mum for while after sharing the sad news with my colleagues and saying goodbye to them. When I came back to work after about a month, I felt I needed to write about my late Dad; it was indeed the least I could do  to introduce this great man to those around the world who didn’t already know him and also to explain to my colleagues why I had been away for about a month. It was not that easy, but eventually I wrote this text on 21st September 2014 in the social network of our company for my colleagues around the world. Here I republish my post as well as the comments of my wonderful ex-colleagues…

Mr Better Better!!!

Hello everyone,

Following my last status update (“Today, the saddest day of my life, my beloved dad passed away after being more than 2 months in…”) and my about a month absence I received many kind messages of sympathy and condolences from you all which truly humbled me and I felt blessed by your kindness upon my return. It was my intention to write to all in return but so far I couldn’t get round to it. So, here’s my text now.

Better, better… So much better!!!

This is a literal translation of what my beloved late dad used to sing in Persian especially in difficult times. Whatever happened, even the most horrible things in our life, my dad used to sing it and advise us to try to see the difficulties as opportunities… So, we used to call him Mr Better Better! He was the first person who woke up early in the morning everyday, prepared breakfast for my mum and me, brewed tea and then woke us up by whistling and singing… A very sincere and warm person who could easily befriend with everyone and impress them with his wisdom, a vegetarian who didn’t smoke, drank very rarely, nothing could ever make him upset, an intellectual who always found the simplest solutions for all problems and a lovely dad and husband full of life and optimism who was truly enjoying his life with his best friend and colleague, my mum. An avant-garde architect, researcher, author, poet and Iranologist who spent the majority of his life on his books and researches, an encyclopaedia of arts and architecture as well as his great Iranology researches, his poems, translating Edgar Allan Poe’s poems to Persian poems together with my mum and so many other great works… It was my dad who taught me mathematics, chess, backgammon (a board game invented by Iranians thousands of years ago to represent the Persian philosophy of life) and the philosophy behind them…

Once a young plumber who went to my parents house a couple of years ago to fix the pipes, found my dad very alive, warm and sincere. He explained how he was wondering when he went to the most of elder people, he found them moody and grumpy, but my dad who was almost 70 year old was so funny and friendly. “You never know! Maybe 30 years later when I also become old, I’ll become moody and grumpy too!” my dad replied.

About four months ago, he suddenly and shockingly had a stroke due to his weak heart and had gone in coma for about three months! That day like always my dad was whistling while working on his encyclopaedia, complementing my mum as her cooked lunch was the tastiest in the whole world for him, brewing perfect afternoon tea for my mum after their siesta, … and at night the unbelievable disaster happened…

 «چنان با نیک و بد سر کن که بعد از مردنت عرفی، مسلمانت به زمزم شوید و هندو بسوزاند»

This is a 16th-century Persian poem my dad used to quote which represents Persian attitude toward the importance of diversity and tolerance in the world. It says treat people with different attitudes in a way that after your departure from this world each group of people believe you were one of them and mourn for you in their own way. Indeed my dad so treated everyone in such way that upon his coma all our friends prayed for him in their own ways… Zoroastrians, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jewish people, atheists, etc all prayed for him from the very bottom of their hearts and eventually his departure saddened them all equally as my dad was always one of them.

During the horrible three months when my dad was in coma in hospital, my mum was inspiringly strong and rational, and whenever I wanted to go back to Tehran, she asked me to wait and keep my energy for when it would be really needed for the family. She indeed spent all her energy and love for my dad during the three months and eventually when my dad’s inner bird of wisdom decided to escape from the cage of his body about a month ago and just a few weeks before his 71st birthday, no energy was left for my mum. She was extremely weak and sensitive. Yet, there were two more things my mum did. Once my dad had a dream of being with his dad, my grandpa, once again and my mum made his dream came true. She found the grave of my late grandpa and buried my dad there. So now a great father and his son are resting in peace together in the same place. My mum also promised my dad in one of her dreams to complete and publish the unpublished books and encyclopaedia of my dad… It was now my turn to look after her. This was when I said good bye to all Jacobs fellas by the above status update and immediately flew to Tehran, Iran for about a month. It was not at all to take my time and deal with my own emotions. I had to take care of my weakened mum and cheer her up. Also, upon my dad’s wish, we didn’t have any type of ceremonies for his departure and the money will be spent on cultural activities instead (In Iran traditionally there are ceremonies on the day of departure, on the 7th night after departure, on the 40th night after departure and then annually.) While I’m yet so sad about my huge loss and the fact I couldn’t do anything for my dad, at least I tried to make my mum feel better and I was successful. My mum and I are also trying to make my dad’s wishes come true…

Yet I fail to see what could be “better, better, so much better” in his departure apart from the fact he is not suffering anymore.

Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your lovely messages of sympathy and apologise for not being able to reply back to every individual of you. Thank you so much Angelita Litonjua, Chris Carey, Paul Harper, Cora Carmody, Farid El Mouhsine, Sarah Daniels,Frank North, Sue Pei Lim, Alberto Venni, Martyn Williams, Matt Waddicor, Phil Butler, Khalid Khan, Tyrus Deal, Mazen Osman, Hector Martinez, John Fay, Michele Barzyk, Robert “Matt” DiPalma, Denise Hofmann, Deidre Bolemon, Adolfo Lopez, Carolina Peralta Cigarroa, Alejandro Carranza, Chelse Hoskins, Dave Hill, Rodrick English, Janis Bartlett, Shamim Huq, Heath Lutz, Gopal Pirathapan, Aaron Smith, Mayoorun Parasuraman, Ganna Kudrey, Koula Valsamis, Rekha Babumon, Nagaratnam Pirabagaran, Chris Seaman and James Nash.

I’d like to also thank Arash Ghaneh, Ramin Mellatshahi, Mohammad Tajvidi, Farzin Farajzadeh, Behrouz Khodaverdian, Neyson Foghani, Amir Assadizadeh, Parizad Nobakht, Houman Farhadi, Faramarz Noorfardi, Mehri Rezaeian, Arash Noshadravan, Kaveh Komaee, Minoo Ghorishi, TC Sedat Tekgul Sid, Bita Milanloo, Alireza Monfared, Bahar Köse, Azadeh Monfared, Bahare Talakoob, Marina Milani, Nima Aghili, Farshid Zarei, Afshin Fathi, Ali Farnoud, Negar Sadeghpour, Hossein Tahami, Leila Rezaeian, Kaveh Espandar, Alireza Farsad, Naghmeh Tafazzoli, Sahel Tangestani, Saman Tafazzoli, Mandana Cont, Fariborz Nourfardi, Kiana Makki, Ali Aliabadi, Elaheh Kompany, Nima Rashidi, Maliheh Kheirkhah, Bita Mojdehifar, Arash Azimzadeh, Bahram Mosleh, Yalda Amoozadeh, Kourosh Keshvarian, Behzad Tolaminejad, Amir Pasha Peyvandi, Mally Mehryar, Maryam Shariati, Saman Zargarbashi, Aban Dokht Mehryar, Maryam Sadjadpour, Ardavan Motahari, Mohsen Sharifi, Reza Zolfkhani, Sasan Salehi, Babak Pourazaram, Arash Soheyli, Omid Lashgari, Majid Ghavami, Parvaneh Alikhani, Shiva Bahrami, Rozita Naghshin, Arash Nayeri, Niloo Foghani, Farhad Irani, Amir Soltani, Mana Komai, Soorena Fatehchehr, Ahura Qavami Tehrani, Shayesteh Ghorbani, Nima Ala, Babak Kamrani, Laleh Espandar, Amin Kaboudvand, Mohammad Farno, Mahdi Kavousi, Amir Nasr, Leila Milanloo, Parvin Rahbar, Zahra Pillay, Mehrali Kafi, Hamid Rezaeian, Mohsen Mirdamadai, Mehry Mallah, Gholamreza Masumi, Kaykavous Ahmadi Behazin, Sara Mirsiab, Hossein Sadr, Nader Ahgharian, Mojgan Ghafari Shirvan, Majid Fathi, Arghavan Louhghalam, Sima Madadi, Ali Mousavi, Behrang Asfia, Ann Goddard, Ali Abdolbaghi, Ali Boroumand, Nima Tafazzoli, Farzaneh Omidvarnia, Elham Monfared, Yasmin Rezaeian, Maryam Naghynejadfard, Mazdak Pourabdollah Tootkaboni, Azam Rahbari Komaee, Somayeh Amirbeigee, Ali Mardomi, Masoud Zohari, Mina Matin, Negar Mehryar, Amir Sadjadpour, Liz Giddings, Aram Soroushian, Iman Karimi, Mark Richard Engel, Jodie Moule, Darryl Butcher, Reshma Assyria Rajan, Jerry Engelhersht, Marco Bruno, David How, Shima Shomali, Mohammadreza Dezfulian, Bahar Barati, Nima Naghshin, Elaheh Abrishami, Azadeh Abdolbaghi, Mahtab Rezvani, Ali Abdolbaghi, Mohammad Tafazzoli, Lora Vishnevskaya, Amir Abdolbaghi, Asghar Abdolbaghi, Mohammadreza Rezaeian, Matin Rezaeian, Negar Komaee, Razieh Jafari, Mahdi Madadi, Pooneh Nabizadeh, Raha Komai, Parastoo Heydarian.

Comments

Deidre Bolemon (20-Sep-2014 20:14):
Sohail ….
Wow. Oh Wow. What a touching tribute to your father. “Better, Better. So Much Better.” What an awesome outlook on life.
Your writing kept me on the edge of my seat, as I did not want to miss one word. Thank you for sharing such personal details. l feel as if I traveled half way around the world and learned a few things during the trip.
Very glad you are back. We did indeed miss you!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Sep-2014 11:01):
Thanks Deidre. Your note made me feel I accomplished my text well. Because you know, I’ve myself dedicated my personal life to travelling around the world and learning about different people. So, when I write myself, I try to explain details of social lives, mentalities, etc of people too. I was worried if my text became boring and dull. Thank you very much for your words. For sure I missed you and the rest of the fellas here too.

Angelita Litonjua (21-Sep-2014 13:09):
No, it was not long and it was not boring, Sohail. You are very fortunate to have a dad like Saeed, Mr. Better Better!

Cora Carmody (20-Sep-2014 22:21):
What a beautiful note, Sohail! We should all be so lucky as your father who has given the world and Jacobs your good spirit and wonderful words. WELCOME BACK!!!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Sep-2014 11:03):
Cora, I can only explain my state right now after reading your comment with two words: “blush blush“. Your kindness is beyond imagination.

Paul Harper (20-Sep-2014 23:38):
You father sounds such a wonderful man. A very touching tribute. We were sad to see that you had to leave and glad that you could help your mother when she needed you. Welcome back Sohail.

Phil Butler (20-Sep-2014 23:51):
Sohail, as has been said before a very touching tribute, your father had a fantastic outlook on life and thank you so very much for sharing these stories.
Welcome back.

Sue Pei Lim (21-Sep-2014 01:31):
Very inspirational, lovely, and touching. Thank you so much for sharing about your late father. Welcome back, Sohail.

Martyn Williams (21-Sep-2014 06:02):
A heartwarming eulogy.

Angelita Litonjua (21-Sep-2014 06:16):
Sohail, as promised, you wrote. Thanks for keeping your promise, my friend! It is a lovely and inspiring note to all your friends! Welcome back! I’m truly glad that you and your mum are doing better. Mr. Better can’t wish for anything more for both you and your mum! As I said earlier, your dad is very handsome. He was a perfect man in so many ways! Again, here is a big hug on your return!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Sep-2014 11:11):
You’re so kind my friend Angelita. Well yes, he was handsome and if you ask my mum she will tell you he was the most handsome man in the world who despite all the difficulties in our life, if she was reborn 1000 times more, she would again and again marry him every time in her new life. Even during his coma in the hospital, my dad always had his hairdresser in the hospital to shave him clean and do his hair.

Angelita Litonjua (21-Sep-2014 13:12):
I like very much his older picture. It seems to say all about who he really was, a very good man and blessed at that!

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Sep-2014 13:36):
You just reminded me another story. My dad was making poems and signing them about everything! Once he decided not to have moustache anymore, he shaved clean his moustache while signing (literal translation to English again): “The era of moustache is over! The era of moustache is over!!” LOL

Tanaya Shukre (21-Sep-2014 08:14):
After reading about your dad, I really wish I could’ve met him just once…what an honour it would have been to listen to him. What is your dad’s name?

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Sep-2014 10:52):
Thank you Tanaya. My late dad’s name is “Saeed” which means “Blessed”. Very proper name as he had a very blessed life. Actually if you even had a phone conversation with him, he would talk to you like he knew you for a long time. It was his character.

Angelita Litonjua (21-Sep-2014 13:07):
It would have been a joy talking with him since he surely makes you comfortable.

Alberto Venni (21-Sep-2014 09:02):
Your beautiful words made me stirred Sohail Forouzan-Sepehr. Welcome back.

Sohail Forouzan-sepehr (21-Sep-2014 11:11):
Thank you so very much again every one. Your kindness is unlimited and beyond imagination.

Jean Early (21-Sep-2014 11:46):
So sorry to hear your father passed away may he RIP. Sounds like he was a wonderful person and left a great legacy behind. He looks like a movie star in the photos you posted! Keep up the great writings and hopefully for you and your Mother life will continue to get better better.

Chris Carey (21-Sep-2014 14:08):
Thank you for sharing Sohail!

Tanaya Shukre (21-Sep-2014 20:51):
“Turn Again To Life
If I should die and leave you here a while,
Be not like others, sore undone, who keep
Long vigils by the silent dust, and weep.
For my sake – turn again to life and smile,
Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do
Something to comfort other hearts than thine.
Complete those unfinished tasks of mine
And I, perchance, may therein comfort you.”
– Mary Lee Hall

Brenda Gibbons (22-Sep-2014 03:35):
Sincere Condolences! Inspirational tribute for your dad. Thank you for sharing.

Angelita Litonjua (22-Sep-2014 05:09):
Brenda, nice to see you in JacobsConnect! Enjoy connecting! Sohail indeed wrote an inspirational tribute to his dad.

Michele Barzyk (22-Sep-2014 04:06):
I also wish I could have met your father. Yet somehow, by your sharing, I feel I know him. Thank you.

Denise Hofmann (22-Sep-2014 07:02):
Such a beautiful, loving & heartfelt tribute to your father Sohail Forouzan-Sepehr Thank you for sharing it with us. I’m quite sure your dad would be very proud of you and I know you will continue to support and help your mom as much as you possibly can and in sharing the memory you are helping to keep his memory alive not just for yourself but I think many of us just now reading this wish that we could have even for a short time met this amazing man.

Carolina Peralta Cigarroa (22-Sep-2014 07:13):
Welcome back Sohail.
Thank you so much for your great message and for sharing your experiences with your parents. Your father should be busy guiding us, especially men, in knowing how important they are for their kids throughout life. I don´t think many of them know about this incredible truth.
I wish when I go, the people I know will remember me for the right reasons like your dad.
Carolina.

Adolfo Lopez (22-Sep-2014 07:34):
I’m going to visit my dad next November. He is 90.
His breathing is soft like my grandson´s. At times he´s startled by some dream unknown to me. He walks slower than last year, and faster than next. The torrent of memories he pours on the page tell of a life lived wide and deep. His hair finally caught up and is absolutely white. He looks as an old lion begging to rest already, his cubs grown up and battling their own battles, training their own cubs.
And even though he will be with me at the poetry reading on Tuesday, I realize he´s been with me all along, before my birth. And will continue to be there after my death. For a lot of what I am today, physically and spiritually, is my father´s.

Jean Early (22-Sep-2014 10:36):
Adolfo Lopez,
Beautifully written

Alejandro Carranza (22-Sep-2014 15:24):
Sohail Forouzan-sepehr, what a nice memory and tribute for your dad!
Sure that your thoughts, feelings and actions shall receive blessed rewards in this world too!

Understanding a project – Part 2: Analysis

As mentioned in my previous post, “Understanding an engineering project!“, I have recently restarted blogging after a long period of silence and then migrating from Movable Type to WordPress which made my life much easier. In one of the companies I’ve worked for, we had a series of technical discussions on their social network which I categorised them as “Understanding a project!” The idea came to my mind when one of the younger engineers once asked “How do I become the best engineer possible?” in a post and the most important item of my answer was to advise him not to be afraid of making mistakes as far as a proper quality control procedure is in place and also he’s willing to learn from his mistakes and take a corrective action. I even advised him not to delete his mistake in design and keep it in his archive. I just thought to republish them every now and then on my own weblog to hopefully assist younger engineers in their career.

Well in this post, I was discussing how to understand the loading patterns to any structure before analysing them by sharing a sample of free body diagram. I would suggest reading my first post of this series, “Understanding an engineering project!“, before reading this one and if you haven’t done it yet.

I do hope I can manage my time better to keep posting “understanding a project” series regularly.

Understanding a project: structural analysis

Posted by Sohail Forouzan-sepehr 07-Aug-2014

Salt Barn
Salt Barn

In my previous blog post entitled Understanding a project or my tiring Wednesday! I’ve mentioned how a third party designer blindly dived into using a commercial software to analyse a salt barn without understanding how the loads of 700 tonnes of stored salt being transferred to the structure and then to the ground, how the structure would react and behave, etc. Also, I’ve mentioned eventually after an exhaustive 4.5-hour meeting the designer was convinced to correct his conceptual mistakes in the design. A few days ago I received the revised design calculations and realised though the designer has corrected some of his mistakes, yet he’s confused about the rest of the design and made even bigger mistakes. So, instead highlighting his mistakes line by line, I decided to sketch some diagrams to show him how the loads of the stored salt being applied to the structure and then transferred to the ground. These are the type of diagrams I personally use before analysing a structure. After sending my sketches to the designer hoping they’ll be instructive enough and remembering a discussion here about “How do I become the best engineer possible?“, I just thought to open a new area on ********** for Understanding a Project where people can use their special expertise in explaining for younger engineers how to approach a problem to solve. For instance, Dr John Fay can post some hints using his extensive knowledge in maths and CFD and I will hopefully share some posts in manual analysis and conceptual design of structures. I hope our colleagues will find this series of discussions useful.

As the first post of this series (or better to say second after my above-mentioned blog post), I’d like to share the diagrams I sketched for the analysis of the salt barn below. Having said that the below general arrangement for the salt barn is not my preferred option and I don’t consider it as an optimum solution, but well in this particular scheme, I’m just a technical reviewer, not a designer.

So, in the first figure you see a schematic sketch of the barn and in the below image (I’ve only shown the external loads, not the weight of the structure which should also be considered), you’ll find the diagrams showing how we apply the loads on separate free-body diagrams for analysing different parts of the structure. Using such simple diagrams you’ll realise that even you don’t need any computer programme to analyse the structure. Generally, using simple statics and free body diagrams will help you control any possible mistakes much easier than using a software blindly and basically will help you to understand the behaviour of the structure better.

Free Body Diagrams
Free body diagrams and applied loads (click to enlarge)

PS: I haven’t opened any page or group for ‘Understanding a Project’ yet as I’m not entirely sure about the title. Any better suggestions would be more than welcome.

PPS: Hopefully this post can be interesting for the below groups/forums:

  • Civil/Structural Designers Forum
  • Structural Engineering
  • Structural Engineering Forum
  • Civil/Structural Engineering Practice Group

Understanding an engineering project!

I originally wrote this text in the social network of our company in July 2014 for my colleagues around the world. After migrating from Movable Type to WordPress system for my weblog and being silent for a long time, I thought it would be a good idea to republish my engineering posts in my own blog too. Hopefully, younger engineers may find them useful in their career.

Understanding a project or my tiring Wednesday!

Posted by Sohail Forouzan-sepehr 10-Jul-2014

Sarah Daniels started a discussion yesterday entitled Wine Wednesday Check-In, asking how was your Wednesday (also look at Wine Wednesday Check-In posted by Sarah on the 3rd of July). I was going to answer it at home yesterday evening as I really like Sarah’s posts and suggestions; but, I was so exhausted that I went to bed instead! Today at lunchtime I decided to answer, but I felt my answer wouldn’t be very interesting for Sarah; but, maybe more useful for younger engineers in several different engineering forums. So, in the end, I will include the name of a few forums/groups this post may be useful for. In the meantime, I’ll try to explain things without going too much into technical details; so, hopefully, those who’re not structural engineers also can read it without yawning! Yesterday I had a very tiring Wednesday but at the end we achieved something, a safe design approach for our client through a 4.5-hour meeting from 10.00 am to 2.30 pm entitled “nobody will leave the room until an agreement is achieved”! Recently I’ve checked the design calculations of a third party designer for a de-icing salt silo on behalf of our client and rejected the design! Our client asked a third party company to design and build a baseless barn on the top of an embankment and very close to the crest of the slope (due to the space restrictions) to store about 700 tonnes of de-icing salt for the coming wintertime. Stability of the slope has been already checked by Jacobs and is OK. Thus, a straight forward simple industrial structure which needs to bear the loads arising from such amount of salt and transfer them to a strong soil layer via piles. What the designer did was just blindly feeding a commercial software with some numbers and getting wrong results without clearly understanding the behaviour of the structure under the loads arising from the stored salt as well as the consequences to the embankment which consists of several weak layers of soil over a strong layer at the bottom. Here’s a list of issues the designer ignored or failed to observe in the project and so underestimated the loads on the piles resulting in extremely under-designed piles.

  • Storing 700 tonnes of salt over the weak soil layers will cause settlement which is manageable but only if it’s taken into account! Settlement of the weak layers would drag down the piles and reduces their capacity. In geotechnical engineering, it’s called “negative skin friction”. It was totally ignored by the designer.
  • Due to the limited dimensions of the barn and the height of its walls, the salt would be stored there with an angle. This is called “angle of repose” and for salt can be around 40°. When materials are stored behind a retaining wall with a slope, the lateral pressure of the retained material will be with an angle (will have both horizontal and vertical components) and thus not only pushes the structure horizontally but also pushes it down. Storing the salt with its angle of repose of 40° means the vertical component of its lateral pressure can be almost as big as its horizontal component. These additional vertical components will apply additional loads on the piles which were totally ignored by the designer.
  • The very basic principle in design is that the loads must be in equilibrium (Statics). Where you apply loads, these loads must be in equilibrium with the rest of the system’s actions and eventually be transferred to the ground (to the strong layer).
  • There were other technical issues too; but as I promised in the beginning, I’m trying not to go too much to the technical details.

When I mentioned these issues to the designer as the reasons I rejected his design, his answer was that he realises that I’m a traditionalist and totally against the softwares; but, that commercial software has been used by hundreds of engineers for more than 20 years and so cannot be wrong!!! Well, to be honest, I’ve been developing engineering analysis and design softwares for more than 15 years! I don’t have any problem with modern technology and commercial softwares. The problem arises when somebody uses a software blindly without understanding the project requirements, the behaviour of a system we want to design (in our case, a structure) and eventually the behaviour and actions of the surrounding environment.

The above project took more than three months and we spent 4.5 hours in a meeting to explain the problems and agree on a correct approach to resolve the problem. It would take less than a week if one just sketched a simple diagram of the structure, summarised the existing information as well as the engineering assumptions, applying the loads and figuring out how and where basically the loads will be applied, how they affect the structure and how they are being transferred to the ground in a safe and optimum way.

If the above issues were taken into account from the beginning instead of just feeding a software (which was possibly developed for different specific conditions) with numbers, even a better and more optimum option could be considered which could save 100-160 cubic metre of reinforced concrete as well as at least 800 man-hours.

The meeting was eventually finished at 2.30 pm yesterday with a mutual agreement while we were all exhausted and hungry. Yet I don’t believe the final option by the third party designer is the most optimum solution for our client’s requirements. And Sarah, no wine at the end of the day as a day after was also a working day. BUT, I’m happy that at least the design will be correct and thus SAFE. So, at the end of the working day, our client could go home with peace of mind that no disaster will be likely to happen during the working life of the barn with proper maintenance. She was pleased with our works and I’m willing to bet if she requires another highways salt barn next time, she will directly come to us for the design.

Hopefully, this post can be interesting for the below groups/forums:

  • Civil/Structural Designers Forum
  • Structural Engineering
  • Structural Engineering Forum
  • Civil/Structural Engineering Practice Group

PS: I guess I will need to review and edit my post later. So, please do let me know if you find something I need to add or amend.