2004-06-26 19:22
So, here I am. Sitting outside in a shady cove surrounded by brick and glass.
The builders of this school left several areas with grass and trees. These areas provide sheltered quiet from all the activity at this facility, where a few thousand normally live and work. I wonder what will become of this place in a few hundred years. An aphid and a fly are sitting on my knee right now, separated by a fold of cloth. It has been ages since I rested outside. One could argue that I'm not resting since I am writing this note. Ahh, my notebook, back from the factory after only a week. Granted, it has been effectively gone since Christmas. You see, it suffered from a design flaw and was abandoned without hope until the manufacturer relented by agreeing to fix the defect without cost. I suspect that some of my coworkers are enjoying a fantasy role-playing game in a nearby building. I think I see one of their vehicles in a nearby parking lot. I think that I’ll go take a look, especially since the mosquitos seem to have found my resting place.
2004-06-26 19:39
I’ve found a new resting place. The back soccer field. It will remain unused until this fall when the soccer team arrives with the rest of the students. A bird is calling from somewhere in the sky. A sparrow skimmed over the grass a mere 15 feet away. The quiet is broken by a train horn, sirens, and the constant drone of the highway. A red ladybug now rests on my left knee. It is bright red, like the stereotypical ladybug, not faded orange like the ladybugs back home. A nice stead of trees is off to my left, just past the other end of this soccer field. The buildings of school are to my right. Lake michigan is behind me. The highway is in front of me, just past some trees and the football field. I never realized how pleasant it is to sit outside in the grass. I was content to rot in my little room. The stimulation to my senses is wondrous, not overbearing and forced like “modern” environments. A gentle breeze twitches the grass. Bugs annoy my skin. The grass smells fresh, so unlike the antiseptic smell of institutional buildings. There are a few fluffy clouds in the sky, artwork on a pale blue sky. I could have my computer play music, but somehow that doesn't feel right. The music of birds calling is music enough.
2004-06-27 08:49
The fire alarm went off again. Supposedly it goes off because of the humidity.
I need a shower. Heh, a whole six people out here after the fire alarm, and me the only guy. I guess I am unusually risk averse.
The safety person just arrived. It should not take her long to reset the fire alarm. Okay, the fire alarm is now quiet.
My dorm, Augsberg, is separated gender/floor. Male downstairs and Female upstairs. One of the upstairs RAs turns towards me before everyone went back inside. She asked if the fire alarm went off downstairs as well. Yes, I replied. She asked a rhetorical question about only one person from downstairs listening to the fire alarm, muttered something, and went inside. The way I see it, fire drills are announced way ahead of time. Fires are not. I assume that an unannounced sounding of the fire alarm indicates a fire. After all, it is better to wander outside in fresh air for a few minutes than to stay inside and possibly fry.
2004-06-27 20:00
I write this while sitting in what some local residents call “The Jungle.” The jungle is a terraced area with several potted plants, some real and some not. The jungle takes up one side of a intersection of corridors. It marks the junction point of the building where the ordained faculty work. It is just rained and is still quite wet outside, which it why I’m indoors today. I was heading back to my room, but I felt the devil calling me to my room so I stopped in this garden. The security guy is making his rounds. Now he is making sure that the doors to the faculty offices are locked. How am I supposed to sleep if the devil is calling me to my room? Is it even the devil? It could be this terrible headache. Go back to my room or go to the office and watch the telly, what a choice. The telly sucks my life away, and so does what the devil wants me to do in my room. Hrumph. Which evil do I choose? Perhaps I can choose not to choose and simply stay here; writing in the jungle. Naah, I will run to my room, check the telly schedule, and download my email. Perhaps I will pick up the Holt Handbook. I really should check my writing for structural errors.