Look Up, Way Up, and I'll Call Rusty

Another week gone and I feel like I'm clinging on for dear life! Time goes by so quickly, I haven't yet figured out how I've been managing to keep up. But, so far so good, I haven't screwed up yet and I hope to keep it that way. Oh wait, I was talking about school... did you catch on to that?

Well, the new department is shaping up. We've finally got room numbers up by the doors. It looks so much nicer without the big pieces of paper taped up on all of the doors. It's nice up on the 12th floor, but it's not perfect. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks some of these problems will be ironed out:

• The elevators are always packed full of people so it takes forever to either get to the 12th floor or to leave it. Oh, and then there are all the people who are too lazy to take the escalators to the 5th and 6th floors... come on!
• There is still an alarming lack of garbage cans throughout the department.
• There is still construction everywhere so it's noisy in the hallways and sometimes it smells like burning.
• The Political Science department just moved up here with us. They're taking up the second half of the floor and I spend my days sitting at the desk in reception redirecting Poli-Sci students that are incapable of reading directional signs.
• The lights in all of the rooms are controlled by motion-sensors. Hence, the lights always go out in the middle of class and someone always has to get up and either run around the class or wave their arms in a ridiculous fashion.

So what's good about the new department?

• It's huge.
• There is much more space set aside for students and there are three rooms reserved for grad students. And I even got my own locker!
• It's modern and aesthetically pleasing... and there's a great view of Montreal!
• We now have six labs instead of two. One of them was just renamed in memory of Dr. Frost, a memorable and well-respected professor who passed away very suddenly in May. Good on the department!

Okay, it looks like the cons outweigh the pros, but they really don't. Most of the cons are just temporary. Overall, I'm enjoying the 12th floor!