Douglass Hall Update #7.50

8/19/1998

Upon entering the Activity Lounge of the Hall...

We interrupt this broadcast to bring you the following bulletin:

There's a special schedule for the 27th; I would assume everybody was sent a copy, although nobody outside of Dr. Pratt's office seems to know what I'm talking about. Anyhow, that particular schedule listed a period "H" at 2pm. After asking Mr. Lapolla about it, he said this is the official schedule; note that period A is at the end.

Assembly in Gym & Advocacy 8am C Period 8:45 D @ 9:40 E @ 10:30 F @ 11:20 G @ 1pm A @ 2:00

Sorry, you don't get to go home an hour early.

Now, on to our (not so) regularly scheduled broadcast...

...the odor of floor polish and paint permeates your nostrils. As you turn your head from left to right, you notice the entire area has been closed off--not even construction workers are allowed to desecrate the shining wood floor.

Turning left, you enter Ms. Connell's office, breezing past the newly-erected wall and into Ms. Johnson's office. Both offices now have the green pattern carpet that runs throughout the building. (Finally a building without 5 different carpet colors!) Slipping into Mr. Colb's office, you notice that the floors in there have also been given royal treatment, a sharp contrast to the drab, scratchy wood you saw two weeks earlier; both this room and the Activity Lounge have had the floors sanded and refinished. Going into Ms. Sandell's office, the ceiling has been completely redone--quite different from the ruins of the 1x1 tiles that were individually glued to the ceiling (that was *ugly*!!) but no carpeting yet.

On the third floor, however, much remains the same. Unlike downstairs, the floors aren't refinished for that wood shine (well, not yet anyway) and much of the floor is restricted by plastic coverings. Presumably, that particular office (Ms. Clausen's) is ready. Unfortunately, the eastmost bathroom has been remade, and the circular window filled with concrete (thereby destroying the not-quite-symmetry of the building). However, all the holes have been patched, and the rooms look like they are to be repainted shortly. The fourth floor attic has a proper set of walls around the staircase; until now the staircase simply ended, no railings, nothing!

Up on the roof (the real roof, above the attic), the climate-control guy tinkers with the air conditioning. Walking straight out to the edge of the roof, guess what? The stairs on the 3rd floor haven't been finished! Down in the quad, a gaggle of juniors run to buy their books (ugghhhh....more on books later) -- nobody notices you, way up on top of the building. A great view from the roof, obscured only by the many trees of Atherton. Were there no trees, the view would be spectacular. (Ha ha--if The Hall was in Sunnyvale, you *would* get a great view, as there aren't any tall trees.

Down the roof-access-ladder, descend two flights of stairs and into the new building. Because there's nobody in sight, you wonder how there could ever be 82 people working on the building (it happened 3 weeks ago). All classrooms have carpeting, many have lights, all are furnished, desks laid out, filing cabinets tucked away in the corner. All scaffolding is gone, and the skylights are open, flooding the gallery with light. Looking up, you notice the louvers on the roof are not installed yet...more on these louvers in the Memo.

Suspiciously, the bathrooms haven't been labeled. Outside on the Level 2 balcony, several people work hard at getting the staircase ready for concrete pouring (tomorrow or Friday, I hear) so you go back down to level 1 and the library. About 10 people are assembling carrels in the library radius. The media room got a chessboard of green and purple carpet tiles (an alternating pattern of green & purple carpet) and a new addition--the lights are on! Dashing into the stacks area in the old basement, you see the library stacks in place, waiting patiently for the books. (Books are in the cafeteria right now)

Outside, several men hammer wood forms in place for the staircase leading up to the terrace. The loop road was paved Tuesday afternoon; you can still see the shining tar. When you walk onto it, the tar sticks to your shoes. Yuck! Where the Memorial Platform once stood on a mound, now lies a basin for sod.

Oh, and one last thing. The Vault. They've put a doorknob-less white door in front of it.

So now you know. My vote is that they'll be done Friday. The school moves in Saturday and the first official function of the building is Wednesday.

I can't believe I once again bought (err, my *parents* bought) six hundred and forty-five dollars worth of books! I'll need a locker the size of Douglass Hall to store that much books. Is there anybody else who went home with wallets much slimmer? Does anybody have that many books...?

Does anybody besides me have the same set of teachers he/she had last year?

So, what have y'all been doin' this summer? With the exception of a brief 11-day seminar by NSLC, I stayed at Menlo, watching construction progressing, noting all the changes in the campus layout, and suffering from dust inhalation, making me just a bit crazier than I already am. NSLC was fun; I'll put all that in a later mass mailing.