Workplace/Museum

This is where I work. It was built in 1932 and has all sorts of really cool, old-school architectural touches that simply aren't employed any more. There are two hand-carved faces of knights flanking the first floor entry to the stairwell and stained glass windows in an small, unused chapel in the back. Certain spots in the floor have cool Pewabic ceramic tiles inlaid and we've got a classic,, cast-iron fire escape out back. There's even a back office attached to my classroom that actually overlooks the main sanctuary of the adjacent church. (It's got a great view of the giant stained glass windows that face east. Very cool in the morning.)

I'm a big fan of these older touches. However, I am a huge fan of a few, more modern architectural elements -- like air conditioning. Yep, you guessed it, this beautiful, historic building has got jack squat in the way of AC.

Consequently, I'm sitting here at 2:29 on a Wednesday afternoon feeling like I've been wringing out sponges with my armpits all day. It's sticky, hot, and generally uncomfortable. My students can barely keep their eyes open and, for once, it's not because of my teaching. It's because when you're on the second floor of a 75 year old building with no cool air anywhere (and you have to listen to me teach about writing essays), the only defense is unconsciousness. Rather than deal with the fact that this building should be leveled to the ground or turned into the official Museum of How Crappy Things Were Before Air Conditioning, we take refuge in sleep.

(I say "we" but I've yet to find a really comfortable way of sleeping here. The floor is too hard and I'm too tall or something for any of the chairs to really work. I recently experimented with using a foam rubber Incredible Hulk hand as a pillow for my head. That's actually been my most successful nap-taking strategy so far.)

(While I'm speaking parenthetically, I should mention that, while my students sometimes sleep during class, I do not. I wait until lunch or break time to make my brief, usually unsuccessful attempts at slumber. I work. I promise.)