Day 3: A room with a view

Sorry this entry is a gazillion years late. I didn't want to post anything without pictures, and the weather hasn't been very picture-friendly the past week. (It's also worth noting is that I took the pictures of the outside of the dorm around midnight)

Last night after getting off of the train, my research advisor was gracious enough to meet me at the train station, and get me checked into my dorm here. My first impression of the dorm (from looking at pictures of it online) wasn’t exactly stellar – it was as if the architect had combined the charm of a Soviet gulag with the majesty of the Botetourt Complex at W&M. Instead of bricks, we've got gravel glued to the side of the building (The more I think about it, the more I wonder how difficult it was to actually coat the building in small rocks, and who on earth signed off on such an idea)

Although the lobby looks like something taken directly out of That 70’s Show, the rest of the building was remarkably well-kept, and the rooms/bathrooms on my floor are actually quite nice, and of a slightly more practical design than the W&M dorms, not to mention being every bit as nice as a typical Jamestown double. In fact, this trend would be mirrored later on in the day, as I witnessed that the science buildings followed the same trend of being ugly on the outside, but quite nice on the inside (a strange reversal from W&M, where our buildings are pretty on the outside, but often smell (and feel) like a swamp on the inside).
The campus here is pretty spread out, and it’s a good 15-minute walk from my dorm to the Geophysical institute, where I’ll be working for the next ten weeks (passing only two or so buildings in between). Although it is a bit annoying if you need to trek all the way across campus to visit the library or student center, I’m becoming a fan of the wooded campus. The campus is situated on top of a hill overlooking a mountain range to the south near Denali, and on a clear day, the views are absolutely breathtaking. My room looks to the west, and doesn’t have as spectacular of a view, although the view isn’t half-bad from here either, not to mention that I’m on the 6th floor, which automatically gives me more of a view than anything at W&M. Once the weather gets a bit less cloudy, I'll post a picture.


I walked over to the Geophysical Institute at around 8:30 to start my first day at work. I rode the elevator to the top floor, where the Infrasound Group is located. Once I met with my research advisor, I found the location where my desk was to be located, filled out a whole bunch of paperwork, found a computer to use, and eventually got into the proper groove of things. My ‘actual’ desk is currently MIA – I’m told that a replacement will be on its way shortly, though I hear rumor that the people responsible for replacing the desk took the replacement desk for themselves.

I never was able to make it all the way through Catch 22, because it reminds me a bit too much of real life.