Several
years ago the husband of a woman I know surprised her by shaving off his
mustache while they were on vacation. They had been together for something like
twenty-five years, and in all that time she’d never once seen him without it. When
I asked her how she reacted, she laughed and said, “It’s like I’m with a whole
new guy! Saves me the trouble of having to have an affair!”
She was
kidding about the affair part (I hope), but I think I know how she felt. As
I’ve mentioned here before, our department is being “temporarily” relocated to
another building on campus while the venerable Lincoln Hall undergoes its
much-needed, $57 million renovation. In Lincoln our department shared the building with several other departments, the college
offices, and thousands of students moving through dozens of classrooms each
day. My office was on the first floor, where the hallways were jammed with
students, bells rang twice per hour, and if your timing was bad you’d have to
wait in line for a stall in the ladies’ room. Our new building, just a
five-minute walk across the Quad from Lincoln Hall, might as well be on another
planet. It is a converted apartment building that houses only our department
offices and faculty (grad students are two doors away). The offices even look
like old apartments, with odd closets and fireplaces. Student traffic in the
new building will be minimal, especially on the third floor where my office is.
(And no, it has not escaped my notice that they put the runner on the top floor
of a three-floor walkup.)
Lincoln will supposedly be ready in 2-3
years, but I’m not holding my breath. In the meantime, we’re all getting
settled into the new building. Our staff, as usual, has been amazing during the
move, dealing with all sorts of nutty contingencies with good humor and
patience. I cleaned, unpacked, and arranged things in my office last week, and
even managed to accomplished a little work there. Geographically our “zone” on
campus has shifted eastward by about only three blocks, but pragmatically it’s
a huge difference. I park in a different lot, so I take a different route to
work. I walk to a different building, so I need to learn a whole new traffic
pattern so I don’t get run over by a bus or bike. I still get tea in the
morning, but now I do it at the Urbana Espresso Royale (with its
close-to-the-music-school creative vibe) rather than the Champaign
one (next to the creepy Psych building, ‘nuf said). We’re now close to a whole
new crop of lunch spots, as well as other favorites that I’ll now use more
often. My beloved Red Herring is now our next-door neighbor and I can look out
my office window to check out the daily menu. The library is still close
enough, and the Krannert Center's even closer. And
that little convenience store next to Bread Company and Timpone’s? Apparently
it’s got soft-serve ice cream. Uh-oh.
The verdict
so far? I like it. I like that we have our own building, that our graduate
students are nearby, and that I’ll likely see more of my colleagues. After ten
years in the same job and same office, I think the change will do me good. It’s
like getting a new job without having to go through all the drama of getting a
new job: I’m having an affair with my own husband!
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