The more I see of life and power, the more I understand Kafka
This morning I was woken up at 7 am by the horrible, blaring, undulating siren of the fire alarm. I haven't been sleeping well lately, so anything that shakes me out of a sound sleep is bound to be unwelcome. Things that require me to actually bundle myself out of bed, into clothes, down the stairs and out onto the lawn to assemble in room-number-order with 150 other half-asleep, grumbling residents are almost unbearable. But I didn't have much choice, so I stumbled into my coat and shoes and found the fire escape. Found it full of people. The doors were locked shut, and we all had to turn around and wander, lemminglike, down the main corridor and out the front door of the building. Apparently one guy was trapped in his room. It was, if I remember correctly, the 32nd time this Academic year that the building had to be evacuated for a false fire alarm.
To be fair, this time, and presumably one of the times last semester, were actual drills. The rest were just the result of the faulty system. What gets me is that recently, several perfectly reasonable things have been banned on the grounds that they present 'fire hazards'. Things like papers affixed to doors, or noticeboards that aren't covered by a plastic door that can only be opened by means of a pair of finicky little allen-hole screws, meaning that posters are almost never current and nobody bothers to look at them, anyway. Rumour has it that the much-loved runner carpets in Old Wing are being removed because they 'present a fire hazard', too. And yet a fire alarm that goes off without cause so often that residents are almost immune to its warning of danger; an emergency fire phone that doesn't work at all, stranding handicapped residents and those on crutches; magnetic interior fire doors that slam shut whenever the alarm is activated, sometimes locking people in; exterior fire escape doors that can't be opened when the alarm goes off -- all these things are accepted as "snagging issues" that will be addressed in good time, meanwhile don't worry your pretty little heads about it, just carry on and do as we say.
All these "snagging issues" are the result of the Lumsden wing being refurbished to bring it up to code on electrical and fire regulations. (For instance, each bed is now surrounded on three sides by plates of dull grey, presumably flame-retardant plastic. It's like sleeping in a crib.) The biggest reason was electrical, as apparently the old wiring, put in in the 1960s, was unable to handle modern electrical demands from computers and the like. So the building has been completely re-wired to meet such demands. Last night the warden announced that using 'high-powered appliances, such as toasters' could short out the circuits on the floor kitchens, killing the fridges, so if we use them we should all check that the fridges are still working after we make our toast and inform the porters or residence managers if we've caused a short.
Of course, maybe if so many lights weren't on all the time, the wiring wouldn't be under so much strain. The dining room has large picture windows all along its three outside walls, and in the daytime is flooded with beautiful natural light. Thus, all last year, I and other concerned students (and even, occasionally, the dining staff) made a point of turning off the dining room lights during the day. This year, the lights have been replaced by SuperHighPowerTM fluorescent bulbs. It's probably less energy use, overall, since I think the old lights were incandescent, but the first time I tried to turn them off one sunny morning, I was told that they cost £5 every time they were switched on, so they had to be left on all the time. The stairwell lights have been replaced either with more incandescent bulbs or a more modest sort of compact fluorescent, and it similarly enjoys beautiful natural sunlight during the day, so almost every day in first semester, I would switch off the lights in the stairwell (that is, unless someone had already done so before me). On returning from Non-Denominational Winter Holiday, I found that all of the lightswitches had been replaced by plastic plates, except one at the bottom which had a hole for a key. The stairwell lights are now locked on, and stay that way 24/7.
It all makes so little sense it makes me want to scream. I feel so full of rage at it all, but it's all so big, so wide, so all-encompassing a madness that I don't know where to direct my energies. Generally I end up just getting overwhelmed and frustrated and withdrawing. Even the news is upsetting, always. I can't remember the last time I picked up a newspaper and didn't come away depressed. Yesterday The Guardian ran a column in its main commentary section deploring the fact that, especially for women, the Oscars is more about what you wore than what you made. In the same paper, in the lighter 'G2' section, was a multi-page, well-highlighted story about what various stars had worn at the Oscars. This morning it was another Heathrow airport story that set me off, a tale of baggage handling ("People forget the good stories. They forget how many times they've flown and got their bag. They remember the one time their bag didn't turn up.") and how the new terminal is supposed to magically fix everything. Even disregarding the (substantial) environmental arguments against it, I don't see how adding a terminal to Heathrow could make it anything but worse. I've said it before, but that airport's problem (apart from the way it's organised, the way it's managed, and all of that shit) is that it's too fucking big. It takes like an hour to connect, minimum. Actually, if they fixed all of their massive, glaring management and organisational problems, then maybe, maybe they'd be able to sort the logistics of a third runway and a fifth terminal. But as it is, I doubt it will do any more then drop them down to a lower circle of Hell.
Addendum: I was just kicked out of our new 'study space'. I knew it was going to happen, but still. One of the big perks of Uni Hall has always been out wonderful libraries. Two of them, one a bustling little reading room for Arts, the other a cool, quiet sanctuary for science. Since, like many students, I have trouble studying in my bedroom, I have made heavy use of these rooms, which not only provided me with a free alternative to buying several textbooks over the years, but also a quiet place to study any time of day or night. However, they are located in Old Wing, which is currently closed for refurbishment. So a few days ago I noticed, on our shiny new electronic notice screen (a ridiculous, inconvenient waste of electricity that we have in the foyer instead of a normal notice board for reasons that no one With Power can quite explain), that they have graciously offered us an alternative. The 'Conference Room', a little room beside the dining room that gets used for meetings about twice a year, is to be our library replacement (at least until the TV room is closed, at which point it might replace the TV room). The Senior Students said they had to really fight and weedle the residence managers to get it for us. It is open from 6 pm - 8:15 pm on weekdays, noon - 4:45 pm on weekends.
To be fair, this time, and presumably one of the times last semester, were actual drills. The rest were just the result of the faulty system. What gets me is that recently, several perfectly reasonable things have been banned on the grounds that they present 'fire hazards'. Things like papers affixed to doors, or noticeboards that aren't covered by a plastic door that can only be opened by means of a pair of finicky little allen-hole screws, meaning that posters are almost never current and nobody bothers to look at them, anyway. Rumour has it that the much-loved runner carpets in Old Wing are being removed because they 'present a fire hazard', too. And yet a fire alarm that goes off without cause so often that residents are almost immune to its warning of danger; an emergency fire phone that doesn't work at all, stranding handicapped residents and those on crutches; magnetic interior fire doors that slam shut whenever the alarm is activated, sometimes locking people in; exterior fire escape doors that can't be opened when the alarm goes off -- all these things are accepted as "snagging issues" that will be addressed in good time, meanwhile don't worry your pretty little heads about it, just carry on and do as we say.
All these "snagging issues" are the result of the Lumsden wing being refurbished to bring it up to code on electrical and fire regulations. (For instance, each bed is now surrounded on three sides by plates of dull grey, presumably flame-retardant plastic. It's like sleeping in a crib.) The biggest reason was electrical, as apparently the old wiring, put in in the 1960s, was unable to handle modern electrical demands from computers and the like. So the building has been completely re-wired to meet such demands. Last night the warden announced that using 'high-powered appliances, such as toasters' could short out the circuits on the floor kitchens, killing the fridges, so if we use them we should all check that the fridges are still working after we make our toast and inform the porters or residence managers if we've caused a short.
Of course, maybe if so many lights weren't on all the time, the wiring wouldn't be under so much strain. The dining room has large picture windows all along its three outside walls, and in the daytime is flooded with beautiful natural light. Thus, all last year, I and other concerned students (and even, occasionally, the dining staff) made a point of turning off the dining room lights during the day. This year, the lights have been replaced by SuperHighPowerTM fluorescent bulbs. It's probably less energy use, overall, since I think the old lights were incandescent, but the first time I tried to turn them off one sunny morning, I was told that they cost £5 every time they were switched on, so they had to be left on all the time. The stairwell lights have been replaced either with more incandescent bulbs or a more modest sort of compact fluorescent, and it similarly enjoys beautiful natural sunlight during the day, so almost every day in first semester, I would switch off the lights in the stairwell (that is, unless someone had already done so before me). On returning from Non-Denominational Winter Holiday, I found that all of the lightswitches had been replaced by plastic plates, except one at the bottom which had a hole for a key. The stairwell lights are now locked on, and stay that way 24/7.
It all makes so little sense it makes me want to scream. I feel so full of rage at it all, but it's all so big, so wide, so all-encompassing a madness that I don't know where to direct my energies. Generally I end up just getting overwhelmed and frustrated and withdrawing. Even the news is upsetting, always. I can't remember the last time I picked up a newspaper and didn't come away depressed. Yesterday The Guardian ran a column in its main commentary section deploring the fact that, especially for women, the Oscars is more about what you wore than what you made. In the same paper, in the lighter 'G2' section, was a multi-page, well-highlighted story about what various stars had worn at the Oscars. This morning it was another Heathrow airport story that set me off, a tale of baggage handling ("People forget the good stories. They forget how many times they've flown and got their bag. They remember the one time their bag didn't turn up.") and how the new terminal is supposed to magically fix everything. Even disregarding the (substantial) environmental arguments against it, I don't see how adding a terminal to Heathrow could make it anything but worse. I've said it before, but that airport's problem (apart from the way it's organised, the way it's managed, and all of that shit) is that it's too fucking big. It takes like an hour to connect, minimum. Actually, if they fixed all of their massive, glaring management and organisational problems, then maybe, maybe they'd be able to sort the logistics of a third runway and a fifth terminal. But as it is, I doubt it will do any more then drop them down to a lower circle of Hell.
Addendum: I was just kicked out of our new 'study space'. I knew it was going to happen, but still. One of the big perks of Uni Hall has always been out wonderful libraries. Two of them, one a bustling little reading room for Arts, the other a cool, quiet sanctuary for science. Since, like many students, I have trouble studying in my bedroom, I have made heavy use of these rooms, which not only provided me with a free alternative to buying several textbooks over the years, but also a quiet place to study any time of day or night. However, they are located in Old Wing, which is currently closed for refurbishment. So a few days ago I noticed, on our shiny new electronic notice screen (a ridiculous, inconvenient waste of electricity that we have in the foyer instead of a normal notice board for reasons that no one With Power can quite explain), that they have graciously offered us an alternative. The 'Conference Room', a little room beside the dining room that gets used for meetings about twice a year, is to be our library replacement (at least until the TV room is closed, at which point it might replace the TV room). The Senior Students said they had to really fight and weedle the residence managers to get it for us. It is open from 6 pm - 8:15 pm on weekdays, noon - 4:45 pm on weekends.