arts and letters building

After years of anticipation, we've finally been able to move the English department over to the new Arts and Letters building. And a very fine building it is. I love my new office, with its fresh carpet, pretty view, and cherry-wood desk.

At the same time, there are so many mind-bogglingly foolish mistakes in this building that you almost have to wonder if someone wasn't just sticking a finger in your eye, because, well, they could.

The best example is poor Professor G.'s office. He has a window with a built-in desk in it. But he can't reach the window desk, because for some reason, they installed his other desk right up in front of it, so that it entirely blocks access. And then they screwed that other desk into the ground, so it can't be adjusted, either.

Huh?

There are other funny things. Like the electrical plug two inches from the ceiling, where no one can reach it. Don't plugs usually go near the ground? Same thing with the bulletin boards they put over our desks--some of them are completely out of arm's reach, and as I mentioned before, the desks are bolted to the ground, so there's no way you can use them unless you go climbing on top of the desk like a monkey. There are some beautiful windows with scenic views out across the canyon, but for some reason they put huge diagonal "decorative" beams across some of them so that the view is entirely blocked. And in the staff office, cubicle walls were placed directly against electrical outlets and phone jacks so that, again, the plugs can't be reached at all.

Weird?