You've all probably read about the fire in the dormitory over here. Well, they're finally getting around to starting on repairs.
No, this is not necessarily a good thing. Why not, you ask? In order for them to repair the damage, they also have to conform to all the fire safely stuff that they oh-so-definitely did not previously.
What, you still think that's all good and no bad? Quite right...except we have to move out to another dormitory while they do it. Or rather, had to move out. It's mostly happened already, although we're still settling in over there.
They're telling us it'll take them about two months to repair, at which point we can move back. And if they get their butts behind the job...that does kind of sound about right.
It's going to hit my Internet access, though. At least the parts of it that involve US times, especially US nighttimes.
That's the short and not-so-complainy version. If you want all the details and are willing to put up with some venting to get it...please sign this full disclaimer before clicking the 'More' button.
As I believe Matt pointed out, there is not a single smoke detector in the dormitory building. Nor are there any such modern things as automatic sprinklers. There's firehoses in a couple of places, but even those aren't really capable of covering the entire building. It's all cinderblock construction, tile floors, and even the hallway walls are partly stone-sheathed, though, so it's not like the building is particularly flamable.
That doesn't really matter, though. Not only would this building not stand a chance against US safety regulations (they'd probably demand that they just knock it down and rebuild), it doesn't even come close to Israeli regulations. So they were told that there was No Way Whatsoever they would be allowed to clear up the damage until they showed that installation of the required safety systems would be a part of the repair job.
They're busy working on the plans for that now. Talking to water engineers and things on how they can get sprinklers installed without having to do the afore-mentioned knock-down-building-and-try-again.
(I think this is about where people usually point out that a $10,000 ounce of prevention in the original construction would have been much better than a $50,000 pound of cure at this point. But what do I know? I'm not even sure those prices are ballpark...they could be much worse.)
So why does this require that us (on the first floor of the building) move out while they repair the second floor?
Complaint and Sheer Stupidity warning!
The students from the second floor had been placed temporarily in a related dormitory about five-ten minutes walk away while they decided how and what to do about the damage. This proved...inefficient. The building they were placed in wasn't really in the best of states, for one thing, and given that it was that far away it was much harder for the teachers and supervisors to make sure they came to the classes and study sessions. A class ended up in two different places as a result. The kids of the other place aren't necessarily the best company, either.
So. Given that our little English division here just happens to take up the exact number of rooms they're short, guess what happened?
Right. We got asked to move over there so they could move back here. And not just sleeping quarters, either--they wanted us to move our classrooms, office, etc. there as well. Which would have meant that there would really have been little chance that we'd come back here, even after the second floor had been repaired.
And we...we didn't take that idea too well. Something along the lines of No Way On This Earth Are You Getting Away With That.
So, a compromise of sorts was worked out. We'd move our sleeping quarters over there, and everything else would stay here. All sounded good on paper...as much as a bad situation could be made to sound good, that is. Bottom line, even that totally sucked.
The building we were to move into wasn't completely uninhabitable. I suppose we could have just moved our stuff in and left much in suitcases and such, temporary-like. But most of us didn't like the idea of that At All, so the last several days have been spent sorting things out. Rebuilding the cupboards (almost from scratch...the shelving and things at least), scraping and painting the walls, running after keys locks and all the little things that most people get to take for granted.
And thank G-d, things are pretty much done now. Oh, there's still a few of those hidden little LARGE problems that nobody tells you about until there's nothing you can do about it. Like the electricity situation in the building.
There's power into every room. Except the entire building's power supply and infrastructure can not take even a single heater plugged in. Not even a two-bar electric radiator or blow fan. Nothing. Plug one in, and it's not a question of if the power will go out. It's just a question of when. And the entire building goes at once, with the breaker being in the padlocked basement.
(We have a key, now. But when you're on the second floor, and you have to go down three flights of stairs and then around the building to turn the power back on...you move from irritated to upset to where-is-that-bloody-heater in a hurry.)
Fortunately, it never gets really cold here. But for someone who isn't used to three feet of snow, it still gets cold. Not so pleasant. But...well, they're supposed to call in an electrician today to check out the situation (It took us arriving and yelling at them to get them to do it! Sheesh, but the problem is more than a year old! You'd have thought they would have done something about it!) and find out if it can be fixed and what it'll take.
What do I find my biggest gripe about this whole thing, though? Before, the office was right across the hallway from my room, and stepping onto the net wasn't so difficult even at early hours of the morning or late at night. Now, I'm a ten minute walk away. And when you need to be online at 3am (Hall is 7pm-9pm EST, right?)...well, that's just not going to make a person all that happy about it.
Which doesn't mean I won't still do it...how sad does that make me? ::sigh:: Oh well. We'll have to see, I suppose...there is a nice couch here in the office that might work for the every-other-week attendance I'm thinking about right now...
Posted by adam at January 2, 2004 01:12 PM