Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Will you still need me, will you still feed me....
I sure hope so!
...it's kind of spooky looking at that 8-digit number...
But I'm OK with it!
However, still waiting for Vera, Chuck, and Dave....
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
新年 好 呀 !
Happy Chinese New Year!
I'm really enjoying the Chinese class I'm auditing this year and am learning an awful lot. Although as the year progresses, it's getting harder and harder to remember so many characters. (I've compiled a "cheat sheet" to help me learn and for reference use; working on that—figuring out how to make non-Roman characters show up on the web—has been fun and a real plus that I hadn't anticipated getting into when I first took this on.)
But, as far as today is concerned, it's the first day of this cycle's Year of the Snake (蛇).
我 属 牛, which means "I was born in the Year of the Ox" (much more economical in Chinese than English, in spite of having to learn those characters, eh?).
And the beauty of this way of telling your birth year is, you don't have to give away how old you really are!
Enjoy the day!
But, as far as today is concerned, it's the first day of this cycle's Year of the Snake (蛇).
我 属 牛, which means "I was born in the Year of the Ox" (much more economical in Chinese than English, in spite of having to learn those characters, eh?).
And the beauty of this way of telling your birth year is, you don't have to give away how old you really are!
Enjoy the day!
P.S. The photo was taken in London's cute little Chinatown when I visited there during my London semester in the fall of 2008.
P.P.S. Little London Observationist has some great pictures from this year's celebration in London.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Old, new, and older
Last fall I wrote about some major changes in the library where I work.
Recently, we've seen some other not-quite-so-monumental, but still welcome, changes in the place.
The stately arcade that surrounds our building used to be lit at night by bulbs hidden away in the artistic and attractive, yet not very practical, ceramic globes that you see above. They did look nice (especially when new, I suppose, in the late '60's) but several were broken and, to be honest, they just didn't put the light that was needed on the walkways and stairs around the building after dark.
So starting late last year they swapped them out for some new, much brighter (and, one would presume, more energy-efficient) fixtures. They were finishing up with the last trade-outs the other day when I was on my way in to work, and I snapped the pictures above and at the left.
Not as artsy, perhaps, but attractive in their 21st-century way, and much more practical.
It was quite an operation, as you might imagine to swap out old for new, so high above the ground. The guys doing it got to had to ride in a cherry-picker and their work provided the office (on the sides with the big windows looking out to the arcades) with quite a nice distraction from our work.
Thinking about old and new lights called my attention to another building's old and new elements that I thought you might find interesting.
I have my Chinese class twice a week in one of our campus' oldest buildings, Reinbolt Hall. (I am embarrassed to admit I didn't realize quite how old it is; in doing a little research for this post I found out that it was built in 1909! Hence the "older" part of the post's title.)
Since the class is on the third floor, and I try to incorporate normal daily activities into my weekly workout schedule, I climb them. They are steeper than stairs in more modern buildings, and there are more of them because of the high ceilings, so it's a nice chance to feel the burn.
Recently, we've seen some other not-quite-so-monumental, but still welcome, changes in the place.
The stately arcade that surrounds our building used to be lit at night by bulbs hidden away in the artistic and attractive, yet not very practical, ceramic globes that you see above. They did look nice (especially when new, I suppose, in the late '60's) but several were broken and, to be honest, they just didn't put the light that was needed on the walkways and stairs around the building after dark.
So starting late last year they swapped them out for some new, much brighter (and, one would presume, more energy-efficient) fixtures. They were finishing up with the last trade-outs the other day when I was on my way in to work, and I snapped the pictures above and at the left.
Not as artsy, perhaps, but attractive in their 21st-century way, and much more practical.
Here some of the new lights are in action, just at sunset:
You'll have to take my word for it: they make navigating the stairs in the arcade much less harrowing!
Thinking about old and new lights called my attention to another building's old and new elements that I thought you might find interesting.
I have my Chinese class twice a week in one of our campus' oldest buildings, Reinbolt Hall. (I am embarrassed to admit I didn't realize quite how old it is; in doing a little research for this post I found out that it was built in 1909! Hence the "older" part of the post's title.)
Since the class is on the third floor, and I try to incorporate normal daily activities into my weekly workout schedule, I climb them. They are steeper than stairs in more modern buildings, and there are more of them because of the high ceilings, so it's a nice chance to feel the burn.
Plus, I get to admire the lovely woodwork banisters and newel posts that have thankfully been left in the building from the beginning.
Aren't they lovely!? And knowing about the generations of hands that have contributed to their patina just makes the stairway that much more special.
As you might have noticed in these photos, the treads of the stairs don't exactly match the banisters' artistry. I'm sure they were worn down enough to be dangerous and at some point (before I came to St. Mary's, 35+ years ago!) they resurfaced them in linoleum and metal.
But, they left the risers in the original wood!
While this combination of styles might not be particularly aesthetic, I think it's got its own funky charm.
And, when you finally get to your third floor classroom (breathing just a bit hard) you're rewarded with fabulous views through the amazing old, giant, windows that also remain from the original construction.
This is a view from our classroom over to the administration building, which is even older (1893!) and has recently seen a major refurbishment. I have been meaning to take my camera over there and show you some of its decorative flourishes. Maybe soon!
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