Yesterday, for the first time in years, I went back to my old university, the University of Auckland. I was attending a 1-day security conference, in the Owen G Glenn Building. My my, how times have changed. Back in the days I was attending the E school, it was a concrete jungle, designed by the same architects that killed Communism. The small foyer had just a handful of seats, and the cafeteria was a small windowless room.
These days, it’s all steel and glass, huge open light spaces, leather couches, work spaces everywhere – with the obligatory power points and network jacks. I was amazed at how much under-utilised space there was, at least compared to the maximum efficiency ethics that used to drive the Engineering school. Mind you, seems I still seem to fall asleep in lectures.
To be fair though, that was after a fairly tiring weekend, helping out with an Open Water course. Poor weather meant we had to do both days at Lake Pupuke. I thought it was cold last month, at 14° but this was getting ridiculous at 13°. I thought some of the students were going to die. But we made it, and their diving can only be in better surroundings from now on!