Party in the ECE building

Its 3:30 AM.

I wonder if the couches in the first floor IEEE lounge are actually this comfortable in reality or if I have only ever sat down in them when thoroughly exhausted.

There is no reason I suppose they should not be this comfortable, they certainly are of excellent quality. The pair are matching black leather and comfortably seat three people each. There are not even food stains, scuff marks, or rips in the fabric. How did we get such nice quality couches in a student lounge? We are so spoiled.

Someday if I am rich I would love to have couches half as comfortable as these.

"Its like a bread product scanner," a voice pipes up.

I turn and laugh as Ginger stares at the lightly unorthodox toaster he found in the lounge and plugged in. It has a pair of heating elements at the top. As the toaster works the slice of bread product designated to be toasted moves slowly past the heating elements into a transparent plastic chamber and out again. At first I want to belittle him for being so easily amused but only realize that I too seem to be transfixed by this simple kitchen appliance.

Ginger and I sit down with our now-toasted bagels and spread apricot honey cream cheese on them. We sit them and eat in pretty much silence.

That is one of the things I sincerely enjoy about Ginger. He doesn't feel like he has to be talking to be enjoying something. I think the fine art of shutting the hell up and simply taking things in has mostly been lost in this day and age. Instead we have to make small talk about everything. I have to wonder how much of moments you miss if you are too busy explaining to everybody that they are happening.

We were joined shortly later by a friend Purple's and my lab partner from another class. We were joined shortly later by Purple herself who had a bagel and then invited us into the Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering lounge (which is open to all, just controlled by that particular club.) This offered us the opportunity for caffeinated tea and candy. The couches are not as comfortable but it has a poster on the door with a picture of Captain Picard holding a mug of tea always makes me smile.

Tea, Early Grey, Hot

After that we back to work for another few hours.

It was 6AM. I needed to stretch my legs again.

Wandering upstairs I chatted briefly with the Vex Victim and my friend Playlist. After that I wandered downstairs. The women's lounge was open in it, and Purple and her friend were still there working.

"Hey," Purple said, "you having issues logging into the CS department network from here?"

"Haven't been trying."

"I can't get in."

I was going to go toast myself another bagel but the lights were off in the IEEE lounge and two other friends of mine were passed out cold on the couches. Instead I told my lab partner I was going home for a quick nap.

I appreciate that I can wander a random building at 6AM in the morning and still find many people to talk to, that we can share food and swap stories. They say misery loves company, but truth be told I'm not really miserable working like this: mostly just tired. The work we are assigned is quite enjoyable, its just a lot of work to do. That's how we wind up here I guess. A sad part of me knows I will miss this sort of thing when I graduate.

Perhaps if I do not find a real job instead of opening a place which delivers cookies and milk I'll make a homework cafe. It would be open from maybe 5PM until 8AM and serve dinner, breakfast, and snacks. It would have lab benches on the side so people could do lab work, and internet so people could shell into whatever machines they needed. As a matter of fact it would be designed to be just like working in a lab, except that you can eat there.