Sunday, August 27, 2006

Moving during ghost month


Despite the saying that moving into a new building during ghost month is unpropitious, we managed to move into our new building during this rare double-ghost-month. The panorama above is taken on the 12th floor in the NCKUH where our office used to be. One thing I like about this office is its birds-eye view: you can actually see how buildings sprawl onto the skyline line of Tainan City and then the ocean takes over from there bringing you back to the horizon. It is a shame to leave such a vista behind and move into a new building having only 5 floors above the surface.

The new main building is in a sailboat shape, not as fancy as the hotel in Dubai but it certainly stands out from buildings around by its styling architecture. However, I can't say I like the design in it though. Compare to the old one, we have less spaces for experiments yet we have too many rooms for meetings. Moreover, without enough manpower to take care of the building, everybody is being assigned to multiple duties. It's common to see a research assistant doing his research, taking care of the air conditioning system and power grid at the same time. In addition to it, a garden is demanded by the regulation of city planning when constructing a new building. We have a garden with a small pond and a bridge on top of it. It sounds beautiful and it was until one day a group of stray dogs turned the garden into a play ground. When looking out of the window, it's common to see a show on play: a dog digs a hole for his treasure and then lies on top of it. When making eye contact with that dog, you can feel how grateful he thinks about the garden.

One thing I do like about the building is its strong air conditioning and natural lighting. Despite all the hard work and responsibilities, I think I am getting to like it more day by day.