An Ode to Mudd
I have no poetry skills so I won’t even attempt to write this post as some sort of poem, as the title would suggest. However, I will make every attempt to make this post enjoyable to read, maybe even include some jest.
If you go to Columbia or are one of the chosen few who already know what the word Mudd means, then the rest of the post is perhaps useless for you. It might be interesting, but definitely nothing new. For everyone else, this post will help clarify some of my away messages on AIM/Yahoo/GTalk/etc.
Mudd is the shortened name of the engineering building at Columbia. It is tall and big. It is divided up such that there are one or two departments per floor. For engineering students, more or less, all classes happen in this building. It also houses all the research labs, a cafeteria, a library, and a computer lab. Which brings me to the reason for writing this post: I spend several hours every day in Mudd. Most of that time is spent either in the computer lab or in the library, and not in classrooms. Almost every Monday, I’m there from 10:30am to 6:30pm (minimum). I even go there on weekends. Pathetic? Maybe.
All engineering students feel a strange attraction towards Mudd. It’s like a home away from home away from home. Our dorms act as our home away from home, but Mudd is our home away from our dorms. The library is well-stocked and the computer lab machines have all kinds of useful software for students. Plus, there are printers for, you know, printing stuff. I usually go there for group study fun times or when I’m solo, I just plug in my headphones and do my work. Few distractions. There’s food and drinks so you really don’t have to leave the building for anything. Except perhaps showers. You can totally find a place to sleep if you want to. There’s WiFi everywhere (except that one room on the 11th floor) and ethernet jacks in several rooms. Furthermore, the elevators are crazy fast, especially when not busy. Also, we’ve got automatic sliding doors at the entrance. Yep, we’re engineers all right.
I obviously spend way too much time in this building, but there are others who practically live there (you know who you are). And did I mention the sky bridge on the 10th floor that connects Mudd to the building next door? Pretty sweet, eh?
