Today was the first day of the entire journey that I felt compelled to bring a paper map. We knew that our second spot today was the Business School, and we're totally unfamiliar with the various buildings around there. Yes, we know very little about business.
Before that, though, our first destination was the Graduate Community Center, just a little way down Escondido Road. There's a little cafe, and there were quite a few people gathered around eating outside. They looked at us kind of funny when we ran through the tables and touched the door.
On the way there and on the way back, we ran through the crazy new roundabout that is at the intersection of Campus Drive and Escondido. We've eyed this in various stages of construction and, now that's it is done, we're very skeptical. It seems to work OK for pedestrians, although it always seems like a leap of faith that the car is going to stop for us. We're really worried, though, about what happens when traffic is heavy and there are lots of students on bikes. It seems like a lot to look for in all directions: cars, walkers, and bikes.
Next was one big site: the Graduate School of Business: Knight Management Center. By the rules we invented, this is one place, but the map actually lists various distinct buildings (Bass Center, CEMEX Auditorium, Faculty Building East and West, Gunn Building, MBA Class of 1968 Building, McCleland Building, Oberndorf Event Center, Patterson Building, Zambrano Hall). We touched every one, which made us look ridiculous as we ran back and forth in front of the same people about seven times. The whole place is quite new and cool looking, and we were really impressed with the branding "naming opportunities."
Before that, though, our first destination was the Graduate Community Center, just a little way down Escondido Road. There's a little cafe, and there were quite a few people gathered around eating outside. They looked at us kind of funny when we ran through the tables and touched the door.
On the way there and on the way back, we ran through the crazy new roundabout that is at the intersection of Campus Drive and Escondido. We've eyed this in various stages of construction and, now that's it is done, we're very skeptical. It seems to work OK for pedestrians, although it always seems like a leap of faith that the car is going to stop for us. We're really worried, though, about what happens when traffic is heavy and there are lots of students on bikes. It seems like a lot to look for in all directions: cars, walkers, and bikes.
Next was one big site: the Graduate School of Business: Knight Management Center. By the rules we invented, this is one place, but the map actually lists various distinct buildings (Bass Center, CEMEX Auditorium, Faculty Building East and West, Gunn Building, MBA Class of 1968 Building, McCleland Building, Oberndorf Event Center, Patterson Building, Zambrano Hall). We touched every one, which made us look ridiculous as we ran back and forth in front of the same people about seven times. The whole place is quite new and cool looking, and we were really impressed with the branding "naming opportunities."
A few highlights from our criss-crossing journey:
- We had a silly conversation about whether the Bass Center rhymes with "face" or "pass".
- I have no idea when CEMEX stands for, but there is a really cool artwork right outside with flipping colored tiles that I'd never seen before. Mesmerizing.
- The "MBA Class of 1968 Building" may have the worst name of any building on campus.
- At one point we ran through the cafeteria, which is sort of inside: it is enclosed with a roof, but all the doors to the outside were open. Still, that's the first time I can remember we've run through a building.
- We couldn't find the Oberndorf Center, but then we saw a sign that said it was on the third floor. Yes, we ran up the stairs, the first time we've done so in this adventure. Ira's pedometer doesn't handle elevation, so this really hurt our distance and average pace.
- The CEMEX Center is inside Zabrano Hall, so we aren't sure why it was listed twice. We definitely touched the building, though. And enjoyed the art again.
Then, across campus to the Green Earth Sciences Building. Not much to report here. It is a nice new building, and Ira was telling me a story about 7th grade math, which passed the time very well and caused us to run pretty slowly.
We ran back to the center of campus to Green Library. If you follow this blog carefully, you'll note that we've already been to the Bing Wing and the East Wing, which seem to make up the entire library. This brings up an interesting metaphysical question: what exactly is Green Library anyways? I meditated on this biking home, and here's my best answer: it is sort of like North Dakota and South Dakota. Just because they named the two parts doesn't mean that Dakota no longer exists. Very "ting and yang" like. Two parts of the whole. (Whoa, this is getting heavy.)
We had brief run to Gunn (SIEPR), which stands for "Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research". The building is near Memorial Auditorium, and we again sort of ran through some people having a reception. This building is quite pretty and new, like many of of our stops today.
Lastly, we dipped our toe into the next letter of the alphabet by visiting the Haas Center, which provides community service opportunities for students. It is really close to Wilbur Field, and is a cool old cottage-like building. (Note to any current Stanford students: you should drop by here from time to time. They do some good work.) Oh, we also tried to cut through a courtyard which had no exit, and again some people were having a reception and looked at us funny.
It was only a few hundred yards back to Wilbur Field, so we tried to pick up the pace and run faster. Unfortunately, this caused my iPhone to fall through a hole in my pocket and slide on the sidewalk. It got scuffed up a wee bit – I've always gone coverless – but probably not enough damage to justify getting a new iPhone 6.
Distance: 3.6 miles, although we know we probably lost some tenths in the crazy back and forth of the Business School (76.1 total). I'm going to San Diego this weekend (Hi Kermit!) so there won't be another run for a few days.
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