Drew Ninnis Office

A Guided Tour of Drew’s Office Back to Drew Ninnis

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/1b.JPG 1. This is a photo of the plaque that is on my door, telling the entire world (well, anyone that walks past) that I in fact am lord of this domain, and verily does the 1970s furniture I claim cower before me. Enter at ye peril, etc.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/2.JPG 2. This is about the fullest view you can get of the office in one shot ’ from the door. Notice, like a good public servant, that when getting to work promptly at 8am I made myself a cup of tea (pictured) and checked my emails (also pictured). Some academics spend their entire day alternating between these two tasks, and informing all who knock on their door how busy they are. As I now have a door, I am a part of this elite club.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/3.JPG 3. I have an uncomfortable chair for visitors, people who come to distract me from work (emails and tea) and who I wish to stay only for as long as it takes me to tell them that I am terribly busy (with emails and tea). Note the overflowing shelves, a must for an academic. The head of the department has three huge walls covered with books, and a floor covered with ceiling scrapers made from stacks of paper. One day I hope I too can aspire to this level of untidy academia. It is like playing hide and seek in the long grass when you were children. My supervisor and I aren’t taken seriously philosophically ’ our offices are too neat.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/4.JPG 4. My desk, computer, tea and emails, and a fan conveniently left by the last occupant. It matches the 1970s chair, period wise at least. I am checking to see if it is made of Bakelite ’ if so, I have hit the retro antique jackpot. It is easy to mistake many pieces of academic furniture for junk. I think there is a store that sells old furniture to new universities, you know, for ambiance.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/5.JPG 5. My desk, part two. You know, the benefit of typing this lengthy tour guide is that my typing echoes down the hall and it sounds as if I am terribly diligent, everyone else seems very impressed. All they do all day is check emails and make tea; although the most stimulating conversation of the day is when you run into a fellow academic in the morning tea room, making tea. Jason and I argued over whether the Future Fund represents the re-Nationalization of industry, after privatization. That, and whether we thought you can literally teach your grandmother to suck eggs. Ah, the perennial philosophical problems.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/6.JPG 6. The great benefit of being on the top floor is that all of the windows stretch from the bench to the very high ceilings, and the windows span the sides of the building. So one entire wall is a window. The person in the office behind me has a very dark shoebox, no window. I mention this every time we run into each other while making tea.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/7.JPG 7. I have the best view of all the graduate offices, the others tend to look out onto the tops of ugly, ugly buildings (ANU prides itself on having the most hideous buildings in the world, it reasons it helps speed student completion times). I have a view of the lovely green centre of ANU; it has gorgeous gardens and ovals outside the buildings. It is rumored there is an outside to my building; I have never been there and so am skeptical.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/8.JPG 8. The other half of the view ’ note the hideous building, a cross between Hitler’s Reich chancellery and every brown brick building from the seventies. Incidentally, while writing this paragraph Paul (who has an office near me) wandered by and distracted me for about thirty minutes; we were discussing the origins of ‘teaching your grandma to suck eggs’. He had some excellent theories, and promised to present a paper on it in future. One of the joys of having an office is that everyone else knows where you are, and can accost you for interesting conversations when they wish to procrastinate about their own work. I welcome the opportunity to avoid my work, and discuss the grandma/egg dilemma.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/9.JPG 9. More of the building to the far left (ironically enough, a number of the political science lectures are given there). Neil, in the windowed office next to me (not everyone gets a window though, they are precious and academics fight for years to get them, just like they covet each other’s furniture) has a view taken up with the depressing top of the building. I remind him of this over tea.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/10.JPG 10. There is bird poo on my window though.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/11.JPG 11. On my board there is an 84 year old Kenyan man who is still studying. ‘Let them who want to make fun of me do it. I will continue to learn’ he is quoted as saying. I think that should be the Graduate studies motto. Either that, or ‘No thesis too long, no subject too dull.’

http://members.iinet.net.au/~drew.ninnis/12.JPG 12. And finally, out of my window there is a view of a very interesting sculpture, made of bricks (surprisingly not brown). I like it because it reminds me of the inspirational thought that when the funding cuts hit, there are more useless departments that will go first.

And that is my wonderful office!