Shouri Chatterjee (tuku@cisl.columbia.edu)
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 19:27:22 -0400 (EDT)


This afternoon we had quite a drama in the lab...

After my long run in the morning I came to the lab at around 2pm to do
some work. Nebojsa was there with his friend. He was busily doing some
simulations on his computer while his friend was checking his email on the
computers in the middle. Soon they had an intense discussion between
themselves in Serbian - none of which I could follow. Then Nebojsa turned
to me, pointed upwards and said, "Tuku, we have to do something - the roof
is going to burst."

I looked at the part of the ceiling he was pointing to - and oh my God!
The ceiling was bulging downwards as if it was overloaded with some really
heavy substance - and not only that, drops of a yellow colored liquid were
falling from it!

For those who haven't seen our lab - or have seen the lab but haven't
really noticed the ceiling: The ceiling is a false ceiling. There are lots
of different pipes routed above it. And it is made up of some strange
cardboard-wood-styrofoam combination, I don't know what exactly it is
called.

Immediately I looked up the facilities-management phone number.
Fortunately they were there, inspite of it being a Saturday. "Hello, I am
calling from 422 CEPSR. Our roof is leaking and will fall down any moment
- can you send someone immediately?" The woman on the other end said in
her cool non-challant voice, "Yes, we'll send someone over to take a look
at it." So far, whenever I have called the facilities office for any
reason - lights not working, leaking tap in the bathroom - they have never
showed up.

At this juncture, Professor Tsividis walked into the lab. We briefed him
about why we are panic striken. Immediately we all swung into action,
moving the computers from under the about-to-fall-ceiling to safer
locations. We placed a huge garbage bin directly under the dripping
ceiling. We covered the computers with empty garbage bags - all the time
wondering about the consequences if the ceiling bursts and deluges the lab
with the yellow stuff... When it does fall down, hopefully the substance
would fall into the garbage bin.

Two minutes later I picked up the phone again. "Hello, our ceiling is
about to explode. Can someone come and fix it before that?" The voice on
the other end said, "This is the security. Did you want to talk to the
facilities office?" He took the complaint anyway and said that he will
"send someone over to take a look at it."

Ten minutes pass by. In the meantime Sherry and her husband, Rock, had
also came to the lab. We - me, Nebojsa, his friend, Prof Tsividis, Sherry,
Rock - were all standing and staring at the collapsing ceiling piece,
hoping that if we fix our gaze on it hard enough maybe it will hold back
the deluge for a few more minutes...

Prof Tsividis picks up the phone now. "Hello, our roof is leaking and is
about to fall down..." They tell him that they have already sent someone
"to take a look at it."

Soon there is a knock on the door. The ceiling is still holding back. We
heave a sigh of relief and this man comes in, bare-handed - "to take a
look" at what's going on. He climbs up onto the table and takes a good
look at the situation. As we are all watching him in action, the first
thing he does - he rips open the cardboard piece!!! I was terrified -
knowingly he opened the gates of hell?! But wait - nothing happened. Drip
- drip - drip - the ceiling just continued dripping.

What happened then to all the substance that the ceiling was holding back?
Well - it wasn't holding back anything. The cardboard-wood-styrofoam
ceiling had merely swollen because it was damp...

The man used a stick and tightened some plumbing above the ceiling and the
leak stopped. We thanked him profusely - and for some strange reason, he
thanked us too...

Phew.

This was one time I really felt like Chicken Licken... :)

Hope you are all doing well and having your own funny incidents...