Toilet Tennis - See Other Wall

So a couple of years ago I ventured to Melbourne for the day to go see my specialist. I had been seeing this guy since early 2020, Prof. Ali, and he is a skilled and good-natured medical professional. The thing is, I had seen him everywhere except his rooms up to that point. I was initially referred to him as he was a visiting haematologist to Echuca (I have/had hemochromatosis it seems), and that's where we had our first consult. Y2 was in the height of covid, so it was a phone consult from my bedroom at home. Y3 was also a phone consult, this time pulled over on the road just out of Jerilderie, on my way home from Milbrae. So finally, in Y4, I went down to Melbs and to his rooms. 

As it happens, he is in the hospital district, which is just to the north of the CBD, and very near my old stomping grounds at RMIT. I deliberately arrived early, with a view to having a wander around my old uni, and into the city to look for some food. For some time now, I have been following a group of Malaysians who post of various food offerings around the city. Some I have tried myself - largely around Box Hill and Glen Waverly, but so far not in the city. This day, I figured, I could try to fix that. But first, after parking, to RMIT.

I have posted about my old uni a number of times before, so won't go into too much detail, but as I approached, I was looking for the old Building 4 entrance, and knew that my destination was the trusty Building 12, Level 12. I did enter thought B4, and was immediately brought back to a formative moment in my young life - my brief romance with Sandii. Ah yes, how fucking naïve I was in those days :) You see the inside of the B4 entrance has an area where people could just sit around, as in the photo.

I think back in 1992 it was just dingy old couches, not the modern, sterile (yet coloured) benches of today. But I remember this room well. I used it only once in my time at Rimmit (how we pronounced RMIT in a tongue-in-cheek way). Of course, as a young, impressionable man, immersing myself, as I was, in what I thought was the cool Aussie culture (I now know it to be nonsense bullshit, but fortunately for me it didn't do too much damage), I spent a lot of time at the pub. Good old Mac's Hotel was just around the corner from B12, and as well as the office crowd, catered to us students. In my first and second years, you could get a hot lunch for $5, which was a full plate of food and a pot of beer. It was awesome! It speaks to how poor I was in those days that I could only afford that once a pay or even once a month. In those days I was on AusStudy, and it only paid me $200 per fortnight. Rent and board cost half, transport about a quarter, so I realistically had $25 a week to live off (board did include some meals). 

Anyway, back to the B4 lobby story. At Mac's, the old publican was Crosby, and the bar staff were Ros and Bev, two middle-aged ladies with cracking wit. Bev's daughter Sandii also worked there. Sandii and I hit it off, and even dated for a short while. It never went anywhere though. She was one of the classic gals who loves the bad boy. I think I was too wet-behind-the-ears for her frankly. But one night we went out for drinks, and ended up staying out all night long. That was the night where I was introduced to beers with a shot of red cordial in them. I even saw a retro-drink in a bottleshop recently where someone was obviously trying to recreate that vibe. It sweetened the beer and made it yummier. But the danger is it became too easy to drink! Anyway, we had a great night out (I couldn't imagine even staying up to midnight these days, let alone all night!) and ended up on the couches at B4, to chill and wait for the uni to properly open so I could go to class, and her to work. We made out on those couches, and it was a fond memory for a love-struck, inexperienced and very naïve young man. I caught up with Sandii in Perth once, many years later, but we have since lost touch. Maybe one day I'll try to find her to say hi again, but probably not. Nice memory, long time ago.

Ok, so that takes us to B12 itself, a short walk through on Level 4, to find the lift:

There is quite a bit of change since I was last there in 1994. The lecture theatres, well at least some of them, have been turned into large open social areas, as shown above. Spacious, using the original layout of the decked areas, and with big plate glass windows. I only saw one lecture theatre that appeared to still be that, so I wonder how they cater to all the lecture needs these days? I imagine it has something to do with fewer numbers and more of an online presence, perhaps a combination of the two.

Back in the day, my department was the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering. IT was that engineering degree that I did, and I am proud of it! But after 1995, the popularity of the course waned, and eventually it was swallowed into the Civil Engineering department. These days it still exists, but as below, as Geospatial Science. No engineering anymore. I am one of the last Geological Engineers, at least from RMIT anyway.

So finally we come to the titular theme of this post. The humble B12L12 toilets. One thing that amazed me was that after all these years, and with what feels like the entire place having been renovated almost beyond recognition for an early 90's alumni like myself, the toilets themselves remain the same. The black granite style walls are the same as they always were, and judging by the residue of whitewash evident on some, the graffiti of young, opinionated uni students still persists. Although on this day, none was there to see.

I actually came into the toilet, one for a pee, and two, to relive a funny old memory. Back in the day, either though greater tolerance for freedom of speech, lack of funding for cleaning, or who knows what else, these walls were perpetually covered in liquid paper comments. Some not so nice, referring to the number of foreign students on campus, others taking the mickey out of a lecturer - you name it, it was there. But the one that always made me giggle was the line "toilet tennis - see other wall", that was scribed on both sides of the cubicle. Of course, what that resulted in was one looking from left to right, and back again, much like what a spectator in the crowd at a tennis match does.

Ah, RMIT. Lot of good old memories of what life was like before it became complicated. I loved learning here, I loved finding myself as a young adult and independent person for the first time here. I loved the field trips - Snowy's, Broken Hill are the standouts - and I loved the people there. Many good old friends, like Clint and Simon, both of whom I am still in touch with, albeit irregularly. And the lecturers. Phil, Graeme, Martand, and of course Paulino. Paulino was from Brazil, and spoke with a heavy accent. He taught us geology-related software, in what was the burgeoning age of computers. One of his favourite sayings when it came to coding, was "Shit in, shit out." I will never forget that little gem. Thanks for the memories Rimmit.