u/Important-Box9668

Time flows like water, grand buildings stand firm like boulders.

My sister studied here 7 years ago, and I first came here 7 years ago as well. Seven years have passed, and I’m back to record what has changed and what remains the same.

Rotunda and the Lawn: The only visible change is that there are more South Asian-style dorm rooms decorated with colorful lights.

Alderman Library: It has been renamed Shannon and underwent a major renovation. It’s said that the first president had a racist dark history, so they changed it to the name of the fourth president who promoted Black civil rights. Sigh…

Clemons Library: The layout is the same as before, only the vending machines I used to frequent have been upgraded and now support Apple Pay lol.

Clark Library: The long quiet tables and the scholarly underground study room are still exactly the same as before.

Physics Building: Still as deserted as ever on weekends, unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to go inside.

The Corner: The homeless people under the bridge are gone.

Some flavors that have persisted for a long time: Bodo’s, roots, kuma, doma, maru, silk thai, christian pizza, Boylan heights.

Still a work in progress…But I’m finally happy with how it’s looking :3 The biggest change was actually the sink and fixtures went with something simple cute and it just made everything feel more finished, at least it looks like a new stuff new homeland help me a lot

I’ve been doing a few small upgrades around my place lately, mostly basic stuff I can handle myself.

I never really thought much about bathroom sinks before. As long as it worked and didn’t leak, I figured it was fine.

But I recently replaced mine with a cleaner looking mid range one, the price felt reasonable and the install seemed manageable.

What surprised me was how much the design changed the day to day maintenance. Fewer awkward edges, easier to wipe down, and the whole area just feels less annoying to keep clean.

It’s not the most exciting upgrade, but it’s one of those small things I wish I had paid attention to earlier.

For people who do small bathroom updates themselves, what upgrades ended up being more useful than you expected?

I used to think a big TV would probably be easier and cleaner. But there is something different about having a huge screen sitting right there in the living room without needing a ceiling mount or a projector hanging behind you.

The ultra short throw part is what made it work for this room. I didn’t want to run cables across the ceiling, deal with shadows, or have a projector sitting behind the couch. Having the image come from right under the screen feels way more natural than I expected.

The screen also makes a bigger difference than I thought. During the day, it still looks way more watchable than I assumed a projector would. At night, it feels genuinely cinematic. Not “perfect blacked out theater room” cinematic, but more like “this is still my living room, but now it feels special.”

The part people keep asking about when they come over is actually the projector cabinet. They notice the screen first, obviously, but then they see the projector tucked into the console and start asking how the whole thing works.

And I get it, because it does look pretty sick. The cabinet makes the setup feel way more intentional instead of just having a projector sitting awkwardly on top of furniture. It also helps the whole front wall look cleaner, like the projector and screen were planned together instead of pieced together later.

I did have to do some homework on UST placement before buying anything, because these things are not as simple as “put it near the wall and you’re done.” Height, distance, screen size, and alignment all matter. But once it is dialed in, the experience is honestly hard to beat.

Now every time someone comes over, they either ask about the screen or they want to know what is going on with the cabinet. That is probably the first time a piece of AV furniture has ever been the conversation starter in my house.

Anyone else here end up liking their UST setup way more than they expected?

I finally finished decorating my living room, and I’m so happy with it!

I’ve been slowly putting this space together, and the TV wall was the part I kept going back and forth on. I didn’t want it to feel too empty, and I also didn’t want it to turn into a giant electronics corner.

Right now, I feel it is much more balanced. The wood media console is textured and a bit classic. The speakers and audio stuff also didn’t take over the whole room. I don’t like it to feel too crowded. I was worried those would all feel like separate things, but actually it feels like they belong together.

I feel like I’ve been staying in way more since setting it up. I keep inviting friends over to watch movies or just hang out because the room feels cozy now.

But I still want some advice. Would you change anything here? Maybe wall art, speaker placement, lighting, or is it better to leave it simple?