Monday, February 18, 2008

Campus Culture



Tell me to write an essay at home and it will take me two hours to write a page. Send me to a good library and I can have the page written in half an hour. For the past two Mondays I've ridden up the hill to the La Sierra University library to get some homework done. They have a sweet atrium where I can type to the rhythm of a flowing fountain while surrounded by plants and their accompanying fragrance. Every 45 minutes or so, I stretch my legs by trying to get lost in the three story maze of books. When I don't have homework, I find it incredibly revitalizing to simply walk through the campus or sit under one of the mature trees with some good literature. When I think about my favorite cities (San Luis Obispo, Portland, Bozeman), I realize they are all home to a major university. While I detest frat culture, I love campus culture, and I don't think I ever want to live in a city where I can't ride across town to a good college library.

10 comments:

la gloria, la gloria, la gloria said...

Here's to that.
Did you pick up and read a copy of Nausea there?

Thomas Ham said...

Weed is my favorite city! I recommend you bust out your pipe on the LSU campus! =D

Adrian Martinez said...

Sweet merciful crap! is that a picture of the LSU library or some google images library?

Michael Baker said...

That right there is a picture of an ideal library. Google gave it to me. The LSU library doesn't look nearly that cool, but I do like it better than CBU's library. Although there are two good things about CBU's library: the exterior architecture and the outdoor area on the second floor.

TW said...

especially because you could throw books you wanted to keep for good from that second floor balcony onto the pavement below. Not that I did it, but it crossed my mind pretty often. You could also throw books you didn't want anyone to ever read again onto the walkway roof.

Adrian Martinez said...

i didnt even know that balcony existed until Chris K took me up there.

another rad thing about the CBU library: The Andy Warhol autographed autobiography.

Val. said...

Monrovia Public Library has been demolished, I'm told they're planning a wonderful spectacle one due this time next year. Even though public libaries have nothing on Uni ones, there's something to be said about a cramped building filled to the brim with the musty scent of old books. In short, I evny your essay locale, I get my best writing done similarly.

Nate said...

Alright Mike I'm hijacking your blog. Still haven't heard from you about the short story section!!! I really agree, I do like the library atmosphere, there's just something so settling about it. However, I can just as easily just start smashing keys at my own whim at home with a laptop.

Comment your e-mail or send me one. Unless of course your e-mail is still trackstarmike(at)excite ya i'm trying to avoid spiders for you.

ALSO anyone else that would like to add me into the foray, feel free. My email is vijr24(at)gmail(.)com. I will add you to my google group for free blog e-mail updates.

sherry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sherry said...

Thought of this post when I read this in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: "The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church. She pushed open the door and went in. She liked the combined smell of world leather bindings, library paste and freshly inked stamping pads better than she liked the smell of burning incense at high mass."

Libraries and theaters are holy places for me.