So far, Austin has been a series of endless highways with brief moments in the city itself. Last night, I tried to just drive around to get a sense of the place and I regretted it immediately. Austin is nothing if not choked with cars, cars, trucks, big trucks, construction vehicles, and more trucks. You have to have the patience of a newt to mentally deal with Austin traffic. (Why newt? Because I know newts. These little turds would rather starve than give you the satisfaction of successfully feeding them. Of course this was college, their habitat was not great, and if I had to do it over again, Never Newts, leave them in nature where they belong, but ya know, hindsight and all that. Have you ever tried to force feed a newt? They are the size of a nickle and they hate you with every fiber of their being and are slippery in their rage against the giant hand.)
I am not even sure if Austin has a downtown--perhaps I will try to locate it tomorrow. Today I am doing the the Alamo Drafthouse thing, though I will not be experiencing it as most, I am sure, think it should be experienced (with alcohol), it will be a Real Austin thing to do and I am really looking forward to it. I've chosen one of the "Hollywood" locations that plays standard fair on a schedule throughout the day (sorry, arthouse is not in myhouse) and plan to make the 4:15 showing of Get Out, the only movie I've been interested in seeing lately. I am leaving insanely early, however, because God knows how long it will take to get there, since it is just blocks away. An hour? An hour should be good.
It was another highway journey to get to the Ruiz Branch Library this morning, and I was glad that the payoff was so steep. This library is gorgeous. When you walk in, the ceiling soars high above and you get this phenomenal sense of space that is, as it turns out, well conceived and utilized. The front desk is tucked to the right and the meeting rooms are tucked to the left, while the computer banks and a main reading area are straight ahead.
Behind the computers are the stacks, the style of which I will call Erin's Idea of Awesome, circa 1998, when I was big into buying picture frames from Umbra and they all basically looked like this: pine or cherry wood with black accents. You know how you become blind to certain things? Like, I have no idea if Duran Duran is a good band or what. My little 11-year-old brain caught fire with the very idea of them in 1983 and I've been branded and oblivious ever since. I am guessing they are good? Because of popularity and not just cuuuuuteness? But I have no idea. Every song is gold. Forever. Some people are like that about wicker furniture, fancy oil lamps, chicken ornaments. And this is how I am about my Umbra frames. To me, they are Forever Magnificent. And so are these stacks.
At one side of the Ruiz you will find these tiny little window seats, each with its own electrical outlet, which I find highly weird (go Austin!), charming, and kind of nuts. I have yet to see anyone utilize one (the seats are wooden and look hard) but it is a nice idea if not exactly an inviting execution.
The best part--the only part--is the back wall where all the work desks reside. Oh happy day! There are plenty of desks, everyone gets and outlet, and the view is beautiful, green and shining. Several large bugs have smacked their improbably heavy bodies against the glass which makes me both unnerved (bugz) and dorkily imperious (ha, you cannot get me in my glass and steel spaceship).
Ruiz is a great little library though as I write this, two troublemakers have set up camp right behind me and are chattering away, loudly and without concern about anyone around them. Soooo, maybe I will head out for that movie now...ah! Quote of the Day:
Female Companion: "Shh."
Rude-Ass Male M-Effer: "IF I WANTED TO BE QUIET, I'D GO TO CHURCH."
Bye.
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