After work today, I went to Stanford University to visit the library and read the stories that were handed out in my class last week (and that I unfortunately couldn't pick up because I stayed home sick). It was *surreal*. One of the books was in the South Stacks, so I had to venture into the underground labyrinth that I believe is actually beneath Meyer, even though you can't access it from there. The other was in the Bender Room, which is one of the most gorgeous reading rooms in the entire place; clearly the Monday before Halloween is not a popular time to study, because I was actually able to find a comfy chair while I read a story and an interview with Tobias Wolff. Then, John called, which induced a v. strange sense of deja vu that was only heightened when I realized that his phone had auto-dialled me from his pocket, like it used to do all the time but hasn't for years.
The library complex was like a second home to me during the first three years of my college experience, although I never seemed to get much done there. It's strange to see it now, taken over by hordes of new students who all appear to be about twelve years old. It's also strange to go to campus and realize that there's virtually no chance that I'll run into someone I know. But, my time in the library woke up all of the half-suppressed longings in my blood to go back to school, back to the safety of academia. We shall see, we shall see. Now I need to go to bed--I have to get up tomorrow in time to put on some semblance of a Halloween costume before work. Ugh. Goodnight!
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