I recently got a promotional postcard from MIT noting that my beloved Hayden library had been renovated. I last visited in 2019 (my 25th reunion which I had a disappointing time at – never had I felt so badly and out of place about my alma mater, so I might never go back), right before they started the renovation, so I was able to relive the gloriousness that was the old library. MIT’s undergraduate is mid-size, so I didn’t know everyone by name, but it meant that there were lots of familiar faces – anyways, when I met someone in graduate school later, they said – I recognize you, you were always in the library and it was true. Now, I know this is all relative because when you go to a school at MIT, it’s really easy to feel stupid (even though you are not) and I felt stupid a lot and I got through with the determination of a mouse in the middle of the night in the attic that won’t stop scritching, scratching away for hours keeping you awake. I spent so much time at the library. I remember it was my goal to study about 10-12 hours for each exam, and I did 95% of my studying on the first floor of Hayden.
Hayden library was…not pretty. It had metal shelves full of dusty books. It was crammed to the rafters with technical books with thick bindings that you could touch with inscrutable titles and I never referred to them at all. It had little staircases leading to nowhere. There was the tired but friendly all night librarian (!) that I became friends with like you’d be friends with a barista now. But it had enormous wooden tables and that I could spread out four feet wide and four feet deep with my notes and books. It was never crowded unless it was finals, but there were always a rotating group of fellow study-ers for a collegial feeling.
I rewarded myself after each 30 min study session at the library to go upstairs to the magazine section to read People Magazine – which inexplicably the library had a subscription to. Anyways, can I be disappointed in the renovation? There are no books! It looks like an airport lounge or any regular office space. I mean, it’s nice. But also so not nice. (Also, there are no people in this tour video, so maybe that it also swaying my reaction). It’s no longer open 24 hours. Haha I’m an old curmudgeon. I’m spending a lot of my time trying to recapture the feelings I had in high school and college without phones, without being so tied to the computer.
I got notice that my bare root trees that I ordered months ago shipped to arrive at the house today! And I was like, I’m not ready, I’m not ready! But it was a beautiful day yesterday and I (having bought the supplies the same time I ordered the trees), spent a few hours outside setting up 6 tree guards for the main 6 trees I’m going to plant: white oak, serviceberry, redbud and witch hazel. There are a few extra white oaks I’m going to try to plant with kiki’s tree tubes and see how that fares against extreme deer pressure. We will see. It feels so nice to be outside, my daffodils give me joy, the sun further wrinkles my face. And we go on. (Also! I found a porcelain top to one of our little pitchers in the compost pile! Who knows how long it’s been there….)
