Finals and Other Endings

The lounge scene is hushed and warm, resonating the feel of semester finals to every person who enters. A tight, studious air is produced and shared by all, giving me a false sense of urgency, as if I should be contributing to the production of such an atmosphere. All individuals within the scene seem to be studying or reading over something with an urgency not consistently found in the lounge. I sit in a chair away from the right exit double doors. The scene in general is full of young students, save, one older man that sits closest to the door. To the desk to the front and left of me sits an Asian man and woman, both have their shared desks baring two almost identical laptops, and various scattered papers and journals. Of which the two will hold up and seem to be talking to one another about in a dialect that sounds similar to Japanese. The woman has a beautiful red scarf, and the man, a blue shirt. The Asian man in the blue shirt soon stands and begins to exit the library when he is beeped by the sensor leading to it. The woman smiles playfully at the attention the man is getting from the inside of the scene. The man later returns back to his seat by the woman, both look at their independent laptop screens, and fade into quiet. In the back of library sits two young women, both in plush chairs aside one another. Two red roller desks combine on front of them to form a very large table. One of the women wears her hair in a tie and writes diligently in a journal in front of her (let’s call her pony Tail.) Aside she is a woman with her hair down (let’s call her down,) she also writes, but then looks over and begins to talk to her friend. Pony Tail talks, devoting her full attention to down, chews on the end of her pen, and sways it around for emphasis, in correlation with the tone of the conversation. I note that Down sways her pen the same. At that moment a young man with slicked back hair enters through the lounge. Meanwhile, at the table of the Asian pair, I note that they begin to be packing up, the Asian woman exits first, followed slowly by the Asian man. Pony Tail and down seem to have be coming off of their high horse, not looking on planning on continuing their studies, they now talk and scroll through their independent cell phones. Pony tail soon pulls up both her feet into her chair as she talks (obviously this position would be impossible to write in.) down leans back slightly into her chair as she takes her turn talking and listening. Pony tail seems to be the most extroverted of the women, as she has been very open and large in her movements, speaks the loudest, and talks the majority of the time. Aside Pony Tail at the desk in front of, sits an attractive man in a long sleeve shirt, a large white laptop is propped in front of him, and various pieces of paper lay scattered around the device. A chair juts out from one side of the desk, holding a vest coat and larger sleeved coat. I assume someone may be sitting here, until the man grabs off one of the jackets and wears it. In the time I have watched him, the man has stared at his screen with unwavering intensity, then jotted down a few notes on a paper in front of him. (Let’s call this man Erin.) At that moment, a young man exits the library, and an old man enters. Following, an older woman in white smiles, and mouths hello to me as she exits, she seems to be looking genuinely enthusiastic to see me, though I have never met her.  In respond to the sudden affection, I smile shyly and look behind me, only to remember that there is nothing but a concrete wall back there. In a seat to the right of Erin sits a girl with messy short black hair, (let’s call her Annie,) Annie reads through a stack of various newspapers, once tearing through the large stack awkwardly, now calmly balancing a manageably folded pile atop her knee. An older man with white hair, a beard, and glasses sits hunched forward, then moves back deep in his seat, attempting to read a newspaper. Changing the paper this way and that, moving his body, adjusting his leg position so often it seems unnatural. Pony Tail and Down are still on break. Still scrolling through their phones, talking about relationships. Erin, now grabs a stack of papers, looks at the screen of his laptop, then the papers, he fingers his way through the stack, until coming across one that he keeps and compares to something on screen. A young man enters, and two young men in identical hoodies exit. Back at Annie’s side of the room, it seems that she has fallen asleep. I assume this because her head his down, and her limbs relaxed back in the chair. I watch her for about a minute, and then she shakes her head, wakes, then puts it down again. The old man with the paper now exits the lounge scene followed by a young couple. Back at the girl’s table, pony tail has taken her leisurely gesturing to the extreme. The girl now lays back on the seat area of her chair, an additional chair has been pulled out to support her legs under the desks, and her phone is held in front of her face. The two are quiet. Down has an elbow propping her hand to her temple as she scrolls through her phone. Pony Tail and Down pack up moments after I witness this and exit the library. Annie and Erin are now the only two in the library.

With moments left in my observation I note that Annie has awaken, and is now quietly reading a stack of papers aloud, meanwhile Erin has put down his pack of papers, and is now reading his screen and jotting down notes as seems fit. And so ends my last day of observations.

All In Favor Of Skipping Winter This Year

A sharp wave of blistering cold whips the ground picking up millions of specs of brown earth and sharp pebbles, then, whipping them upward in one great motion, snaps the debris forward, sideways, against exposed legs, into eyes,  book bags, and open door ways. This was the scene I was met by upon journeying to my observation location. Much dust, cold, and unpleasantness. To my relief the inside of the lounge area is warm and inviting, serving in sheer contrast to the hellish conditions outside. I note that there were a handful of people outside the library walking. In fact I image those inside are more refugees than individuals looking for a place to work. Right off I see Jack and Jill, whom had been sitting at a table closest to the library entrance. As I watch they begin to gather their belongings and stand. Jack stands close to the entrance to the library while Jill enters the library. A few minutes pass and Jill returns to the scene and the two exit out through the lounge together. Almost directly in front of me, (but one chair to the right) sits a man of the same ethnicity as cover. He wears a black hat, and has a red roller desk pulled to him to hold a white apple laptop and water bottle. The man (Let’s call him Green) sits up straight in his plush chair, feet planted firmly on the carpet below, a blue backpack held in-between his legs. Green takes a swig of the water in the few minutes I have been watching him. I note that he, unlike most I have seen in the lounge on previous observations, is not touching his laptop, he merely watches the screen, headphones bridging him to the material online. When Green is not watching the screen of his laptop, I note that he looks at me oddly, perhaps catching onto my observation. To the right of me sits Cap, shoulders buried deep into her plush chair, legs crossed, and the higher up right leg supporting her famous black laptop. She whispers softly into the screen of her device as she rubs her neck and head with one hand. I am close enough to her to see that she is video chatting a young man. Two tables in front of me sits a man in a blue shirt, he sits alone, phone in hand, headphones attaching him to the device, and demanding his attention. (Let’s call this man Plug,) Beside the man’s chair is a black backpack, and another backpack is set on the pulled out seat to his right. A single fast food soda drink resides on the table. The time is now 3:14, a new woman enters the lounge scene, she takes a seat two display cases and four seats to my right. After placing her belongings by the chair she stands again and pulls a red roller desk in front of her so that it may hold her laptop and drink. Upon sitting again, the woman (let’s call her Erika) pulls out a cellphone and begins to fidget on it. At that moment, a woman in a red hoodie comes in through the library and assumes her place in the pulled out desk by Plug. (Let’s call this newcomer Heel.) As soon as she takes a seat, she touches plugs wrist, gets out her phone, and shows him something on it. The two talk in hushed excited voices above the tiny screen. A few minutes later Green packs up his belongings and leaves the scene, as he exits out an assaulting blast of cool air temporarily freezing the library scene, I shiver bitterly in my seat, as I am the closest one to the exit. After, a young man in blue jeans enters from the library, reading one of two jumbled packets as he makes his way toward the lounge exit. A soon stops at the exit and flips through a few pages, reading for about a minute, then exits. A young couple exits through the lounge. Back at Plug and Heel’s desk, Plug seems to now be showing heel a video on his own device, both are smiling. A young blonde girl now enters the lounge, she approaches Heel, making the girl turn her attention away from Plug. The two girls seem to greet each other, the blonde girl takes a seat, and the two talk. The blonde girl soon greets plug and he excitedly shows the two girls a video. Back at Caps video chatting area of the room, I observe that she still talks quietly to the screen of her laptop, despite the screen now changed to a word document. Her posture has not shifted greatly. Surveying the lounge, I also notice that many leaves have found their way into the lounge floor. Likely all of them hitched a ride on the bursts of air sent through the lounge by the open door. A handful of leaves has even reached has far as the center of the room. The new blonde girl by Plug and Heel now stands, the other two follow in her lead and exit the lounge. After, a middle aged looking woman enter the lounge from the library, and takes her time looking at a rotating display case full of articles, she eventually heads back into the library. Meanwhile, in Erica’s side of the room she types intently, her phone no longer compromising her attention. A young woman dressed warmly, reading a cellphone enters the library. Following are two men in a dark pink/purple, who exit through the lounge, the younger of the two holding a latter, and the older holding a tool bag. Next, two young women, followed by two middle aged women enter into the library. To end this scene with only minutes of observation remaining, I would like to fill the audience in on what scene I shall be leaving today. Cap is still taking softly, but now instead of doing nothing but this, she instead types and scrolls on her laptop, a word document open. Erica does the same on her laptop. The inside of the library is full of low talking, and a comforting warmth. This in particular depresses me as I look out the glass doors at the raging wind and brown skies. The outside does not look fun. 

Strange Behavior

The time is 2:52 on a semi-warm Monday afternoon. The lounge area is quiet and full of a comfortable cool that offers a much appreciated break from the outside sun. The inside of the library is noisy, as if multiple groups are talking, cracking jokes, laughing at said jokes, and moving things around for the sheer purpose of filling the typical void of empty study. Despite all this I feel strangely at peace, perhaps due to the comfortable temperature of the inside. A ton of familiar faces joined the library groups today. In the right corner of the library sits a cap less Cap. She lays back lazily in a pink plush chair, arms and legs crossed, a content smile on her face as she looks at something on the glass screen of her laptop, of which sits on a red roller desk  before her. I note that she has a set of white ear buds in that attach to the device. At that moment, an older man and woman exit, talking loudly to one another. Jill is also a part of this new observation. She sits two chairs and two clear glass display cases away from Cap, working (or so I’d like to assume) on her famous black laptop. Her left leg propped on her right, as to secure the placement of the laptop on her lap. She once again has the elaborate looking headset on her head, except as opposed to last time, the muff area resides behind her ears so she gets no sound from the device. Jill stares at her screen with intensity, off and on typing and scrolling. She does this for a span of a few minutes then looks off, then going back. Jill seems to be easily distracted today as she pays mind to every individual exiting and entering the lounge. A Man in a tight red sweater exits, face glued to a phone as he texts. A middle aged looking woman in blue enters the library through the lounge. A rush of four people enter and exit the lunge. About three female and two male, all young adults, as is the typical clientele of the library. Meanwhile, as Cap looks intently at her laptop, her notice her leg stretch out, and her hand go up to her temple, then leave to scratch her nose. A few seconds later she talks to the screen of her laptop in a foreign language, smiling as she does so. She takes pauses in-between talking , as if awaiting a response. One word in the assumed conversation sounds like a question. It is to be assumed I am witnessing a video chat. 3:12, Jill has placed her headphones over her ears and continues to work in-between distractions. Jill later gets out her cellphone, dials a number, and says nothing, a finger moves to her lips as she waits. Soon after she hangs up, and puts the phone back into her pocket. the finger still at her lips, she scrolls on her laptop once more. Jill is now packing up her things, checking her phone as she goes.  She goes to the lounge exit door, stops, and turns back, then goes into the library. Jack and Jill (as anticipated) emerge moments later and exit together. The inside of the lounge seems to have quieted down, thought I can still make out the faint chattering and shuffling from the inside of the library. A young woman exits as a tall young woman enters, these two are followed by a Hispanic man whose shoes squeak loudly as he makes his way across to the exit and leaves. Three individuals enter in almost single file, two male, one female, all young. Cap is now talking quietly to the laptop, after she looks away and plays with the card attached to the headphones. She does this for two minutes then says something quietly. Then says the same thing over again louder to the laptop, of which she is now looking at. Two young men enter the library. A middle aged looking man enters. Later a Large  and shorter thinner man enter the library scene, taking loudly the two place their things on the desk in front of cap, (who doesn’t seem to notice.) the smaller one places his back pack and skateboard by the seat. Both men take out their respective journal and binders. The larger man leaves into the library after doing this, leaving the smaller man to working on his paperwork alone. Back at Caps area, I see a man talking to her, asking for her red roller desk, Cap reluctantly says yes, and moves her turned off laptop to the chair closest to her, and watches in silence as the man drag the desk deep into the library. Cap crosses her arms and looks menacingly at the wall in front of her after the man leaves. Three new people enter and exit the library then. Cap later stands and walks to a far off chair with a back pack and lunch on it. Cap fishes out another laptop from the backpack and sets it up back at her previous seat. The smaller man previously doing work soon follows his friend into the library. I leave this cool library scene in a state of fairly constant calm. Cap is all that remains, typing silently, and much happier than she was previously, I leave this quiet scene.

Time Ticks On

The time is 2:32, on a Monday afternoon. The outside of the lounge is warm, not hot. It seems that the October month is finally starting to run out the remnants of summer. The inside of the lounge and library are quiet save Jill, whom sits with a younger girl that looks about her age. (Let’s call her Ellen,) the two sit at the table in front of the one Jack and Jill sat at the previous week. Both sit upright across from one another, writing in their respective journals. Jill keeps a purple binder in her lap, and an open book atop her desk. She seems to be discussing the subject material from with Ellen as she writes in her own open journal. I notice that the majority of the majority of the educational material being discussed comes from questions Ellen poses toward Jill, it is possible I am witnessing a tutoring session. To the right of me, only separated by a small grey platform, sits a very young looking man with black hair. A red roller desk has been pulled to his seat and now houses sun glasses, a red computer mouse, a paper packet, and about two highlighters (let’s call this man NB.) At the moment a man with long black hair enters the library, and a man with short black hair exits the library. In spite of all the laid out material, NB seems to be the most interested in his red cellphone, of which he holds close to his face as he sits up on the edge of his chair. To the farther right of me, in the seat aside where Brown previously sat, sits a fidgety man with a black cap. Aside he lays various books and journals, and two black backpacks, one large and the other a smaller travel looking bag. The man (let’s call him fidget,) keeps a thin journal filled up with writing on his lap, I notice that the man’s right twitching leg is propped up on his left which also fidgets. The man now fishes through the pages of the journal as if looking for something. A desk away, directly in front of me sits a newcomer to the lounge, a girl in athletic attire and a messy bun, she seems to have set up an apple laptop on her grey desk, and aside she has placed a monster drink. She scrolls through her computer lazily, taking sips in-between scrolling. In the far corner of the lounge sits two girls virtually out of my line of sight, Ellen and Jill block the first girl, and a large laptop hide the second. The time is 2:57, NB has now fished out a black laptop and placed it atop his packet of papers, his phone lays aside him. The red mouse that once looked out of place now comes to life, clicking rhythmically in line with it’s master’s decisive motions. A tall girl in pink exits through the lounge, followed by a man in a festive shirt, who looks around the lounge as if it is his first time in, he soon exits into the library. The man exits through the lounge moments later, no longer paying mind to his surroundings, he now has white earbuds in his ears. Jill and Ellen talk quietly, always digging in their respective journals and scribbling down notes. Occasionally I see Jill crack a joke or laugh. Ellen writes with one hand, and with the other holds a phone close to her face, I wonder if she is viewing an online text as she does not seem to have a book. I hear Jill read out a problem, and realize the two are discussing math. The formally unseen Girl 1 stands and exits the lounge.  A Man in shorts enters into the library. Meanwhile, in Fidget’s area, the man has put his journal away, and keeps a book in his lap. His legs are not crossed, but his feet are, strangely crossed. Three older women whispering, exit through the lounge. I notice that the women all use three separate doors to exit. A man in purple then enters the lounge from the library and places his things on a table in front of the athletically dressed girl with the monster drink. After setting his things down, the man disappears into the library, only to emerge moments later, takes his things and leaves. NB takes a break from his clicking, lies back in his chair, and plays on his charging phone. The time is now 3:12, NB is back to his affairs on the laptop, and then quickly goes back to his phone. Four men then exit through the lounge. The monster drink girl scribbles notes from her laptop screen, taking swigs here and there of the monster. A dark skinned man exits through the lounge. I not notice that the majority of people entering and exiting are men. NB gets into the habit of starting and stopping his affairs on the laptop for time on his phone. Girl 2  who was previously hidden behind her laptop, has now sat up, and is in view. I can see her now talking loudly on her cellphone. 3:20, Jack enters from the library, and meets Jill. Jill commands him to do something, he agrees and exits. The three older women from before enter the lounge again, through their respective doors. A young man with a skateboard enters the library after. Jill and Ellen begin to pick up, laughing and talking as they do. The two soon hug and exit together. The monster drink girl following. After NB begins to pack up, and soon follows the girls. Girl 2, as if influenced by the gang follows minutes after.  Fidget and I are now the only individuals in the library, he quietly flips through the pages of his book in the extremely quiet lounge. A Woman in blue, takes a seat aside in the formal chair of Girl 2, and takes out a laptop. The library is left in silence.

Crossword

The time is 3:59 on a warm Tuesday afternoon. The inside of the lounge is cool as to accommodate the outside heat. The library and lounge area are both louder than usual, a group from within the library shuffles and talks loudly amongst themselves, while a young couple within the lounge watch a loud video on a cellular device and talk at just the same volume. The overall noise around me fills the typical void of solemn study. Today I have decided to sit in the far right corner of the library. Across from me sits an older man with white hair holding a large and very noisy newspaper in front of his spectacle residing face, (let’s call him News.) The man consistently shuffles the paper, and changes its position in front of him every minute or so. With every change a loud crinkling of pages fills the room. As I write the young couple previously watching a video, have gathered their things and appear to be getting ready to leave. As expected, they exit the library. News’ cellphone goes off as he reads his shuffling paper and he quickly folds it into a much more manageable size, and fishes in his pocket for a black cellphone. Upon retrieving the phone he assesses the folded paper onto his crossed right leg, and scrolls through the device. This takes about three minutes. After, he puts the phone away and unfolds the large newspaper, deciding to prop it up right, once again in front of his face. At this moment, the young couple re-enters the lounge and crosses into the library. News is unphased by this, he reads the paper for about a minute then changes its position strategically. Once again his cellphone goes off, at this point he has already folded the large paper into a manageable enough size to fish out the device without much struggle. He sends a quick text, then goes back to his paper arrangement. Just after, the young couple exits the library scene. To my left, two glass display cases away, sits a man with an apple computer. His posture can be best described as loose, laid back, but very alert. He sits back in a plush chair, legs extended, feet crossed at the end. One hand grips the edge of his chair, while another resides by the apple laptop (of which happens to be on a red roller desk.) The time is now 4:17, the man (let’s call his Jason,) hunches forward into his computer and places both hands to his head as if stressed at something he is now reading on screen. Meanwhile, News’ crossed legs has moved up his left leg in a great, almost over the top manner. In addition to this I now notice he has moved back farther to the right of his chair, the folded paper resides folded on his right leg. Jason has relaxed once again, and leans back slightly, bringing the laptop closer to him. With one hand he scrolls through the laptop. He now retrieves a note pad and pen out of his backpack, clicking the pan he scribbles down some notes from the screen of the computer. After writing, pen still in hand, he brings such to his lips and reads purposefully. Going back to News, and his awkwardly placed paper, I notice that he has a pen in his hand, and is in fact completing a game of some sort by using his propped leg as a hard surface to write. Jason has shrunk down into his chair, writing notes, he brings his now semi crossed legs closer to him. A few seconds later I observe him shrinking down further into the chair, to the point that his back is almost entirely in the seating area of the chair. He grabs his black phone that was set beside the laptop and scrolls through it now. He seems to be growing boarded of taking notes. As this goes on, a large boy in black with headphone exits. Jason soon puts the phone down, uses a hand to brush over his strained face and begins to scroll through the laptop. A few seconds after scrolling he reads the screen and taps rhythmically on the table top with both hands. The time is now 4:31, a new man has entered the lounge area. He wears a cap and blue shirt (let’s call him Blue Man.) he takes a seat one display case and a seat to the right of news. Blue Man immediately plugs in a phone charger and scrolls through his device. Moments after a tall dark woman enter the scene. Greeting Blue Man, and puts her things on a desk in front of him, then walks into library. She soon arrives back and takes her seat. The Tall woman fishes out a binder, small laptop, and a number of other folders and gets to work typing. (Let’s call this woman Pro.) A middle aged couple exits through the lounge area, woman laughing, The Man having none of this looks solemnly at his surroundings. News has now brought the folded paper up to his face, he seems to study it with the upmost thoughtfulness, a pen hovering just above the papers dull grey pages. Another young woman exits through the lounge. As she does the woman looks through a large bag slug across a shoulder. Followed by her is a young woman in a dress. A very young looking girl (woman?) enters the library. Two adult men with tools strapped to their pants enter through the lounge. I notice that the library scene seems to have gone very quiet, all work aside from Blue Man is semi beneficial to the goal of greater knowledge. The two tool men soon exit through the lounge. News has now positioned himself drastically to the right of his chair. Upon closer inspection I note that his back now leans on the right arm of it, and both legs are propped on the left arm. The paper is still pressed against his right leg. The pen moves with vigorous motion in random periods of time. At this time I see that blue Man has moved next to Pro, and now chats with her silently. With minutes remaining on the scene, I observe the four individuals within the library pursuing essentially the same activities. Jason reading his computer screen, Blue Man with Pro, News with is puzzles. The sun outside dies down into the far horizon, the library grows cold with no outside light to warm the building. And so ends another day of observations.

Almost Alone

The time is 3:58 on a sunny, but chilly late Friday afternoon. The lounge is dead silent, cool air circulates in an attempt to make up for the utter lack of noise. In the distance, I assume coming from within the library I can hear an off and on conversation. There are a total of two people in the library now, each seems to be working on their respective work assignments. In the far left corner of the room sits a lone Hispanic woman. She sits on a plush chair with a red roller desk pulled close, atop sits a laptop, and aside that sits a tall patterned drink container. A green reflective wrapper of some sort is being used as a coaster under the drink. On the other side of the laptop sits a school book. Just then an older woman with a lunch pail exits through the lounge, followed by a young dark skinned man talking loudly on his phone exit. After the man comes an older looking one with a beard and a large black backpack. Meanwhile, the Hispanic woman (Kendra) types on her computer, in-between doing such she takes hold of the tall drink and brings it down to her lap, then grabs it’s straw and jabs it around a few times, finally ending this ritual with a well-deserved sip. In addition to drinking the drink, she also checks her cellphone in-between typing. From with the library, the far off conversation previously mentioned has turned into group laughter, and music (both electronically produced and not.) Kendra’s drink seems to have gone empty, she quickly substitutes it for chips and throws the empty container in a trash can by the lounges double doors. The chips seem to be a very innovative solution to snacking while working, Kendra can now snack with one hand, and type/ scroll with the other. A few minutes later, an old woman exits the library, stopping at a trashcan, the same one that now houses Kendra’s empty drink, and dumps an item I could not make out. The time is now 4:19 Kendra is now interacting with her large textbook, bringing the object into her lap and flipping through pages. After finishing she sets the book behind her laptop, out of direct reach. A few minutes later a woman with dyed hair and a skateboard exit through the lounge. Followed is a woman with a headset on, she talks quietly in Spanish, I seem to be hearing only one half of a conversation she is having via the head set. Kendra is now out of chips, realizing this she digs through a bag next to her chair and places a water bottle on her desk. she now types without such distractions as chips and purchased drinks. The time is now 4:31, Kendra has decided to lean over her laptop to look at a page in her out of reach textbook, flips through a page, then goes back to her laptop. A young man in a blue shirt holding a vibrant blue bag exits, saying bye loudly to a group within the library, after, a younger looking man enter the library scene. The man has a backwards baseball cap and seems to be hopelessly glued to his cell phone, of which he has not put down since he entered and took a seat three seats and two display cases away from Kendra, phone held down in his lap. An old man begins to exit, then drops his keys right in front of me, before I can get to my feet, he retrieves them. Meanwhile, back at Kendra’s seat, I notice that her textbook, once out of reach is now propped awkwardly halfway close by her, and halfway on the arm rest of her chair. An older man with coffee and a book enters into the library, passed by 3 young exiting women. Minutes of utter silence have passed, this including the once loud library group. Neither Mike nor Kendra have changed their positions . Mike remains on his phone, Kendra on her laptop, moving only to scratch her nose, or rub her head with her forehead. The noise of the group inside the library raises now. One particularly feminine voice seems to be talking very loud to someone. At 4:49, two older women with white hair and many bags exit out the library talking to one another. After, A young couple enters and take their seats once chair and a display case away. Woman looks directly at the man and talks to him as he plays on his phone. After the woman has finished talking, the man, still with his phone begins. The two eventually hold light conversation while both looking at their respective phones. To conclude, this week’s observation has been very uneventful and spare in subject number, best hopes for next week.

 

Old Faces

The day is October 5^th, the outside is fresh and newly adorn in a much missed sunshine. The library lounge is humid, not as bad as was mentioned in my previous notes, but humid enough to cast an air of stuffiness. The scene before me is quiet, as it has been in days past. To the chair to the right of me aside the seat formally occupied by the man with the brown hair, sits cap. Now without such, she sits lounged back in her plush chair, laptop propped on knees, the white shoes on her feet untied. Beside her, on a large grey desk sits her famous red cap, a plastic container, and a black bag. As she leans lazily upon the chair in the humid scene, one hand scrolls through the laptop, and the other presses against her right temple, from this a lost looking pinky finger juts out and probes the side of her mouth in thought. Across and near the far right corner of the room sits, Jack and Jill. Both sit across one another at another large grey table and work intently on what I can only assume is homework. The grey laptops from last viewing are opened and facing opposite one another, the “siblings” respective dark backpacks lay beside their chairs. Jill has her headphones off but close at hand. Jack has a journal open beside the laptop, and scribbles notes off of an open excel graph. Aside the two a woman in a grey jacket sits on a chair and works on many scattered notes and a singular journal that lay upon one of the red roller desks. To little surprise she pencils in notes from her white phone onto the journal, brown eyes darting back and forth between phone and paper (let’s call her Molly). Directly in front of me now sits a man in plush chair with an untypically straight posture, a red roller desk homes a black laptop, and various white papers before him. To follow in this untypical behavior, the man copies writing from one of the papers onto another, paying little mind to the laptop he must maneuver around to accomplish this (let’s call this man Brooklyn). The time is 3:01, and the copy paste jingle of a cellphone fills the scene. Cap quickly pulls a large cellphone out of a pocket and answers. As quickly as she does this, she files the phone away into her pocket and goes back to the screen of her laptop. As she does this, the woman says something out loud, goes quiet, then says something again. This cycle goes on for the rest of the hour. Meanwhile, Molly seems to have stoped her writing. Looking at her phone for leisure, she leans back deep into her chair. Just then a man listening to music exits through the library. Molly gathers her belongings, slings on a backpack and exits. In Brooklyn’s side of the world I look on to see him leaning closely into his laptop, and then looking back at a paper with writing. He stares while tapping his fingers on one leg, later on his desk. A new woman, dressed in athletic clothes takes Molly’s seat, she, unlike the majority has two backpacks. One she props on the desk, the other beside her. She glances at her phone for a maximum of five minutes and leaves the scene. After, a young woman and older woman exit through the lounge. After this, I see Jack quickly pack up his belongings and exit the scene into the library will little response on Jill’s part. Aside from putting her headphones away, the woman continues to look at her laptop as if nothing has happened. A few minutes after this Jack reenters the scene and pulls out his phone, browsing, standing in front of his sister’s desk. Seeing this, she gestures for him to watch her belongings then darts into the library and emerges not long after. Upon entering the woman packs her things and exits with Jack. Cap, Brooklyn, and I are now the only individuals remaining in the lounge. Cap has been quiet for some time, and as if on cue as I jot down this observation, the woman mutters to herself while scrolling through her laptop.  The young boy from my previous observation now enters (let’s call his Blue Eyes.) and takes a seat almost exactly across from where he sat last, just as before, he sits and sets up a laptop. Followed by Blue Eyes is a large man in a red shirt, he approaches Brooklyn, and the two converse.  As they talk, Brooklyn begins to pack up his belongings, the two leave together, chatting all the way out. Meanwhile Blue Eyes sits plainly in his seat, looking down at a cellphone as opposed to his newly assessed laptop. The time is 3:28, three individuals, two of which carry food walk into the library talking loudly to each other. Upon entering the gang splits and says their speedy goodbyes. Blue Eyes has now put his phone away, and is noticeably now ready for work. He leans forward interntly, eyes scanning his device. The lounge area is silent. The only noticeable noise comes from an assumed young gathering from within the library, from within young voices carry into the studious lounge. The air within seems to have gotten cooler, less humid. Cap bobs her head up and down  and strokes the back of her neck as she reads aloud quietly. A man with a limp exits through the lounge, hobbling uneasily to an automatic door. With three minutes remaining the lounge size has dwindled greatly, Cap is still muttering off to herself, and Blue Eyes is still intently reading.  And so another day of observations comes to an end.

Disruptive Youths

The day is September 28^th, the lounge area is calm and comfortable, a nice blast of cold air bares an extensive contrast to the fiery heat of the outdoors. My surroundings, as usual are quit, save the occasional bump and mutter from within the library. Two individuals sit to my closest right, both are slouched down deep into plush chairs, both with grey colored laptops propped on their respective laps. The one closest to me, a man with a small pony tail seemed to be taking his time looking through what appears to be an assignment. The female beside, who now has  her laptop propped on a red roller desk she pulled from close by,  has an extensive looking headset with a microphone, this makes me believe she must be doing something related to gaming. The man and woman bare very similar appearances, and mannerisms. Both seem to slouch and curve their wrists as they type, (let’s call this pair Jack and Jill, as they could easily pass as brother and sister.) Aside jack and Jill sits a young woman at a desk. She has a book open, (let’s call her Kia) flips through a few pages, then brings an untraditionally small cell phone close to her face. Another woman, older, sits adjacent, she like Kia sits at a desk and seems to be working, with more dedication than Kia, no cellphone in sight. Scattered upon the desk in front of her sit many scattered papers, and in the center a small black binder. (Let’s call her Joy.) Thus far in my observation I feel it’s worth bringing up that it was hard for me to see most anything from my usual seating position, so I relocated to a chair on the opposite side of the room. Across and to the left of Jack and Jill. Convenient enough, beside me now sits Studious from my previous observation, and as his name suggests, works diligently on a math equation, backpack never too far off hand. Studious has moved exactly two chairs to the left since I last saw him, though he seems to be as comfortable here as he was on the other side of the lounge last time. I assume now that he is a regular attendant. The time is now 2:49, Jill seems to have gotten board with her activity, she now looks at Jack, and then a wall aside the exit, then scans her surrounds, headphones off, hands off keys and placed in front of her mouth. At this same time Kia puts down her phone and scatters a few papers about. Upon doing this she takes up and pencil and begins to write, her free hand seems to fall mechanistically to her temple upon doing this. I notice that despite having an open book at hand she doesn’t seem to check it nearly as often as the other students with books have in the past. As this happens Joy begins to organize her desk, putting all papers away, and leaving a small journal and pen on her desk. She later takes out a cell phone, and copies something from it vigorously onto the journal. A man walks through the lounge, talking loudly to himself, I assume he has a communication device in his ear as I only seem to be hearing one side of a conversation. He exits. Back at Jack and Jill’s area, Jack plays on a cell phone almost completely covered by the open laptop in his lap. Jill is back to her game, only stopping when she hears a loud clang coming from Jack. She perks up and looks at the man curiously. In reply he shows her something on his cellphone, then the two go back to their laptops. Two minutes in Jill takes off her headset, and begins to pack her things. She turns to Jack, says something softly, he frowns and points to his laptop, she leans forward points at something on the screen, then walks into the library, leaving her bag containing the lap top in her chair. Jack nods and closes his laptop, proceeding to pack, then carry his friend’s things into the library along with his own. A few minutes pass, and an older woman in a white sequenced shirt exits through the lounge. The lounge seems to now be completely consumed with study. To add to the atmosphere a man with a man with a scantron and laptop enters in the library, shortly followed by a woman with a book in her hand, whom skims through pages as she exits across the lounge. Kia is now sitting plainly in her same spot, in the middle of writing she stops for seconds on end and maneuvers a pencil quickly in between her fingers. I notice her do this stopping a flipping of the pencil two times, it seems to happen during deep thought. A young adult man now enters the library and sits in what used to be Jack’s spot, he pulls Jill’s table close, and assesses a laptop on it. (Let’s call this man DK.) He then disappears into the library, leaving all in the chair. As this happens, Kia packs up her things and leaves the lounge. DK now re-enters the library and sits down in front of his laptop. Joy leaves soon after his re-entrance. DK, Studious, and I are now alone in the lounge. Quickly following this thought two young boys, as if reading my paper, stroll into the scene and take seats in the back of the lounge. They communicate louder than any other group in my observations. As they talk they remain glued to large phones propped in front of them. The studious atmosphere has been compromised. The loudest boy wears a red cap, (let’s call him red,) and his friend wears a blue shirt, (blue.) Red now places his phone down and rants loudly, describing a situation that he claims made him mad (put nicely.) As he fills the lounge with talk he fishes around a small backpack for a stack of papers, of which he spreads out on a desk situated between the two. He acts out drinking to describe the scenario of topic, blue does the symbol back, smiling, sympathizing with his friends concerns. A young boy, younger than Red and Blue now enters the long, takes a seat to the left of me, and takes out a laptop. A few minutes later Red and Blue fall into silence, the conversation being compromised by the boy’s phones. In the midst of the silence a woman exits through the lounge, and glances at me coldly. With three minutes remaining in my observation I glance around at the scene around me, I note that Red and Blue have now simmered to a nice mediation between loud talking, silence, and scribbling on the table papers. The new boy plays on his laptop, studious has not wavered from his studious ways, and the library, maintaining the majority of its once accredited silence, is left behind for the fiery heat of the outside world.

Humidity

The time is 2:42, and the inside of the library seems to be alive with young adult voices, talking checking out, buying. The lounge by stark comparison is as quiet as ever. I find this unusual as there seem to be a more people in the lounge than Friday, I believe this may be due in part to the stormy weather outside. In the chair across from me, in the same chair that held the brown haired man from my week one observation sits an older man, if I had to guess around mid-40s. he sits in the plush chair with superiority to those who have sate there before him.  His back is straight, laptop on lap, a large journal balanced on one arm of the arm chair. The scrolls through his laptop with one hand, and takes notes diligently with the other. After a few minutes of this he puts the journal down and now scrolls through the computer, holding a pen in one hand, presumably in preparation of more notes.

To my right, only separated by a chair and one desk, sits a man, much darker, and much younger than the first man. His shoes are off, he sits cross legged on the chair as he scrolls through a cell phone. His white headphones are plugged into an apple computer propped in his lap. After this observation, a large man with a skate board exits through the lounge, followed by the entrance of an older and younger man. A single woman now sits in the back corner previously occupied by cap and cover. At a distance she looks like cap without the cap. Her legs are extended leisurely, far from her chair, laptop on knees, a small plug connecting that laptop to another up top, on a desk lying in front of her.

A woman with poofy black hair sits two chairs down and to the right of who I believe to be cap. She seems to be on a cell phone, quiet, not scanning, just reading. Meanwhile a short old woman with two oversized books exits through the lounge. The older man with the journal and laptop (let’s call him studious,) begins a ritual of bringing up the journal, writing notes awkwardly around the computer, than putting it back to scroll. He at times looks back at the journal as he types, and even more rarely takes out a calculator to check his work. The time is now 3:00, the air of the library has gotten significantly more humid from the rain outside. Similar to the entrance of previous, a young man and older man enter the library. The young man carries a brief case, and the older man seems to be dressed very professionally. His outfit complete with an id of some kind, perhaps he is a business partner or staff member of some sort.

Meanwhile, the woman with the poofy hair (let’ s call her poof) seems to be getting stressed out over something on her cellular device. She now rubs her hand to the end of her eye brow and outer corner of her left eye. She eventually puts down the phone and does this in a more over the top manner. She takes up her phone moments later. At the same time, studious seems to be done with his work. He packs up his belongings, slings a black bag over his shoulder, and leaves. The darker man to my right is now sitting at the edge of his seat, he takes a swig of water from a bottle on a nearby desk, and pressed play on a YouTube video of a man talking. He watches intently, then seems to lose interest and play with a scab on his knee.  He looks up again, then brings phone to his face. I look away for a moment to see a couple exiting the library, and return to find the man playing with his scab again.

Minutes have passed, and a new girl enters the library and takes a seat next the one studious sat in. she seems to be absolutely glued to her phone. Not even two minutes after her sit, a man comes from the library and talks to her. He asks how long she has been waiting, she, still looking through her phone, answers not long. The couple leaves immediately after the greeting.  Minute of no activity have passed over, and then suddenly, two new individuals enter. One whom seems to marvel at everything around him. Taking a seat then just staring at the ceiling for a while, and an older tougher looking man with a hat, who sits about 4 chairs away from him and immediately starts to play video games. To conclude today was not the best of days to observe. The humidity in the lounge got to me as well as others, many individuals entered the library to take shelter from the rain, but left upon feeling the sticky hotness of the library scene.

An Empty Friday

The time is 3:01 in the library lounge area. the lounge is almost dead silent, no one talks. The only noise of any sort comes from the opened doubled doors leading into the library. Within I can hear muffled chatter and the clanking of furniture. My surroundings are far quieter than they were last week, this due in part to the smaller number of people that inhabit the lounge this Friday. A young thin woman wearing a hat (let’s call her hats) sits across from me in one of the overtly plushed seat chairs. She sits slanted, a thin right leg crossed over her left, her head bent over a tablet looking device laying promptly in her lap. She scrolls and taps with absolute dedication and interest. I wonder if she is reading a book, or playing a game of some sort. A woman, whom I didn’t happen to see when I first entered, leaves the seat beside me. Lugging along a large coffee cup and bag. A few minutes have passed now, and Hats seems to have gotten tired of her slanted posture, she first changes her legs to left over right, then sits up straight and holding the electronic in front of her face.  Then,  just as quickly she falls back deeply into her seat and reads with spine altering leisure. In the far left corner of the library study are two darker women, one wearing a head covering (cover), and the other a baseball cap (cap). The two sit at tables aside one another, silent, immersed in their respective laptops. Each seems to be working on papers/ diagrams. A young woman wearing sports attire, now crossed to the inside of the library, she holds change readily in her hand, I assume to purchase/pay to print something inside. Followed by the girl exits a man in a green checkered shirt. Meanwhile hats seems to be on her way out. Gathering up a small black purse soundlessly, she slips from the scene, her eyes still glued to the screen of her tablet. Cover and cap are now the only two individuals in the lounge area. A few minutes of off silence pass over the scene, and then two older women enter and pass into the library. Both are talking loudly, an older woman with gray hair is very physical as she talks. Moving her hands as if explaining a large elaborate story. The athletic young woman I mentioned before now passes through the lounge to exit, instead of money she is now holding a small piece of paper in her hand. It is unclear what is it she purchased. Back at Cap and covers tables, cover seems to be leaning over her bag, fishing inside, until she pulls out a packet. With this she holds in one hand, and with the other she types slowly on her laptop. Perhaps she is entering a code or date? She soon stops typing and picks up the packet with both hands. She cocks her head and leans into cap, and says something I cannot differentiate as being in a foreign language, or being in English with a very heavy accent. She now pulls up something on her laptop and shows it to cap. As this happens, two more individuals pass through the library lounge. Cover flips through her packet, and probes cap with questions, of which she answers in the same dialect as cover. A few moment s have passed, and Two more individuals have entered through the lounge, silently, in almost single file. Cap and Cover now talk off and on, each looking at their respective computer screens. Cover at last putts down her packet, and uses both hands to navigate through cyber space. A few minutes have passed and without thinking I decide to stretch my foot, my foot makes a dreadful loud cracking noise that makes cover turn reactively. Two extremely young (possibly teenage or younger) girls enter the library, the eldest looking of the two holding a tablet, with which the two seem to be looking over together. They pass into the library then emerge moments later and take a seat in the center of the room. (let’s call them old sis and young sis) Old sis takes out a headphone set from her front pocket and hands a bud to young sis. Old sis seems to be the one in charge of their actions. As she has been the one talking up till now, and is the one directing young sis to the pictures on the tablet before them.  The time is 3:35, the two girls continue to talk, scrolling and tapping the tablet. Smiling at the material on it, to one image shown older sis shouts “who are you!” loudly, as in impersonating something in an effort to make young sis laugh. And so it does. Cover and cap converse louder than usual, cover leaning over to her friend, pressing her with what sound like more questions about whatever it is she is doing on her computer. Covers talk is now interrupted sharply by cap, whose tone now sounds annoyed. Cover attempts to talk beside this with no avail, and eventually stops and listens to cap. She does not talk again, and instead scrolls quietly through her laptop. The two talk after a few minutes to cool down, their tones are softer and of more of a joking nature.

Too Much Noise For a Study Area

September 9^th, 2015

The time is 2:52, I sit in a study center leading into a library. The chairs are soft and deep, forcing my body into a strange held back position. The study area is quiet, calm, conductive to its environment. A young man with longish brown hair takes a seat in the chair to my left. Next to an older looking man whom has been looking at his phone since before my arrival. The brown haired man, (let’s call him Brown) slouches, as prompted by the chair, and is immediately consumed by the context of his cell phone. A spaced out group of about 11 enter past the study room, and exit past it. All of differing genders, and in differing clusters, a few couples, a few seem to be in larger groups. 6 minutes later the brown is still wholly consumed by his cellular device, looking up only when a young lady walk closely past him on her way out of the library. The older man to the side of the brown soon gathers his black backpack, and water bottle, and leaves. To my right a young pretty woman (let’s call her Curly) with curly hair fingers through a journal full of pen inked notes, she presses her free hand to her forehead, expressing stress. In-between writing she uses her free hand to wriggle a single baby carrot from it’s clear container and feed herself. In the center of the scene there are two men sitting at a table, (let’s call them man 1 and 2) they make up the only noise in the library, with their excited whispers. One of the men has a laptop propped on his side of the table. Though he is not using it at this time. Brown is now greeted by an assumed friend, upon his arrival into the scene Brown stands, and does a strange complex handshake with him. The two talk for a few minutes, Brown is stands as he talks, swaying awkwardly, his hands in his pockets.  the friend of brown soon leaves, and Brown returns to the chair, this time pushed to the edge of his seat, still fascinated by his phone. Meanwhile man one and two have broken the stillness of the library. The two have begun talking much louder than previous. Man 2 has moved his chair aside man one, as to face his laptop. Man two smiles on clockwork at almost everything being said by man one. As they talk another man (let’s call him man three) enters the two friends area, breaking the excited whispers. Man three is greeted by both man one and two, he greets in return and stands in the back of the laptop. He cocks his head, and grabs his elbow with his left hand from behind his back. This watching goes on for a few seconds, and then the new addition takes a seat aside his two friends. This man is much louder in conversation, but luckily talks much less than the other two. Three older adults now exit in a group from the library area. At this same time Brown is greeted by an older white haired man, and follows him into the library. In the back corner of the study area a blonde man and woman, who had been working diligently before my arrival now pack up their books and laptop, and zip up their bags. Before moving the woman looks at the man, whom takes this as an indication to move, and does such. The couple walk towards the door until, the woman stops, reactively the man does as well. The woman gestures to the library area, and then takes off in the indicated direction. The man almost at the door begins to pace. He wonders around Brown’s area for a bit, then returns to the door and begins to read what looks like an award hung by the door. The woman at last returns and the two leave, the man far ahead of the woman. Meanwhile at the table of three, the former congestion around the one laptop has been relieved, the three are now evenly spaced around the table. Man three now has a laptop of his own, and man two talks two his two more fortunate friends, whose eyes are glued to the screen of their computers. It is now 3:25, and a new woman has drifted into the study room. She has long brown hair, and wears a plain shirt, (let’s call her plain) Plain unloads a laptop and gets to work, she stares at me strangely, from time to time, in total about three or four times. She has a tendency to put her hand to her temple after doing this. A few minutes later there is a loud crash that disturbs all the residents within the study. Most peer up and stop what they are doing to figure out what made the strange noise. Plain looks at her desk, and takes down her laptop, she then pops an out of place desk wheel into place. I now realize that the desk crashing due to the wheels slip is what caused the noise. Plain soon places her laptop back on in its place. Moments later Curly, whom is now scrolling down a large green tablet is approached by a tall young man with black hair and glasses. He leans over and kisses her forehead. His gesture is not received with much warmth, though she ceases her browsing to acknowledge him. She later takes out her wallet and hands the man something crumbled. The tall man smiles receives the object, then sits on the arm of her chair, browsing the various papers on her desk. He soon disappears into the library. Curly soon follows her friend, and returns with what looks like a recite. Up stairs, on the third story a young man and old woman arrange furniture loudly, the woman pointing and leaning over various spots in the area. Telling the young man where to push. I have been at the library study for an hour now, and location is growing a bit too noisy for my liking, I leave.