Fifty Sensed Things While Walking Through Thompson
1.Freezing cold air as I walk in a gloomy, silent world toward the side doors, my feet crunching ice and salt on the brick patio.
2.A gush of warm air with the opening of the door.
3.Overpowering smell of coffee, warm foods. Cappucinos being made with loud hisses, my stomach churns in hunger.
4.People everywhere!
5.Colors! Clothes, purses, advertisements on walls, tvs running, lighting, colorful lunches on tables, laptop screens, books open.
6.Long line for food, wraps around the waiting line ropes. People wait facing same direction, silently.
7.People at tables eating, some nervously looking around between large bites, others indulged into their studies while subconsciously nibbling/sipping.
8.Walking by main doors: wind blowing, bundled up people scooting outside, wet floors, food smells becoming faint.
9.Dark scrutinizing eyes of security guard bore into me as he nonchalantly leans on counter.
10. High-pitched ring of walking between security sensors.
11.Open ceiling of main room! Bright, can see several floors up, hustle-bustle of people everywhere.
12.All chairs occupied.
13.Walk up on see-through stairs.
14.Room of unorganized seating. Red, orange, and black square, low chairs all over room.
15.Plop down in vacated orange cushy chair.
16.Bumpy texture, not soft on skin. Dry skin and calluses stick to fabric fibers.
17.Girl on phone in midst of silence. Others notice, annoyed by disturbance and shift in seats.
18.Contrast of bright orange chair to gloomy outside through windows.
19.Walking on shiny floor. Tiny tiles with sparkly silver connector lines running through.
20.Stairwell: dark, concrete, low ceiling.
21.Odd recesses in walls randomly along stairs.
22.Red bricks, concrete unfinished floor.
23.Shifting light as move up through levels.
24.Out into bright level 3
25.Smell of old books.
26.Bright wood walls give off golden hue along with golden corrugated wood floors.
27.Very tall skylight ceiling.
28.Rows of gray metal cabinets, handles form converging lines.
29.Janitor across open floor, fixing lamp. I can hear his cart and the jingling of lamp being fixed.
30.Reflection of silver and gold book titles on shelf.
31.In the stacks: low white ceilings, unfinished concrete floors, rows of primary colored books.
32.Ringing and whirring of elevators.
33.Elevator interior similar to microwave-silver, bumpy, & square. Loud dings, robotic woman’s voice, crowded with people in it, dirty floors, cute little overhead recessed lights.
33.Out into level 7 (more of the stacks): snowy/rainy oval with tiny, slow-moving, students trudging across.
34.Books! Dusty, old, beaten up series of solid colored books. Smell like dust, learning, and the flipping of yellowed pages.
35.Modern books regarding psychological issues, smell like plastic. Colorful covers.
36.Guy hunching over computer with legs crossed. I want to straighten up his posture!
37.Books left out haphazardly on cart attract my attention. I want to pick them up and touch them but resist urge so I don’t mess up workers’ tasks.
38.Blue title labels on series of books reflect light flowing in from outside through wall-size window.
39.Lit-up red exit sign hurts my eyes.
40.A man is walking towards me, looking at me as I approach him. I dodge down aisle of books to avoid contact with him.
41.Attracted to light-teal argyle cover design with a beautiful Arabian language on it.
42.Loud wall vent about 4 feet tall. Surprisingly no air blowing or being sucked through for how loud it is humming. Neither a source of heat or coldness.
43.Boy sleeping at table now sits up in a daze, staring out window with open notes in front of him on table.
44.Down elevator to level 2M. Several empty shelves remind me of a structure from starwars! Looks odd seeing racks without the normal blanket of literature. Floor feels empty and stiff.
45.Murmer of study partners, male low voices. They look at me and pause in conversation when my presence is noted.
46.Looking back out to that larger open interior, once again seeing those low, square orange chairs in reading room.
47.Once at level one again, the chatter of indeterminable voices is noticeable along with movement of people in all directions.
48.Clicky/clacky of computer lab with its studio lighting and worried students that can’t properly print their documents.
49.Girl next to me on phone just got accepted into her summer program. Very excitedly exclaims “yay!” in her conversation.
50.See my friend Scotty and initiate a quick friendly chat, he is so nice!
51.I begin to blog as the world of osu students surrounding me constantly changes with the clicks of computer transactions and low conversations of passing couples…another pleasant trip to Thompson Library.
