*yawns like Jiroh*
May. 31st, 2004 06:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whitereflectionThe lovely thing about time zones, is that one just pops awake at, say, 5:15 or 5:30. And then has to be very very quiet not to wake up others, because this keyboard is egads-loud, isn't it? ^^;; (And I need to make sure the cat doesn't notice I'm up, because then she'll get to meowing for food, which'll wake up Mom for sure...)
Anyway. So let's see...the flights in were ok, though bussing from the airport, we got Mr.Stoned-with-an-attitude driver who kept blasting past peoples' stops. ._. But the local grocery has the ice cream I like (and then some ._. ), and even the local mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants use tiger prawns in their dishes. <3 Mom is most cheery, and Splut-cat so very squishable/harassable. ^_^ And we are being tourists :D Seattle Asian Art Museum yesterday, as well as Volunteer Park's plant conservatory. Probably the best food court I've ever been to (at Westlake Center...I mean, Indian food, in a food court! <3<3 :D ) Also was such a dork by pointing out the Space Needle or the Sound every single time I spotted them (I can barely see the Sound from Ma's new apartment there--though can't fault it, it's way bigger and a decent amount nicer than her last).
Also did see Seattle's new downtown Public Library, and it's as OMGWTF as I anticipated. I do like the outside--the all-glass look is keen. And the glass I guess keeps UV rays out--so to allow light, but not have sun damage/fade the books. But inside...well, it doesn't help the place has only been open a week, so the crowds were intense. But...those colors are *neon-dayglo*. ._. I understand using them for accent, but they're everywhere. Everything is steel girders, glass, mirroring, chrome, metal, clear plastic, brightbright lighting, tile polished until the light glares off it, cement, and not just color but COLORINYOURFACECOLOR. I can't get over that the floor in a good portion of the book stacks are all cement. ._. And there's some wood flooring, but it looks really bare, and some areas you're walking on sheet metal. It's like...everything with the color and lights reflecting off everything is blinding. And it's huge, yes, which is good--every library needs so much space. It's like eleven stories high, and has space for an added 200,000 books, a bunch of new computers, and a lot of patron areas (yet somehow without a lot of *seating*... >_o And what seating they have is this strange coated molded foam, which is going to be gouged and cut within a month, I'm certain.) Though for all their 'space'...it's really very open going 'up' and if you crane your neck in some areas you can see everywhere, but what places they do have things--books, desks/tables, seats, etc, it seems extremely mushed together and cramped-crowded.
So it's definitely not quiet. It's LOUD. Every sound reflects off all those flat, bare surfaces. I think they have some acoustic-dampening stuff up on the top ceiling, but when that's eleven stories up... And it's just *not* enough, not when the whole rest of the building is like it is. And it's so...anti-cozy. There's absolutely nowhere that's calm and comfortable to sit. Yes, there's some seating, where they work in small amounts of (BRIGHT) carpeting. But it's not much, and most everything is a hard surface one doesn't want to spend much time walking on, much less sitting. I can't help but feel it's going to be a cold building one fall/winter/early spring hits. They have some neat architectural details, but I feel they took what should have been used occasionally, and used it freaking everywhere--the building is made up entirely of 'use occasionally' architectural details, modern art taken to the absolute extreme. Anyway, they also had wireless networking (great for people with laptops), a bunch of computers (flat screen monitors, but not good quality), and a coffee cart run by an organization that trains the homeless and offers them work opportunities.
Speaking of which, they actually *state* in an article about the library that the first floor mens' restrooms are purposefully painted an even more hideous than usual color green to discourage the homeless from lingering there. ...okay. >_o Ohyeah, and let me say one last thing on color: The elevators? Entirely dayglo yellow. As are the escallators. And the meeting room level? Every single surface...walls ceiling floor...every single surface is bright shiny plastic deep-bright blood *RED*. Not just red, but *RED*. And all the hallways curve and wind, with the receptionists visible through a rounded window...so the whole effect on that floor is "Star Trek Acid Trip Hallucination". And at least if the (immense) juvenile section has every wall painted in neon yellow, green, pink, and various primary colors, it fits that way for kids--but I can't imagine their parents wanting to hang out there at all (and I just wait for some little boy to refuse to go into the boys' room, since the entrances for the restrooms are in the wall painted brightbright pink).
Oh, and strangely, they make *tiny* entrances for such a huge building. Like a single revolving door that people were nigh-mangling themselves getting through, and lines and whatnot since it was so crowded (though I believe they did have this on two sides of the building). I meant to check for how they were working handicapped entrances, but I forgot--though I didn't note anything that looked like special-needs entrances. Surely they were there somewhere. ._. Hum...but what did I like? I do like the amount of natural light and sun the glass allows in, while its tinting system prevents it from being too bright (why this they did moderation on, when everything inside is so glaring... ^^; ) And it all allows for nice views, though they're just nice, not as spectacular as they'd describe. And I the 'book spiral' for the stacks and how they work the call number guides into the floor, very large, so that maybe patrons will actually notice. *heh* Though one thing work-ish I laugh at--they organize their periodical collection by title...do you know how often these sorts of things change title? (constantly..some I swear multiple times a year). This means a *ton* of shifting and moving huge amounts of bound magazines to keep their organization--oh, the doom for the employees. But then again, the whole building is staff-doom. It's really not going to be a comfortable place to work, especially if one is at all prone to migraines, sinus headaches, eye problems, or hangovers. ^^; Oh, and gee, who's been feeding them money, ne--considering they have a hall in the building called the Microsoft Auditorium...corporate, much? >_>
Okay, cheezus, I need to shut up on *that*... ._. So anyway, as I noted before, am getting to eat seafood which makes me teh happy <3. And ate at my aunt's and uncle's yesterday evening, cool since they do yuppie-gourmet style food. Also meant I got to see my cousins' two aquatic turtles, two birds and three rats (naked rat! so cool :D ). The rats were my favorite...so cute-cuddly. ^___^ So today will be the waterfront, with the shops and aquarium and Ivar's and the Sound<3 and such--and definitely no huge rants on *anything* afterwards. Though the chances of me babbling are extremely high. ._. I apologize in advance.
So, anyhoo,L.H.Puttgrass(sorry, old Bloom County joke) Di signing off and heading for the tub. (holy crap, I spent an hour on this...! o_o )
And by the way, I ever mention that I l<3ve this city? :D
Anyway. So let's see...the flights in were ok, though bussing from the airport, we got Mr.Stoned-with-an-attitude driver who kept blasting past peoples' stops. ._. But the local grocery has the ice cream I like (and then some ._. ), and even the local mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants use tiger prawns in their dishes. <3 Mom is most cheery, and Splut-cat so very squishable/harassable. ^_^ And we are being tourists :D Seattle Asian Art Museum yesterday, as well as Volunteer Park's plant conservatory. Probably the best food court I've ever been to (at Westlake Center...I mean, Indian food, in a food court! <3<3 :D ) Also was such a dork by pointing out the Space Needle or the Sound every single time I spotted them (I can barely see the Sound from Ma's new apartment there--though can't fault it, it's way bigger and a decent amount nicer than her last).
Also did see Seattle's new downtown Public Library, and it's as OMGWTF as I anticipated. I do like the outside--the all-glass look is keen. And the glass I guess keeps UV rays out--so to allow light, but not have sun damage/fade the books. But inside...well, it doesn't help the place has only been open a week, so the crowds were intense. But...those colors are *neon-dayglo*. ._. I understand using them for accent, but they're everywhere. Everything is steel girders, glass, mirroring, chrome, metal, clear plastic, brightbright lighting, tile polished until the light glares off it, cement, and not just color but COLORINYOURFACECOLOR. I can't get over that the floor in a good portion of the book stacks are all cement. ._. And there's some wood flooring, but it looks really bare, and some areas you're walking on sheet metal. It's like...everything with the color and lights reflecting off everything is blinding. And it's huge, yes, which is good--every library needs so much space. It's like eleven stories high, and has space for an added 200,000 books, a bunch of new computers, and a lot of patron areas (yet somehow without a lot of *seating*... >_o And what seating they have is this strange coated molded foam, which is going to be gouged and cut within a month, I'm certain.) Though for all their 'space'...it's really very open going 'up' and if you crane your neck in some areas you can see everywhere, but what places they do have things--books, desks/tables, seats, etc, it seems extremely mushed together and cramped-crowded.
So it's definitely not quiet. It's LOUD. Every sound reflects off all those flat, bare surfaces. I think they have some acoustic-dampening stuff up on the top ceiling, but when that's eleven stories up... And it's just *not* enough, not when the whole rest of the building is like it is. And it's so...anti-cozy. There's absolutely nowhere that's calm and comfortable to sit. Yes, there's some seating, where they work in small amounts of (BRIGHT) carpeting. But it's not much, and most everything is a hard surface one doesn't want to spend much time walking on, much less sitting. I can't help but feel it's going to be a cold building one fall/winter/early spring hits. They have some neat architectural details, but I feel they took what should have been used occasionally, and used it freaking everywhere--the building is made up entirely of 'use occasionally' architectural details, modern art taken to the absolute extreme. Anyway, they also had wireless networking (great for people with laptops), a bunch of computers (flat screen monitors, but not good quality), and a coffee cart run by an organization that trains the homeless and offers them work opportunities.
Speaking of which, they actually *state* in an article about the library that the first floor mens' restrooms are purposefully painted an even more hideous than usual color green to discourage the homeless from lingering there. ...okay. >_o Ohyeah, and let me say one last thing on color: The elevators? Entirely dayglo yellow. As are the escallators. And the meeting room level? Every single surface...walls ceiling floor...every single surface is bright shiny plastic deep-bright blood *RED*. Not just red, but *RED*. And all the hallways curve and wind, with the receptionists visible through a rounded window...so the whole effect on that floor is "Star Trek Acid Trip Hallucination". And at least if the (immense) juvenile section has every wall painted in neon yellow, green, pink, and various primary colors, it fits that way for kids--but I can't imagine their parents wanting to hang out there at all (and I just wait for some little boy to refuse to go into the boys' room, since the entrances for the restrooms are in the wall painted brightbright pink).
Oh, and strangely, they make *tiny* entrances for such a huge building. Like a single revolving door that people were nigh-mangling themselves getting through, and lines and whatnot since it was so crowded (though I believe they did have this on two sides of the building). I meant to check for how they were working handicapped entrances, but I forgot--though I didn't note anything that looked like special-needs entrances. Surely they were there somewhere. ._. Hum...but what did I like? I do like the amount of natural light and sun the glass allows in, while its tinting system prevents it from being too bright (why this they did moderation on, when everything inside is so glaring... ^^; ) And it all allows for nice views, though they're just nice, not as spectacular as they'd describe. And I the 'book spiral' for the stacks and how they work the call number guides into the floor, very large, so that maybe patrons will actually notice. *heh* Though one thing work-ish I laugh at--they organize their periodical collection by title...do you know how often these sorts of things change title? (constantly..some I swear multiple times a year). This means a *ton* of shifting and moving huge amounts of bound magazines to keep their organization--oh, the doom for the employees. But then again, the whole building is staff-doom. It's really not going to be a comfortable place to work, especially if one is at all prone to migraines, sinus headaches, eye problems, or hangovers. ^^; Oh, and gee, who's been feeding them money, ne--considering they have a hall in the building called the Microsoft Auditorium...corporate, much? >_>
Okay, cheezus, I need to shut up on *that*... ._. So anyway, as I noted before, am getting to eat seafood which makes me teh happy <3. And ate at my aunt's and uncle's yesterday evening, cool since they do yuppie-gourmet style food. Also meant I got to see my cousins' two aquatic turtles, two birds and three rats (naked rat! so cool :D ). The rats were my favorite...so cute-cuddly. ^___^ So today will be the waterfront, with the shops and aquarium and Ivar's and the Sound<3 and such--and definitely no huge rants on *anything* afterwards. Though the chances of me babbling are extremely high. ._. I apologize in advance.
So, anyhoo,
And by the way, I ever mention that I l<3ve this city? :D
