Back on the Wagon

So I dropped the ball. Tuesday I was busy all day and reworking my resume with Tom most of the evening. All of a sudden, it was midnight and...no blog. So then Wednesday rolls around. I wasn't particularly busy, but I had already failed at daily blogging for the month, so what was the point? I can see how benders begin...once you've blown it, might as well just say screw it. I have this problem with big dieting and exercising resolutions too. As soon as I miss a workout or eat a cookie, I think I have already ruined everything, might as well embrace my destiny and order a pizza. I exaggerate, but I really have a problem with the all or nothing mentality, so this is me getting back on the blogging wagon.

Today, I am thankful for books and libraries. [I'm pretty sure that a review of my documenting of the things that make me happy and the things I am grateful for will reveal that I am a huge nerd.] Yesterday, I decided to tackle something on my L.A. to-do list, so I headed to the Los Angeles Central Library.

First of all, turns out Los Angeles has a downtown with tall buildings and everything. I was rushing to my car hoping to beat over-eager meter maids (I did), and I only go one shot before the light changed, but...behold - skyscrapers!

Anyway, in the middle of all the tall buildings is the Central Library, and I must say, this library is next-level awesome.  And massive. In fact, according to Wikipedia, it is the third largest public library in the country; and according to the library's self-guided tour pamphlet, it is the largest public library "west of the Mississippi." It really says that. I didn't realize that people used that as a badge of honor in a non-ironic way, but...awesome!

This place is seriously huge and really beautiful. The Lodwrick M. Cook Rotunda was my favorite part of the library, and I was lucky to have a few moments with it all to myself. This is the focal point of the building as it was designed by Bertram Goodhue in 1926. [I only included that last sentence so that I had an excuse to write Bertram Goodhue. Is that not the best old timey name ever?]

Fun fact: the chandelier weighs one ton and is 64 feet off the ground. The 48 lights represent the number of states that were in the Union at the time the building was constructed.

Apparently, arson destroyed large sections of the library and 400,000 (oh, the humanity!) books in 1986. The fires prompted a major renovation that included this eight-story atrium in the Tom Bradley Wing.

{I really want to go back when I have more time and settle in at one of those tables on that skybridge.}

Each of the eight floors is dedicated to a different subject area; I was at a one-hour meter, so I only had time to cruise the top four floors.

Man, I love the seasonal display at the library. It encourages judging books by their covers, and I am totally into that.

I am definitely excited to go back and keep exploring because I know I only saw a fraction of the library's treasures.

Plus - self checkout, online renewal, and e-book lending? I'm in.