la bibliothèque nationale de france, where all the magic happens (view of east entrance stacks; there are two more on the west side)
the entrance: when it snows, everyone brings trash can lids or card board sleds - it's fun!
the stacks, west entrance (story goes that they built them in glass, then realized that the sun was going to bake all the rare texts they own and added the wooden panels)weekdays, when we're not at home, snuggled on our great big red corduroy sofa drinking tea and watching 'office' reruns, knox and i can usually be found at the french national library. this is where, on december 1, 2008, i wrote the first word of my dissertation (i believe it was "Whereas" but i'd have to check. since then i've only managed to turn that word into 10-15 pages or so, but given that it took 2 full months of sitting here - reading and fretting and reading some more - to work up the courage, i'd say i'm doin' all right).
anyway, this is our office, aka "the death star." it's the french empire's ultimate weapon against american grad students completing their research! first of all, a study in wood, steel, and glass, it's not one of paris's most attractive sites. to get there, you have to climb maybe 75 or so wooden steps and traverse what the architects certainly couldn't have meant to be a roaring wind tunnel. then you get to the ramp, which when raining, is not for the faint of heart. once you're inside, you have to get past two metal detectors, three turn styles, and a handful of storm troopers... you transfer your belongings to the transparent briefcase they provide, then descend two sets of escalators into the bowels of the building, where the reading rooms are. if you haven't broken a sweat by the time you get to your seat (which you must reserve in advance), they make you go back outside and start over.
without bosses checking in on us, it's true that we often can't be bothered to turn up, particularly when it's raining. and since i generally refuse to rise before the sun, which now means we're not getting out of bed till 9:15 at the earliest, we're never at work before noon. BUT, once seated, we can usually work up a good groove till around 7pm, when we head home for dinner and a glass of vin rouge. it's actually a really great place to work.
i am thinking, though, that if i can tap into the force while i'm here, i'm going to blow it up before we leave.
anyway, this is our office, aka "the death star." it's the french empire's ultimate weapon against american grad students completing their research! first of all, a study in wood, steel, and glass, it's not one of paris's most attractive sites. to get there, you have to climb maybe 75 or so wooden steps and traverse what the architects certainly couldn't have meant to be a roaring wind tunnel. then you get to the ramp, which when raining, is not for the faint of heart. once you're inside, you have to get past two metal detectors, three turn styles, and a handful of storm troopers... you transfer your belongings to the transparent briefcase they provide, then descend two sets of escalators into the bowels of the building, where the reading rooms are. if you haven't broken a sweat by the time you get to your seat (which you must reserve in advance), they make you go back outside and start over.
without bosses checking in on us, it's true that we often can't be bothered to turn up, particularly when it's raining. and since i generally refuse to rise before the sun, which now means we're not getting out of bed till 9:15 at the earliest, we're never at work before noon. BUT, once seated, we can usually work up a good groove till around 7pm, when we head home for dinner and a glass of vin rouge. it's actually a really great place to work.
i am thinking, though, that if i can tap into the force while i'm here, i'm going to blow it up before we leave.
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