Shhhh! Can't You See I'm Working?

For the first time in over seven years, I had to commute more than a few feet to get to work this morning. In fact, I actually had to drive all the way across town, the town of Springfield, Missouri, that is.

My daughter is in college here, and we drove down Sunday night so that she wouldn't have to do it alone. She only has two days of school this week, and then she is headed home for Fall Break. I spent the last two nights on a makeshift bed in her dorm, which was an experience in itself!

Because I work on line, I was able to bring my laptop and get some hours in while on the road. You would think, in this day and age, it would be easy to find a Wi-Fi connection so that I could get on line and do my job, but alas, yesterday morning was quite a trial! We couldn't get my computer to connect in my daughter's dorm, so I tried a local Panera (aka Bread Co. back home), which wasn't working right. We tried the campus library as well, with the same results. It is amazing to me that a college campus is still relying on wired internet when so many students have laptops that they take everywhere! There are some hotspots on campus, but instead of going that route, I ended up at the Springfield Public Library, also known as the Library Station. I have to say that after all of the hassles of yesterday, I am really glad I ended up here!

Not only is it quiet here, and I have an entire table to myself rather than my daughter's cramped dorm room desk, but it's the most beautiful library I have ever been in. It has a kind of Route 66/Railroad theme which I absolutely adore and right next to my work station is one of those old gas pumps with the glass circle at the top. There are work rooms next to me, which you can sign up to use, which are each named after different types of cars. There is the Corvette, Firebird, Camaro, Mustang and GTO rooms, each complete with a poster depicting the type of car. The funny thing is, the signs next to these rooms that have the name of the car, have a picture of a locomotive. It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, but oh well.

The library has large model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, separate places for kids and teens to find books and hang out, and a little "paved" road runs around the circulation desk and some of the stacks. Right next door, and connected to the library, is another Panera (with working Wi-Fi!) which is very convenient when it's time for a snack.

Even our newly remodeled library back home just can't compare with this classy place!

It has been an absolute pleasure working here these two days and I really enjoyed being able to bring in a glass of tea and plug into my MP3 player. Not one person bothered me or asked to see my library card or anything. The only nuisance was the guy with the horrible hacking cough that was in here for several hours this morning. Fortunately, he has now left the building! As it was, I just turned up Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley and kept on working.
If you ever get to the Springfield, MO area and needed a place to do some work online, research or just kick back with a book, be sure to stop in at the Library Station. It is awesome!