A throwback to unforgettable times. Hours and hours, days and nights at University of Canberra Library.

One of the favourite spots during three years at uni. Turned out there was nowhere better for actually getting project work done. Called it a library, but you could probably count on one hand the number of times you borrowed a book or even ventured upstairs to the collections. The busiest part was always the ground floor, full of study spaces in every shape and size, plus clusters of public computers. Enough separation for a bit of privacy, without feeling cut off from everything going on around.

Also the place to bump into pretty much everyone. Sometimes just a hello, a quick chat, a few pointless questions. Other times, a whole afternoon of sitting around talking nonsense, then heading off together for food or a wander somewhere.

Early semester, mid-semester, plenty of time to take it easy. Then came the end of semester, and the countdown to submission. Between the usual procrastination and part-time work, most projects only got a proper, frantic start in the final ten days. Friends from other courses would huddle together over revision notes and little practice quizzes for their exams. In design, everything came down to the final projects.

Eventually figured out one personal weakness: without a decent idea already in mind, just… ignore the whole thing until the deadline gets close enough. The strategy? Leave it until the last minute, get backed into a corner, then finally start working because there’s nowhere left to go. And somehow, right in the middle of all that frantic work, the good ideas would come flooding in. Followed, naturally, by nights at the library without a wink of sleep. Occasionally got so exhausted that lying down seemed like a good idea, only to get woken up by a security guard on patrol. Apparently, public decency still needed upholding, even at that hour!

One of the places most attached to throughout those years abroad. So many memories from the early days of stumbling into uni, barely able to string together anything in English that anyone could understand. Romantic entanglements with no proper beginning or ending, mad friends, situations too ridiculous to know whether to laugh or cry. Also the place where that first job in the field came along, opening doors to things nobody could have seen coming.

A story for another time, and another sketch with a little more to do with it.

Sydney, 1 am, 11/05/23