While I was catching up with my blog reading, I tumbled across this post that makes me realize......I had never been able to borrow a book from a friend since I came to America...
All my friends are back in my home country... I had never borrowed a book from the library either. I only visited 2 libraries since I came to the USA ( don't even know where my library card is now...), one in North Hollywood and another one in Van Nuys (in the City of Los Angeles), the parking in both places was very scarce. All the books there were very ripped off, the shelves were disorganized... the place was filthy and stuffy smelling, the patrons there were unpleasant... there were a lot of wierd looking people, not sure if they were homeless or mentally ill...the rest of the crowd were speaking in languages that I couldn't understand (not English or Chinese), they made me feel like I wasn't in the United States of America but in the "United Countries of All Third Worlds", where I couldn't speak the language... I didn't like the feelings these 2 libraries gave me, so I never stepped into another library in Los Angeles again. May be others are better..... If you know some decent ones, please let me know.
So naturally, I bought all my books...(see my wish to read list of the books I own)... I have a disorder too, I developed such a book buying addiction after I came to America. I know... I recognize that I have problem, just like the unpleasant patrons I found in the libraries.... I'm not any more normal than them.
My mother back home was telling me I should at least use the libraries here since I had paid taxes to support them, or I should at least see a shrink to get rid of the addiction.... I told my mom I had PPO from my work so seeing a shrink wasn't going to help me use my tax dollars. She still couldn't understand... cause the whole American social welfare system is too complicated for her to comprehend.
The library's really the only thing I can benefit as a taxpayer. I don't even know how my taxes to America are benefiting me or even anyone remotely connected to me.... I have no kid going to public school and no kid for me to claim child care credit on my tax return, no elderly grandparents receivng medicare or social security. I have no uncles, cousins or friends who live in Canada or Mexico for me to claim a dependent exemption on my tax return either. All my friends, relatives and my fellow villiagers live in Asia...(sorry, IRS said only friends, relatives or fellow villagers in Mexico or Canada can depend on me, and they can't depend on me if they live in Asia...). I am afraid of sun cause I want my skin to stay young the way it is...and I don't like hiking. All the admission-free parks, beaches, are literally useless to me. Oh, how about educating myself? But I already got all my higher education and even post college education done and paid for by my parents from back home. I realize I still have a decent job so I can't really claim unemployment benefits.... I know I can always use the LA police, but I prefer not to, and I hope I never have to call them, ever. So that leaves the libararies as the only amenity I can use in this great country.... unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the ones I visited... Besides, I prefer the touch and smell of new books.
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5 comments:
An unpleasant can be a horrible experience. I greatly dislike my last local library. It was small, grungy, and had an odd smell.
My new local library, while filled with unusual patrons, has a lovely center courtyard, and a refreshingly clean atmosphere. I frequent it for all forms of media.
I love my library as well. There are library book sales in my library and they also have very nice, neat sitting areas to read in upstairs. It's terrible to go to a bad library.
I have always been fortunate to live in great towns with great libraries. I realize not everyone is as lucky. I am a loyal patron, and I also donate a lot of my book to their booksale to help support the library buy new materials.
I like my local library - for a town of 100,000, I am quite impressed by it! There are homeless people there (gets real cold here in winter...) but I haven't much trouble from them.
Have you been to Los Angeles Central Library? I haven't, but I kinda know someone who got married outside of that library and it looks very pretty (not that pretty = good library :) I just like historical buildings :)
Christa, I haven't been to the Los Angeles Central Library yet... Now you are telling me about it, I am definitely going to see this one even though the drive on the freeway is going to be very nasty (this is one of the things that Los Angeles is famous for, bad traffic). Me too!!! I love historial buildings too!!
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