FULL MOON FROM VARI HALL
Ryan Rowe
Tuesday, September 28th, 2004, 10:00pm
York University, Ontario, Canada

After my Management 5150 group meeting earlier this evening, I left the Schulich Building for a night of studying and prep for Thursday’s Accounting mid-term.  I was tired and cranky, and I just wanted to go straight to bed.  It was then I realized I’d left my bike locked up on the other side of campus earlier in the day.  As I pushed the doors open to head outside, I was met with a blast of fresh fall air that gave me some of my energy back.

I made my way across campus by way of Arthurs Common, dodging the spray from the sprinkler system.  At 8pm, the sun had already set and it was dark out.  There weren’t many people around; only a couple of students waiting for a bus at the York Lanes terminal.  It was a ten-minute walk before I reached Founder’s College, where I’d absent-mindedly left my bicycle after Portuguese class.

York University’s main Keele campus is so big that it’s a city in its own right. There are some 50,000 students, faculty, and staff here.  But I don’t find it impersonal, in fact there’s a certain welcoming feel to it.  We really do have our own community.  And it’s always a fun adventure trying to navigate the maze of buildings.  There are so many corners and meandering pathways that you never know who or what you’ll find around the bend.

One of the most impressive buildings at York University is Vari Hall (click for photo), a three-storey rotunda which is a major meeting place for students on campus.  From its front doors, overlooking the tree-lined plain of Arthurs Common, you can almost see right out to the main campus entrance at Keele Street.

Now back on my bike, I headed over to the Scott Library, but I made a wrong turn and came out in front of Vari Hall.

(whispering: serendipity)

I stopped my bike and took in the nighttime view of Arthurs Common.  The moon was full and shining brightly.  The crisp autumn air heightened my senses and I could smell the leaves changing colour.  The orange streetlights cast their glow on the tops of the trees, and the sound of the cascading water fountain drowned out any unwelcome background noise.

These past couple of weeks I’ve been so insanely busy with projects and homework and other things that I haven’t stopped to take a breather.  It’s moments like these that I need; it sort of brings me back to the here and now.

Related Links:
Map of York University’s Keele campus
About York University’s Vari Hall

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