HUB

It's class change time at the University, and HUB Mall is swarmed with people. Most of them follow the unspoken rule of "keep to the right", and are continuously joined by people coming through the numerous side doors that line the mall on both sides. The natural flow of walking has been disturbed by the construction in the mall. The website for HUB says that the construction is working towards replacing the roof, but that doesn't explain the month long paint job users of HUB have endured. Parts of the mall are blocked off by construction tape, and loud mechanical ladders emit a shrill beeping noise whenever the workers attempt to move the ladders closer to where the next layer of paint should go, a seemingly useless noise that interrupts the normal ambient noise of conversation prevalent in the main atrium of the mall that spans 4 city blocks.

This morning I came up into the mall through entrance 8908 to avoid the horribly engineered detour for the Daycare park that came into existence last April. As usual, I avoided using the handrails due to their slick, slightly sticky feel that always has me reaching for my hand sanitizer. Climbing the steps, the unique Aroma of HUB that I'm not sure everyone would identify as food slowly became more and more poignant, until at last I opened the door to the main atrium and the same horrible yet comforting mix of spices and scents swirled up into my olfactory senses reminding me of the comfort of the familiar.

HUB is not a place that anyone would properly 'take in' after a short amount of time. There are multiple spaces on ground level for things like the Art and Design studios and International offices. The stairways up to the second floor and above pass student residences. I don't know anyone living in HUB, and so the people who live there and the rooms they inhabit have been reduced to what they put in their windows- whether it's the blue Mario mushrooms from this years Week of Welcome, beer bottles, or my personal favourite - a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

This is my fourth year at the U of A, and as I sit in Rutherford Lounge to write this, I wish I had first attempted to describe the unique features of HUB while sitting on my bed at home. I'm staring out at the mall and nothing seems to jump out at me that I've never noticed before. I do remember a lot of times that I did notice something for the first time. The Telus mural on the wall that borders the pedway to the Tory/Business Atrium, the seemingly out of place shoe repair shop, and the four upper level lounges all escaped my awareness for a year despite walking the length of HUB many, many times. Other things only reveal themselves if you spend a lot of time in the mall, like which stores are open for your early morning classes, and which are open late for studying into the night. Other things are more unique. The custodian who has no problems hitting you with her cart if you cut too close in front of her, or the HUB bird that likes to fly down to some of the lounges and hop around the tables seem more like mall legend, but I have experienced both. At first I was frustrated that I couldn't see anything new when I looked down HUB, but then I embraced it. I feel like the next time I walk down the mall, I'll see something new that would have made for a much easier writing assignment. As it is, I'll accept that HUB wasn't ready to give up another one of it's secrets just yet.