Books are like monkeys

I SO love this place. It could be not working that I love so much. It could be taking the tube everywhere I want to go, instead of finding my car keys, getting gas, driving somewhere, looking for parking, etc etc + all the other nuances of American life. Like not having to pay to get 4 horrible channels of bad British television.

Or it could be this beautiful building I'm looking at through the window, so old and home to the most beautiful room I've ever seen in my life. Today following the afternoon service, I followed the verger to Marks & Spencer where he was grabbing lunch and asked him if his cassock has 33 buttons (some do; I did my research) and that led to sitting and having lunch with him at St. Paul's (in the crypt, referred to by him as simply "downstairs"). I had no idea someone could know so much for no reason...and that's coming from me. I got a brief history lesson on the formation of the Church of England, the history of the cathedral itself, terminology and theology and he even laughed when I told him I thought St. Paul's was Latin for "too many steps". AND he made a Mary Poppins joke ! He said he could only fly if there was a strong wind and he had his umbrella and bag like Mary Poppins. Do you know how excited I got ? I could have died.

Oh geez. I don't want to come home. I want to stay here and work at a coffeeshop down the street, or at the library, or at the St. Paul's library--which the verger took me to--so so so droolingly extremely sensationally beautiful and full of old old books that have been in the church since before the 1666 fire. The librarian was this spry little man called Joseph Wisdom (that's his name, can you believe that !) who made me sign the guestbook (rather empty) before teaching me about the proper air situation and temperature for books, how to take a book off the shelf, and imparting to me words of wisdom about librarianship. The whole time, the virger stood grinning, and I started to think that this librarian was his favourite thing at the cathedral, and the best kept secret in all of London. Then he took me to see one of the best views of the whole cathedral, the one the BBC uses whenever they're in the building, and pointed out the staircase that was in a Harry Potter movie. The best part is the whole time he's walking in front of me, up and down these tiny 300-year-old-steps, the edge of his cassock is brushing against the ground and remaining spotessly black and flowing all around his feet without causing him to trip. That in and of itself amazed me.

Oh London, London. Does anyone want to come back for my birthday ?