Realization of the Day:

Now I remember why I'm here.

Yes, it's to tour London and to live somewhere other than California, but it's also because I love what I do so heartily. I walked into the manuscript vault today, smelled the vellum-filled air, and almost started crying. Shelves and shelves of medieval manuscripts. Down one aisle, the Cotton Collection, down another the Sloane. Walking down the aisles, the other cataloguer with me leafed through a book:. "Maybe I'll do this one next," she smiled as she gingerly put the book back on the shelf.

I know at times many of you think what I do is arcane and a little impractical. But when one is confronted with centuries upon centuries of the world's knowledge at one's fingertips, it becomes clear to me why it is so important for people to continue to understand, to examine, and to appreciate what has been handed down to us.