I am amazed at how much our lives have resonances with each other. I too worked at B&N for about four years (one as the cafe manager), then over four years at the Penn State University Libraries (as Annex Supervisor) and now I'm a writer and editor, among other things. And my wife studied abroad and has her masters in Irish Medieval History, and speaks or reads a gazillion languages.

It's almost as if we should have known you a long time ago.