I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." ~ Albert Einstein

I am a curious person and, I'm not ashamed to admit that I love to "google." Google started out as a proper noun that has evolved into a great verb. It's even been listed in the pages of Merriam-Webster dictionaries since 2006. Personally, I "google" all the time. Whenever I am talking with people (at work, home, or ecen at play) and a question comes up that we don't know the answer to, I say "Let's goggle it." Amazingly, this suggestion doesn't always meet with a positive response.

Apparently not everyone else in the universe embraces this "let's find out the answer, right now" kind of approach. They don't mind wandering through life burdened by unanswered questions. Some of these individuals also dislike the idea that a computer with Internet access can provide an immediate response. The instant accessibility offered by technology displeases them. The LA Times had an article on Apple iPhones this week and how they have come to affect social interactions. Smart phones with speedy Internet access have become piercingly accurate weapons in the battle to settle arguments. Speedily googled answers have even been known to bring conversations to a halt. Imagine that!

For the record, I don't own one of these phones, and I don't google to be a know-it-all or to prove I am right. On the contrary, at least half of the time (okay, maybe two-thirds of the time) when I google something or someone, I discover that my initial assumption is proven wrong. I like to google simply because I like to find out the answer. I view it as an opportunity to learn. And at this point in my life, I find I need to google my questions right away because otherwise I might forget what I thought I wanted to know. Sigh. There's nothing worse than lying awake in the middle of the night struggling to remember what I wanted to google. Immediacy is key for me.

When I was in the fourth grade at Vallecito Elementary School I was tested to see if I qualified to be enrolled in the Gifted and Talented program. I don't remember the exact test I was given, but I remember that the woman who was asking me the questions commented on my inquisitiveness. When I didn't get a question right I always wanted to know the correct answer. Eventually I was selected for that program and I think my curiosity was the swing vote in my favor. I was certainly not one of the stellar (or most successful) students in the class, but I did have an eagerness to learn.

Now that eagerness (stubborness may be more accurate in this case) is reflected in my knitting mission. I've been making some progress but I'm still puzzled by the way my knitting expands from a row of 20 to a row of 26 within a short period of time. I've discovered random holes in my knitting and am totally confounded by what to do with the big loops at the end of the row. More lessons are clearly in order. My amusing daughter sent me the photo on the right. Perhaps she sought to inspire and elevate my knitting pursuits, but more likely she just wanted to give me a laugh. It worked, Nora!