Originally posted 06/08/2005 7:29pm
I have a confession to make --- I'm an information junkie.
I love knowing things, finding out things, researching things, reading things, exploring things, looking up things, etc. I've always been this way.
I started early, much to my parents' chagrin, and have kept on going. Knowledge is power... and it's also a fun way to make conversation with people. I love to play trivial pursuit and try to watch JEOPARDY whenever I can remember that it's on. I've become the "Did you know..." girl at work. Some little snippet I heard on the radio, saw on the TV, read in a book, magazine or newspaper. Today's "Did you know..." was from WOMEN'S HEALTH MAGAZINE.
Did you know that according to researchers at the Univ of Alberta (Canada), the length of a man's fingers relative to his ring finger can predict physical aggression. The shorter a man's index finger as compared to his ring finger, the higher he scores on standard psychological tests for aggression. Whodathunk? And to think I only look at the ring finger to see if there's a wedding band or a tan-line from a mysteriously missing wedding band. Guess size does matter.
I started reading before I started school so that I could read the newspaper... or at least, try. The first book I read on my own was THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES. Even before I could read, I would look at pictures in books and magazines and try to absorb everything about them. I asked a lot of why and "how come?" questions. I was a sponge in school. Soaked everything right up-- especially if it had to do with the human body, reading, languages, writing, etc. I was the only kid in 7th grade that "got" diagraming sentences right out of the gate. I spent many hours in the library. I would go to the card catalog to "browse" and if something struck my fancy, I'd hunt down the book and read it. Many times over if it really interested me.
I love knowing things, finding out things, researching things, reading things, exploring things, looking up things, etc. I've always been this way.
I started early, much to my parents' chagrin, and have kept on going. Knowledge is power... and it's also a fun way to make conversation with people. I love to play trivial pursuit and try to watch JEOPARDY whenever I can remember that it's on. I've become the "Did you know..." girl at work. Some little snippet I heard on the radio, saw on the TV, read in a book, magazine or newspaper. Today's "Did you know..." was from WOMEN'S HEALTH MAGAZINE.
Did you know that according to researchers at the Univ of Alberta (Canada), the length of a man's fingers relative to his ring finger can predict physical aggression. The shorter a man's index finger as compared to his ring finger, the higher he scores on standard psychological tests for aggression. Whodathunk? And to think I only look at the ring finger to see if there's a wedding band or a tan-line from a mysteriously missing wedding band. Guess size does matter.
I started reading before I started school so that I could read the newspaper... or at least, try. The first book I read on my own was THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES. Even before I could read, I would look at pictures in books and magazines and try to absorb everything about them. I asked a lot of why and "how come?" questions. I was a sponge in school. Soaked everything right up-- especially if it had to do with the human body, reading, languages, writing, etc. I was the only kid in 7th grade that "got" diagraming sentences right out of the gate. I spent many hours in the library. I would go to the card catalog to "browse" and if something struck my fancy, I'd hunt down the book and read it. Many times over if it really interested me.
I remember being teased by the librarian because I'd wear out my library card much quicker than anyone else. I found out all about sex from reading Judy Blume's FOREVER in 6th grade. I discovered a talent for FRENCH when I found an old book written in the language in my grandmother's house and wanted to know what it said. (It turned out to be a volume of an encyclopedia.) I used to have a thick paperback dictionary and every day after school, I would read a page or two. By the time I graduated high school, I had read the entire dictionary at least once. I once had a teacher tell me that in order to "own" a word forever, you had to use it three times the day you learn it. So, I would look up words, and then find ways to use them so that I could officially "own" the words. To this day, I'm the only person in my circle who uses the word "albeit" on a regular basis. 
As I grew older, the thirst only intensified... and even led to some pretty interesting hobbies such as making spells and potions, cooking, baking, making candles, making soap, knitting, crocheting, sewing from a pattern, pilates, writing, dream-interpretation, and many more. The internet opened up even more doors. I love just sitting down and typing a word into google and seeing where it takes me. At work, I've become the informal "do you know?" person. "Do you know who invented liquid paper?" "Do you know how to get rid of a coffee stain?" "Do you know how many calories are in a Panera Asiago Cheese Bagel?" GOOGLE is one of the few sites I do have access to at work and on my lunch break, I will research things. And then answer the questions of my colleagues.
I also love to read magazines. All kinds of magazines. Every few months , I "allow" myself to splurge on one magazine I've never read before on any topic I want. I also subscribe to many magazines and then once I've read them, I either sell them at a used bookstore or give them to my co-workers so that they can have some information, too.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste and whomever said that was a genius.... Now, I'm gonna go look that up because I don't know.
As I grew older, the thirst only intensified... and even led to some pretty interesting hobbies such as making spells and potions, cooking, baking, making candles, making soap, knitting, crocheting, sewing from a pattern, pilates, writing, dream-interpretation, and many more. The internet opened up even more doors. I love just sitting down and typing a word into google and seeing where it takes me. At work, I've become the informal "do you know?" person. "Do you know who invented liquid paper?" "Do you know how to get rid of a coffee stain?" "Do you know how many calories are in a Panera Asiago Cheese Bagel?" GOOGLE is one of the few sites I do have access to at work and on my lunch break, I will research things. And then answer the questions of my colleagues.
I also love to read magazines. All kinds of magazines. Every few months , I "allow" myself to splurge on one magazine I've never read before on any topic I want. I also subscribe to many magazines and then once I've read them, I either sell them at a used bookstore or give them to my co-workers so that they can have some information, too.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste and whomever said that was a genius.... Now, I'm gonna go look that up because I don't know.
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