The side effects of the unfortunate occurrence called growing up!

When I was in school, I had this notion drilled into my head that the older I grew the wiser I (and my friends) would become. So reverentially did I take the words of my teachers and parents that I remember coming home very worried one day in junior school and asking, “Ma, o eto boka o boro kikore hobe?” (“Ma, she is so stupid, how will she become older?”). I remember being very worried about this particular friend and that she would never be able to tackle life crippled by her stupidity.

Not only did I learn that I had a hearing problem (she said “wiDer not wiSer!” I was told), I also realised, school was my period of maximum knowledge, maximum general awareness and minimum dependence on Google! I also learnt that the intelligence I value so highly is replaced by cunning these days…and cunning travels faster than light…but… I digress!

As we grow older (and yes, thank you, WIDER), the awareness of the self gains exceeding importance and everything else recedes into the background. In junior school, I knew I loved the colour blue and for some pitiful reason was obsessed with polka dots. I knew I loved to sleep (some things don’t change!) and some other basic facts that I took for granted without having to be consciously aware of them.

Now I seem to be aware of everything I like or dislike, including my habits. For example, I always read before going to bed and didn’t ever think about it. But now I have successfully analysed myself and have realised the reason I do this is because my mind keeps running even if my body is tired and the reading tires my mind enough for me to be able to sleep.

Really, did you need to know that??

Wouldn’t I have survived without that piece of information and just continued to read as a force of habit? I think so.

And while this self awareness irritatingly increases everyday, I seem to forget things I learnt in school. Being in the southern hemisphere now, the other day I tried explaining to someone that you when we move, the earth’s rotation tends to pull us in a particular direction and that it was different for either hemisphere. I couldn’t remember the name of the law of geography but had this hunch it started with F! Grrr…. I remembered studying it in class 7, I remember the class room so well but I couldn’t remember the name of the law!

Googling gave me my answer… Ferrel’s law! Wikipedia has the answer to all of my life’s questions!

“If a body moves in any direction on the earths surface, there is a deflecting force arising from the earths rotation, which deflects it to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.”

Yay!

But I found myself really irritated. IWhat is also increasing in frequency is my inability to remember words for things I’m trying to explain! This doesn’t irritate me, it worries me, because I love words!

Therefore, I demand that we stay in school and keep learning and using the knowledge we gain, even if it serves us no purpose in “real life”. I’m happy with my simulated existence in school; real life can go dig itself a hole!

And Google, I love you, I really do, but my dependence on you is making me so stupid so I have to maintain a distance. I promise I will visit everyday ( I like seeing what theme iGoogle has in store for me every time I log on!) but please don’t tempt me to search everything that crosses my brain…please don’t have every answer so I actually have to pick my brain (presently in slush mode!) instead of yours.

For now, let me try and remember what the capital of South Africa is! No…don’t tell me…I know it…!!!

Grrrr…..

….

…

……..Pretoria?