quotidian truth

order-able at http://www.garfieldposters.com/

I grew up in the Garfield era, so I saw the image above plastered on many school classroom walls in my childhood. I distinctly remember not understanding why it was funny at all — until Grade 9 Science, that is, when I properly learned what the word “osmosis” meant. Each time after that when I saw the poster, I really laughed — probably more out of joy that I finally knew what “osmosis” meant than because it’s a funny poster.

But you know, we can and do use that word figuratively when we talk about those things we’ve learned without realizing them. These are the things we’ve learned unconsciously or subconsciously over a period of time, often (usually?) without realizing it.

I’ve been stressing about finances lately. Like, really stressing. And it occurred to me today, as I sat at my computer nearly in tears for the second time in 24 hours, that I have never learned properly about finances. Other people seem to have picked up this knowledge over time, just by being exposed to it. Or maybe their parents sat them down and taught them how to invest, which stocks to buy, and how to manage bonds. I have not been lucky enough to have either of these experiences. Managing finances is something I’ve learned by trial or fire over the years. I’ve only once been in any true dire straits, back in university, and that experience was certainly a good teacher — I’ve never been in that same situation again, thankfully. Yet I still don’t know nearly enough about financial matters, even though I have been making my own money since age 12.

(Here’s a small sidebar truth: since having read this book, I now have a goal to learn how to be more financially savvy, because I do now believe I can learn this stuff. Until recently, I would have told you that financial smarts were the kind of thing you were just “born” knowing, or that you learned how to do on your own.)

Anyway, in my (sad, anxious, regretful) thoughts about how unlucky I was to not have learned Financial Basics 101 by osmosis at any point in my life, I started to think about those things I have learned by osmosis. And I thought this would make a pretty cool list. Truthfully, it’s a list that could probably go on forever. And maybe it will! But for now, I’m going to start with those things I learned by osmosis as a child or young adult, thanks to my loving family environment. All of these are things that every once in a while I pause and think, “Oh yeah. I know that. How do I know that?” and I can’t quite answer the question.

I learned…

• to always have several books on the go, and that this is okay. I think this is a subconscious result of having grown up in a household where there were always books strewn about. These books were on every topic from reincarnation to business strategies to hockey stats. And then there were the magazines — Nat Geo, TIME, and the occasional TV Guide. We also made regular, religious trips to the public library as a family and I always remember lugging out bags and bags of books.
• which wines go with which types of food and how to store them and serve them. I have never ever taken a wine course, and I have only attended 3 officially snobby wine-tasting events in my life. I don’t care much about the legs or any other limb of a wine, but I do know what I like and I know what goes with which course at dinner. How do I know this? My family drinks a lot of wine. We always had wine at dinner, from as far back as my memory takes me, and for generations before me. I may not know the names of all the new world grapes or every winery in the world, but I know what the difference is between a merlot and a pinot noir and I can describe to you — in very layman’s language — why one would be better with pasta and the other with ribs. I don’t know the oenophile’s language, quite honestly, and I don’t care to so much. I just know what I like and why.
• that Leslie Nielsen, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, The Smothers Brothers, Gilda Radner, and several others in their generation are some of the funniest comedians that have existed.
• to always, always have a napkin on my lap when eating. This is true for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, cocktails, midnight, morning, in an airplane, or on the moon. Honestly, I cannot remember not knowing this. It has been so much a part of how I was raised that I really struggle now, living in Asia, eating where the napkins (or god forbid – Kleenex!) are on the table in pop-out containers — or where there are no napkins at all! I am getting better at adjusting to this (6 years later!) but it’s still a real struggle for me, and I instinctively always reach for a napkin in my lap. It’s like a tic.
• that you can turn nearly any vegetable, meat, or fish into something delightful by starting with olive oil, garlic, and onions. And if that’s all you have, that’s all you need. If you don’t have onions, no problem. If you don’t have garlic, no problem. If you don’t have both: problem. If you don’t have olive oil: BIG PROBLEM. Olive oil is as fundamental as toilet paper in my home. Without it, I cannot be at home. Note that above I said “nearly.” Since living in Asia and discovering some truly unusual vegetables, I have since discovered a few things that do not work at all in this formula: arrowroot, wild bayam, sweet potato leaves, and okra (oh how I’ve tried — several times! I can make it edible in this way but not delightful! Okra is so much better in a curry or deep fried, southern style). Again, I was never taught this — it’s just something I picked up along the way.

There are many more things, but these ones will suffice for now. Perhaps I’ll come back to this later. Perhaps I’ll look at things I’ve learned by osmosis as an adult!