On Friday, my Aunt, a Glacial Geologist, took us Rock Hounding near Yosemite. My Aunt's a fascinating person. She currently teaches at Merced College. But she studied and lived in Yosemite for years. She loves rock climbing and kayaking. She knows the latin names of most wildflowers. She can tell you anything you ever wanted to know about formations of rocks. In addition to all that, she's like a walking encyclodpedia. I love visiting with her. Stuart used to really love discussing geology with her.

On the drive up we pointed out different wildflowers and talked about different minerals. My grandmother talked about the properties of aluminum and how readily it's found but difficult to form/hold together (something like that). As we were driving, I thought how different the discussion was from the other side of my family. My other grandmother thinks science and geography are a waste of time to be interested in. As I joined in the discussion and found myself interested, I realized that, yep, I'm a nerd. It's a new realization, but something I should admit if I'm to "know myself" better. I'm old enough now to not be ashamed of it. : )