lfindle, Welcome to Perlmonks and Perl, and we all sympathize with your feeling:

While I realize I made a lot of progress today in my quest to learn some Perl, I'm left with the
feeling that I have many more questions than when I began.

They often say in science that asking one question finding the answer and finally knowing does not
salve one's need for understanding, but raises one's need to know more.

Or as better said by Matt Cartmill, the anthropologist:

"As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -
so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls."

Cheers, and I hope you enjoy your time here! :)