What I really like about Ruby is the thoughtfulness of the design. Very "clean", and consistent. It's OOP the way OOP was meant to be done, imo.
Also, I'd be amiss not to mention the wonderful writing that went into "The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide".
With that in your sights, you feel like you could trip, fall, and break your toe, but learn something about Ruby on the way down!
Adak