Things you have a difficult time doing, that most other people don´t.

[Frustrated Wonderer]

I feel the need to start a thread with this rather weird topic. On a normal work day, I do some computer work, check up on certain products and other boring buisness stuff.

But one thing I hate doing, that I have to do sometimes is talking to people by the phone. When I have to talk buisness related issues by phone, I have to concentrate extra hard, and sometimes (more than I would like) I get nervous and I say the wrong things. I´ve improved on this somewhat, but I still hate it and I still struggle with this relatively easy, mundane thing to do.

Most people I talk to look at me in weird way when I say that phone talking is hard for me to do.

So, Dopers, what "thing" or action do you struggle with, that most other people do with ease?

[Gestalt]

Parallel Parking.

Freaking keys man . . . surriously . . . It takes me forever to figure out which direction to turn and how many times. And I'm easily confused, even with keys I use often, like my main house key.

Balance. I fall/stumble quite a bit.

That being said, I tend to be a little better than some people in endurance activities, like running or biking.

Gestalt

[Otto]

Leaving the house on weekends.

I sometimes fear I'm going to turn agorophobic and wind up with 15 cats.

[flodnak]

I also have issues talking with people on the phone. If I absolutely have to call up a stranger to ask for information or what have you, I have to rehearse what I want to say ahead of time. Thank ghod for email.

I also have great difficulty wrapping presents. It's a vicious spiral: the harder it gets, the more I hate it; and the more I hate it, the harder it gets....

[WhyNot]

Talking on the phone for me, as well. Even something as simple as ordering a pizza used to be a sweat soaked phobic nightmare. It was part and parcel of my (diagnosed) anxiety disorder, and the remnant of it that's remained despite mostly being in remission. I've gotten to the point where ordering food usually isn't a problem (although restaurants with online ordering get my business 98% of the time), but calling customer service or a business type call or making a doctor's appointment for my kid? Excruciating, no joke.

The other thing is making instant pudding. Whether I shake or stir or use a hand mixer, I still end up with leathery bits in my instant pudding. I can make a pudding from scratch with no problem, though!

[Annie-Xmas]

Walking down stairs. A very hard time. If I'm at the top of an escalator when the electricity goes off, I'll be stuck because I cannot walk down an escalator.

[iampunha]

I hate and have genuine trouble with:

handwriting
the phone
accepting gifts
being acknowledged for giving gifts
respecting childish (in the sense of prone to temper tantrums) adults
not directly addressing untalked-about interpersonal issues ("and he does that because he has to win something in that situation")
reading just to read
accepting flaws in things I do deliberately and carefully

[bouv]

Another phone hater here. I'm find face-to-face, but for some reason bring on the phone with someone I don't know is Hell most of the time. Which really sucks because I have a phone interview for a job later today, and another one tomorrow.

[RunSilent]

I also find phone conversations difficult and uncomfortable. I also am uncomfortable in essentially all social situations.... 61 years of social phobia

[Gestalt]

Originally Posted by iampunha

I hate and have genuine trouble with:

handwriting
the phone
accepting gifts
being acknowledged for giving gifts
respecting childish (in the sense of prone to temper tantrums) adults
not directly addressing untalked-about interpersonal issues ("and he does that because he has to win something in that situation")
reading just to read
accepting flaws in things I do deliberately and carefully

oooh, I have terrible penmanship as well! It's wholly inconsistent.

Gestalt

[purple haze]

Sometimes I have a hard time pronouncing certain words, like 'thorough', entrepreneur, anything with -th, (like thousandth, Worcestershire, and so on.

My mom is left-handed, and she still finds it difficult to quickly tell left from right; she has to think about it for a moment. My daughter is left-handed and did the same thing for years, until just recently (she is 19). I always told her that isn't a big deal, because that's just what southpaws are like sometimes.

I would have been a lefty, but my kindergarten teacher kept putting the pencil in my right hand. And the scissors. Heck, there weren't even any left-handed scissors easily available when I was in kindergarten.

Geez, I'm old.

[Freudian Slit]

Directions--like right/left.

Whistling.

[Dung Beetle]

I also had the phone phobia, but this job forced me to overcome it. When I answer the phone here, the first word out of my mouth is "Diagnostic". In the beginning, I concentrated on the first syllable of that word, and imagined I was telling every caller what I wished they would do, rather than call me. Corny, but it did help me remember my scripted greeting, and once the call had begun, I'd get through it.

What do I not do as well? Stand up for myself. I will not be confronting anyone, thank you. Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a weenie.

[Hypno-Toad]

Acting interested in what others are saying to me. Really. I'm terrible at not showing just how soul-scraping it is to listen to you talk about your weekend. If you're not prepared to listen to ME pontificate at length on MY favorite subjects, get lost. But it's not all bad news. I am shallow enough to put up with you if you're hot. But only to a point.

[eleanorigby]

Making change over $1.00. By that I mean I can make change up to a dollar, but if it's $1.12 or $4.38, I'm lost. I know, I know--I still have to really think about it.


doing percentages in my head. Essentially, I have to 10% and then either half that or double it etc. Trying to find 30% off in my head doesn't work.


Adding 3 digit numbers in my head or subtracting them, if it involves carrying. Same with division or multiplication.

Anyone see a trend here? I do.

reading musical notes on a page and translating them into notes played on any instrument. I can tell you that's a C or whatever, but my brain doesn't communicate that to my fingers well.

People who thrive on busy amaze me. "Well, we'll run downtown and pick up that X you wanted and I want to look at shoes, then get a spot of lunch at this new place and I want to take you over to that new art gallery--it's not too far from lunch, only about a 40 minute drive, then we have to meet the rest of the gang at the museum for that one exhibit that is just so good and then we have time for drinks at that great new bar that opened up, just 30 minutes away from where we're going to dinner! After dinner, we'll all relax by taking in that new show that got good reviews."

This is some people's one weekend day. Any ONE of those activities would be enough for me for a whole week. I am one boring person....

Now I'm depressed.

[Agent Foxtrot]

I've always had a very difficult time picking up on nonverbal cues. Fortunately, if people know me long enough, they realize it's just part of who I am and accept me in spite of it.

[NinjaChick]

Talking to people and asking for advice. I'm beginning work on my senior thesis, which at this point basically involves talking to various professors about the topics I'm trying to narrow down, getting their opinions on them and feeling out possible advisers. To me, this is incredibly stressful. I'm the type of person who is mildly uncomfortable sending an email to someone outside my circle of knowns; actually sitting down face-to-face with someone literally makes me sweat.

I can't do mental math: I'm just missing whatever makes it intuitive to some people. In a class this morning I actually asked why, in the final equation for something, the constant changed from 16 to 32. "Because it's for the effect of both coils" was the answer, which took a minute to make sense to me.

Also, getting up in the morning. My father can pop right out of bed at 6 or 7 AM and be ready to greet the day, whereas if I'm getting up before 7:30, there'd best be a damn good reason and a whole lot of caffeine to get me there.

[Laudenum]

Another vote for simple phone conversation here.

I rehearse all my calls beforehand.

[Anne Neville]

Originally Posted by Agent Foxtrot

I've always had a very difficult time picking up on nonverbal cues. Fortunately, if people know me long enough, they realize it's just part of who I am and accept me in spite of it.

I can't do that, either. As a result, I'd rather talk on the phone than face-to-face, because there at least I'm only missing tone-of-voice type cues. I used to be told "look at me when I'm talking to you" all the time as a kid, because I couldn't pick up nonverbal cues like facial expressions, so looking at someone didn't tell me anything their words didn't, so what's the point of looking at them? I eventually trained myself to do it, but it still isn't natural for me, and I don't pick up any cues from doing it. I won't notice if someone is or isn't making eye contact with me, for example.

I also have a terrible time with any kind of spatial problem- "will this pot be big enough for this amount of stuff" or "will this fit into this box" without actually checking.

I only learned in the last few years (I'm 33) that some people can hear a note sung or played and know what note it is. I can't do that. I also have no idea how anyone ever knows what key someone is singing in- I can't tell.

Reading handwriting- any handwriting, good or bad. I read typed text faster than most people (Mr. Neville says much faster than most people), but I have a very hard time reading anything handwritten unless it is printed.

I'm reluctant to walk down stairs if I can't look at my feet- I'm afraid I'll put one in the wrong place and fall if I don't.

[Sigmagirl]

I can do business-type phone calls just fine, when there's a point to the call. But when people call just to talk? I'm hopeless. They just want to . . . chat! About stuff! Their personal lives and ask me about mine! No, I'm no good at that.

State your business annnnnd goodbye.

[Lucretia]

Finding my way around. I know people joke about not having a sense of direction, but I really, seriously have none. I've been in my current town for over a year, and am just now figuring out how to get around. Thank og for GPSs, it's really amazing how much more independent and less anxious I am with one. I tell people it's my prosthetic sense of direction.

[Student Driver]

I'm learning this semester that I have difficulty saying the word "statistics." There's not only a family trait of lisping on esses (sometimes with a slight whistle!) that becomes exaggerated when I say the word, and I also stumble over the syllables. "Shhtashhhtictishh."

I also find it difficult to run lots of errands, kind of like eleanorigby's thing of not getting how people thrive on busy. People always act amazed when they find out I juggle school/teaching/full-time work, but I imagine their amazement is due to the fact that they think I'm cramming errands in there as well. I'm not. It's a busy week when I get my hair cut and shop for groceries; if I have to mail a package, too, my week is just shot. And I'm like that when school is out.

[InappropriateHumor]

I got a ton of 'em, including some already mentioned. In reverse order:

Sigmagirl - me too. Waddaya mean you just called to chat? I saw you not two days ago, I got nothin' else to say.

NinjaChick - I can't do mental math very well either. Other people just reel off answers to everyday math problems while I'm still trying to take off my shoes. (the better to count, you see)

eleanorigby - yeah, the hell with that rushing around all the time thing. I have books to read.

Dung Beetle - I also am a wimp most of the time, but I range into assertive territory often enough to throw everyone, including myself, off their game.

Freudian Slit - ditto right/left and whistling. I mean I know right from left, it's just under pressure when my mind takes a little side-trip.

To add some of my own: finger snapping, hairstyling. I have more to list, but no more time.

If anybody ever feels inadequate, just talk to me and you'll feel better. Just not via telephone.

[Simmerdown]

I am rarely able to line the car up properly to the automatic car wash tracks. The attendants hate me. Otherwise I am a good driver. Parallel parking not a problem.

I panic at drive-throughs, especially if it's a place I don't often visit and don't know the menu, or if I'm ordering for a bunch of people. I prefer to order inside.

[freekalette]

Phone calls bug me too. (Interesting trend....) I can only call a hnadful of people - my parents, husband, ex, and a few very close friends - without going into full on panic mode. Ordering pizza? Gyah! Only if I'm starving to death. I'm able to make calls when it's needed, like say for a doctor's appointment or something like that, but it makes me sweat and I stutter so bad you can barely understand me. (I, too, rehearse what I'm going to say ahead of time, but it doesn't make the situation any mre bearable.)

This also crosses over into face-to-face meetings a little, if it's a complete stranger. I can't really ask for directions or initiate any kind of conversation with a waiter or hotel clerk. Just the other day I took the kids to the zoo, and it was extremely difficult for me to speak with the ride operators as we were heading onto the rides.

Not really sure why I'm afraid, or even what I am afraid OF, but it's definitely a hassle.

[Hogwash]

Parallel parking.

Yes, yes, I know about the angles involved. I know how steering from the front (or back, if reversing) affects movement. I know about oversteering, understeering and how you are supposed to correct yourself. I have good spatial awareness and good aim.

I just can't get the damn thing to sit at a reasonable distance from the kerb on the first attempt.

[Hazle Weatherfield]

Putting on makeup: I can do a passable job, just the basics, but I see these teenage girls and their faces look perfect! How do they do it? It looks totally professional.

Styling my hair. I've been told I have beautiful, thick hair. I have no idea what to do with it. I use no products whatsoever. I've tried, but I just don't get it. I wash, towel-dry and comb. That's it.

Make myself brush and floss my teeth every night: I have such a hard time falling asleep that, once I start to nod, I run with it and hit the bed/couch. When I brush/floss it catapults me right back into wakefulness for at least an hour.

Exercise: I exercise like I diet. I'll be a maniac about it for awhile, but, then, if I miss even one time or take a bite of one wrong thing, then, I'm all fuck it, I've blown it, might as well give up for awhile.

This is depressing...

[Creaky]

I'll join the I Hate to Talk On the Phone crowd. I am terrible at this. I really just don't want to simply shoot the shit, and it shows because I'm awkward and almost nervous because I just don't want to talk! For me phones are for relaying information. I'm pretty talkative in person, but I get itchy being stuck on the phone. I wouldn't have a cell but I gotta have one for work.

And I too suck at parallel parking. Baltimore is a really tough place to park. All the streets are so small and narrow. Makes me crazy.

[Valgard]

Swimming. I was scared of the water as a kid and learned how to swim my senior year in high school (graduation requirement). I haven't done any recreational swimming in about 20 years. Since triathlons are starting to look attractive I need to get my butt over to the pool, sign up for some "adult beginner" lessons and have at it.

Dancing. I used to go from time to time. Now I suffer from the fear that I look like a complete and utter spaz and the entire place will look at me like they looked at Elaine on Seinfeld. The hottest chick in the world could ask me to dance and I'd be incredibly uncomfortable.

On the plus side I don't have some of the "normal" fears, like speaking in public. I'd get up in front of a Superbowl stadium sized crowd with no problem. Talking on the phone is no big deal either

[ultrafilter]

Originally Posted by Student Driver

I'm learning this semester that I have difficulty saying the word "statistics." There's not only a family trait of lisping on esses (sometimes with a slight whistle!) that becomes exaggerated when I say the word, and I also stumble over the syllables. "Shhtashhhtictishh."

I don't lisp, but if I try to say "statistics" without being very careful, I'll stumble on it pretty badly.

[3waygeek]

Getting laid -- I've been celibate for 22 years.

[Frustrated Wonderer]

Damn man, you should consider going to Amsterdam and using one of the government checked women (cough).

[garygnu]

I loath the very idea of calling strangers on the phone, or even acquaintances.
I'm fine if they call me, though.

[Alice The Goon]

Parking.

Not parallel parking. Just parking straight, between two lines.

I'm not stupid- I just have some kind of brain defect that makes me not know where I am, exactly, in space, and makes me not be able to park straight or to tell exactly how far I am from things while driving. I can, of course, tell how far I am from things well enough to avoid hitting or being hit- it's just the parking thing I have trouble with. So from now on, when you see a car that's parked just a little skewed between two lines, please don't automatically think that person is stupid. Maybe they are, in fact, quite intelligent, but with just a little problem in that area.

[rolandgunslinger]

Whistle using the "Finger" method. Ya know, putting your fingers in you mouth to get that really loud whistle.

[Alice The Goon]

Originally Posted by rolandgunslinger

Whistle using the "Finger" method. Ya know, putting your fingers in you mouth to get that really loud whistle.

Can most people do that? I can't do it, and have only known a few that could.

[Capcha]

Count me in for the phone hating, I'll add:
Recognizing names/ faces. I mean, I have a hard time remembering your name, and if i happen to bump into you the next day, i'd have a vague impression to know your face, but it takes me a while to put 2 together.
I drive my sister crazy, when she talks about some actor, i'll need to know what other movies they played. Or even dish names, for some it's the nth time i ask what is '...' dish? She'll have to tell me the ingredients.

Otto, i also have to force myself to go outside (other than work) I'd rather avoid being around people. Although i get periods where i don't give a fart and run outside.

[Silver Tyger]

Judging length, volume, distance, time. I hate having to put leftovers away because I never pick the correctly sized container.

Parking. Any of it, but especially parallel.

[Neutral Density]

Drawing. I wish I could make nice pictures, just nice little sketches. I'm not interested in painting the next Mona Lisa. I just want to make simple sketches that resemble something. Instead I draw like I'm in Kindergarten.

Good at Photoshop, though.

[River Hippie]

Calling old friends, relatives or acquaintances that I haven't seen for a while.

[Kolga]

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

People who thrive on busy amaze me. "Well, we'll run downtown and pick up that X you wanted and I want to look at shoes, then get a spot of lunch at this new place and I want to take you over to that new art gallery--it's not too far from lunch, only about a 40 minute drive, then we have to meet the rest of the gang at the museum for that one exhibit that is just so good and then we have time for drinks at that great new bar that opened up, just 30 minutes away from where we're going to dinner! After dinner, we'll all relax by taking in that new show that got good reviews."

Are you friends with the guy I'm dating? Because I swear this is him, and the friends he has that I don't already know. And it's like he and they never allot enough time for any of the things, so they end up spending twice as long picking up X because parking is bad and traffic is backed up, and then dithering over shoes because there's a two-for-one sale and look those are half off and aren't these fun?, and lunch takes forever because the new place is packed so when lunch comes we have to bolt it down, and the art gallery and museum exhibit end up getting rushed through (at an almost literal run), and drinks get thrown back quickly and we walk in the show 30 minutes late.

Once was enough of that crap. I have difficulty shifting attention that quickly - I like spending thoughtful time at art galleries and museums, and enjoying the delicious lunch, and having good conversations over drinks, and not always looking at my watch and saying "we gotta move on to the next thing!"

So that's my thing - I have difficulty always wanting to move on to the next thing. THIS thing that I'm doing right now is pretty fun and I want to spend some time doing it BEFORE I move on, thanks.

[pandNH4]

Keeping track of small things for me. I've misplaced my wallet, phone a dozen times this month, and I just found my passport this morning in some pants pockets

[Hyperelastic]

I don't like calling people on the phone either. I don't mind answering the phone, but I don't like being the caller. If I have to do it a lot, I get used to it, but I hardly do it at all anymore, so it makes me all anxious. If my only job option was telemarketing, hello starvation.

But I am better at phoning people than throwing a goddamned frisbee. I can throw a ball perfectly well, but my frisbee throws always wind up about a parsec to the left or right. The frisbee is too sensitive to the tilt angle when you release it.

[eleanorigby]

Originally Posted by Kolga

Are you friends with the guy I'm dating? Because I swear this is him, and the friends he has that I don't already know. And it's like he and they never allot enough time for any of the things, so they end up spending twice as long picking up X because parking is bad and traffic is backed up, and then dithering over shoes because there's a two-for-one sale and look those are half off and aren't these fun?, and lunch takes forever because the new place is packed so when lunch comes we have to bolt it down, and the art gallery and museum exhibit end up getting rushed through (at an almost literal run), and drinks get thrown back quickly and we walk in the show 30 minutes late.

Once was enough of that crap. I have difficulty shifting attention that quickly - I like spending thoughtful time at art galleries and museums, and enjoying the delicious lunch, and having good conversations over drinks, and not always looking at my watch and saying "we gotta move on to the next thing!"

So that's my thing - I have difficulty always wanting to move on to the next thing. THIS thing that I'm doing right now is pretty fun and I want to spend some time doing it BEFORE I move on, thanks.

YES. I think they suck at time management or something. Or else they feel that unless they're so busy, the day has been wasted. Ack-I start to hyperventilate just reading your post. I will never be like that. I can barely hear about other people's forays into mindless rushing about...

I also cannot put on makeup so that it looks great. I either put too much on and don't blend it (and look like a clown) or I put too little on and it disappears in an hour. Luckily, I don't need much makeup. Heh.

[Fiona_Greenlee]

I have a tough time remembering the names of streets yet somehow I rarely get lost.

[abbeytxs]

Making sense.

It all sounds good in my head.

[freekalette]

Originally Posted by abbeytxs

Making sense.

It all sounds good in my head.

Oh, yeah. Me too.

And then I try to explain furhter, an it all just sorta devolves into subtle metaphors, until I start thinking I'm crazy and nobody could ever understand what I originally meant.

Does that make sense??

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

When someone gives their year of birth I have to really think to figure out how old they are. DUMB! For some reason, it just messes me up.

Also, I am terrible at keeping matching socks together. I am ashamed to admit I have a little basket of mismatched socks that I try to sit down and straighten out from time to time. I make progress, but sometimes I just throw a bunch away and start fresh.

Ok, that was embarrassing.

[Mahna Mahna]

Ditto on faces and names. It'll usually take me several tries before I can remember someone's name without some prompting, and if I see someone out of the context I'd usually see them in, there's a 50/50 chance I won't recognize them unless they're a good friend. As dorky as they are, I am totally in LOVE with nametags because they solve both of these problems for me.

(strangely enough, though, I'm ridiculously good at remembering other ridiculously useless facts like places, dates and events)

Video games that involve shooting and/or driving are another one. I'm not just bad at them... I'm so embarassingly awful that I rarely make it past the first level.

Oh, and I can't tell right from left unless I look at my hands and do the make-an-L-with-the-index-and-thumb trick.

[LifeOnWry]

On the recognition thing, I can't recognize people from photos until after I know them. Send me a photo of someone and then put me in a room with them and a couple other people and ask me to pick out whose photo I just saw? It'll never happen (unless there's some REALLY singular identifying quality, like they're the only redhead in the room or something like that.) If I have met someone casually, I can sometimes pick them out in a photo, but not always. If I know someone well, it's not a problem at all.

I can't braid my own hair, though I can do a couple different fancy-ish braids on other people. And I can't manage a curling iron without really working on it, because (this is so embarrassing) the mirror throws me off. I end up turning the curling iron the wrong way because it looks like the right way in the mirror. I have to get my hair into the grabber thingie, then close my eyes and THINK which way to turn.