They say that everyone’s good at something. What are you good at?
I’m a talented singer, a bass; I sing in my church choir when it’s in session. It hasn’t been since the pandemic, but I did get to sing a duet with my mother this past Sunday.
I’m a very good writer. I use my writing talents primarily in online roleplay. I’ve also written a religious play.
I’m pretty good at video games. I consider myself especially talented at Super Mario Bros. 3, Borderlands 2, and Skyrim, but I’m helpless when it comes to playing Skyrim in VR. VR makes me sick to my stomach, and I couldn’t get used to the controls.
About 3 years ago I busted out all my old consoles and hooked them all up. I played SMB 3 to the bone when I was a kid. 20 years later after I got all the consoles hooked up again I put in SMB 3 and played. I played straight through from the beginning and my first death was world 5 level 4. It seemed like it was all muscle memory.
I’m pretty good at piano; I have perfect pitch and can learn fairly complex music by ear alone.
I wish I were good at writing. I’ve been writing a novel since 2012 and have made almost no progress; only a couple hundred pages of jumbled notes and nonsense. Great at writing non-fiction but terrible at storytelling.
I am mediocre at everything I do. To the below-average folk, they may think I’m pretty good at some stuff, but the above-average people know very well that I am not. I wish I had the tenacity to stick with things longer to improve, but I get discouraged very easily and most things I do tend to peter out weakly, and I rarely finish things. Even when I do finish them and show them around, I get a chorus of “meh”. Then when I assess it, I realise it’s no fun if nobody cares, so I get down.
I’ve said it before, but, eh, can’t be bothered to go looking for the thread or post or whatever,
Mediocre people of the world unite, or whatever.
Mediocrity is where the power resides, SEIZE THE DAY, I guess.
If you want to, I mean.
I’m sleepy, is it nap time yet?
No seriously, I’ve got nap time down perfect. 5 minute doze off to a 4 hour Power Nap, I can be refreshed by them all.
Skiing with fluidity and power. Cracking 100 kph on telemark and 110 kph on alpine. Telemark Canada National team racer at the Telemark World Championship when it was held on the left coast of Kanukistan.
I’m a pretty solid bluegrass upright bass player. But pretty mediocre overall in terms of what would be expected of a jazz or classical player.
That’s about it in terms of learned skills.
I’m pretty intellectually and verbally efficient - I see/cut through BS pretty readily. While that helps in my job, it can be an impediment in social relations.
Paying the bills and maintaining budget. I am a bill paying MFer. The instant one comes in it gets paid, always.
Also problem solving, if I get handled a problem I attack it like a bulldog on an attacker covered in pork chops.
These two attributes make me a good project manager. My projects always come in on time and at budget (if not under). If I get handed a floundering project I get it back on course.
Here’s an exciting talent for you: I’m lightning fast on a calculator - the large desk type. I’ve never timed myself, but I can add up a long list of numbers with no mistakes very quickly.
Catching flies and moths in my hand. (No, I don’t use chopsticks.) When I was dating my current wife, she was very impressed that I could just grab them out of the air when they flew near us. She is less impressed now that she’s seen me do it for years, but she still mentions it to friends, so I guess it’s moderately unusual. I’m 67 years old and I still catch a few every week.
A few days ago my BIL helped me take my pontoon boat out of the water. It was cold and windy, like it is every year. The wind died down when I approached the submerged trailer and I pulled right on. I killed the motor and got it tilted up, ran to the bow, and attached the bowline.
Then the wind kicked up, blowing the stern off to the side. I knew what I had to do (push the boat’s ass-end back in place). So, I took a deep breath and walked into the cold water, chest high, and pushed the stern into place. My BIL drove forward and ta-da the boat was on the trailer.
While I changed into dry clothes, we watched other boaters retrieving their boats. When boats were blown off trailers, everyone backed their boats off the trailer and tried approaching again, and again. One of them asked if I’d get in the water and push their boat like they’d seen me do with mine. I laughed.
I wouldn’t describe myself as “good at video games,” but rather I am good at identifying and exploiting weaknesses in video games, which can create the illusion that I am good at video games.
I am a good driver. I consider driving to be a 100%-attention activity. If the car is motion at all, I will not do anything else, not even talk to other people in the car, not even my wife. I appear to be one of the very few people alive who feel this way.
