# What things do you enjoy doing but are bad at? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583 "2008-10-12T14:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/1 "2008-10-12T14:57:38Z")
I’ve just come back from a game of squash and, as usual, got whupped. I’ve been playing for about two years now and in my opinion I’m not all that better than when I started. But I love playing! It’s such great fun (and exercise) that I can’t imagine not playing any more. What things do you enjoy doing but don’t actually do that well? ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/2 "2008-10-12T15:10:52Z")
Singing. I was alone in the house the other day and I decided to try out online karaoke. Boy, was the play-back illuminating! I did kinda kick Karma Chameleon’s ass up and down the block, but Stray Cat Strut…woof. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/3 "2008-10-12T15:38:14Z")
> [@Susie\_Derkins](#): > > Singing. Seconded. I’m absolutely, pathetically, embarrassingly crap at it, but do I ever love it. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/4 "2008-10-12T15:39:47Z")
Interesting - I used to be pretty bad at singing but took lessons for about a year and am on the better side of okay now. Anyone can learn to sing averagely so if you really like doing it why not learn to do it properly? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/5 "2008-10-12T15:42:34Z")
Drawing and painting. I’m terrible. Like, kindergartner with palsy terrible, but I really enjoy it for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/6 "2008-10-12T15:49:00Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Anyone can learn to sing averagely so if you really like doing it why not learn to do it properly? I do believe there’s an “except **Priceguy** ” missing in that sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/7 "2008-10-12T15:51:28Z")
Ha, and **Susie Derkins**! I did have singing lessons way back when I was cast as a lead in a musical in college and it didn’t get any better. Luckily it was a comedy and we were able to play it off. ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/8 "2008-10-12T16:01:03Z")
Gardening. So far, everything in my garden dies and then I let the garden go to weeds, every year. But I keep going back in, hoeing everything under and trying “one more time”. I just love ordering my new trees from the state conservation department each November (actually I have an almost two-thirds survival rate on trees). It’s like a holiday when the new Burpee’s catalog comes each year, and I envision all the yummy vegetables that will soon sprout, wither and die at my hand. I think I just like to play in the dirt and ‘gardening’ is my cover story. ---
**Author:** ![Sublata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Sublata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublata)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/9 "2008-10-12T16:06:56Z")
> [@Susie\_Derkins](#): > > Ha, and **Susie Derkins**! > > I did have singing lessons way back when I was cast as a lead in a musical in college and it didn’t get any better. Luckily it was a comedy and we were able to play it off. Same here. Had singing lessons, got better at it than I was before, but my voice was never strong. The best you could say about me was I sang on-key with a flute-like tone. Now I’m getting older, my voice is getting weaker, my range is decreasing drastically. I love opera and choral music, and love to sing along, but it’s pretty pathetic. Some people just don’t have the physical structure to sing really well, like some people just aren’t tall enough to be really good basketball players. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/10 "2008-10-12T16:18:37Z")
Playing bass. And singing. And doing them both at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/11 "2008-10-12T17:07:49Z")
Dancing. Women who haven’t danced for years refuse to dance with me. Dance teachers won’t dance with me. Its like my anti-dancing ability might be contagious or something. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/12 "2008-10-12T18:57:41Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Dancing. Women who haven’t danced for years refuse to dance with me. Dance teachers won’t dance with me. Its like my anti-dancing ability might be contagious or something. Yeah, me too. I’ve been meaning to take dance lessons for a number of years now, and I’ve never gotten around to it. Until then I just do the Dead Fish Flop, made famous by countless caucasians such as myself. Another big one for me is math. It’s always been a problem for me. I blew major dogs in high school math class, and wasn’t any better in college calc. A few years ago, I decided to teach myself as much as I could about algebra, and I started with a textbook. I wound up liking it quite a bit. It was fun to see the numbers and letters dance around on the page, and when I solved a complicated problem I got a little inner thrill. I got all the way through algebra and trig, and I even taught myself a little calculus using an old textbook I picked up at a yard sale. I was _tres_ proud of myself. I’m still not a natural, though. I forgot pretty much all my calc as soon as I stopped studying. It took me longer to get the basics down than it would have for a math whiz or even a normal person, and I needed to work at it a _lot_ to see progress. Still, I can definitely see why people get so far into it. It’s _fascinating_. I never had a problem spending hours on my off time and weekends going through the books and messageboards. It also came in handy when I had to study for the GRE’s. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/13 "2008-10-12T19:30:40Z")
Karate. I’m not terrible, but I’m far from good. Doesn’t stop me from letting out a big ki-ah and trying to kick butt… err, better myself. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/14 "2008-10-12T20:10:27Z")
Bowling. A fun diversion. Oh my how I suck at it. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/15 "2008-10-12T20:23:30Z")
Golf. I suck at it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/16 "2008-10-12T20:32:12Z")
Golf for me too. I haven’t played for quite a few years, but for a while i played every few weeks. I always loved it, and the pleasure of hitting a good shot is like nothing else, but those good shots were few and far between. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/17 "2008-10-12T20:37:50Z")
Bowling. I LOVE to bowl, but good lord, do I suck! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/18 "2008-10-12T20:43:13Z")
Singing. I think. I honestly don’t know if I’m a good singer or not. My husband doesn’t like to hear me sing; other people have said I sing well. Play guitar–no, I really do stink. I love music very, very much, have written songs and sung lots (alone), but I have no, none, nil, zilch sense of rhythm. I want to be a musician, but I don’t have rhythm or talent. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/19 "2008-10-12T20:45:19Z")
Golf. I too cannot sing and play bass at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583/20 "2008-10-12T20:46:30Z")
Singing. I love to sing along with the radio. You do not want to hear me sing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-enjoy-doing-but-are-bad-at/467583.md?page=2)