Monday, July 20, 2009

Sucks Rocks

Announcement: Tomorrow is Tiara Day!! Slap a tiara on your avatar and join in the celebration!

This weekend I was thinking about a few things that I really suck at. I mean REALLY suck--I just can't seem to wrap my brain around these things in a way that works, no matter how I try. But that's thinking negatively to focus just on those things--and I don't like that--so I thought it would be fun to do a balanced post. Things I can't do, but also things I do well. And how about you?

Three things that I absolutely suck at:
  1. Judging distances. Seriously, if you tell me something is 300 yards away or 10 feet away or 3 miles away, I will NOT KNOW HOW FAR THAT IS. I know empirically what these things mean, and *maybe* I could judge one foot. Other than that my brain doesn't understand. My husband asked me this weekend to pull out 14 inches of fishing line for him. I just looked at him, looked at the line, and said "you tell me when to stop, mmm-kay?" :)
  2. Directions. I do fine if I have a map right there in front of me while I'm navigating. But I cannot navigate on the fly like some people can, and end up at the right place. I can't hold a map in my head. And I seriously *will* get lost going places I've been a zillion times. At my age I've realized this is just the way I am. GPS helps, though!
  3. Driving. Based on (1) and (2) above, you can probably see how this makes sense. Would you want to ride with someone who constantly got lost and couldn't judge distances? Yeah. I thought so.
So that's the bad news. But really, that's not awful. My husband does almost all of the driving on trips, and I'm good. I can survive pretty well without understanding how far 300 yards is.

So what's my good side? Well, let's see (I admit, these are harder to come up with):
  1. Editing. Yep, that's what they pay me for, so I sure hope I'm good at it. But it's more than just editing scientific text, shifting sentences around and being able to spell obscure scientific terminology. It usually works in reading mss and query letters, etc., too: being able to read something and see what's wrong, how it can be shifted to be much BETTER. It doesn't always work with my own writing, but I think I've been able to help a few friends out.
  2. Um. *thinks* I know! Losing myself in a fantasy world. This works in writing, acting, dancing (long ago when I was a ballet dancer), and reading. I can completely immerse myself in the character/world and shut everything else out. Yes, I'm counting this as a good thing. :)
  3. Enthusiasm. Whether for Tiara Day or my friends or Child, I really ENJOY things. I see the world mostly in a positive way, and I try to spread that. I love.
Do those count?

How about you? Can you list 3 things you suck at AND 3 things you rock at, in the comments?

7 comments:

Linda G. said...

Okay, when I visit you, I'm driving. Even if it's snowing.

Actually, I suck at directions too (yay GPS!), but at least I can judge distance, so we likely wouldn't end up in a ditch.

I also suck--majorly--at singing. But I'm pretty good at making people laugh. I guess it all balances out. :)

Jennifer Saunders said...

Hmm . . . do you think #2 on the good list (losing yourself in a fantasy world) might have ANYTHING to do with getting lost going to places you've already been??? :)
Fellow Driver Who Misses Turns (a.k.a. Jennifer S)

Susan Adrian said...

Linda: YES, you will drive. This is a good plan! And you are GREAT at making me laugh, at least. And holding my hand when I need it. :)

Jennifer: *snort* Um, yes. That might be a valid connection there.

Joanne Levy said...

I suck at following complex plots in movies - especially those with too many characters (thankfully husband is good at explaining who is who and if they are good or bad).

I suck at the patience thing. I suck at it hard.

I am great at being self-motivated (except exercise - blech) and getting stuff done. I have that entrepreneurial spirit ingrained in me.

I also have great ankles and feet. I know that's not something I'm good at, although I guess they help me with walking, which I am quite accomplished at - I almost never fall down. You know, almost never.

Loretta Ross said...

Don't feel bad about the inability to judge distance. That's a woman thing. It's because all our adult lives we've been told something the size of our pinky is six inches long. O:)

And I suck at organization. I'm a champion procrastinator, though.

Unknown said...

I am uncannily good at judging distances under ten feet, and have a killer sense of direction. Also am well versed and very creative in my use of profanity. (Today "assface" was a big fav) For all of these reasons it's obvious we make a perfect road trip pair. :D
I suck at- acting like a grown-up lady, having no expression on my face, and math.
There are probably a few other things too. But that's enough for you to know for now.

Jean Wogaman said...

I suck at tennis. But if the object of the game was to hit the ball over the fence rather than the net, I would be a good player.