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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Three Things I’m Good At

I was going to blog about something or another that I was frustrated with myself for being bad at. I think along those lines a lot. It’s one aspect of my perfectionist ways (which were a lot more detrimental to my general operation in the past than they are now) I can’t shake. I am really good at being critical, and what better to be critical about than myself?

For the same reason I am not very good at highlighting my strengths. So I’ve decided to do a post today about three things I am willing to think I am good at rather than lay into myself (there is enough of that for later when I get back into my school work). Everybody is good at something or another right?

1. Putting on my make-up.
I’m not going to go out there and say I’m brilliant at point on make-up. I lack the practiced knowledge to be something like a make-up professional. Certainly the only person other than myself I’d do make-up on would be my best friend (who seems willing to go out in whatever I put on her face).
However in the non-professional scheme of things I think I do make-up pretty well. Whatever product I will know where on the face it belongs (seems basic but up until 18 months ago this likely wasn’t the case). I can apply all the various types of eye-liner in nice even lines. If I use highlighters and bronzers I don’t end up looking like a shiny bronzed statue.
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2. Bush dancing
I have to put a caveat on this – I can’t do a real waltz to save myself. However I am really good at bush dancing (not to be confused with the Nut Bush). In the dances where you switch partners I am frequently complimented for my dancing abilities.

If you don’t know what a bush dance is. Well first off (and I speak only to fellow Aussies here) if you don’t know what this is, shame on you, go and try it. Secondly try almighty Wikipedia, it has a short article which I’ve looked at – nice and to the point. For some more in depth, actual steps, have a look at the Australian Heritage Dances page.

However bush dancing is an Australian dance style (if you couldn’t guess by ‘bush’ which I believe Australians have sole possession of that word). It is essentially directed dances – whereby the caller with the band provides the directions to the couples (it is mostly couples dancing). It is at its best with a large group of denim jean attired people willing to laugh at themselves and have a good time.

If you can’t tell from that last line, it is a very light hearted affair. No skill required. So how am I good at it? I love a bush dance (not being the most common of activities I’ve only been to 3 or 4). The trick is all in the enthusiasm, and that is something I can do.

Dances like this (though I usually do the Waves of Bondi and the beginning before the waves is a little different with some bowing etc).




3. Reading Upside-Down
I’ll be honest I got to the end of bush dancing, and couldn’t honestly think of a final thing. There’s putting hospital corners in sheets? I’ve already used that one on this blog though. So the last one I present is reading upside down.

One summer in high school I decided that reading 180 page Mills and Boons simply didn’t take enough time. Rather than reading something more challenging (and less interesting) I came up for a solution by turning the book over. Now a book I was able to read in about 2 – 2.5 hours would take me 7. It was a successful concept.

The downside is that practicing anything for too long makes you good at it. By the end of the summer it was only fractionally slower for me to read a book the wrong way up. I would no longer claim quite such a level of super power. However I can still read most things upside down without any conscious effort – and for short pieces of typed writing occasionally without noticing at all.

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