Ever found you have a previously undiscovered talent in something?

breakstuff

Not so much a talent, but after doing manual labour all my working life, including working as a shelf filler in supermarket, a warehouseman, a drayman and then as a coldstore operative, two weeks ago I started work as a stock administrator, totally office based. A knackered spine has forced the issue, but it turns out I'm pretty damn good at it. A total culture shock, but it'll do me fine until I retire in sixteen (hopefully) years time. The hardest part has been my re-introdution to Windows 10. I forgot how much I hated it when it first came out. 

jonnyburgo

Sambostar said:

Axe Throwing.

I'II just go through the backstory.  Lol.  Went with my parents over to some little town in the former East Germany to see my sister who was working over there, dating her future American husband, who was stationed over there.  Anyway, all five of us go into this Crystal shop and the head lady in the shop says to my mum,  God bless her,  'You could be German', then she turns to my dad 'You could be German', turns to my soon to be brother in law 'You could be German' then turns to my sister and says 'You too, you could be German'.  Anyway, by this stage I'm already feeling like the twelfth man in a teenage football selection.  So she looks me right in the eyes and says  'YOU.....YOU are DEFINITELY NOT GERMAN!'.

Anyway, later that night I found out there was a former death camp just 12 miles up the road.

So the next day we go to this Christmas fair and I am feeling something between the hump and the fear of death, although in retrospect, she probably just meant Bjorn Borg, but anyway.

So we get to this Christmas Fair and they've got these German things like Pole laths and German versions of Draw knives, all manner of crafts and all sorts of people dressed up in medieval gear and no end of strapping Germanic Sassenach all giving me the evil eye, when I could quite easily drink them under the table without any of the unnecessary aggro. 

So, making our way through the medieval Bratwurst smoke, we arrive at an axe throwing board hosted by these even bigger Bavarian looking types, who again look at me, resembling some weird kind of Dave Mustaine and immediately give me evils.  Instant dislike on their part I sensed.

So I wait my turn whilst all the punters' axes are pinging off the board, I only thought it fair to let my future brother in law have a go first, since competitive Americans can do everything better, not that I had a choice.  In fairness he got one stick.

Then, it was my go.  I calmly received the three axes handed to me and then with a completely laid back composure proceeded to throw the first axe.  It stuck deep in the heart of the German bullseye,  as did the second and then as did the third.   All with absolutely no effort at all.   Then I looked straight into the eyes of these two Bavarian types who's jaws were hanging and gave them this look which I can only describe as 'This is why we won the war'. 

Although in retrospect, they were probably just thinking 'There goes that weird pissed Englander who looks a bit like Dave Mustaine'.

Just another boring Tuesday in Sambo's world. 

ThePrettyDamned

My brain can remember detailed, complex processes after only doing them once.

But only if it found the result or the process interesting. It's been useful for work, for sure, but sometimes I forget it's not normal and have to remind myself not to expect others to just remember that thing we did together a few years ago that one time. 

TheMarlin said:

Archer and shooting.  I have a natural feel for it, very accurate. Neve bothered doing anything with it.  I do go shooting when I’m in the USA though, at a range. 

That's so cool. I'd love to have a proper go at archery. 

phil_b

I did see a weight loss program once where a very overweight American lad was invited to a sports University for some tests on his health. Turned out he had better genetics for sports than most of the USA Olympic team but could not run 50 yards because he was so overweight. 

Wazmeister

Ive found out, late in life, Im pretty proficient at spending money on pedals..

ToneControl

I met someone at work who took up archery in her 30s, and only a few years afterwards only just missed the cut for the olympic team (pretty sure it wasn't a tall tale)

Rob1742

I am shit at everything. I honestly don’t know how I get by.  I once did an incredible lion impression at Twycross Zoo. The missus reminds me of it often, but as much as I try, I can’t replicate it. 

DB1

I’m desperately trying to dredge something up here, but it’s a bit tricky as I couldn’t even tie my shoelaces until I was ten, so talent is a thing that’s passed me by, more or less, although I was exceptionally good at spelling at an early age. And mimicking regional accents.

But I would say that the one true talent that I have is the ability to do a very realistic impression of a dog being sick.

Neill

Some years ago I was doing some work in a house for an elderly woman, well into her 90's, and I couldn't help noticing the wonderful watercolour paintings on the walls.  When I enquired who the artist was she told me the story of how, long after she had retired, she had decided to have a go at drawing and painting and discovered that she was not only good at it, she was actually outstandingly good.  All these fabulous paintings were her own work.  

When I asked how could such a talent have gone undiscovered for so long she explained that her father had actively prevented her and her sisters doing any form of art, in favour of learning a "proper" trade.  A bit of family history research revealed that her father was originally a freelance artist, no doubt with lofty aspirations, but had spent his early adult years in semi poverty trying to scrape a living from painting pub signs, and murals in draughty churches.  He concealed his talent from his daughters his entire life to avoid them being tempted to go down the same route. 

The lady concerned was well into her 80th decade before she realised she had this natural ability and my first reaction was how tragic, but she saw it totally different - it had given her a new lease of life, just at the point when many folk assume their lives are completed - literally a gift from God she said.

She kindly gave me a picture of a dog rose she had done recently, which is hanging on my sitting room wall and it's there partly to remind me we have to keep trying new things, you never know what you might be capable of.   

Personally I won't be trying axe throwing, mind.
  

chillidoggy

Many years ago I became highly proficient at wanking. Having discovered this new talent, I did it anywhere I thought I could get away with it.

The talent has however waned over the years.

Brio

Abuse it or lose it.

ThePrettyDamned

Wazmeister said:

Ive found out p, late in life, Im pretty proficient at spending money on pedals..

I find it inspiring.

Your reviews are excellent. Seriously. 

TeleMaster

I'm reaaaaally good at catching things, and reacting to things falling and catching them. 

There's a fabled story among my group of friends where someone threw a cigarette at me from across the room and I caught it in my fingers without even looking up. 

Not sure how useful it is in the real world, but I don't drop stuff. 

thecolourbox

TeleMaster said:

I'm reaaaaally good at catching things, and reacting to things falling and catching them. 

There's a fabled story among my group of friends where someone threw a cigarette at me from across the room and I caught it in my fingers without even looking up. 

Not sure how useful it is in the real world, but I don't drop stuff. 

Strangely I feel my reflexes have improved over the last few months, caught quite a few things that were bound to smash on the floor in a split second reaction. Our kitchen is quite untidy because of being here all the time so stuff gets knocked over a lot.

Tannin

Plastering. I'm hopeless with plasterboard (the stuff the Yanks call drywall, not sure what it's called in the UK), but hand me a hawk and a trowel and I'll very happily make a nice straight wall out of nothing. And thoroughly enjoy doing it, for some reason. I dunno, starting with a pile of sand and a bag of cement and a bucket of water and making a solid three-dimensional object which will last for a hundred years with nothing but your hands and a few simple tools is curiously satisfying.

RandallFlagg

I am not very good at anything except having low self esteem

rogd

Sleeping.

Trude

I can do this:



...but I've never found a use for it.

phil_b

Trude said:

I can do this:



...but I've never found a use for it.

Is it a chord shape? 

Neill

Back in the 1980's I shared an office with a guy who could name the capital city of every country in the world, on demand.  It became a daily ritual, we used to try and catch him out, by finding obscure East European or African countries, but we never did.  

He said he never set out to memorise this information (why would you?) and could never adequately explain how it came about, and of course it was of no practical use whatsoever, apart from being a neat party trick.  What made it even weirder was his memory in every other aspect was completely unremarkable.