Things that you are supposed to know about but don't.

[DoItForTheDucks]

Does anyone else feel completely lost when their hairdresser asks them what they want done with their hair? I've no idea beyond Please cut it, preferably with scissors and not garden shears and stop cutting before the point where I start to resemble a rather more elephantine Bruce Willis. They throw all these hairdressing jargon at me and I've no idea what any of it means. I look them up occasionally then immediately forget.

Likewise interior design. I have no idea what looks good with what and which colours complement each other. It is a complete mystery to me. I know that colour wheels exist but I'm none the wiser for them. I'd love to have an innate sense of style but it's never going to happen.

Finally. Jeans. There are so many types of them. Boyfriend, girlfriend, Mom, Step Brother, Ex MIL, Postman's wife etc. How do you know the difference?

What everyday things baffle you?

Bitcoins - What are they????

I can't do make up or thenair in tyres either.

DIY has slightly improved during lockdown out of necessity but I still have to look on YouTube first!

I don't really understand anything about internet speeds, virus protection, uploading videos, conference calls etc and try to avoid such tasks as much as possible. Again lockdown has forced me to do some of these things for work.

@Mamette I learned quite recently that the number that they were supposed to be inflated to was just inside the little door that you open when putting the petrol in.
It was 30 for my car.
I bought an inflator device from Argos that plugs in to the cigarette lighter thing and is quite easy to do. Just one button to press. I've been driving 9 years can't believe it took me so long to master this 😂

Oh god the hairdresser. Conversation last week.

HD: What do you want?
Me: I would like X
HD: You can’t have that, you have the wrong type of hair
Me: OK, how about Y?
HD: No, you have the wrong type of hair
Me: OK, what do you suggest?
HD: Well you can have what ever you want. What do you want?
Me: I’d like Z
HD: No, you have the wrong type of hair
Me: Can you suggest something that would work for my hair
HD: Well it depends what you want. What do you want?
Me: ...

She actually did a good cut in the end but that was a frustrating conversation!

Car maintenance. You change the oil? At some point?

It's the same for me with the hairdresser! Every time when they ask what I would like done to it, "Uhhhh...". I have to say I don't understand the 'technical terms'!

Cars - I don’t recognise even the most basic/common car makes let alone a ‘good’ one.

Often we’ll be driving and dh and all 3 ds’s heads will spin round to ooh and ahh over what appears to me to be a fairly ordinary car. Conversation then goes:

Me: So is that a good one?

Dh and boys: Oh Em Gee, how don’t you KNOW, it’s a Tesla Sport GTI Max 3456 plus and it’s worth £200k!

Me: Oh. Nice. I don’t like the colour though 😂

I’m pretty good on world geography but English counties I find completely baffling. I’m from Manchester, Greater Manchester. When you ask someone where they’re from and they say something like Sussex or Oxfordshire or Lincolnshire, I have no idea where these places are.

Also my colleagues can spend a whole lunch hour discussing acrylic vs gel nails and I don’t know what they’re talking about.

TBH, I'm thankful about this, but I have very little clue if I or anyone else has put on or lost weight or not, unless it's very dramatic or what on earth an extra 5lbs or whatever looks like or means at all.

Different types of coffee, no idea how to put air in my tyres and although I understand my own mortgage I just nod when people start talking about transferring mortgages and anything beyond my own straightforward one.

I don't know how you know when the petrol thing is full. Apparently it will just stop letting you put more in but I still avoid filling the car up myself if I can, incase it bursts.

I can't tell size/space at all, for anything.

I don't understand pensions. I hope one day the pension companies will just pay me.

I don't understand gardening. I have a big garden which I am trying to make nice, I have watched videos, bought books, posted on here but I just don't have the 'feel' for it. My mum and nan just know what plants are, when to cut them, when veg is ready to pick, how deep and wide to plant (see above my issue with size, I have to measure the depth of holes in soil because the RHS website says plant 1 inch deep and I'm non the wiser)

Lottery tickets. Sometimes I think I'd quite like to buy one but I have no idea how. There seem to be so many to choose from, how do you even name which one you want? And how much do different ones cost? And then what do you do?! What are all those little stands for in the newsagent?! Do you have to tell the cashier your numbers there and then??

Yes to make up and hair.

I can't do excel, just do a spreadsheet - er no!

Also accessories, am I supposed to wear a necklace /bracelet? Who knows, also what are broaches for and how do you know what colours to wear??

Why they can't just print more money. I know it's about inflation or something but it makes my head hurt trying to understand it.

How to apply make up.
Anything to do with hair - hair cuts, styling it, products.
How to get to places - luckily this everyone now due to gps. Before gps everyone (else) seemed to just get in the car and drive to where ever they wanted to go without needing directions.

Also history generally. I am an intelligent person with a good career but I know I have so many gaps in my general knowledge about history, which I always hope I won't embarrass myself with. To be fair at school we stopped it at 13! Ditto for Royal Family... I couldn't tell you the first thing about who is who.

Getting nails done. I've never had them done before, once I thought I'd go and try it, the menu of options was so long and confusing I just walked out. Do I want gel, shellac, etc, I dunno, just make there be colour in my nails.

@mamette look inside your driver's door or gas cap - there's a chart for what pressure you need for your model's front and back tyres (to tell your helper/slave)

@dementedma you want an americano with cold milk!

I don't know how to blow dry my hair with a brush and dryer with only two hands (feels like you need three)

Make up. Am 43 and to this day have never worn foundation or concealer and when people talk about contourong, l literally have no idea what they mean

@Afwan cash! Withdraw Straight into your bank account

How to change oil and screenwash in a car. No idea

Gardening and recognising names of plants/flowers in general

How to clean my oven.

Any and all of the car maintenance stuff. No clue how to add water, oil, screen wash etc or pump up the tyres. I have to check which side the petrol goes in before leaving for the garage every time I have to fill it up. It’s like a mental block now. I come out in a cold sweat the minute I think I might have to do something with the car other than basic driving.

@whatisheupto have you tried history101 on Netflix?