Let's be positive too - what simple thing are you totally excellent at?

[clary]

I love the thread about stuff you cannot do (I can't draw, or spell broccoli) but wanted to flip it; so what random talent do you have that sets you apart?

I am excellent at untying knots - tightly pulled wet trainer laces? Not an issue. Tangled necklace chain? LEAD ME TO IT it's so satisfying.

I am also oddly skilled at doing random maths (percentages and fractions) and understanding the rules of English punctuation (when to use a semi-colon). That last one is my job tho tbf so it's just as well.

What about you?

Wish I was good at some of these things! I am not practically minded at all.

I guess mine are relating well to children. Meeting new children and being able to form a rapport and quickly make them feel at ease is part of my job.

Quick at typing. Best jacket potato maker according to my husband 😂

I am excellent at opening champagne bottles and unblocking toilets. So far, I have never found a champagne bottle I couldnt open or a toilet I couldnt unblock.

Two rather handy life skills I think.

Typing - I'm super fast after years of essays as a teenager/I I student and now 10 years into my career :-)

My grandfather manager told me that I gave the best presentation he's ever seen, and has asked me to develop a presentation training module, to deliver at regular intervals.

Knowing the time without looking at the clock.

Knowing random facts accurately on a wide range of topics - I’m often freaked out myself. I have no idea how I know them or how the thought worm picked them up.

I used to be good at baking but since I lost DH I have lost my baking mojo.

I am brilliant at mending vacuum cleaners.

Anything involving spatial awareness - parking, putting things in other things etc.

Also untangling things (nothing makes me happier than an 'unrecoverable' knotted gold chain).

Niche one, but I can clip ANY horse, even those that normally have to be sedated by the vet. I am known as the Clipping Wizard.

Apparently, I have a really soothing / reassuring voice: as an SME, I record a lot of training demos for work and a few younger colleagues have asked if I've ever considered getting into ASMR YouTube videos.

I'm also an intuitive proofreader - I can look at a page of text and spot any SpAG errors instantly.

I am amazing at cooking rice, but I have no idea why. I don't weigh it or measure it or rinse it or time it. I just bung it in a pan with some water and then usually forget about it, but it always turns out perfectly.

My FIL can calm any crying baby within about 2 minutes. He could make a fortune!

I can take basic skills and re word then to sound impressive. CVs, job applications etc. A colleague calls it my “turd polishing”.

Staying calm in even the most stressful situations.

Keeping my shit together externally when internally I lost it all a long time ago.

Cats and dogs love me. I’m a magnet for four legged furries.

Reversing - which is handy as I live rurally and there are lots of single track roads. It doesn't take much more than a flash of panic to cross the other drivers face and I'm off, straight and fast to the nearest passing place. I'm also excellent at moaning about how people who can't reverse shouldn't drive in the countryside!

I can touch type too - not super quick (about 65 words a minute) but it absolutely amazes people.
I don't use the proper technique either but mine works just fine for me. I was taught by my teacher for the visually impaired, can't remember the exact reasoning but definitely a useful skill to have.
It was great fun when I used to work selling mobile phones though, when I'd be chatting to a customer and doing whatever I needed to on the system without looking at the keyboard.

I don't have children of my own, but could always soothe friends' upset babies. I couldn't actually hand them back, and sometimes couldn't even move, or they'd cry again, but I could get them to stop, and occasionally had one fall asleep on me...

I read faster than anyone I've ever met (and anyone my educational psychologist had ever met). It's proper savant level; I can read a page of A4 in about three seconds. Weird, and no use to me in my current job.

I can't type while holding a conversation but I can touch-type fast and accurately without looking at the keys. No training, but I learned when I had to transcribe a lot - you need to be able to look at the text you're copying rather than your fingers, obviously.

I can always tell when DD is ill/ about to vomit, even if she's asleep or feels fine or whatever. I am especially and illogically proud, because patronising medics tell you this is maternal instinct and something to do with biology (which I think is basically a giant fig-leaf excuse to cover for the fact that biological mums are usually the ones who are expected to notice this stuff, and dads are let off the hook). I'm not DD's bio mum, and have often enjoyed pointing this out.

FWIW I've always known when pets we've had were ill, too - I think I can smell it, but other people tell me they don't smell anything. I assume it's one of those pheremone things.

Directions. Once I’ve been somewhere, I can re-trace the route, I rarely need a sat-nav.

Lasagne. I can knock it up super quickly. White sauce is very easy.

Scrambled eggs!

I can also smell when my kids are poorly.

Anagrams.

I envy you! I cannot cook eggs to save my life.

When I used to knit, people would not believe the item was knitted by hand because the tension was so perfect they thought it was machine produced.

I can cook potatoes to perfection in any way you want without even thinking about it. However, my rice is inedible no matter whose tips/tricks I follow.

I can way more than is physically possible into a car boot. Well, these days I instruct my partner how to fit it all in. For me, it's a real life game of Tetris.

I'm great at parallel parking in tiny spaces and love proving dh wrong when he says "you'll never fit in there."

Also I read really fast (I only discovered this when I realised how long DH takes to read something compared to me.)

Finally I'm a spelling and grammar geek so never struggle with it's/its and other apostrophe related things that seem to cause others difficulties. I even know the difference between affect and effect without having to think about it.

Sarcasm

Lacing trainers, making jacket potatoes and typing constitutionality really quickly

Feeding the masses! Dinner for 60+ doesn't phase me, including catering for intolerances, allergies and preferences. Will be fairly simple, eg curries, lasagne, chilli, but tasty. Seem to have passed this skill on as both DC known for feeding their friends at uni.

Proof reading - never have to redraft my academic writing once I have finished a first draft, unless I need to cut the length. Regularly proof read essays and dissertations for students at our church. (Of course there will be a typo in this post now!)

I'm an excellent navigator, by car or on foot. I had a job which involved travelling and working around the country before the days of sat navs so I can generally find my way around the UK without much planning. I just seem to have an inbuilt sense of direction which is a handy skill.

I ca also create a lovely meal from nothing, and bake from memory.

I joke that I married DH for his omelette making abilities! They are delicious.
I am really good at parallel parking. I can usually fit my car into any tight space, first time with no adjustments needed.
Dd1 is brilliant at remembering things. Tell her something once and she won't forget. This can be helpful but can also be a pain when you say something flippantly and don't want to actually do something!

I love this thread and I have another one.

Pronouncing multisyllabic words like otorhinolaryngologist

My brain knows how to section it up automatically