Things that most people can do and I can't

[billycat321]

I can't-
Send or receive texts (don't have a mobile phone)
Change a wheel
Do self service at checkouts
Do 'pay at pump' at petrol stations
But I can-
Grow potatoes
Darn a hole in the elbow of a jumper
Sing the tenor part of The Messiah
Make and repair clothes
Embroider

Anyone else not quite fit into the 21st century?

I can't ..
Manage to have all the rooms in my house clean and tidy at once
Tell the time without really thinking about it
Find my way out of a doctor's surgery, hospital, pretty much any building with multiple rooms,.once I've entered it. I lose all sense of direction
Use keys easily.

Swim a length
Apply false eyelashes
Visualise anything to do with redecoration or furniture or renovation
Remember film plots

I can.....
Navigate well when outdoors
Map read
Manage multi million complex projects at work
Deal with life threatening emergencies in a calm manner
Bore you with facts about everything I am vaguely interested in.
Read and digest complex documents very fast
Give birth quickly (limited number of uses for that skill but it has served me well)

I can't
swim
ride a bike
whistle
click my fingers
blow up a balloon (by mouth)
drive a manual gearbox

Can..
Guess the time to within about a minute
Tell when a timer is nearly up, without thinking about it or attempting to count, to within around 10 seconds
Predict song lyrics without having head the song before
Build flat pack furniture
Name.many random.sport.facts from the 80s and 90, including entire squad listings
Sing far.too many song lyrics including the entirety of Joe le taxi by Vanessa Paradise, despite not having heard them for 30 or 40 years.

Can't...
Use Google maps
Change a light bulb
Understand the rules of cricket.

You are me

Are you a man? Why are you singing the tenor part?

I can't...
Drive a manual
Dive
Ski/skate/roller skate/be confident or safe on a bike
Recognise people until I've met them many times
Clap in time
Grow sweet peas
Visualise anything in my head
Hear a tune in my head
Mimic accents
Whistle
Crochet
Bell ring

But I can...
Guess the time accurately 95% of the time
Paint watercolours
Speak many languages
Solve cryptic crosswords
Cook
Untangle necklaces
Catch a ball
Put in contact lenses without a mirror.

Me too!

I can't teach my child to swallow them because I can't. (At least I can only swallow the really small ones). And honestly if it came to her swallowing tablets it would make me really nervous. She's still on Calpol. But I realise most adults can swallow
Presumably they must learn as a teenager?

Cooking rice is really, really, easy. Believe me, if I can do it anyone can. I've never understood why anyone would buy a rice cooker to do such a simple thing.

I can’t look at a parking meter/vending machine and know exactly what to do
i can’t fix anything mechanical or electrical
I can’t wall paper
i cant walk my dog (health reasons)
I can’t ride on coaches without being sick
I can’t go on any ride that spins

i can read a full novel in a couple hours
i can name all 197 counties on our planet and know where they are and what they boarder
i can stay calm when our son meltsdown
i can complete crosswords with little difficulty

I also can’t recognise people I’ve met many times before, (worse if I see them out of context) I can’t see pictures in my head either and I’ve only just realised this but I can’t hear a tune !!. I have a loud internal monologue though.

Yes, I think a few people need to add "Can't read and interpret simple information" to their lists.

I can't drive or turn myself upside down (i.e. do a handstand etc.). Or keep plants alive. Or sustain a romantic relationship.

I don't remember it being something I had to learn. I mean pretty much everyone knows how to swallow. Just use plenty of liquid (doesn't necessarily have to be water) and make sure the tablet isn't too far forward in your mouth.

Another who can't poach an egg but is otherwise an excellent cook.
Cannot follow Google maps but give me an OS map and compass and we won't get lost.
Can't do a cartwheel or backwards roll.

I can send and receive texts without a phone.
I know how to change a wheel but I physically can't.
I have grown potatoes.
I know how to darn, make clothes and embroider (I can also crochet, knit, make lace and tapestry).

I can't click my fingers.
I can't whistle.

I have to say I feel enormously better after reading your post. I can all of those things!

But I can’t do loads of things. I can’t swim. I can’t clean a house very well.

But I could always learn.

Life is good!!😁

Regarding swallowing tablets: fill the glass up to the very brim and try then. It doesn’t matter how big the glass is. It must be up to the brim.

I can swallow anything, I can swallow cola bottles whole. The thread is really making me feel great! Thanks so much x

Ooh I’d love that skill !
Can’t play the piano but then again I’ve never had lessons 🤣

If it that simple for me I think I'd have mastered it by now 🙄

The thing I could never do, not well anyway, was my 3 daughter’s hair tied up in any way. I’m a perfectly practical competent person but putting a ponytail in my daughter’s hair was something I never quite mastered !
I remember taking one of them to a ballet exam with her hair all over the place and another mum scraping it all back and practically glueing it on to her head while I looked on helplessly 🤣. Mind you, ballet hair is pretty extreme!

Sadly I've never really put it to use much & I also can't read music....! But I could learn no doubt if I could be bothered!

Same. Never learned as a child, tried as an adult but can only really go in a straight line on the flat.

I flipping hate Google Maps, especially when walking. I'm sure it is set to purposely change its mind halfway through navigation

But then I admit I do have absolutely no sense of direction

My DS' party trick is to casually swallow pills with barely a tiny sip of water. He knows I struggle and it's a huge thing for me so he thinks its hilarious. I remember the first time I had to give him a pill, I was so nervous.... he just casually popped it in his mouth and down it went!

Good thing too as he's on ADHD meds and suffers terribly with hayfever so takes anti histamines most days!

@ConnieHeart I can follow google maps for directions but if I want to be able to visualise where I am, I need a paper map or, at the very least, google maps on a full size computer screen. I think it's too small to undertand the context, which can mess with your brain and if, like me, you learnt to navigate originally by looking at the big picture, the small google maps thing can be a bit tricksy.

My dad was a professional navigator and he hates google maps!

Round tablets make me gag. I need caplets and swallow them with food, not water. I find that dates work well as tablet vehicles.

I don’t need any water to swallow tablets either!! All this time I could have been boasting about this skill and I didn’t even know it was a talent. I’m absolutely delighted with myself now 😁