# Hidden Talents



## Ariel (Oct 3, 2015)

It's pretty easy to guess that we're all writers here.  What I want to know about is those hidden talents that aren't quite so obvious.  What do you do well that most people wouldn't expect?  Where did you learn to do this?  Why were you interested in this?

My mom was a beautician and while I can't do my hair to save my life I'm great with make-up.  I've done make-up on two brides now.  My friend Brooke and myself.  (I'm wearing a _lot_ of make-up in that picture.


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## J Anfinson (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm pretty good at fixing anything mechanical. I've rebuilt engines and transmissions even. The only thing I'm not so great at is anything with a lot of computer parts. Electrical troubleshooting is a pain.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Oct 3, 2015)

I taught myself to draw. I mention it more readily online, but in le real world, most people don't even know. I saw my father drawing a face, and I was immediately filled with awe that you could make such shapes with a pen. I  imitated him, and then actually looked up how to draw a face, and ended up surpassing him. 

I learned how to sew. My mother taught me. I make patchwork stuffed animals that resemble scarecrow toys. 

I've always been interested in hair care, and this one is obvious because of this flip I painstakingly place my hair into every morning. I'm quite adept at getting it to behave under any circumstances, and don't have 'bad hair days.' 

I'm very good at arm wrestling, despite my deceivingly thin arms. I threw down everyone else my age (All of my friends, cousins, and anyone else who would arm wrestle me) , and hold my own against many 'strong' adults.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Oct 3, 2015)

I can play the flute - though I haven't in a while. And with that, I can also read music. I am still teaching myself the piano.

I like to say that I am good at make up but I don't really put make up on unless its for special occasions or occasional cat eye. But I do love putting make up on others

Um... I'll post more when I can think of anything else
...


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## Gumby (Oct 3, 2015)

I am very, very good with animals. I just seem to 'get' them. I have some artistic talent, though no where near our Abby's. I am good at most any crafty type of endeavor. I can make most any idea I have into a reality when it comes to that kind of thing.


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## Bruno Spatola (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm a competent beatboxer. I can do all the basics very well, and some more tricky things (like doing beats backwards, singing at the same time, changing time signatures, etc.) I can imitate electric guitars, too. I can do the entire Bohemian Rhapsody/I Want to Break Free guitar solos, or Comfortably Numb, just with my voice, with perfect pitch and all that jazz.

Imitating singers is another thing I can do -- well, before my voice broke I could do a lot more. Sinatra and Nina Simone are the only ones that have stayed within my range.


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## dither (Oct 3, 2015)

And i can only dream.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Oct 3, 2015)

I used to be a halfway decent actor but I never really pursued it. I did get in an amateur film some years back though. Other than that, I guess I'm one of those jack of all trades master of none types.


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## J Anfinson (Oct 3, 2015)

Bruno Spatola said:


> I can do the entire Bohemian Rhapsody/I Want to Break Free guitar solos, or Comfortably Numb, just with my voice, with perfect pitch and all that jazz.



I have an acoustic but I'd make your ears bleed. I used to be able to play a few parts from different songs but I doubt I'd even remember how since it's been years since I messed with it.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Oct 3, 2015)

Small animals fear me. Apparently I have an intimidating presence. 

Small children, however.... love me. 

Babies stop crying when they hear my voice. Toddlers are fascinated by me, follow me around, and want to play with me. 

But I will never father a child, so it's a moot point.


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## Bruno Spatola (Oct 3, 2015)

J Anfinson said:


> I have an acoustic but I'd make your ears bleed. I used to be able to play a few parts from different songs but I doubt I'd even remember how since it's been years since I messed with it.



I'm sure you could dust off the ol' hobby and sharpen your skills! Never too late.

I played the guitar when I could lift one. I learned a dozen or so songs all the way through: Cherub Rock, Killing in the Name Of, Aerials (SOAD), Zero (SP), Stockholm Syndrome, etc. It became more difficult for me as I became weaker. My guitar is gathering dust in one of the bedrooms now, but I had a lot of fun with it while it lasted!

Edit: I'm around the 300th mark worldwide on the video game _Trials Fusion_. Not terrible considering there's a couple million on the list! Add in other versions of the game, and I'd wager I'm truly 500th or 600th or so.


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## Kevin (Oct 3, 2015)

Apparently... I can slightly sing _Smoke on the Water_ (yes, that annoying one... If you were from the seventies it was _every_ teenage coverband's first opus...) My Mil and Wife were impressed: "You know that song, right? Der der derrn, der der de-dern, der der derrrn, de-derrrnnn..."-(and then one verse, possibly with the correct words)  Them: "O--hhh"( in chorus)"...he can sing a little" "wow..."


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## Kyle R (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm a decent chess player. Rated around 2100, hovering just below master level. Occasionally I have spurts of genius/luck where I play stronger than my rating.

I've beaten a few National and International Masters over the years, including three Grandmasters. My first win over a titled player was against Martica Fierro (the then-highest-rated female player in Ecuador) when I was nineteen.

I've thought about trying for a Master title, but I'm too lazy to study and practice. So I mostly just play online for fun now and then. Occasionally an up-and-coming player will pick me apart and remind me that the game is best saved for those who dedicate themselves to it. :encouragement:


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## Bruno Spatola (Oct 3, 2015)

You ever tried 3D chess, Kyle?

As if it wasn't hard enough already, they had to make us idiots feel even more idiotic, ha.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Oct 3, 2015)

mrmustard615 said:


> I used to be a halfway decent actor but I never really pursued it. I did get in an amateur film some years back though. Other than that, I guess I'm one of those jack of all trades master of none types.



Well,  you know how the saying goes.

Jack of all trade,  master of none, but better than a master of one.


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## Darkkin (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm a repository of useless and random information which I retain unintentionally.  I rock at trivia of all sorts.


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## Kyle R (Oct 3, 2015)

Bruno Spatola said:


> You ever tried 3D chess, Kyle?
> 
> As if it wasn't hard enough already, they had to make us idiots feel even more idiotic, ha.



I haven't tried 3D chess, no. My brain would probably explode. Death by confusion. :icon_cheesygrin:


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## Allysan (Oct 3, 2015)

I have a decent head for strategy, making me good at cards and board games. I'm also detail oriented when I choose to be, but I really only put that to use for doing puzzles and my day job. Never for cleaning my house. Nope, never!


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## InstituteMan (Oct 3, 2015)

I used to be pretty good with yo-yos. 

I grew up up on a farm, so I know far more about livestock and farm equipment than people expect.


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## belthagor (Oct 3, 2015)

I am very accurate with my hands.

For example, whenever I pour some drink/water/etc, even into a small bottle, I can hold my hands and wrists steady, I never spill...

How did I learn to do this? -I have no idea.


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## walker (Oct 3, 2015)

Let's see...

Music. Lately that's been piano. Mostly chords, a little improvising.

Fishing, although I go fishing way less than I used to. I wonder if living in Arizona has something to do with that? I spin fish, spin cast, bait cast, fly fish, and in graduate school, I used electrofishers, nets, and a variety of exotic traps from boats and so on. I used to get asked to catch fish for studies that people were having trouble catching. I wonder if that's because I was good at it, or because they didn't want to do the work?

Photography. It's just a hobby really, but I do have some chops. I've done a lot of photography through microscopes.

Animals. My wife calls me the "Cat Whisperer". I'm Steve Irwin-ish with rattlesnakes, alligators, and so on in the wild, with the important exception of not trying to handle any thing--I just try to get close so I can gawk.

Tinkering. I like to do things like take apart my baitcast reels, oil everything, and put them back together. I've probably broken as much stuff as I've fixed that way over the years. I do tinker with computers. I would guess that my current desktop has parts from at least five different computers, going back over ten years. I just replaced the battery in my Mac laptop.

I have some minor coding skills, although my interest and my skills have dropped off a cliff since I regularly did that kind of stuff to calculate statistics and so on. Still, I have some odd skills that I can pull out of the bag to help me process text, etc. I know how to use Linux and Mac (a little bit), in addition to Windows.

I do pretty well in Spanish as a second language. I can read the newspaper online in Ecuador, talk to people, that kind of thing.

There's more, but this is long-ish.


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## Darkkin (Oct 3, 2015)

The faster I move, the better my coordination.  Weird, yes...

I also have excellent fashion sense, not much of a talent.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Oct 3, 2015)

I am good at cutting through logs.

With a machete, not an axe. 

I'm faster with the machete. Axes annoy me.

I also carve out weapon shapes, false wooden blades, and nail them together. 

I've made mallets, greatswords, buster swords, axes... all out of sticks and logs, that I whittled down, chip by chip, with my machete.


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## walker (Oct 3, 2015)

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Well,  you know how the saying goes.
> 
> Jack of all trade,  master of none, but better than a master of one.



Is that anything like, "An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less?"


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## belthagor (Oct 3, 2015)

walker said:


> Let's see...
> 
> Music. Lately that's been piano. Mostly chords, a little improvising.



I like piano as well, maybe we should team up and make something?


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## walker (Oct 3, 2015)

belthagor said:


> I like piano as well, maybe we should team up and make something?



What kind of stuff do you play? This piano thing began when my wife and I rented an old house that had a piano in it. I remembered that I used to play when I was a kid, tried to remember stuff, was awful, and gradually got a little of it back. I went something like twenty-seven years without playing a note. We rescued a dusty Yamaha P-120 off craigslist, and I continued to practice. My repertoire is eclectic. I used to know some classical pieces pretty well. Chopin was my favorite (I can't come close to playing any of his harder stuff, but I could do a few of the preludes, that sort of thing). One of the very few things on my bucket list is to visit Chopin's grave. Lately I just bang chords, anything from Georgia (Hoagie Carmichael) to Loser (Grateful Dead) to Rikki Don't Lose that Number (Steely Dan). I'm sure you get the idea.


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## belthagor (Oct 3, 2015)

I just play online piano, I have a thread in the music section, and posted some stuff in it.

Here is a link to what I feel is my best song
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/569385

If the link does not work, http://belthagor.newgrounds.com/audio/   -click Dad, please put a shirt on.


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## walker (Oct 3, 2015)

belthagor said:


> I just play online piano, I have a thread in the music section, and posted some stuff in it.
> 
> Here is a link to what I feel is my best song
> http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/569385
> ...



Got it. I liked it. One question--what did you play this _on_? It sounds like midi. Did you play the notes from a piano keyboard plugged into a computer, or did you use your computer keyboard to select notes?

Give me a little time. I'll post something in the music section.


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## belthagor (Oct 3, 2015)

walker said:


> Got it. I liked it. One question--what did you play this _on_? It sounds like midi. Did you play the notes from a piano keyboard plugged into a computer, or did you use your computer keyboard to select notes?
> 
> Give me a little time. I'll post something in the music section.



I used my computer keyboard, I don't feel like buying a midi keyboard, too expensive.


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## bazz cargo (Oct 3, 2015)

I can turn off my own hiccoughs with just will power.

I can evict spiders.

I am a world champion contender for artfully bodging.


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## walker (Oct 3, 2015)

belthagor said:


> I used my computer keyboard, I don't feel like buying a midi keyboard, too expensive.



Well, there have been times in my life when even a five or ten dollar keyboard was too expensive.

With that said, almost any of the really cheap Casios that you find in Goodwill or craigslist will work as a midi keyboard. If you live somewhere where that's not true, please disregard this comment. I have been in countries where consumer goods are not as cheap or available second-hand as in the U.S., so I get it.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Oct 3, 2015)

walker said:


> Is that anything like, "An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less?"



Its basically saying being average at multiple things is better than being really good at one thing but being terrible at everything else.


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## BobtailCon (Oct 3, 2015)

I learn things quickly, so I guess..... multi-talented?


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## Lewdog (Oct 3, 2015)

I am really good at annoying people, and exceptional at getting into trouble.


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## Riptide (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm great running, and most anything physical. People sometimes are shocked when I surpass them on a run, or tell them my time - which I brag about all the time... I'm really great with little kids, anyone two or older.

Um... I'm good at talking to people, and I'm pretty sure I'm a superb flirt when it comes down to it.


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## Darkkin (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm freaky good at climbing trees, always have been.


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## Phil Istine (Oct 4, 2015)

I prefer to think of myself as "sound all around", but even that might be over-complimentary.
I can give a reasonable rendition of "you are sh*t, you are sh*t" at the opposition when I go to the football.
  I did take the trouble to do my maths and English GCSEs a couple of years back - this wasn't done when younger because I left school at 15 due to the imminent apocalypse  .  Although it had been 40 years since school, I passed both with top grades.  To put it in perspective, it's an educational level aimed at 16 year olds.  I now give assistance to my friend's 15 year old.

I'm not even sure where I'm at with writing.  I like to play with words, but sometimes struggle to hold my concentration with longer pieces, so the lengthier work has to be done in small sections - smaller sections than most people's I would guess.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Oct 4, 2015)

I can talk to people from anywhere. Older folks, foreign people...I seem to appear approachable, and for some reason always end up having extended conversations with people I have little in common with. This often intrigues passerby, seeing this teenager displaying unusually broad social skills. 

Along those same lines, I don't enjoy male company, as all my friends know. So I have an unusual amount of semi-platonic female friends. This, combined with my height, means I have an odd, 'little sister' way of addressing them, meaning I'm confused as being an older brother more often than not. 

And just like a sibling, I crack jokes and make jabs at people. But they do the same... so, all in good fun.

And, if you mess with my friends, I'll mess you up. ;D


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## Cran (Oct 4, 2015)

I am a specialist magician; I can make food, drink, and money disappear just like >snap!< that. 

I'm a dilettante; I can turn my hand to just about anything as long as the need or interest is there. 

I'm a survivor against the odds ... so far.


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## popsprocket (Oct 4, 2015)

I can turn [strike]grapes[/strike] water into wine.

And, like, walk [strike]near[/strike] on water.


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## JustRob (Oct 4, 2015)

I can juggle with nothing while not dropping anything. That's a talent that's just too well hidden though, maybe.


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## Ariel (Oct 4, 2015)

People have a tendency to confide in me.  They always have.  I had a girl at church confide in me about an abortion she had when I was eight.  I never told anyone about it until now.

I also have a knack for putting names to faces.  It takes me a couple of times unless you have a memorable name but I eventually get it.

I can also, roughly tell the time by the sun.  At least during the summer.


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## Allysan (Oct 4, 2015)

amsawtell said:


> People have a tendency to confide in me.  They always have.  I had a girl at church confide in me about an abortion she had when I was eight.  I never told anyone about it until now.
> 
> I also have a knack for putting names to faces.  It takes me a couple of times unless you have a memorable name but I eventually get it.
> 
> I can also, roughly tell the time by the sun.  At least during the summer.




when you were 8?! What a way to corrupt a child! Ack! I suppose I knew of worse things at that age though...


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## Darkkin (Oct 4, 2015)

I'm ridiculously reliable and usually the first person someone calls when they need a hand.

I can also navigate extremely well in total darkness.  Unless I'm reading, I rarely turn on a light, if I don't have to.


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## Ariel (Oct 4, 2015)

Allysan said:


> when you were 8?! What a way to corrupt a child! Ack! I suppose I knew of worse things at that age though...


I've always been very serious and quiet.  I've always had people tell me things that were beyond my maturity level because of that.  Kilroy can tell you--I don't often laugh during comedies even if I find them funny.


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## kilroy214 (Oct 4, 2015)

It's unsettling.


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## walker (Oct 4, 2015)

amsawtell said:


> I can also, roughly tell the time by the sun.  At least during the summer.



That is an awesome skill to have.

I can _not_ tell time by the sun, here in Arizona.

When I lived on the equator, it was easy. The son rose at 6 A.M. and set at 6 P.M., 365 days a year. It was directly overhead (as in, no shadows!) at 12 noon. It was easy to interpolate from those values.

Here, I'm lost, unless by "roughly" you mean within 3 or 4 hours. :smile:


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## Ariel (Oct 4, 2015)

I mean within half an hour.  I do get thrown off by daylight savings time though.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Oct 4, 2015)

People watching.

I can quite unusually judge a book by it's cover, and roughly 60% of the time, be correct, or very close. 

This skill is useless however, and only good for cruel comedy, laughing when I'm discovered to be correct.


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## Dreamer (Oct 4, 2015)

...

Before getting sick due to my doctor's stupidity - thought I had the "flu" - I was into theatre. Partook in two plays. That same sickness damaged my voice a bit, so singing down the drain. 

I am capable of adapting a number of accents depending on the situation - I sound Canadian on average [bullying as a child], however, I can pull upon my native British / Irish tanged accent as well as speak with a European accent and even adopt a believable southern drawl. 

I know how to fly a plane [either Piper or Cessna - with or without pontoons (water skis)] and can field strip a military C7 rifle in well under 2 minutes. 

I was on a national shooting team and have a 98% accuracy with pistol, 96% with rifle - even when moving. Despite being 5'3" and female I have worked in a dangerous locations, including but not limited to armoured cash truck as a driver. 

I learn new computer programs/systems with a rather alarming ease. 

"Gift of the gab" as they say - I can get pretty much anyone to talk. A few months ago, for example, I parked behind a nasty looking guy with a Camaro. He wasn't going to talk - arms crossed in the universal buzz off location and a scowl on his face. In under 10 minutes I learnt his name and that the Camaro was a 2014; his wife had bought it and paid CASH for the $58,000 vehicle as a present for his 50th birthday and that he was a GMC sales manager.


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## Darkkin (Oct 4, 2015)

I can take a seemingly random collusion of information and other sundry bits of thought and actually make something cohesive out of it.  Information hotdish!


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## TheWonderingNovice (Oct 4, 2015)

I can figure out most Whodunnit shows quickly - if that counts.

I can go unnoticed most of the time at work or other areas - makes me feel like a cameleon 

I can look at an almost empty pantry or fridge and cook up a pretty decent meal but I think that's just an adaptation


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## Kevin (Oct 5, 2015)

I once landed a high lob at about 75 yards from the dark with a dirt-clod about the size of a hand grenade. The kid let out an "OOF!" right before he dropped, and I thought I'd killed him. Thank god it only hit him in the chest, not the top of the head. It was a helluva shot, but I'll never do that again (I was a teen) (unless absolutely necessary). I did apologize, profusely, and he was okay, but it must've been something to be standing there and then something out of nowhere *wham* drops you... I still feel bad.


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## TipGrundlefunk (Oct 5, 2015)

I don't really have any talents but incredible things do seem to happen to me. 

I've been in a big Hollywood film (as an extra)
I met Michael Gambon and shared a cigarette with him in a car park in Brentford (the actor who played the second Dumbledore)
I taught Annabella Sciorra some phrases in cockney rhyming slang
I've played the 12 string guitar that was used to write and record the Moody Blues song, Nights in White Satin
Terry Gilliam defaced my cinema ticket when I went to see John Cleese's film, Fierce Creatures in Leicester Square
Johnny Vegas signed my cigarette packet when I went to see The Fixx in London - he also took my mobile and spoke to my friend at the time who wouldn't stop squealing down the phone at him
I had a pint of beer with Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd


None of this I planned or set out to do, they just happened to me.

Tip


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## bluemidget (Oct 5, 2015)

I play the banjo a bit... I like a game or two of backgammon. I love chess but am pretty awful he he


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## Mesafalcon (Oct 6, 2015)

I'll kick anyone's ass here on the old Street Fighter 2 arcade machine (or Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition).

I speak fluent Japanese too　(been living in Tokyo for 9 years and studied about 6 before I ever even got here)...

 日本語を話せる！


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## No Cat No Cradle (Oct 6, 2015)

I taught myself to play guitar...Whether I am good or not is up to personal opinion...
I can read upside down fairly easily (not sure if someone has said this already lol)
I consider myself rather good at balancing objects of weird shapes (would constantly stand coins up on their sides in highschool...)


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## midnightpoet (Oct 6, 2015)

Clumsy oaf that I am, I never thought I would be a good handyman; however, having it forced on me because of lack of funds, I've found I'm not bad at it.  Plumbing (Installed commode, fixed leak in underground water pipe - oh, I'm also good at digging holes in the ground).  Carpentry (made hook type shelf out of 2x4's to set 2x4's on; built outdoor deck/porch).  Fence building (built fence - although I ruined an auger in the process).  I also converted the spare bathroom into a storage closet, built a lot of shelves and took out a lot of trash.  The last may be my claim to fame.:icon_joker:


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