Last week I wrote a scathing open letter to Good Morning America after they did an “interview” potraying Internet celeb Jenna Marbles in a not-so-kind light. One example of why I love Jenna so much is that she comes off as confident and comfortable in her own skin. Her most recent video, Things I’m Awesome At, lists some of the not-so-ordinary things that she’s really good at, and encourages her fans to make lists of their own and post them in a place that they’ll be able to see them easily when they’re feeling sad.
I’ve been really stressed out lately. This coming week, I have finals (if you know me, you know the mere mention of the word “test” is enough to make me run for the special stomach-flu bucket), and my oldest cat Angel has surgery scheduled to clean and possibly extract two of her teeth. I’ve had to manipulate my work schedule so that I can take time off for Angel’s vet appointments (because of her age, she’ll be having a round of pre-op labs to make sure that she won’t have adverse affects to anesthetic), and I’m feeling stretched incredibly thin. So, with a rough week up ahead, I thought it might be a really good time to make myself a pick-me-up list of my abilities. So, I present to you, Things I’m Awesome At.
Googling Things
Is ‘googling’ a verb? Well, it should be, because I freaking rock at looking things up on Google. If you need to know something, and it is present anywhere on the Internet, you bet your ass I will find that shit for you. People text me and instant message me all the time, asking me if I know things. Need to know when the post office closes? I can find that for you! Want to know the calories in a Dairy Queen mini Cookie Dough blizzard? I’ve got that right here (I’m not going to put it in this post though, because trust me….you don’t want to know. Just eat the thing and enjoy it). I think my amazing Google search skills may have come from my job doing directory assistance. I learned to isolate the key words and phrases in order to find the information I wanted, and to find it quickly. Or maybe I was just born with fabulous Internet-information-finding skills. Whatever the origin of my gift, as long as I have access to the Internet, I will be able to Google myself into or out of anything I please.
Remembering Phone Numbers and Addresses
The other day, Paul and I went to Petsmart. As we were checking out, the clerk ringing me up asked if I had a reward card. I’d lost the little card ages ago, but I told her I had a phone number and rattled off my old California home phone number. “I can’t believe you remembered that,” Paul had said to me as we walked through the parking lot. See, I have a mind like a steel trap for phone numbers. I also retain addresses. I could still tell you every address of everywhere I have ever lived, with the exception of the house I was born in (we moved away from there before I was old enough to remember much of anything). My knack at remembering phone numbers far predates my employment at the phone company: I still remember a fourteen-year-old me, in the backseat of my parents’ car, rattling off the realtor’s phone number for my mom as we were house-hunting. Of course, this may be a dying skill, because nowadays I just enter people’s phone numbers into my cell phone and never look at the actual number in the contact again. But any number that I physically dial, I will remember.
Making Ordinary Things Sound Dirty
Ever seen one of those bumper stickers that say, “If it weren’t for the gutter, my mind would be homeless”? Well….yeah. That’s me. Call it immaturity, but I just think I have a way with words. If you’re telling me about your wood, your bush, or how long something is….I’m probably going to giggle and I may even reply to whatever you’ve said with , “Heh, you said *insert word I’m making dirty*”. Luckily, most of the people I choose to be in the company of, appreciate this skill or have it themselves. Yes, it may be slapstick humor at best, but if I’m going to do it, at least I ROCK it.
Making Random, Senseless Music Playlists
When I was growing up, my parents primarily listened to country music, and although I tried to deny this part of myself for years, the truth is that I do enjoy some of the artists and songs. To go to the complete other side of the spectrum, I went through a brief semi-Goth phase during my first semester of college, during which I painted my nails black, wore all-black clothing, and tested the limits of the speakers in my ’99 Mustang as I blasted metal as high as I could stand to listen to it. In the middle are several other non-related musical genres that I have loved: my high school obsession was with the Backstreet Boys, my brother got me into Green Day, and in my twenties I fell head-over-heels in love with Pink. Now, all my varied tastes are incorporated into my iTunes library, and even though I’m getting better about making playlists grouping artists whose sounds are alike, there still remains a large variety when I hit Shuffle. Would Metallica be happy knowing that as soon as they play the last strains of Wherever I May Roam, that I will be belting out a Carrie Underwood song? I don’t know, but listeners beware: my playlists are eclectic. You’ve been warned.
Making Delicious Desserts
I wouldn’t say I necessarily suck at cooking. I haven’t put enough effort into it during my lifetime to know whether or not I suck at it. I do know that I don’t particularly enjoy it, and since I was lucky enough to find a boyfriend that does, I’ve pretty much managed to stay out of the kitchen during meal preparations.
Surprisingly enough, even though cooking does absolutely nothing for me, I looooove to bake. I used to really enjoy making cookies or brownies after school when I was younger, and that passion was reignited when cupcake places became trendy. Paul and I have sampled quite a few different cupcakes from different bakeries, and a couple years ago I thought, hey, I can do this. So I started whipping up cupcakes and taking them to work. Paul indulged me and bought me a really nice Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas so that I could do my baking. Then I sort of drifted away from the hobby as Paul and I began watching what we ate, and I stopped baking until last fall, when I discovered Pinterest. At first I had no clue what the point of the site was, but then I had an aha moment when I found that I could pin recipes for desserts. For some reason, I was instantly drawn to the cookies. There are just so many cool ideas out there! I resumed my baking hobby as the weather turned cold, and have produced some really fantastic treats. I’ve made pumpkin spice thumbprints, red velvet cookies, Andes mint cookies, cake batter cookies…the list goes on and on (I’ve taken pictures as I do the recipes, but I rarely getting around to actually posting them on my blog…I need to get better at that).
Well, that’s probably a good start to a list of things I’m awesome at. I’m posting it here not only to brag (I am bragging just a little) but also to have it nearby if I ever feel sad and need to look at it for encouragement.
What things are you awesome at?