Special Talent

I had a conversation this afternoon that got me thinking. My boss and I were chatting about things we're good at and he asked what my special talent was. And it threw me completely for a loop. I sat there dumbfounded. I struggled to think of something that I'm really fantastic at or something which surprises me about myself. I stammered out an answer that somewhat makes sense to me: I'm awfully good at telling stories. I make them up daily and tell them to myself, often in the car. But I rarely write them down.

But as I was driving home I started thinking about the things I'm good at. I'm a decent writer and an exceptional reader. I'm great at writing academic papers (a talent that's underused outside of academia). I'm a fairly decent knitter and I'm working to improve. I can juggle although not always with grace. And that's when it hit me.

I'm a terrific zombie. Being a zombie is my special talent. Now you're probably wondering how often one gets to use a talent like that. And I would have to answer every time my nephews and niece come to town. Our favorite game is to chase either other with Nerf guns or swords. Almost inevitably sometime during the game I will get killed. And then it's my turn to shine. I drag my left foot behind me (not a tough task for me), contort my face into a hideous expression (also not hard), and make a horrible guttural moan that has them running and screaming. I normally chase them until my voice gives out or until I get the magic kiss that turns me back human again. And then they beg me to start over.

So that's it. I'm a decent writer, storyteller, reader, juggler, knitter, and paper writer. But I'm an incredible zombie. Luckily this kind of talent has longevity. Who knows I may come back as a even better one. I've had a lot of practice.

What's your special talent?

Poetry Sunday

I know it's supposed to be Poetry Friday but I was going through some old files and found an old poem of mine. I wrote this back in college and was pretty proud of it then. I'm not sure what I think about it now. But thought I'd share some older work.

Conversation

Half a minute

of stagnant silence

becomes an eternity

of waiting.

Rustling nervously,

you toy with the menu

and a nearly empty coffee cup.

Thoughts race
through my mind.

What should I mention?

What should I say?

Just two strangers,

waiting for a train,

of thought.

You flip open the menu

for the fiftieth time,

and comment

on the Eggs Benedict,

hoping to catch a spark.

I hate eggs I say,

and you laugh.

We’re here

for breakfast you know.

I drop my eyes

and the topic dies.

You pour sugar

into another cup of coffee.

And finally,

you grow bored

of drinking.

Stand,

sigh

and leave.

Playing With Skype

When I was raiding regularly with the guild, one of my favorite parts was the ability to talk over VOIP system Ventrillo. I enjoyed raiding before Vent but after we got the chance to talk to each other I was hooked. Not only did raiding become quicker but it offered a more personal opportunity to get to know my guildmates. We would crack jokes that we would never had written out. We quoted movie lines. And we generally had a ton of fun.

I've been missing raiding with the guild although strangely I don't miss playing WoW at all. More than anything I miss the people. Raiding for me was always about handing out with my friends in the guild and less about actually killing anything. I've been hesitant to go back though. I know how much time the game involves.

But the experience with Ventrillo got me interested in other VOIP systems. So when a friend and I started writing emails that took a couple hours to actually write (that long), we moved our conversations over to the phone. But I don't have a ton of minutes and neither does he so we decided a couple weeks ago that I would get a Skype account. For those of you who don't know Skype is a Voice Over Internet Protocol system (VOIP). Basically it is a phone service through your computer. If I am logged on and you know my account name you can call me. And here's the best part. It's free. I'm actually more surprised that people aren't using this system in droves. It's great for free marathon phone conversations. Well I had signed up weeks ago and then didn't do anything with it. I just haven't had time at night to talk. These past couple weeks I'm hardly ever home. And last night we decided, after an hour on the phone, to see how the system worked.

I have to say that compared to Ventrillo, Skype is so much easier and cheaper (Ventrillo charges a small monthly fee). There was no push to talk. There was no loss of connection or log offs. We just got a chance to talk. I used my headset but a built in microphone worked just fne. I could sit on the computer and work on drawing while I talked or sit on the floor and play with the cat. With the headset my hands were free. And one of these nights (when a major baseball game isn't on) I'll unplug the headset and just use the computers mic. Then I can wander throughout the living room and talk. For a free service, this is just incredible. Free phone service! Now I just have to get the rest of my family to get an account.