Good-ish on a Good Day
by Fred Aiken
Not much. But I also have a somewhat self-deprecating personality.
If I’m being honest, then I guess I have a handful of skills and hobbies that I’m good at. I play a lot of chess, so I suppose you could say I’m good at that. Not great. I don’t have the patience or intelligence to be a grandmaster or anything close to that, like an international master or candidate master. But I can hold my own in bullet and blitz matches.
Then there’s also sewing tote bags from coffee burlap jute. I started making tote bags from the coffee burlap a year or so ago because I like some of the designs on the coffee jute bags that the company I work for was getting in, so I figured I could make tote bags for myself to use for grocery shopping, since I’m not a huge fan of using the plastic grocery store bags. And I’ve gotten pretty good and efficient at making them to the point where I’m even able to sell them on etsy.
Now, I’m not all that good at sewing in general. Outside of sewing tote bags, I have never sewn anything else, though I have patched a few holes in some socks and pants. But in terms of making elaborate costumes or clothing by sewing them myself, I wouldn’t know where to start. I’d probably just watch a series of youtube videos and give up if the process took longer than a couple of hours.
I used to be a lot better at writing. I even won a few contests back in college. But when I started working, especially working 10-12 hour days, I sort of stopped. I mean, I’ve finally gotten to a point in my life where I’m only working 8 hours at most, which has allotted me the free time to pick up writing again. But I know I’m not nearly as proficient or good as I used to be. Perhaps it’s just my style changing. At first I thought I needed to recapture the type of voice I had when I was younger. But I’ve come to realize that I’m not that same person, so I don’t write in that same fashion. Though overall, I like to think that I can still write pretty well.
And because I was a barista for so long, I’m actually pretty good at latte art and making a nice cup of coffee in pretty much any format, from percolation to aeropress to espresso. I competed in a couple of latte throw downs in a few Specialty Coffee Association events. I certainly was never the best there, but I could hold my own.
I’m also really good at not spending money. I feel like that might not seem like much of a skill, but when I read articles saying how a large portion of the population is living paycheck to paycheck, I think economic literacy is one of those underrated skill sets that sometimes gets overlooked because our society values debt so much. I personally really dislike owing anyone any amount of money, but I also don’t like giving companies my money when they so rarely deserve it.
I don’t think I’d describe any of my talents or skills as being the best out there, but in a way, well, I guess I’m not all that bad at a handful of things.
Though of all the things I’m good at, I think the list of things I’m either so-so or bad at is much, much larger. But hey, maybe that’s another skill that I’m good at; acknowledging my limitations.
Fred Aiken Writing 