What have you learned to do that you never thought you would?

[XmisterIS]

Is there anything about which you though, "I'm just never going to get the hang of this!", when you first started out ... yet you have persevered and become at least half-way competent at it?

For me it is mixing and laying cement and mortar. (Mortar in particular).

When I first started, I would get a different mix each time, it would either be too sloppy or too crumbly, I would get it everywhere except on the brick, it would fall off the brick, then I would get it all over the brick, etc, etc! The whole experience left me feeling pissed off and frustrated because no matter that I had tried as hard as I could, I just couldn't do it.

Now, however, after several trials, I have actually got the hang of it! I can make concrete and mortar to the correct consistency each time and I am getting the hang of using the trowel correctly and getting the mix to stay where I want it! I never thought I would ...

 

[Amanda P]

Funny. I was going to answer "bricklaying" before I even got to your second paragraph.

There's a knack to it, isn't there? And getting the mix right is part of it.

Triple tongueing comes to mind, too.

 

[XmisterIS]

It definitely is a knack! And now I only mix my own mortar, I never buy the pre-mixed stuff because it's always too lean (aka "cheapskate"!!!) - and it ends up going all gritty and falling out if it's too lean.

XmrsIS and I have never tried triple tonguing ....

 

[summerdays]

Pastry - although I wouldn't say I've got to grips with it ... more found a couple of recipes that work - some of my past attempts had to be binned they were that bad and I had given up and taken to buying ready made.

 

[Vidor06]

Swimming - taught as a child at school but then never kept at it. Then damaged my back playing rugby last year and probably wont play again, so thought I would give swimming another try. Took lessons in September and am now swimming about 120 lengths a week and thoroughly enjoying it.

 

[XmisterIS]

Swimming - taught as a child at school but then never kept at it. Then damaged my back playing rugby last year and probably wont play again, so thought I would give swimming another try. Took lessons in September and am now swimming about 120 lengths a week and thoroughly enjoying it.

Well done! I never learned as a child; when we went for the weekly school swim, I was the kid with armbands, hanging onto the side of the pool, absolutely terrified! Nowadays I do quite a bit of sea swimming though; I thoroughly enjoy it!

 

[gbb]

Maintenance engineer....
Always been handy with my hands in a DIY kinda way, but got offered a job 10 years ago with my current employer looking after the packing machines.

I went home one day after about 2 weeks at it and said 'i'll never learn it all'

Fault finding on 3 phase electrics, pneumatics, electronics etc etc etc.
Find out which output transister is blown on a PCB, Welding, building scrap machines into working ones, mechanical and electrical fault finding, instaling communication systems with the machines, maintenance and overhaul of machines, it goes on and on.


The oddest thing is when there's a problem with a machine, you dont blunder in, you stand back and think, you watch, you think some more and work out the possibilities. I always say, one problem, 3 different potential causes.

10 years ago, with no qualifications i could never concieve i could do it....to be fair i was taught well and patiently by my ex colleague....to the degree where i can assist the Spanish with their machines (they make them and its like selling coals to newcastle).

Learned enough to be confident to travel regularly to Cyprus, Uruguay and Spain working on their machines

I only hope experience will count over qualifications when it comes to getting a new job.

 

[greenmark]

Touch tyipng

 

[XmisterIS]

Touch typing

Corrected for you

 

[bianchi1]

Skiing

 

[Globalti]

Using a computer.

In June 1988 I sat down for three days with a borrowed Amstrad and taught myself to do word processing and I've been learning ever since.

 

[HLaB]

Ride a bike without stabilisers I never thought I could do that when I was 5 year old.

 

[tyred]

Ride a bike "no hands." I could never do this when I was younger but I can now.

 

[zacklaws]

Taking a shirt off like a female, by grabbing the bottom of the shirt with crossed arms, pull your arms up, twisting them and pull the shirt off over your head.

It took me donkeys to master it, as I was sure witchcraft was involved, to somehow dislocate your joints to do that twisting action, so I had a dislike to cycling shirts (especially the cheaper ones) with a short zip, on those rare occasions in summer when they would be drenched in sweat and stuck to your back, I would have to wait till they dried a bit before I could pull them over my head the mans way and usually they would get stuck halfway over my head making me panic.

Now, its natural to do it that way and have accumulated a collection of short zip shirts.

 

[Over The Hill]

Taking a shirt off like a female, by grabbing the bottom of the shirt with crossed arms, pull your arms up, twisting them and pull the shirt off over your head.
.

Somehow it is not the same with a bloke