Friday, June 18, 2010

Stuff I'm Bad At

I'm not bad at everything.  I can draw (depending on whom you you ask)..  I can rotoscope hair, throw my voice, and solve 3d puzzles.   I can usually coax a toy out of the crane machine.  But what fun is boasting?
I'm bad at stuff too.   I can't really catch a ball or throw a Frisbee.  If my age were my bowling average I'd be dead.  My handwriting is a mess and I can't grip the pen properly. 
A lot of things on my "bad at" list are stuff I don't like to do anyway.  I can always blame lack of interest or practice on these things.   Not so with the Big Three.  The things I've always liked doing, yet do oh so badly:
Singing:
I love music.  Folk songs,  jazz, rock,  even opera.  I can read music.   I can identify instruments and tell you that a vuvuzela squawks a b-flat.   Might I add that it squawks a b-flat way better than I can.   I first heard a recording of my singing voice in fifth grade.  Listening to it was like being slapped. That off-key dolt was me!

Dancing:
 Nothing's like dancing to a fun song.  The problem is what I think I'm doing and what I'm really doing are laughably different..  I'm uncoordinated, miss the beats, and am about as graceful as a rhino falling down steps.  I display "doesn't she realize how stupid she looks!?" moves.
Acting:
This is a real shame because I have a strong imagination. and can keenly picture myself anywhere.  As a kid I adored pretend games.  Acting enchanted me and I tried to weasel my way into any play I could.    I vividly imagined I was a naughty kid, a member of the royal court, a fairy etc.., yet  stomped through each role like Godzilla, sounding as sincere as an automated "overdue materials" message from the library.   Never good get the volume right either- I was always too loud or too quiet*

But "didn't you see the bumper sticker?" Some may ask.  "You gotta sing like nobody's listening and dance like nobody's watching!"   Yeah, right.    Whomever came up with that glurge would quickly change the "like" to "when" if they saw me in action.  Some things are best done alone.



*A problem I have in real life too.  Both the volume thing and the stomping like Godzilla.

6 comments:

Linda Davick said...

Love the last paragraph!

Pile Girl said...

Me too! I got a tape recorder for Christmas when I was 13 and it was devastating to find out I don't sing as well as I think I do. Now I only sing to my mother. She's in no condition to complain.
It sounds like you're good at things I can't do, either.
(You rotoscope hair? I'm intrigued.)

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Thanks Linda!

Hi Pile Girl,
I bet a lot of people made the shocking discovery that they couldn't sing, thanks to cassette recorders
For more about rotoscoping, details in this link explain it better than I could. I used to work there (it closed several years ago) did did the roto for the example shown.

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Thanks Linda!

Hi Pile Girl,
I bet a lot of people made the shocking discovery that they couldn't sing, thanks to cassette recorders
For more about rotoscoping, details in this link explain it better than I could. I used to work there (it closed several years ago) did did the roto for the example shown.

Pile Girl said...

Wow! I looked at that Rotoscoping thing, and I'm really impressed!

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Thanks, Pile Girl.
I don't rotoscope as much as I used to but I still do it from time to time. I do all sort of not-so-glamorous stuff- retiming film clips, removing things that don't belong, removing or restoring grain etc.. I'm never actually on the set or interacting with movie stars, but I don't mind.