Another reason I can't focus on writing is that I'm feeling bitter and cynical, and I don't want to let that out here. Someone betrayed me tonight -- someone who has betrayed me so many times I've lost count. And once again, I went into the situation expecting a different outcome regardless of past lessons. Shame on me.And third, I went out with my friend Maria tonight to a wine bar where we deliberately broke our sugar fast for one night with rich, cheesy appetizers, handmade chocolates from a local chocolatier, lots of laughter, and a new wine (to us). We ended up splitting a case of it we liked it so much. I don't mean we drank a case of it. We drank a bottle, and then we took a case home. In any case, it's an unusual wine. Light, fruity, slightly dry, but with a finish that hints of jelly beans. And it comes in a cool bottle. To top it off, it was around $4.50/bottle, which is pretty damn cheap for a wine that finishes with jelly beans. Needless to say, the combination of rich carbs and wine made me sleepy and lazy.
But I need to write, so I went to the NaBloPoMo daily prompts and randomly chose this one: What do you do better than anyone else?
The answer is nothing. I don't do anything better than anyone else. I enjoy doing lots of things -- playing music, theater, karaoke, cooking, cycling, gardening, socializing --and I'm mediocre at most of them. Furthermore, I'm not unique for being mediocre. Most people are, or at least there's somebody who's better. So I'm not the best at anything.
I am a good writer, but lots of people are better. And certainly lots of people are more focused and productive. This post proves that. I'm an excellent user of Facebook. And I'm a fantastic cuddler and reader of books. Some people think I'm a spooky good tarot reader, although there's little call for that. I do a couple of other things well, but I don't want to make myself blush. Most things though? Mediocre.
What the hell kind of question is that anyway? Is it a narcissism test? Why the assumption that everybody can do something better than anyone else? Sure, the world champion chess play can say, at least for this year, that he's the best chess player .... until someone beats him. And same with Olympic gold medal winners. Award-winning actors. Pulitzer Prize winners. Those very few people who reach the pinnacle of their professions. I'll bet even most of them feel somebody nipping at their heels though.
But the rest of us? We have to settle for being good enough .... except when we're not. Because there are also those many things that I'm shitty at. Like riding roller coasters, knitting, running, yoga (I still do it though), dealing with conflict, dating, making pie crust ... I could go on, but why? Some of those things I can avoid; others I just have to muddle through, like it or not.
So the prompt didn't help me much. Any of you readers have a better answer? Are you better at doing something than anyone else? And don't give me some bullshit meme fodder about being the best at being you. Save that for your Victorian postcard.
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