I love this clever list idea from Hula Seventy, and I love even more that we have no. 2 and 5 in common.
- Noticing the details. In my mind, there is a proper place and order for everything, so when something is out of order, I notice it immediately. Some might call it obsessive-compulsive, but I prefer to think of it as a talent. Staying with friends in Berlin in a chaotic apartment, someone was looking for their cell phone. In the bathroom on the radiator, I said. Because I remember thinking, that’s just not a good place for a cell phone. Since then I’ve gained sort of a reputation for finding lost items.
- Spelling. Maybe it has something to do with no. 1, but I’m an awesome speller. Class spelling bees, yep. School spelling bees, yep. I even competed in the district spelling bee in the sixth grade, but didn’t make it so far. I remember standing at the microphone in the huge auditorium and being asked to spell “mayhem”. At 11 years old, I’d never heard that word in my life. I asked them to repeat it. I asked for a definition. I asked for the word in a sentence. Unfortunately, it was all for nought. Still, you can bet your bottom dollar that I never spelled mayhem wrong ever again.
- Planning. My favorite thing to plan is vacations. Months in advance. I become obsessive [there’s that word again] about booking airline tickets and hotels, about reading the Lonely Planet from cover to cover. I love the anticipation.
- Traveling. I have my own travel rituals and ways I like to do things, kind of like the awesome airport choreography scene in Up in the Air. Efficiency is key. Still, contrary to no. 3, once I’m settled in to wherever I’m at, I totally don’t mind letting go and following the wind. Plan what you can and enjoy what you can’t, I say.
- Gift wrapping. I could get lost in paper shops, with all the gorgeous wrapping papers, boxes and ribbons. My wrapping has toned down in the last years, especially since the majority of my gifts need to travel on airplanes unwrapped. But I still get immense pleasure from a neatly wrapped gift.
And you? What are your (hidden) talents?