Skills you want to learn

[GenericUsername]

So I've been rolling with this new idea since the start of the year... I've made a list of things and skills I want to learn or brush up on, and then I've set myself to go through one thing on the list each month. For more complicated things I want to learn, I work on them throughout the year, on top of each "monthly project". Does anyone else here do something similar? Or do you have this one thing that you really want to learn? If so, what is it? How are you doing with it, or have you not started? If not, why?

For me... I spent all of last month reading up on body language, and it's amazing how observant I've become of the way people interact with one another - especially when I'm out on town or in large crowds. The way people mirror each other's movements subconsciously is actually pretty hilarious to watch sometimes, especially if you also catch yourself doing it when you hang out with friends.

This month I'm supposed to study rhetoric, but I must confess that I've slacked off with it in favor of my year-long projects, which are "old school" Ninjutsu (I'm failing horribly at this), culinary arts (failing slightly less) and creative writing (doing fairly well).

I've got plenty more things jotted down, varying from useful skills to whimsical fancies. They include: Lock-picking, penmanship, painting, CPR, card/illusion tricks, wine tasting, basic herbalism, memory training, geopolitics, star constellations, improved English vocabulary, and learning the Futhark. With great shame I should also confess that I still need to learn how to put on a freaking tie... but even minor skills count! It's on the list, and I should probably get to it sooner rather than later...

Anyway, so what about the rest of you? I'd be curious to hear, and perhaps get some additional ideas for myself in the process!

 

[wolfman40]

I'd love to be ble to play an instrument competently. not just the riff from Smoke on the water!

I used to do a lot of martial arts when I was younger, I'd love to go back into that too

 

[Bugman]

Over the years, I've thought now and then about picking up my music again. Played cello for years, and was learning violin and mandolin. Its been so long now I'd have to start from scratch and try to teach myself (not sure I have the patience for that) or pay for lessons, which are pretty expensive. If the time and money come my way, I'll do it.

 

[chicago]

Past few months I taught myself to cook a really good mid-rare steak (among other things) and I've learned how to drive. 😀

Would like to expand the cookin skillz some more though.

 

[desdemona]

I'll echo Bug's sentiments. I'd like to pick up playing guitar again...and I always wanted to learn to play piano. Skills I'd like to expand on - Yoga and singing. I'd love to learn music theory. Currently, I'm working on organization, management, and finances. Those aren't terribly exciting, but the results can be pretty powerful!

And your English is amazing! I'd love to practice my French, but it's hard to find others to converse with.

 

[Sandisk444]

Understanding musical theory, become competent at coding, maybe make a game or something

 

[GenericUsername]

Thanks for the replies so far, and I see music/instruments seem to be a reoccurring theme! I played some piano in the past, but if I were to go back to an instrument, it'd be to try to learn the lute. You know, just like a proper bard. 😉

Congrats on learning to drive, Annie! Got the driver's license now as well?

And thanks for the compliment desdemona, but, just because you're good at something doesn't mean you can't get better! The English language has one of the richest vocabularies in the world, and of course, there are always other ways in which to learn to speak. Different narration techniques for example, and using words to paint up colorful descriptions of what you mean. Since I'm also doing creative writing, that's something I want to get better at still!

 

[chicago]

Congrats on learning to drive, Annie! Got the driver's license now as well?!

Thanks! Yep. Got my license last Friday. Drove on the expressway for the first time Sunday morning. 🙂

 

[Amnesiac]

Right now I'm restoring my old art skills using new techniques and information that I didn't know before.

But as for stuff I want to learn without having ANY pre-existing foundation?

- Cook
- DO MATH (dear God, how I wanna be able to do math)
- Play the guitar (even though I know I don't have the dexterity for it)
- Play the piano (even though I know I can't focus two separate tasks with my hands)
- Fly planes
- Learn Japanese or Russian
- Cartography (make maps)
- Perform surgery

Just a few off the top of my head

 

[desdemona]

Thanks! Yep. Got my license last Friday. Drove on the expressway for the first time Sunday morning. 🙂

Congrats!!! And that's a great time to practice while others are at church 🙂

Right now I'm restoring my old art skills using new techniques and information that I didn't know before.

But as for stuff I want to learn without having ANY pre-existing foundation?

- Cook
- DO MATH (dear God, how I wanna be able to do math)
- Play the guitar (even though I know I don't have the dexterity for it)
- Play the piano (even though I know I can't focus two separate tasks with my hands)
- Fly planes
- Learn Japanese or Russian
- Cartography (make maps)
- Perform surgery

Just a few off the top of my head

Surgery eh?? Dude, after 8 years of schooling and over 15 years of practice, I still call it "practicing" surgery - or medicine for that part. I can teach you a castration or a vasectomy if you'd really like....

 

[C.A.B.]

No more noble a calling than the mastery of the self.

 

[BlackestLily]

I'm like you in that I love gaining/learning new skills. On the positive side I'm hardly ever bored. On the negative? I have skill-building A.D.D. and tend to hop from one project to the next. My ongoing interests over the last year has been:

1. Paint with more skill. This one I can say I've been chipping away at all year fairly religiously.

2. Dance with more skill. I've only been taking dance for about a year and had to take a small hiatus due to a surgery. In an ideal world I'd have dance class every day and study many different kinds.

3. For a chunk of the year I was in martial arts...so really? Would LOVE to get back into that. Unfortunately that's one helluva expensive skill to keep at.

4. Become better at gardening. Not really much more to say here...I just don't want to kill shit I plant.

5. Cooking foreign food. I'm pretty good at what my mom taught me. Now to expand! 🙂

6. Sewing. A co-worker is teaching me how to sew and eventually I'd like to be able to get to a point where I can easily read patterns and begin to make my own clothing as well as skillfully modify things I buy at re-sale places.

7. Etc! 🙂

 

[GenericUsername]

Thanks! Yep. Got my license last Friday. Drove on the expressway for the first time Sunday morning. 🙂

Sweet! And in hindsight I now realize I should have said well done rather that "congrats", but ahh well, the sentiment is one and the same.

Right now I'm restoring my old art skills using new techniques and information that I didn't know before.

But as for stuff I want to learn without having ANY pre-existing foundation?

- Cook
- DO MATH (dear God, how I wanna be able to do math)
- Play the guitar (even though I know I don't have the dexterity for it)
- Play the piano (even though I know I can't focus two separate tasks with my hands)
- Fly planes
- Learn Japanese or Russian
- Cartography (make maps)
- Perform surgery

Just a few off the top of my head

Cool! Those are some pretty major skills you want to learn. Are you set on starting with any of them in the near future, or will you stick to art for now? I guess cooking would be the most straight-forward, otherwise, but have you looked into classes for any of the other things?

Personally I was playing around with the idea of learning some additional math, but I'd have to take some kind of course for that... Hence, I've put it off for now in favor of other things.

Learning language is another good one! I'm also somewhat interested in both Japanese and Russian, and for the latter I've actually studied the Cyrillic alphabet a bit (but not so ambitiously that I learned it by heart). The way Russian words and names can translate differently into the Latin alphabet can be a bit confusing, though, but that may be more problematic for me than it would be for you, since I tend to encounter both Swedish and English translations of the same names/words. For example, the Russian name "Евгений" would translate as "Evgeni" in English, but it's written as "Jevgenij" in Swedish.

No more noble a calling than the mastery of the self.

Very well said!

I'm like you in that I love gaining/learning new skills. On the positive side I'm hardly ever bored. On the negative? I have skill-building A.D.D. and tend to hop from one project to the next. My ongoing interests over the last year has been:

1. Paint with more skill. This one I can say I've been chipping away at all year fairly religiously.

2. Dance with more skill. I've only been taking dance for about a year and had to take a small hiatus due to a surgery. In an ideal world I'd have dance class every day and study many different kinds.

3. For a chunk of the year I was in martial arts...so really? Would LOVE to get back into that. Unfortunately that's one helluva expensive skill to keep at.

4. Become better at gardening. Not really much more to say here...I just don't want to kill shit I plant.

5. Cooking foreign food. I'm pretty good at what my mom taught me. Now to expand! 🙂

6. Sewing. A co-worker is teaching me how to sew and eventually I'd like to be able to get to a point where I can easily read patterns and begin to make my own clothing as well as skillfully modify things I buy at re-sale places.

7. Etc! 🙂

Good to hear I'm not alone in jumping from project to project; "skill-building A.D.D" is a great way to put it to be honest, and I guess I have that too since I do something new every month. Some of the things I do go back to though, like at the start of the year when I was curious to learn more about astronomy and physics; I still look for new youtube-lectures or articles from a bunch of different scientists whose work I find intriguing.

Painting is actually on my list for July; obviously I'd need more time than just a month to actually become good at it, but I figure if I enjoy it I'll do more than just try it out, and simply keep at it.

About martial arts, it can certainly get costly, but if you still want to keep at it in at least some capacity, there are plenty of useful informational videos that you can follow along in. Google around a bit and I'm sure you can find something for free; at least then you can keep practicing footing and balance, and basic things that should be in your muscle memory. But of course, at some point it will be hard to proceed without at least one sparring partner.

 

[RUNOFFSTAGE]

I have definitely decided to improve my cooking this summer, at the minute I am somewhat of a culinary disaster. If all goes well I'll sign up for some kind of cooking class and improve even more, who doesn't want to be able to throw a dinner party and actually serve good food?

Funny that you'd mention the Futhark, I've thought about learning it myself. Got a friend who is completely into it and put some funky runes on my stone that supposedly represent "love" and "luck". So far, neither has worked but the runes do look really cool. Apart from that, adding another language to my dossier would be nice, can't have too many of them.

 

[desdemona]

6. Sewing. A co-worker is teaching me how to sew and eventually I'd like to be able to get to a point where I can easily read patterns and begin to make my own clothing as well as skillfully modify things I buy at re-sale places.

I taught myself to crochet and knit, but I can't follow a pattern other than the simplest potholder. I do find it relaxing to just focus on making chains... 🙂

 

[BrightEyes1082]

This is a great thread! 🙂

For the last couple of years I've been working on:
Krav Maga (Israeli streetfighting, used by the IDF)
Sewing (I'm pretty good now, but could still go a long way)
Hebrew language (my reading is getting better too!)
Cooking (I can make a good many things pretty well, but I'm expanding that)
Middle Eastern culture and history
I'm also in school full time, so I'm picking up a lot through my classes.

Near future:
Arabic language (I'm taking a full-immersion class in Israel next summer)
Farsi language (I won't start this one until I'm conversational in Arabic)

 

[GenericUsername]

Middle Eastern history is definitely a fascinating field! Moreso, I've found, the further back you go.
Really cool that you're going to take a class in Israel, and good luck with the language studies! Would you say that you're fluent in Hebrew, and has it been difficult to learn so far?

Funny that you'd mention the Futhark, I've thought about learning it myself. Got a friend who is completely into it and put some funky runes on my stone that supposedly represent "love" and "luck". So far, neither has worked but the runes do look really cool. Apart from that, adding another language to my dossier would be nice, can't have too many of them.

What sort of runes is it that your friend uses? I don't know much about that, but I'm guessing it's Icelandic Sigils? Or do you mean he/she uses the runes of the Futhark itself?

 

[SadCuzNotTcklsh]

Is being ticklish considered a skill?

 

[BrightEyes1082]

Middle Eastern history is definitely a fascinating field! Moreso, I've found, the further back you go.
Really cool that you're going to take a class in Israel, and good luck with the language studies! Would you say that you're fluent in Hebrew, and has it been difficult to learn so far?

No, I'm not yet fluent, but I'm semi-conversational at this point. 🙂 I have
a friend in Israel who helps me practice on Skype. The speaking is pretty
easy to learn, but learning the alef-bet has been pretty hard. I use Hebrew
children's books to do it! It's just like learning English as a kid. I recognize
certain words now, and I recognize most letters and can sort of string them
together and sometimes I get the word right. 🙂

 

[kopfhorer]

I'd like to get back into creative writing, which I've kind of neglected lately.

 

[devioustickler]

I wanna learn and become fluent in SPanish.
I wanna learn Sign language
Get my Motorcycle License
Learn to do the basic car and motorcycle maintenance and repairs
Learn to play the guitar
Learn to make some drinks for when I have guests
I wouldn't mind learning the basic home repairs like floor tile.. I guess you can say the basics in carpentry and stuff.

 

[BlackestLily]

Right now I'm restoring my old art skills using new techniques and information that I didn't know before.

But as for stuff I want to learn without having ANY pre-existing foundation?

- DO MATH (dear God, how I wanna be able to do math)

https://www.khanacademy.org/ 🙂

I taught myself to crochet and knit, but I can't follow a pattern other than the simplest potholder. I do find it relaxing to just focus on making chains... 🙂

I can crochet, but knitting literally blows circuits in my brain. >< I see all these sweet stuffed animal patterns on deviantart that I want to sew. Some day...some day...

 

[alchemy]

At some point I'd like to learn to play the piano

I'd like to get better at writing fiction and not just short essays

I'd really like to learn to do more two-hand tapping stuff on the guitar like this:

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