The Jack of All Trades

I'm definitely a curious person. My friend Frederico calls me the most curious person he's ever met.

I'm just the type of person who takes interest in a lot of different things. I have an aptitude for picking things up pretty fast, and usually, I'm dedicated enough to study them, work on the skills, and get pretty good at most of my endeavors. I like to think I'm a Rennaissance Man.

The only problem is, I'm pretty good at a lot of things, but a master at none of them.

A Jack of all trades.

Although...I suppose one could argue that I'm a master of CHARM, but that one would have to be someone other that me :)

Lets take sports for example. During my very first tennis lesson, I got kicked out of the beginners class (where we were hitting balloons up in the air) and put in the intermediate group (where we ACTUALLY got to hit tennis balls!). I became pretty good at tennis, winning a few tournaments and the highschool state finals, but I was never great. Had I played in college (where a lot of Division 1 players dedicated there life to tennis as Juniors) I would've been mediocre (did I actually use the word "mediocre" to describe something about me!?! I must be sick or something)

In basketball, I'm usually one of the better players on the court, but I'm never dominant and can't just take over games.

I'm decent at golf (If you can call a best ever score of 94, "decent"). I beat most people at racketball. I can throw a spiral. I was a two time little league all-star third basemen.

I dominated lunch-time ping pong tournaments in highschool, at one point going on a 57 match win-streak...although I never played any Asians.

Now? I'm not a master of any of these things. You pit me against most people, and I'll probably win, but against a master, I'm Toasty McToasterson.

I know what you're thinking. "Ok, Ok Arun, I get it! You happen to be "athletic!" That just means that sports wasn't your thing and you're probably a master at something else. And stop telling us how awesome you are!"

Uh...hello? Have you read this blog before? I would NEVER inflate my own ego!

My "Jack-ness" extends far beyond sports. In music, I sing, and play the Cello, Guitar, and Piano. My skills range in each of these, and I'm decent at them all, but not "accomplished" at any. I spent a good year learning how to produce music, and produced fairly decent quality recordings of six different songs I wrote. (you can here one by clicking on my myspace profile link on the left <--) But, I grew tired of all the effort it took.

Every month or so, I get the urge to produce music again, but when I sit down to do it, and realize all the work it's going to take, I find something else to do.

As a kid, I used to draw a lot, and was a pretty good sketcher. The last awesome sketch I drew was in 1993.

I won a state award for poetry in third grade. Aside from music, that was the last actual poem I wrote.

I learned how to juggle, but stopped after I could do four balls.

In college, I received an A in every General education class I took, but when it came to hunkering down on one subject and becoming proficient (Engineering), I sucked.

I have a couple of competitive, internationally certified yo yo's with ball bearing axels and all. I used to know a bunch of tricks and even considered entering a competition...never happend. In fact, I recently attempted to show off my unpolished yo yo skills to my friend thinking my lack of practice would be outweighed by my dexterity. "It's like riding a bike!" I said.

I threw the yo yo down hard getting it to "sleep," like a pro.

Yea! I am awesome!

I started twirling it around hard, getting ready to do the beginning of a "Brain Twister." The yo yo came flying around and I managed to catch it perfectly on the thin string.

HA! I haven't lost it!

For the finale of the Brain Twister, I began twirling the yo yo ultra fast with two hands, at which point the yo yo is supposed to spin free and return to my hand...apparently the yo yo wanted to make a "side trip" on the way back.

It slipped off of one of my fingers, and instead of returning smoothly to my open palm, it went barreling with reckless abandon into my "jewels of manhood."

Game over.

Although my friend seemed to find this more entertaining than the trick itself.

I've always been fascinated by magic as well, and learned a few really awesome magic tricks. Seriously, the stuff I learned is pretty cool, and no one can duplicate it on the spot because they all require a ton of practice and slight of hand...but I never did much with this skill! Only my good friends know about my magic stuff, but on occasion, I'll do a trick in public with something readily available like rubber bands, playing cards, or money.

Writing is probably my new "thing" although I think this has some staying power. I wrote an ebook and am currently revising and getting ready for marketing and publication. Writing is awesome, especially when the only guidelines I have are my own! I also like the fact that other people read my output, which keeps me motivated. I think that's part of the reason I didn't hard-core pursue music. The chances of the masses even hearing my work, were slim to none.

Hmmm...maybe I should just become a one man show! I could play tennis with one hand while writing poetry with the other. I'll play the keyboard with my left foot, and string a yo yo to my right big toe, all while balancing a broom on my head and singing the national anthem. And at the end I'll make your money disappear!