Who do I still think I am??

This one's about the gifted and the patience.

30DBC PROMPT: "If you had the choice, would you rather be incredibly gifted and talented at one thing, or slightly better than average at lots of different things? Why?"

What's up fine people? I'm looking at this prompt for about the twentieth time, and I've decided I'm not going to question anything about it. Not "where did it come from?" or "why God why??" or "does this prompt make me look fat?" (yes, it does, if you were wondering...but don't say that to my face). I'm gonna try to answer this to the best of my ability. Which means we might be in trouble here.

I know roughly 61% of the challengers in this month's "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  are gonna say something like "You know that old saying...'Jack of all trades; master of none'" and go on about how that statement is either true or false. Furthermore, they'll have a 50% chance of being correct. I know that seems like a lot of percents, and percentages are part of math, and I frown upon math while I'm trying to produce daily entertainment for those who've made it this far into today's entry. So therefore, I'm telling you to abandon math altogether and stick with me on this a little longer.

While it's good to kinda know a lot of things better than most because it makes you more available to a wider range of people under many different possible circumstances, the truth is, how often will you really be called upon to spit some random knowledge? You can't possibly stay current on all there is to know about everything, or even most things, or some things. Eventually something's gotta give, and you have to realize you know enough to get you by but not enough to solve all of the world's problems. On the other hand, if you're the genius/guru/know-it-all about one subject in particular, you may not get the invite to all the best parties in town, but it's guaranteed to get you where you're needed the most, and probably with better results.

Here's an example: I know how to fix battery terminals on very old Motorola cell phones. When did I learn this? Sometime around 1998. And when was the last time I repaired one? Sometime around 1998. And why is this? Because pretty much no one was using that particular model of Motorola cell phone anymore in 1998, and probably hadn't in at least three years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUcXCH2F8ts

And here's another example: It's cool to know more than one language, and it surely can be profitable to be proficient at two or even three. But I'm pretty sure- and stop me if I haven't heard about recent medical advances in this area, because I really don't follow them- everyone who has a mouth only has one mouth, and one mouth means one language at a time can come out of it. Oh sure, you can get away with using two languages in a sentence. like "I'll have the taco salad with a side of French fries" (and I know what you're thinking: what's the point of eating a salad with fries?). And American Sign Language doesn't count, because while you're mouthing words, you're still using your hands, and you can't mouth words at the same time by mimicking hand movements with your lips. It just doesn't work that way. Otherwise, you'd see a little translator guy on the corner of your mobile device or computer screen, translating this blog entry into sign language for the hard of hearing...let me know how that works out for ya, since I can't speak Braille.

The point is, it's cool to know a little about a lot, and that's more the category I fall into, but it's better to stick to one thing and know all that you possibly can about it for as long as you can, and be able to learn and evolve alongside it rather than hope 15 years down the road maybe someone will ask you some random thing causing you an "A-ha!" moment like you've been waiting your whole life to show off something you once knew slightly better than everyone else did.

Now, who needs their VCR set to stop flashing "12:00"?

BCF PROMPT: "Is patience an attribute that you can acquire with practice or is it an innate ability in some people?"

You're asking possibly one of the least patient people this side of planet Mars about patience? This could get ugly fast. Allow my informed opinion on the subject do the speaking for me while I figure out how to wait for whatever's coming after it.

I think the best answer here is both. Many people are just born oozing whatever it is that allows them to put up with everything and anything and can take it all in stride. Some people, like me, can't go fifteen seconds without fidgeting under the weight of expectations. When I tell you I want something, I want it now. Not in a week. Not tomorrow. Yesterday. Before I even knew I knew you were gonna know I knew I wanted it, I expected it. The pheromones that produce the muscles in my body necessary to perform sulking have already begun manufacturing what they need while the rest of my intentions are gathering information. But enough about me.

People are people, and they can be conditioned over time to do almost anything, including learning the art of waiting their damn turn properly. Throwing a fit, causing a scene, and being overly mischievous don't necessarily get you what you want faster; in fact, it's more the opposite. If I have something you want, and you're crying like a sissy because you can't wait for me to give it to you, I'm gonna be less inclined to do so. Because I'm a jerk like that . But if you're polite, and sit tight, you'll get whatever it is because you did the right thing by being patient. I should know...you have to say a lot of mean things to get yourself tossed out of lines at stores in strip malls you're not allowed to step foot in again. From what I hear.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

Then again, there probably is a whole 'nother set of drawbacks to knowing everything there is to know about everything.

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

I'm pretty sure every store I've ever been actually asked to leave before I was good and ready to has long since closed their doors without any of my hard-earned cash. Sounds like in the end it's more there problem than mine, as I've managed to procure whatever I was pissing and moaning about in the first place elsewhere, and they're just another .GIF in a Buzzfeed "Remember when..." or "20 Things You Forgot About..." column. Winner: me.

And the look on this woman's face is generally the look on mine whenever I'm waiting behind one or more people in line just about anywhere for anything that there could possibly be a line for. While I may be similar in height, I do not lack the capability to look past those ahead of me enough to realize if they are, in fact, real people.

Ok, well, here's where you and I part ways for the evening. I hope you learned something...if not, well, you're a great person anyway for at least having made it down this far in the entry. May your higher power reserve a more special place for you than you imagined; a nice table with no waiting. Peace, it's a brick...it's a phone...it's a brickphone, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!