My Strange Gifts

My default answer to all "Do you want...?" questions are "No". Even as a kid, if I was hungry and you asked me if I wanted something to eat I would have said "No" before saying "Yes". Ordinarily, it shouldn't be classified as a gift but being known as the undemanding child, friend and colleague has made me get almost anything I ask for. 

image: sbsmbablog.co.uk

I get along with people. All kinds of people. I'm usually the guy with no clique or on everyone's team. During my NYSC I was probably the only guy allowed into every group. I was the active neutral guy. 

I enjoy work more than play. Even a boring work. As long as I can see the need for a task to be done, even if the only reason is that I'm being (under)paid to do it, I'll do it without complaining or trying to skip it for play. 

I always read books right from the cover page -- copyright, foreword, dedication and acknowledgement. Regardless of the type of book -- technical, a novel, a play, or a biography. I give as much attention to those parts of a book as I do the main body of the book.

Except at cinemas, I watch movies till the very end; I watch the 5 mins plus at the end that lists everyone involved in the movie production. And I usually replay those parts just to hear the music.

My people predictions are right 9 out of 10. I still remember two guys I told would do something they never even thought of and assured me would not happen, and 2 years later they did it. And it happens a lot of times, even when I keep my predictions to myself.

I read anything. I mean from cover to cover. Even when I don't understand everything in the book. I read manuals; I remember reading my wristwatch's manual.

I find it very easy to follow routines. Everyday, I brush with my left hand, I write a blog post, I read a lot of articles, I read my french book, I log my daily expense, I read a chapter of the bible and I pray. I don't struggle to do all these daily. I think it's a gift.

I love taking risks and analysing them. All my life savings used to be in the stock market until I sold off more than half to set-up my own biz full-time and keep it afloat till it begins to generate income. I'm always putting to practice the theories I read about. 

Strangely, I don't envy people. Peer pressure has the opposite of the usual effect on me; I often do the opposite of what everyone is doing. 

I always remember what I learned from books. It's one of my most special gifts. I can't remember the faces and names of my primary school mates but I remember my primary school notes and the contents of the books I read. I remember what I learned from the numerous Psychology textbooks I spent most of my university library time reading. I remember all I learned from the Investment, Economic and Finance textbooks I have read, and there are a lot of them. Yet I still remember contents of the CCNA, CCNA voice, Linux and Oracle Database Administration books I read.

Finally, I don't know how to panic. Not that I don't panic. I just don't do it the regular way. Usually, when you panic, your emotions overpower your reasoning. For me, it's the other way round. Though my heart beats faster, I lose all emotions and I can only feel my brain overheating. I have the same feeling I have when I'm in the very middle of a complex VBA program that I have to finish before sleeping.

So those are my strange gifts. Maybe what's strange about them is that I call them gifts. Care to share yours?