24HBD #16: Mundane Talents or Skills

I actually think about this one a lot.  I would like to share two things with you.

First of all, I am a middle school teacher.  I teach sixth and seventh graders maths.  Or I try to.  One of the things you really need in order to learn the maths is a pencil.  This pencil needs to be sharpened.  Now, most classrooms have a mounted pencil sharpener somewhere which is made of metal, and can not be ever found in stores.  My classroom is no different.  For some reason, my students can not sharpen a pencil in this pencil sharpener. 

They will grind a fresh pencil down to a nub in thirty seconds, and then blame me.

I take a lot of pride in the fact that I can then walk over to that student, and sharpen a perfect pencil in around five seconds.  I am the best pencil sharpener I know.  Take that, America.

All right, now I told you that story so I could tell you this one.  Well, not really, but I thought I should cover all bases possible.

Another thing that I am really great at is Sonic Spinball.  Oh yes, the game for the Sega Genesis that came out about three hundred years ago.  See, we had a Sega Genesis when I was in elementary school.  This was the normal time to have one of these machines.  Then, the PS1 came out.  Then the PS2 came out.  I still just had the Sega Genesis, and I still just had the same six games for it.  Since Sonic Spinball was one of those games, I became stupid good at Sonic Spinball.

Now, flash forward – I am a sophomore in college, hanging out with The Crazy Monkeys for around the second time, because I am new.  I notice that they have a Sega Genesis (in a box), and (omg.) a copy of Sonic Spinball.

At this point, I was really excited.

I rounded up everyone who wanted to play.  The way multiplayer works in Sonic Spinball is pretty simple – everyone just takes turns playing the single player game.

So I went second, after someone.  Maybe it was Kaz.  It’s not important, because whoever went first played for around ten minutes and then died. 

And then it was my turn.

Around two and a half (some say it was four.  Some say it was five.  Some say it was two days.) hours later, the ending credits of the game rolled off the screen.  We sat in silence, looking at the blank television.

Then it sprang back to life, saying…

“Player 3, start!”

And that’s how I ruined that party by playing Sonic Spinball through to the end in one sitting while everyone just watched me, and how I ruined that particular game for everyone who was there because now what would be the point in playing it?

I don’t know why, either.  I still play it.