We've not really had a light hearted thread for a while, and an idea just struck me. I was flicking through an article a little while ago and marvelling at the complex statistics used. I thought to myself, 'I wish I was good at maths'. If I was good at maths, I think I could be a really good researcher and I'd probably get invited to dinner parties by all the editors of the major journals in an attempt to butter me up and persuade me to publish my work in their journals. Like David Beckham and his endorsement of razors, I'd be paid millions to publicise stats packages (headline: Walminski thinks R) and database management software (headline: Walminksi makes discoveries with Studybuilder). Alas, I'm crap at maths, merely a survivor, so I'm destined to struggle away forever. But what does everyone else wish they were good at? Urdu? The 100 metre hurdles? The art of seduction? International diplomacy, or making meatballs? It doesn't have to be academic, it can be anything.

I wish I was good at the violin, as in the theme from Schindler's list (sigh) and art.

As opposed to what I'm very, very good at which is reading far too many crime novels (I have five currently on the go!!) and eating chocolate. However, I can do these two simultaneously ;-)

Good idea for a nice light-hearted thread.

I wish I was good at dancing, specifically ballet. I did ballet for a while when I was very young but gave up to spend more time horse riding instead. Really wish I had stuck with it as it's something I'd love to do in a very little-girl way!

I wish I was good at sewing and being creative in that way so that I could make and customize clothes; a friend of mine is doing a fashion MA and I envy her workroom with all it's glamorous paraphernalia and dressmaker's dummies, it just looks so interesting. But essentially, although I like clothes and looking nice, reading endlessly about fashion bores me so I don't think I'd be very good at it in the long term.

Might add more later...

I wish I were good at making money. That is one thing I have managed to avoid all my life - I just cannot motivate myself for financial gain, but I reckon life would be a lot easier and more fun with it!

I worked as a recruitment manager once and that wasn't badly paid; it could have earned me a decent amount of money eventually - enough for a marble topped kitchen work surface and two foriegn holidays a year. But I felt as if my very self were fast disappearing on the horizon - so I packed it all in and went into v.poorly paid jobs in education.

I'd like to add that I wish I was good at getting my research published in journals. These covers letters I'm writing are turning into begging letters...Dear Professor, I hear you like the colour blue. I like the colour blue too. Therefore, I think my article would make a suitable contribution to your journal.

I wish I were good at singing. My sister sings in a gospel choir and I can't sing a note :-( The thing is though, I'm not tone deaf - I'm actually quite musical so I can hear exactly how bad I am if I ever do try to sing :$ I secretly wish someone would get me some singing lessons as a gift - my birthday is next month if anyone is interested :p

Be careful what you wish for, Wally... I'm still waiting for an invite to a dinner partner from an editor of a major journal. Okay, I often used to have tea with one, because he was my supervisor ;)

But I've always wished I was able to paint. I'm terrible. I have no artistic flair, I can't draw, paint, I have no "eye" for it. It's just completely lost on me, and I've tried to learn, but to no avail!

its not worth it! my father in law earns about £400k a year (and before you ask, no we don't see ANY of it booooo) and he's seriously not someone to aspire to. He never sees his little girl and spends all hours shmoozing away, which after the first 2 weeks, must be VERY dull. Money doesn't make you a nice or interesting person!

I'd like to be one of those people who can get up at 5am, go to the gym for 2 hours, go to work, come back, clean the house, make a home cooked dinner from scratch (no jars!) and iron everything and then put in some hours on the PhD. But I've realised I will never be that person. If I can do 1 of those things in a day then I'm doing well :-)

Sneaks - to me you seem like that kind of person, don't you walk your dog at 7am or something, then do your RA work, then do your PhD in the evening? I think that's pretty good going!

Painting - specifically water colours - a holiday learning to do watercolours is going to be my reward to myself when I eventually submit in that gap between submitting and viva.
I also want to learn to dance - specifically ballroom - speciffically the quickstep. My husband once bought me dancing lessons for the two of us for my birthday but we were just too busy ever to actually have them (he hadn't paid so we didn't lose any money on it).

i wish i could just sit down and do a PhD 9-5 with a proper lunch break. Instead I have a strange work pattern that is all over the place . . . :p

I wish I could fly. (robin) That would be a great way to destress after all this study.

I really wish that I was better at languages. I'd love to be able to speak Spanish well, and Italian and German and Arabic and know some Latin - but I don't seem that have that part of the brain that allows me to remember languages - but I can remember song lyrics for all the pop songs of my youth
:p

well I get up at 6.30 and stagger about the park with a squeaky ball as my dog chases squirrels - but I'd hardly say I'm in my peak of physical form :$ . And yes I do do RA work and then PhD at the moment, but I procrastinate so much during the day, I hardly get anything done :-(

I've always wanted to be good at languages. In fact it would be my super power if I could have one, to be fluent in every language on Earth (and beyond!)

I wish I was good at distance running...I'm training for a run for charity at the moment and it's so difficult...and knackering!!

I also wish I wsa good at saying 'No' when people in my department ask me to do things! At the moment I'm staring at multiple piles of work and projects with no idea which to try to tackle first...I fear it could be a long night! :-)