QUESTION:

What surprising skill do you have?

I was thinking of this. Only because within the chaos that is my living- I am surprisingly, a top-notch organiser.

I can plan with the best of them, and there's nothing more challenging than trying to 'out-do' whatever has gone before. I have spoken of this before. It's what I'm good at- coupled with persuasion (usually though out-talking).

You wouldn't know it. Unless you were a recipient. And you certainly wouldn't believe it - recipient or not - if you poked your head into my room.

I thrive on deadlines too. Only because of the chaos. The frantic 'mind working furiously' ten different directions/angles/possibilities I have to flit between. The quick problem-solving. The oft ingenious improvisations. I am so, so a 'pantser-planner'!

What's on my desk right now though which possibly disputes this? The list is long:

Coffee. Keyboard/mouse/speakers/screen/case. A bendy cotton thread covered wire thingy with divided, curled ends and wire-attached shells and beads- this because I found it flat and wondered what it was and the lady at the thrift-shop counter said "Maybe you bend it?" I bought it home and bent it- into the most exquisite bangle! Now I am wondering how one would make more of them and what the base, bendy-metal is ... jeshi???  Any idea, while I got you here?

Cigarettes, lighter, ashtray. (ye ye) A single slim brown leather glove- it's my mother's from back before she was married; I found it as I was packing. I have to... now find the other one. (Plus, I discovered, women had 'daintier' hands back then.)

Organic vanilla infuser. Because of something. Four books finding their way upstairs during my travels into the man-cave. I can see Out Of Africa and something called Reacher's Rules- the rest face the wrong way. A case of Pureau and a Pureau plastic bottle. A big pink Himalayan rock salt lamp- good for electronic noise or something. About thirty supermarket receipts (could be more underneath) because I caught them out on their supposed 'specials'. And I'm pissed.

A DVD called "Barb's 60th". Dyls picked it up on our travels and wanted to see who Barb was and how her 60th went. We started watching it- till he said: "Mum, stop. Barb's probably dead, think about it." I thought about it. Now Barb's 60'th sits here... because I don't have the heart to throw "Barb" out. Like someone else did.

A shot glass- been there for months. A big rock, shaped like a heart- I had three, I sent the smaller two away. A ceramic troll. Ugly as all fuck. With a very long nose. This, to remind me that reality exists and that I shouldn't lie about it else my nose will grow. Or something.

Five bottles of assorted vitamins. About a dozen unopened letters (could be more underneath) and some same, opened ones- mostly bill noise. Painkillers. A strip of brown leather. (I have plans for it.) Ditto for the pirate sword, the dragon, the leather bangle, the toy superhero car, the two googly-eye magnets and the jar of "Muck" 'messy look' hair treatment.

An old camcorder cassette. No idea. A metal twirly part of a camcorder I pulled apart to see how it all worked- and to stare at the cool motherboard... they look like tiny cities to me. (Thuuuuus the tape! Now I remember!) Some internet and phone cables. Really no idea. A pair of busted sunglasses. (My nephew busted them- what can I do? They remind me of him and I smile.)

A lipstick. A small jar of expensive lanolin cream meant to have been dispatched months ago. (Along with the other few bits and bobs I won't disclose here.) A bottle of the Korean wine Dylan drank and which subsequently caused him to decorate his hotel room with vomit. We found it at a Korean grocery store here. I took a few sips- tastes like alcohol with a hint of citrus. Yuk. (Dylan can't even look at the bottle without wincing- thus it sits.)

Prescriptions for various of dad's meds- this pile comes and goes. A large old Ancient Greek coin on a thick chain. I wrote my very first non-fiction story based on it. It sucked. The coin remains magnificent. Nikk's creased and torn eulogy from its travels in my various bags; now behind a cheap clear plastic frame.

Quite a bit of 'paper'... notes and torn pages and sticky notes and reminders and quotes scribbled from a movie... paper (could be more underneath). A finished (empty) packet of 'Carmen's Bliss Balls'. (No! They're vegan sweets!)

Trash. Quite a lot of it. Old stuff. Mostly paper (there's definitely more underneath) not disposed of because whatever reason put it there- it might come back to me and I might need it. (For instance, the Tiger Air airline ticket from Tasmania, dating back some ten years, I can see poking out. There's a story there- I just know it. Same with the stadium seat stubs and the receipt from the first and last of our IKEA purchases.)

I'll stop here. I could go on but you get the gist. There's no 'bottom' to my desk.

(There is however, method to my madness.)

What is surprising about you?