draliman on life

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

What kind of music do you like?
Quite a wide range, depending on my mood. Starting with Abba, Dido, Marina all the way through to Iron Maiden, The Pretty Reckless, Marillion, Nightwish and Within Temptation.

So that’s pop through to symphonic rock and heavy metal.

What is your favourite food?
All the stuff that’s really bad for you. Pizza, chilli, burgers, chocolate and ice cream. Mmm, chileh…

What is your favourite tipple? For those who don’t drink, what do you order when out with friends?
My go-to drink when I’m thirsty and want something really refreshing is a dash of lemon juice (the kind used in cooking), two thirds lemonade and one third chilled water.

What relaxes you?
Listening to music, reading and walking out in nature.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Does your spouse/partner (or do you) help with the household chores?
What partner/spouse? If household chores were to get done, I would be the one who would be doing them.

What is your least favourite chore?
It’s immaterial really as I don’t do any. But I’ll go with “vacuuming” since the lack of that is the most obvious sign of my popular “Household chores? No thanks!” policy. I guess I’ll need to do it soon though, as the dustbunny tumbleweeds are getting annoying.

As a kid, did you have to do chores to earn your pocket money/allowance?
Not that I recall. Probably not, I would have been penniless.

Did you save any of your pocket money or spend it all?
I saved it until I had enough to spend it. I usually saved it up for our summer holidays in Scotland.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Did you attend Sunday School at your local church as a child?
Yes. I don’t remember hardly any of it. Presumably they taught me something. I would have preferred not having to get up on a Sunday morning to go to church, to be honest.

Did you attend after school classes ie. drama, sports, as a teenager?
I was in the Chess Club for a while. That’s the only one I remember.

Did you go to evening classes after you had left school?
Nope. I’m too busy with my hectic schedule of watching TV and playing video games to better myself.

Do you now belong to any groups/meetings?
No, not at the moment.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

When food shopping, do you go with a list and stick to it, or buy on the hop?
Always a list. Supermarket shopping online or essentials shopping in the village shop, always a list. I usually buy more than what’s on the list, for example stocking up on condiments or whatever. Sometimes I even miss something that’s on the list!

When clothes shopping, do you prefer to shop in a store or buy mail order?
I rarely clothes shop. I get a lot of bits and bobs for birthdays and Christmas. I’m pretty sure the last clothes I bought was my North Face waterproof jacket just over three years ago. That was in an actual shop, I’d never buy something that expensive online as I needed to check it was a good fit and the sort of thing I wanted.

Do you like shopping for shoes?
Nope. The last time I did wasn’t too bad – it was the first time I ever took a chance and did it online. Nice pair of Nike’s. Fitted perfectly.

Do you enjoy shopping alone or with friends/partner?
I always go alone, when it’s as quiet as possible, in and out as quickly as possible. A “surgical strike”, if you will. Group shopping isn’t really a thing that we blokes do.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

If you could rename yourself, what name would you choose and why?
I would be Sebastian “Dangerman” Bullet. Obviously I’m some sort of upper class super-spy with that name. I’m suave, capable and know no fear and whatnot.

If you were tasked with naming a new star, what would you name it and why?
I think “Dralistar” has a nice ring to it.

If you were a story/comic book hero, what would your name be and why?
I already have a superhero name – The Drali-Man! That has the advantage of not giving away the true nature of my superpowers leaving my foe quaking in fear at what they may be.

If animals could talk, which would be the rudest?
A popular choice I think – cats. You can see it in the way they look at you sometimes. They’re trying to learn human-speak so they can give you a piece of their mind.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

What kind of vacations did you have as a child?
We visited my Gran who lived in the north of Scotland. We visited lots of places and played golf on the local courses, and did that every year I can remember.

Have any of those remained favourites now that you’re an adult?
Gran is gone now but north Scotland remains a favourite place. It’s a long way away though. I hope to visit again one day but 750 miles is a long drive now that I’m older.

What has been your best vacation ever?
I haven’t been on that many holidays. I had a nice 3 days in Wales a few years ago. I like going to quiet places with nice scenery.

Do you prefer resorts where there are no kids allowed?
There’s a time and place for children – always, in a sound-proof room heh heh 😉

No, seriously, a “no kids allowed” resort sounds like swapping the happy laughter of children for the drunken revellings of 20-somethings…

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Do you consider yourself to be romantic?
Hmm, a “cynical romantic” maybe or “real life romantic”. Like, the stuff you see on the telly would never happen in the real world.

Do you send cards on Valentine’s Day?
No. I’d hand over a card if I was with someone.

Would you spend a considerable amount of money on a single red rose for your beloved?
No. I don’t like the sound of “significant amount”. Especially on something that’s going to wither and die in a day.

What is your idea of a romantic evening?
Ah, dinner, walk in the rain and a nice quiet spot for a good hard [367 words censored for reasons of decency] and finally a kebab from that dodgy van on the high street.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Do you find it relatively easy to fall asleep at night?
Sometimes. And sometimes, not. The key is to still your mind, Grasshopper. Wax on, wax off and all that shizzle.

Do you remember your dreams?
Sometimes, temporarily. I think you remember a dream if you wake up during it, but the brain is clever enough not to transfer it to long term memory so it goes away during the periodic brain memory flush…

If you can’t sleep, do you watch TV, read or listen to music in the hope you will nod off?
I usually grab my Kindle and have a read until I feel really tired and then try again.

Can you literally sleep anywhere (chair, sofa, bus, train, flight etc)?
For sure. Napping is one of my hobbies. I used to fall asleep in lectures and meetings all the time. It didn’t go down very well.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

What is the most comfortable vehicle you have even ridden in or driven?
Blimey, that’s a lot of vehicles! I guess I’ll go with my most comfortable car, which was a 2012 Ford Fiesta. I drove all the way to north Wales and barely even felt it (about 250-300 miles maybe). The Fiestas I’ve had since are ST models (sports) so they’re not as comfortable due to the hardened sports suspension.

What is the most uncomfortable vehicle you have even ridden in or driven?
Crumbs, there’s that word “ever” again! Generally, as I go back over the years they get more uncomfortable. I couldn’t pick out just one, though. Of course there were also fairly uncomfortable pushbikes as well in the mix.

Have you ever ridden a horse (or a donkey at the seaside)?
No, I have never ridden anything non-mechanical. I guess it would be fun to try just once.

If you could have one of these as a pet, which would it be and why? Black panther, cheetah, leopard, lynx.
I’d like a lynx, they look quite cool. I expect before long it would rip my throat out and snack on my liver, though. Which would be a bit of a downer.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

How long did it take you to get back into your normal routine after the holidays?
No time at all. I tend to just switch “modes”, as it were.

Which makes you feel more relaxed, putting your feet up in front of the fire with a good book or socialising with your friends?
Putting my feet up. Not in front of the fire at the moment, though, electricity is too expensive. A good book with a hot water bottle, duvet and extra layers 🙂

What is your favourite hot drink?
I drink coffee but I quite enjoy “fruit infusions” – stuff like strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and the like.

If you are feeling poorly, do you prefer to be pampered, or left alone?
Left alone for sure. Just let me sleep! There’s no-one here to take care of me anyway (cue violins).