draliman on life

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

What’s your favourite pizza topping?
I like stuff like pepperoni, chili beef and so on.

What is/was your favourite fizzy drink?
Though I generally drink some brand of cola, I prefer stuff like cloudy lemonade and other various fruity fizzy drinks. I’m currently drinking some sort of fruit medley thing which is very nice, and it’s an interesting orange/red colour too!

When out for a meal, have you ever sent yours back to the kitchen?
No. I’ve never had a meal that bad, and I doubt I would send it back even then. I just wouldn’t ever go back. And they wouldn’t get a tip, either.

Has anything surprised you on a restaurant menu (apart from the price!)
I went to a Chinese/Japanese place a couple of months ago and one of the menu items was “octopus balls”. I wasn’t thinking and actually thought it was, well, you know… 😉 It was just octopus fashioned into balls, though. I didn’t order it in any case 😮

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

As a child, how did you make extra pocket money?
I don’t recall doing anything to make extra pocket money. I must have been a lazy child, content to be poor 🙂

What did you spend your pocket money on?
The occasional game for my (in those days very basic) computer and records (mostly singles).

Was your first pay packet in cash, cheque or directly into your bank?
I’ve been trying to remember and can’t! It’s very possible it was a cheque that I had to take to the bank. It’s like the Stone Age 🙂 The only person I know who still uses cheques is my Mum, but she’s 90 so she’s allowed.

Have you ever received a discount for paying for something in cash?
No. These days, in my mind, “discount for cash” is synonymous with “please pay cash so there’s no paper trail as I’m not wanting to pay tax on this sale”.

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

What breed of dog or cat do you prefer?
Small cute dogs like terriers and the like. Cat-wise, “moggies” really. None of that “hairless” nonsense.

Do you think some pets can look like their owners?
I suppose they could, but I don’t think we can read anything into it!

What was your first pet (if any)?
A goldfish from the funfair I guess, if a goldfish can be considered a pet. Apart from that, a stray cat me and my girlfriend “adopted”.

Do you think giving a child the responsibility of pet ownership is a good idea?
Yes, as long as there’s “parental overwatch”. Which makes the parent actually responsible really.

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

Do you enjoy shopping? (food, clothes, shoes etc)
No, not even a little bit. Unless maybe it’s some cool tech.

What is something you used to buy often but either buy less or no longer buy at all?
I can’t really think of anything to be honest.

Food shopping only: do you prefer to shop in person or on-line?
I do a big shop every 6-8 weeks or so online mainly bulk buying non-perishables which are far cheaper in the supermarket. Then I do a weekly shop for things like bread and fruit every week in the local village shop. Occasionally I walk to the neighbouring village and get some meat, cheese and fresh fruit from the farm shop there.

Do you use charity shops (I believe this is Goodwill for my American readers), car boot sales or village hall / church hall sales (which I remember as jumble sales)
I haven’t though I’ve been thinking recently of taking a look, mainly for clothes. I’m not usually in town, though.

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

Which tastes better: black or green olives?
Both. I could eat olives all day. On their own or with a bit of feta and cured meat.

What’s your favourite room in your home?
My living room. That’s where I spend most of my time and where all my stuff is.

What fictional family would you be a member of?
Oh dear, I don’t know. Most fictional families are necessarily in some way dysfunctional. Otherwise they would be too boring to be a fictional family.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?
I appreciated this coming Monday being a bank holiday (in England and Wales anyway), so I get an extra day off 🙂

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

What was your favourite TV show as a kid?
Hmm, there were quite a few. I quite enjoyed Grange Hill (a UK school-based drama) and The A Team.

Do you have a favourite ‘tipple’? (alcoholic drink, or something when you are out for a meal etc)
I usually have some sort of diet cola.

Is there a movie you can watch again and again and still enjoy?
Yep, quite a few. Star Wars: A New Hope (ie the first film released), Die Hard, Aliens, the Resident Evil films, stuff like that. I watched Starship Troopers for the umpteenth time just last night.

Did you have a favourite toy as a child? Or perhaps one you wanted and never got?
The one I really remember is a wooden fort my Dad made for us. It had a working drawbridge and everything!

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

Have you ever won a major prize in a competition / raffle?
Nothing major. I don’t enter competitions and rarely raffles, though.

Do you play the National Lottery (if you have one in your country)
Not any more. I stopped when they increased the price from £1 to £2 per ticket. I stuck money in the Premium Bonds instead. I reinvest the prizes I get and it works out that in general I make around 2.5-3% “interest” per year.

If you were to suddenly benefit from a financial windfall of say £100,000 or $100,000, how would you use it?
I would pay off my mortgage with half of it and look at the best way of investing the rest.

Do you consider yourself to be in a better financial position than your were ten years ago?
Yes.

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

What have you recently forgotten to do until the last minute?
I nearly forgot to renew my Prescription Prepayment Certificate. That allows me as many prescriptions as I want for around £130 a year. Otherwise they’d be costing me £30 a month for my three monthly prescriptions! That’s a bit pricey.

How many blog posts do you publish on average a day?
0.14286.

How long have you been blogging?
Almost exactly 15 years. I found my first ever post, here. It’s all about monkeys and typewriters. Sounds riveting.

If you had to rename your blog, what would it be?
I think I’d still leave it as-is, even though I don’t post “about life” any more. I’m not a big fan of rebranding 🙂

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

Do you prefer a carnival or a circus?
Neither. If I had to choose I guess a carnival.

What is your favourite circus act?
I don’t even know what’s at the circus these days. Last time I was at a circus it was about 50 years ago and still had endangered animals being forced to perform and whatnot. I guess something arcobatic.

When was the last time you attended a funfair?
No idea. I think I might have gone to one when I lived in Germany, so that was about 30-odd years ago.

What is your favourite ride/stall?
The ones with food.

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

Did you ever keep a diary?
No, unless you count the early days of my blog which had more “life” stuff in it.

Do you use a calendar that is NOT on a computer/smartphone?
Not for a long time. I like to be able to check things everywhere I am. And more importantly, my calendar is in the cloud so I can’t lose it. Plus I have reminders set up which pling me when I need to take my tablets or put the garden waste out,

When was the last time you wrote a letter…… using pen and paper, not a computer.
A long time, pen and paper or computer! Though I tend to write a “mini-letter” in Christmas cards to my friends.

If you had a column of 10 figures, could you add them up or would you need a calculator?
Yes. If it’s big numbers or numbers with decimal points I wouldn’t necessarily be able to do it in my head though.

It’s easier and quicker (and potentially more accurate) to use the calculator on my phone, though.