draliman on life

Here are my answers for Cee’s Share Your World.

As a child, who was your favourite relative?
Ooh, I can’t answer that, I might upset someone!

If you could be a tree or plant, what would you be?
I think maybe a cactus. I quite like the scenery in “cactus country” so I could just sit there all day admiring the view.

What would be your preference, awake before dawn or awake before noon?
I would like to be awake before dawn. I’m more of a morning person and I always wake up quite early even if my alarm is not set.

Would you like to sleep in a human size nest in a tree or be snuggled in a burrowed spot underground?
Definitely underground. That sounds quite snug and warm while the tree nest sounds very exposed. I wouldn’t want to be up there high winds and driving rain. Of course, I’d have to be sure that my burrow has adequate drainage in case of those heavy rains!

Here is the last of my posts for Cee’s Share Your World for 2015. Even though I didn’t get round to squeezing it out in 2015 :-).

Tell how you are feeling today in the form of a weather report. (For example, partly cloudy, sunny with a chance for showers, etc.)
Misty and drizzling with a small possibility of sunshine poking through on occasion, mostly at the weekends.

(This is the wrong question to ask me in January. January sucks!)

What is most memorable about your high school years?
I don’t know the age range for “high school” so I’ll assume 12-16. I have a little list!

• Two school trips to London
• Rushing out of class at break time to grab a tennis court
• Playing yo-yo’s at break time
• Triple Latin (not memorable in a good way)
• Summer holidays which seemed to last forever, back in the days when the sun actually came out during the summer

Have you ever owned a rock, pet rock, or gem that is not jewellery?
“Pet rock”? Is that a thing?

I had one or two nice little rocks that we’d bought from visiting mines and whatnot. I think one was a lovely amethyst.

Complete this sentence:  I like watching…
… all manner of things, mainly on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I’ve just finished “Hemlock Grove” and “How to Get Away with Murder” (series one) on Netflix, and I’m currently watching “Sleepy Hollow” and “The Walking Dead” (series 4) on Amazon. There’s always something to watch on those two services.

And finally, in case anyone is interested, you can click here to read my 2015 annual report, which I think I have successfully made “public”.

“The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 20,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.”

As recommended above by WordPress, I have tried to book Sydney Opera House for a blog performance, but I haven’t heard back yet :-(.

It’s week 50, and time for my Share Your World post, hosted by Cee.

Favourite thing to photograph? Write? Or Cook?
Photograph – nature scenes, like this scene at St. Nectan’s Glen.

Write: darkly humorous death fiction bwahahaha 🙂

Cook: Pizzzzzzaaaaa!

Yum

Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing?
Swinging? Whayhay! Oh, right, I see. Yes, it was fun. Whenever I see a swing I want to have a go, but firstly they’re too small, secondly they may not be rated to my weight and thirdly I’d probably get told off by disgruntled parents who think it’s high time their little Jimmy or Jemima had a go.

What has surprised you about blogging?
That I’ve “met” so many lovely people from all over the world. Who knew I would have so many friends? 🙂

List at least five favourite desserts.

• Black Forest gateau
• Eton Mess
• Strawberry gateau
• Any one of various ice cream concoctions, like knickerbocker glory, banana split and the like
• Pretty much anything else that’s not very good for me 🙂

Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World.

What would be your ideal birthday present, and why?
Hmm. I really have no idea. I’m not really bothered about birthdays any more. They come, they go…

What colour would you like your bedroom to be?
I’m not all that bothered. Nothing too “in your face”. I don’t notice these things. I’ve lived here going on two years and I have no idea what colour my bedroom is now, or whether it’s paint or wallpaper. Everywhere else is wallpaper so I guess my bedroom is too. If I haven’t noticed it I guess it’s currently some sort of off-white or cream.

Would you prefer snowy winters, or not, and why?
I would ideally, but I have to drive to work and therefore I wouldn’t.

Would you rather go a week without bathing, but be able to change your clothes, or a week without a change of clothes, but be able to bathe?
If I really have to choose, the same clothes but be able to bathe. I could probably make that work for a few days anyway. It would be pretty manky though.

Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World. Week 48? I suppose I need to start thinking about Christmas cards and stuff. I’ll have to go up into the loft in a couple of weeks and get the decorations down, I guess. Yay!

Are you a hugger or a non-hugger?
I’m not a big hugger. I especially never initiate a hug, I’m not about to force me on anyone. And I’m more comfortable hugging women than men. You know us blokes, all macho and whatnot :-).

The only person I hug regularly is my mum :-).

What is your favourite toppings on pizza?
Everything “normal”! “Normal” does not include seafood or pineapple or anything like that. Meat, pepperoni, cheese, tomato, stuff like that.

Is that extra cheese? Why yes, yes it is.

A friend of mine gave me a recipe for pizza base so yesterday I bought flour and yeast and whatnot. I’ll give it a go next week. I haven’t “baked” anything since the 1980s (a jam tart which ended up splattered all over the classroom floor), so wish me luck!

If you were the original designer of one existing corporate logo, which one would you select?
I’ve looked at loads of logos and I can’t really choose one. I’m sure after posting this a really cool one will catch my eye. Therefore, though it’s a charity and not a corporation, I’m going for the World Wildlife Fund, as they have a cute panda.

Complete this sentence:  Where I can seek my solace is…
… at home, I guess!

Here is this week’s Share Your World, hosted by Cee.

In your native language which letter or character describes you best?  Why?
Hmm. I don’t know. To me letters are just letters. None of them mean anything on their own, or symbolise anything in particular.

Thinking about it, I’m often confused so I’ll go for “Y”. “Y” is also confused. Is it a consonant? Is it a vowel? Is it a consovowel or a vowelsonant? Nooooobody knooooows.

What is your greatest extravagance?
I guess games for my PS4. ‘Cos they’re not cheap. But if you get the right one, like a big open-world adventure, they’re worth the money I reckon. Witcher 3 cost around 40 quid but I played it for well over 100 hours.

Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?
Neither. Never 🙂

Unless you count being at work when I’m constantly thinking. So exercising my mind is the last thing I want to be doing when I get home. As for exercising my body, that’s incompatible with my Netflix habit.

List at least 5 things that makes you laugh.
Ooh.

• Funny comedies
• An unexpected and possibly rude comment out of nowhere
• When someone’s head unexpectedly and graphically explodes in a film or video game
• Cats doing funny things
• Funny stories

Here’s my post for Cee’s Share Your World challenge. Some tricky questions this week!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “fun”?
Oh no. Someone’s organising something “fun”. Will I have to participate? I want to go home, have tea and watch the telly. Maybe play some PS4. That’s what I’ll do.

I prefer “quietly enjoyable” to “fun”. Fun sounds like hard work.

What is your favourite time of day?
The morning, I suppose. I feel less tired in the morning (once I’ve got going). Though on a work day, the evening’s good!

Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want to have a evening with?
Ah, so many women, so little time :-). I really don’t know. Not someone I admire as an actor or whatever, as there’s the risk that I’ll be disappointed. It’s hard to know what these people are really like in real life. I’ll think I’ll have to pass on this evening.

Complete this sentence: Something that anyone can do that will guarantee my smile is…
… say something spontaneously funny (possibly rude and/or slightly inappropriate).

Here’s my weekly post for Cee’s Share Your World.

If you were on a debate team, what general subject would you relish debating?
This wouldn’t be a very good idea for me. You don’t want to get me started on something.

I’m thinking maybe

“Is it okay to illegally steal music and films off the web rather than pay for them like a law-abiding citizen? If you feel something in a shop is too expensive, do you steal it instead? DISCUSS!”

You can see by the slightly (!) biased way I phrased the question where I stand :-). I’ve already started my debate in the question, even!

The trouble is I might have to argue the opposite to what I believe on a debate team. Maybe I could do that, maybe not.

What’s your strongest sense?
My eyesight is pretty poor (though fine with corrective lenses). My sense of taste isn’t what it was thanks to decades of Tabasco abuse. My sense of touch is somewhat desensitised (at least on my thumbs) thanks to chewing on them. My sense of smell isn’t great either. So I’ll go for hearing, which is fine apart from the usual age-related degradation.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?
“Was that it, then? The life and times of draliman.”

List your favourite flavours or types of tea.
I don’t really like “normal” tea. I sometimes drink “fruity” tea, like blackcurrant and stuff. I suppose technically that’s a “fruit infusion” rather than a tea. Here is what’s in my cupboard right now. The worktop thingy I put it on for this picture was one of my birthday presents from my friends from round the corner. I have another flavour in my drawer at work.

Here is my contribution to Cee’s Share Your World.

Are you usually late, early, or right on time?
No usually about it. I’m always early. I calculate how long I’ll need based on time of day and so on and then add some time on in case of getting stuck behind tractors and whatnot. Usually if I’m going for a meal with my parents, I’ll arrive, sit in the car for 10 minutes, then go into the restaurant 10 minutes early.

The further I have to go, the earlier I will typically be.

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels?
If I were a writer I would probably prefer to write short stories. Novels sound like they would take far too much planning!

Where did you live at age ten?  Is it the same place or town you live now?
At age ten I lived in Truro, Cornwall. I’ve moved all around but now I’m back in Cornwall, about 7 miles from Truro. Full circle!

Would you rather be able to fly or breathe under water?
Who’s cooler? Superman or Aquaman? I rest my case.