draliman on life

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

How well do you know your immediate neighbours?
To say hi to and wave. Comment on the weather, that sort of thing.

Do you notice changes in your neighbourhood : ie. new car, new dog, home improvements, etc.
My neighbour got a new car but I couldn’t really miss that as he has the driveway next to me. I notice home improvements if there’s scaffolding up. Once it comes down I’d have no idea what’s been done, though.

Should new neighbours move in next door, do you introduce yourself once they are settled in?
Only via “chance encounter”. I’m not going round there with a “welcome to the neighbourhood” casserole or anything.

Have you ever had to complain to your neighbours?
No. It would take a lot for me to complain.

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

Do you like change?
No. Not things changing or the sort of change you get when you buy something. Unless it’s pound coins.

Can you remember the last time you had to use an operator service?
I’m not sure what that is, but based on the following questions I’ll assume it’s the telephone operator. In which case I can’t remember. I don’t even know if there still is an operator. As for private companies, it’s always a computer service these days.

What is the best and worst ‘hold’ music you have had to listen to?
I don’t really remember hold music. I think that’s the point – it’s designed to be as unforgettable and inoffensive as possible.

Do you find numerous ‘options’ annoying when connected to an automated service?
Yes. I usually don’t phone companies if I can avoid it, I use online chat instead. Of course these days you often have to fight your way past a bot there as well. In fact last week I was in town and I actually went into the bank and spoke to a real person because I can’t handle all the automated shit any more 😮

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

How do you get on with your in-laws/partner’s family?
I don’t have any but if I did I expect they would love me to bits on account of how awesome I am 😉

What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I really have no idea. I tend to remember the not-nice things people say.

What was your favourite ride/stall at a fun fair?
I haven’t been to a fun fair for many many years and never really did anything much while there. I seem to recall I went on the bumper cars once maybe 40-odd years ago. I suppose that was fun 🙂

Would you like to be a child growing up in today’s world?
There’s pluses and minuses I suppose. It felt like a simpler time, but I was a kid after all so I didn’t have “responsibilities”.

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

Do you have a favourite time of year?
Not really. Every season has something going for it. Though I tend to get fed up with whatever season it is after a while. I’d prefer shorter seasons but that’s not the way the universe works for our little planet.

What is your happiest memory?
I can’t really pinpoint a single memory, though I was pretty happy yesterday when I finally beat a course record in Hogwarts Legacy and got a cool upgrade for my broomstick. Makes it go faster 🙂

If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
I wouldn’t mind being a bit younger again…

Are you a tidy person (ie. everything in its place), or do you prefer a bit of clutter?
I actually tidied up all my paperwork recently. It was weird finding council tax bills from years ago – they were so low! And credit card statements from the early 2000’s – I probably don’t need them any more, I thought.

My house is too small to avoid all clutter.

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

Have you ever been fishing?
Yes, quite a lot as a kid. I never caught anything, though. It was really more about being by the river.

Do you prefer to watch football, rugby, tennis or hockey on TV?
I guess out of all of those, tennis. Though Wimbledon is the only one I really watch, I like the grass and the whole atmosphere, with the crowd being so supportive of all the players.

Have you ever ice skated?
No. I’d quite like to try but not in front of loads of other people and I’m a bit worried I’d fall and break something. Same with skiing.

Did you enjoy sports at school?
My goodness, no, not in any way, shape or form. However, I was “fortunate” enough to have a condition with the bones in my feet while I was still growing so I got out of most of it. The only sport I enjoyed was rounders, which I always assumed came from baseball but it appears it was the other way around, with “Base-ball” referenced right back in 1744 and played back then in the south of England.

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

Do you use a feather duster for cleaning?
For doing what now? 😉 I do have a duster for those high spots which I may use one day. Not feather but the modern-day equivalent.

Do you use a washing liquid, ‘ball’ thingie or washing powder?
I use those washing pods that you chuck in and they dissolve.

Do you own anything that has to be hand washed?
Probably. I probably own stuff that you mustn’t tumble dry either. My clothes labels are covered with weird symbols. Circles with X’s. Triangles with X’s. I just bung everything in together in the washer dryer on the Eco setting (20 C).

Do you use, or have you ever used, a laundry service?
I have actually. When I first arrived in Germany for a year I used a laundry service a couple of times before I made other arrangements. It was too expensive to keep using.

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

Does your kitchen have a pantry or utility room?
Nope. It’s a dinky little kitchen in a dinky little house.

How good are you at DIY?
Not good at all. You should see the curtain rail I put up in the bathroom. It’s barely holding on. I accidentally left the drill on “screwdriver mode”, so the holes in the wall aren’t deep enough 😦

Does your home lack something you wish it had? (ie. an open fire, second bathroom, garage, etc)
Yes – twenty more bedrooms, a vast lawn/gardens, a large staff catering to my every need, a heated swimming pool and a helipad. Is that too much to ask? Is it?

Are you an early bird or night owl?
An early bird. My work recently allowed us to work different hours as long as we’re working between 10am and 4pm, so I changed my hours from 9-5 to 8-4. Much better for me.

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

Expensive or sentimental, what is priceless to you?
Sentimental, I suppose. Stuff is just stuff no matter how expensive it is. And I guess if you can buy something, it’s not technically “priceless” anyway…

What do you consider to be ‘a quiet night in’?
My usual night in. The “in” here being somewhat redundant.

Do you believe in Soul Mates?
No, I only believe in Soul Glo.

Can you dance? (for example: old time, disco, jive)
Only in my own head.

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

What makes you smile at the drop of a hat?
Fluffy baby animals on BBC’s Animal Park.

What makes you angry?
Nasty things happening. Grr argh.

What saddens you?
The general state of the world today. I think that’s a pretty common answer.

What do you find most frustrating?
The amount of time it’s taking to convert the main road through the county into a dual carriageway. I know it’s a big job (ie years) but it’s messing up traffic everywhere.

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

Do you prefer a sofa (aka couch, settee) or an armchair to relax in?
I like both, but I only have a sofa in my living room. I moved the armchair upstairs when I put a desk in the living room to work at during lockdown.

Do you prefer to sit at a table to eat your meals, or on a tray?
I definitely don’t sit on a tray to eat my meals 😉

I always prop myself up on one elbow and eat while watching TV. It’s probably very bad for my digestion!

Do you enjoy a glass of wine with your main meal?
No, I don’t drink. I have sugar-free lemonade or Coke Zero usually.

How do you like your chips (aka fries), with salt, sauce, mayo or something else?
I would like them with salt, but I can’t because of my blood pressure. Apart from that, it depends on what I’m eating the chips with, so it could be vinegar, Worcester Sauce, Tabasco sauce, brown sauce or whatever. As for “fries” i.e. the pseudo-chips you get from Burger King and the like, ketchup.