draliman on life

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

Why did you start blogging?
To share my views on life with the world! That didn’t last long however as I don’t really have any, but fortunately I discovered writing challenges and the rest is history.

A piece of clothing you still remember?
Ha, the clothing from forever ago I still remember I still own! There’s the (once) fluffy jacket I used to wear every day to university and then work which finally went in a hole (bought circa 1992). Then there’s the (once) smart blue shirt my mum bought me for interviews to university which I still wear to work sometimes (bought circa 1986). And finally, on Friday I wore a “University of Surrey Beer Fest 1992” t-shirt (under a jumper, mind).

I still wear clothes which are older than some of our employees.

What am I like? 🙂

Who are you trying to reach with your blog?
Whomever wants to read it!

Is there a stuffed animal in your bedroom?
A stuffed animal? What am I, eight years old?

Hey, where did they come from? Ahem.

The best birthday present ever?
A Sinclair ZX81 computer, back in 1982. My very own home computer! Before they were a thing! It was a huge surprise as it was a large amount of money for my parents back then.

What would surprise me about you?
I don’t know. Meet me and then let me know!

What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
Last week my new car arrived! Very similar to the last one, but a “limited edition” 🙂

Tomorrow is my birthday and I have the day off, so I’m looking forward to that.

Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World. It’s a bit different this week as there are six questions, posed by kids, via The Happy Quitter.

A class you wish you would have taken?
I wish I’d taken Home Economics as I’d quite like to be able to cook more stuff. However, around age 14 we had to choose five (I think) subjects to take alongside maths, English language and English literature and I went for a load of languages (plus physics of course).

However, as regular followers know I’ve done a sponge and pizza and hopefully I’ll try some bread next!

What’s your favourite comic figure and why?
That’s either Calvin and Hobbes or Dilbert. I would post a cartoon or two but I’m sure they’re heavily copyrighted, but the Dilbert link always shows today’s Dilbert!

Name something you wish you could like.
Celery. I love chips and dips and celery is excellent for dipping but I absolutely hate it with a passion. Celery is disgusting!

Tell me about your first crush / first date / first kiss.
Ha ha oh me oh my oh goodness gracious me blimey.

No.

Who was your best friend when you were 10?
I was best friends with a guy called Michael ever since infants school after (my faulty memory tells me) I was asked to look after him when he moved into the area. We sort of naturally drifted apart after we went to secondary school, as these things often do.

What sign are you? Do you believe in astrology?
I am a Libra – we’re in the land of Libra right now! It’s always interesting reading about the various traits of different signs, though I’m not particularly a “believer”. Some traits sound like me, others don’t so much and it depends on which source you read as well. For example, one site has this to say… “positive” in green and “negative” in red. I’ve tried to decide if they apply to me (though it’s hard to assess oneself!). I guess there are more yes answers than no answers. But if I chose a different star sign, would I get the same result…?

• Tactful – yes
• Romantic – no
• Charming – no
• Just – yes
• Diplomatic – yes
• Balanced – yes
• Superficial – to an extent
• Detached – yes
• Unreliable – absolutely no
• Laid back – yes (how is this a negative?)
• Indecisive – yes
• Self-indulgent – yes

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

Are you a hugger or a non-hugger?
Generally I like my personal space. Sometimes I find myself backing away a little from people who are comfortable with a smaller “bubble”.

However, if the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Pixie Lott or Taylor Momsen suddenly turned up on my doorstep demanding a hug, I would just have to bite the bullet and oblige :-). That’s fairly unlikely to happen, though :-(.

What is your least favourite candy?
Those sort of softish fruity ones covered with sugar. I’m not sure what they’re called. Also, anything liquorice-related. I prefer chocolate-based sweets!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “fun”?
It’s a bit sad but nothing immediately springs to mind. I enjoy doing certain things – I suppose that’s “fun”, but mood-wise I’m generally extremely stable – right in the middle. I like to watch my friends’ kids playing – they look like they’re having fun!

List of Favourite Smells: What smells do you love? Whether it’s vanilla scented candles or the smell of coffee in the morning or the smell of a fresh spring rain…make a list of all the things you love for a little aromatherapy.

• Freshly cut grass
• Bacon cooking
• Anything baking – cakes, bread and whatnot
• The scent of the forest

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

Have you ever owned a rock, pet rock, or gem that is not jewellery?
Oh goodness, yes.

I’d had him since he was tiny. We were the best – the very best – of friends. We did everything together, went everywhere together. When I was down, he was the only one who could cheer me up. When he was down, I did the same for him. Whenever I came home from school he would be there, waiting at the the window watching out for me so we could spend our evening having fun together. And oh, the fun we had!

Then, one dark and stormy day, I sneaked out of the house to play in the park. As I reached the far side of the road, I heard him behind me. I had left the garden gate open! He approached the road, the busy road… a car was coming, the driver not paying attention, coming closer and closer to my bestest buddy, close, closer…

Hang on, did you say “rock”? I thought you said “dog”. Ask me the question again.

Have you ever owned a rock, pet rock, or gem that is not jewellery?
No.

What is your greatest strength or weakness?
I’ll do both! My greatest strength is my supreme awesomeness in all situations. My greatest weakness is my tendency to exaggerate my strengths.

What makes you feel grounded? 
I’m not really a “feeling grounded” sort of person. I’m always doing something! However, just sitting and looking at lovely views will do the trick. A stream, the waves… Here’s the lovely sunrise taken from my back door yesterday.

Would you rather never be able to eat warm food or never be able to eat cold food?
Oh dear, what a choice to have to make. But I’m very fond of my chilli and pizza and whatnot so I’ll keep the warm food and ditch the cold.