draliman on life

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

What is your favourite dessert?
Choclate gateau. Black Forest gateau. Other sorts of gateau. Ice cream of nearly any flavour. Ice cream-based desserts. Chocolate eclairs, profiteroles and choux buns. Cheesecake. Eton Mess.

Desserts are my favourite dessert, really.

Do you still use cash to pay for goods?
I do at the once-a-month village market as mostly they don’t take cards. Apart from that I use cards and occasionally my phone.

Apart from a house, car or holiday, what is the most expensive thing you’ve purchased?
Probably various computers. I tend to buy something around mid-range – the one I’m typing this on is a Microsoft Surface, mid-range at just under £1000.

If you are going out for a special occasion, what is your favoured outfit?
It depends where this “special occasion” is taking place. If I can get away with jeans, trainers and jumper I will. Otherwise I have various things up through the “smart scale” all the way up to a suit.

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

Do you prefer a duvet, quilt or sheets and blankets on your bed?
Definitely a duvet. I hate being all squished in under sheets which are tucked in. Whenever I’m anywhere with sheets, the first thing I do is untuck them.

Despite much Googling, a duvet may or may not be the same as, or similar to, a “comforter” in the US. Though I’m afraid whenever someone says they use a “comforter”, the following image always pops into my head…

Do you sleep with one or two pillows?
There are two pillows but side-by-side, so technically I suppose the answer is one. Two pillows are too high, your neck ends up at a silly angle.

Do you prefer a single, double, or kingsize bed?
I don’t know about “prefer” – I have a double bed. Which, according to “the Google” is roughly the same size as a “full” bed in the US.

In the winter, do you have a hot water bottle or an electric blanket?
A hot water bottle, but I don’t take it to bed with me.

Fun question: have you ever slept in a hammock?
No. It looks fun to try, though I expect I would fall out and break something I need. Like my legs.

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

When you were a child, did you have your friends round for tea even if it wasn’t your birthday? Were you invited to stay to tea at a friend’s house?
Yes, everybody did that back then. Over to a friend’s, play on the computer or race around on our bikes, fishfingers and baked beans for tea, then back home 🙂

What was your first job in adult life?
I had a summer job at the County Council in their computer department between finishing school and starting university. That was back when computers took up most of a room and had big machines with tapes spinning in, like you see in old films on the telly 🙂

Do you enjoy shopping (food, clothes, gifts etc)
Nope, not at all. Surgical strike – straight to the goods, pay, get out.

What was the best bargain you ever got?
In all my life? Let me think dearie ooh there that one time 1974 I think it was or 1975 that there sweet shop was doin’ them penny chews at a ha’ppeny each if you can believe that ha’penny each my word you don’t get that these days don’t know what the world’s coming to 300 quid for a loaf of bread it’s disgusting I blame the government gibber gibber mumble…

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

Do you remember your first teacher at school?
No! I remember one or two teachers from Primary School but not my very first one from Infants School. I was only little!

What was your best and worst subjects?
English (language) and Physics went well, maths and Latin not so much.

Were you encouraged in class or did you just muddle along?
Some teachers encouraged, some didn’t. You’ll always get a range from “exciting enthusiast” to “nasty asshole”.

Would you like to be a student today?
I would at university – that was great fun – but not back at school, no way no how. Being completely under someone’s control again, being told what to do and what not to do? No thanks 😮

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.