draliman on life

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

Does your first or middle name have any significance (or were you named after another family member)?
No to both questions (and names), as far as I’m aware. My first name is a mixture of English (Dad) and Scottish (Mum) spellings, though it’s quite a common spelling. I’m used to people spelling it wrong, though.

Just last week I emailed someone and signed off “Alistair”. He replied “Hi, Allister”…

Music or silence while working?
Music, usually. I often listen to music at work on my headphones. Most people in IT at my company do throughout the day. Not if I’m doing something really complicated, though.

If you had a special place for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronics, people or animals), what would they be?
Not electronics? What does that leave? 🙂

I put artwork by my friends’ kids on my fridge.

The Never List: What are things you know you never will do?
In true Bond style, I will “Never say Never Again”! Except I’m never going to bungee jump. Or do any extremely dangerous things. There are enough ways to suddenly die already without flinging myself out of an aeroplane.

And on that happy note, I shall leave you to your Sunday!

Though I will just add, did anyone know that cheese toasties can be quite dangerous? I left mine under the grill for less than a minute on Thursday and when I went to check they had burst into flames! I was going to fetch my phone to take a photo, but I decided discretion was the better part of valour and put the fire out instead.

They tasted nice though after I’d snapped off the charcoal. They had quite an authentic flame-grilled taste.

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

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
Hmm, tricky one. I’d better use a clever computer algorithm to work this out. Let’s see now… link in the Moto Body app, heart rate, blood pressure, random number generator (careful with the boundaries), carry the one, take away the number you first thought of…

702.

That can’t be right, can it? Well computers don’t lie. 702.

So, you’re on your way out and it’s raining. Do you know where your umbrella is or do you frantically search for it all over your apartment/house?
I know exactly where it is. Nowhere. Brollies are either so weak they blow inside out the moment someone sneezes or so strong you get blown in front of a bus. You’ve just got to hope one of those happens before you poke someone’s eye out.

Thinking about it, brollies are few and far between these days in town. There just isn’t room in the crowds.

Do you recharge your energy by going out with friends for a good time or by spending with quiet time alone?
Alone. I’m not sure how one can recharge one’s batteries by going out. It can be very tiring!

Name three things you and your spouse, partner or best friend  to have in common.
Like the same films, same sense of humour and, um, something else makes three things.

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

Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
I don’t use lifts as a rule. In Cornwall we don’t have any buildings high enough that I can’t take the stairs. I don’t like to be squished into a little metal box with lots of other people.

However, if I do need to take the lift I push the button once. Pushing the button more than once will have one of the following effects:

• No effect (most likely)
• Slow it down slightly as it processes the extra button push(es). This can also happen if you keep pushing a link on a website if nothing seems to be happening – all you’re doing is asking the server to process more and more.
• Break it

Do you plan out things usually or do you do them more spontaneous (for example if you are visiting a big city you don’t know?)
If I was driving there I’d check out the route and parking. If I was staying there I’d book in advance. Apart from that I’d check out what there is to see there and then just play it by ear. The worst thing I could do is make an itinerary as I’d panic if it didn’t go absolutely to plan.

Describe yourself in at least four uplifting words.
I can’t think of anything. I don’t really do “uplifting” 😦

If you had a choice which would be your preference salt water beaches, fresh water lakes, ocean cruise, hot tub, ski resort or desert?
Beaches are okay.

But I prefer lakes.

Horsies

I would like to visit a desert once day but there isn’t one for thousands of miles.

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

Ever ran out of gas in your vehicle?
No, my car runs on petrol ha ha ha. Ahem. No, I’ve never run out of petrol. I have, however, had my battery die in the middle of nowhere. Someone had to come out and give it a recharge, then he drove behind me while I limped back to his garage where I had to buy a new battery. Turns out my alternator was broken so it wasn’t charging.

Sometimes I miss the days of my very first car (a 1985 Fiesta) with its clangy doors, trying to start it in the cold by pumping the accelerator and pushing the manual choke in and out.

Which are better: black or green olives?
I like both, but I usually have green olives. My local supermarket does a range with feta, stuffed with garlic and so on but I like the ones with the roasted tomatoes. Here is this week’s supply. I haven’t opened them yet so you can only see the top of the packet.

If you were a great explorer, what would you explore?
I would explore that wondrous and enormous landscape known as the human psyche. I would carefully examine, probe every nuance, spend years educating myself until I knew every little corner of what makes us tick. Then, once I became expert in every side of the human mind so that I could practically tell what someone was thinking, I’d go out on the pull.

Quotes List: At least three of your favourite quotes?
First off, here’s one from Lethal Weapon 2.

Nasty murdering chap from South Africa (holding up his passport): Diplomatic immunity!
Sgt Murtaugh (shoots him in the head): Has just been revoked!

Ha, classic.

Here’s one from BBC’s “Call the Midwife” a couple of weeks ago. I can’t remember the exact wording. The old nun and a nurse are off to check out a mental hospital.

Old nun: I find two opinions are always better than one. Especially when one of them’s mine.

We’ll finish up with some classic Grumpy Cat, taken from the calendar I got from Secret Santa at work. This one kept me laughing all through February.

Inspirational stuff, no?

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

When you cut something with scissors, do you move your jaw (as if you were about to chew)?
Huh? Is that a thing?

Does my ass spontaneously gyrate when I’m making a coffee?

Do my eyebrows jiggle up and down when I’m parking the car?

I’m answering “no” to all these questions.

Do you chew your pens and pencils?
I remember chewing pencils many many years ago when I used pencils. I remember bits of wood and paint in my mouth 🙂 These days I chew pens a little bit (the lid on the end). It’s that or my thumb 🙂

Are you a collector of anything?  If so what?
No, I don’t really collect anything. When I was little I collected stamps.

What size is your bed?
I guess it’s a standard double, I can’t really remember. It has drawers underneath for spare pillows and duvet covers and whatnot.

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

Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
Sheets? Is that those things we used in the 80’s? Okay, they still use them in hotels and guest houses and the like. On the rare occasions I’m in one of those places I always untuck the sheets before going to sleep. After decades of using a duvet tucked-in sheets feel very constraining.

Have you stolen a street sign before?
Nope. I saw a good number of student rooms at university with street signs in but I never nicked one myself.

Could be dangerous to steal a street sign blah blah blah could be warning of danger ahead blah blah blah very expensive those things blah blah blah who ends up paying we do the tax payer that’s who blah blah blah ought to be locked up blah blah blah…

Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?
No, I don’t think I’ve ever cut out a coupon in my life. I know there are lots of people who save a fortune by doing that but they seem to spend most of their day doing it. I’d have to decide whether my time per hour spent finding and cutting out coupons is worth what I’d be saving…

Do you have freckles?
No, no freckles at all.

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

Regarding your fridge, is it organised or a mess inside?
Both, really. It’s not particularly tidy, but everything is in its correct position. I always know where everything is, and everything is always where its supposed to be.

Here is a photo. Yesterday was shopping day, so it’s at max capacity.

Do you prefer your food separated or mixed together?
I put it all on the same plate and eat it. Sometimes it mixes a bit, ‘cos the plate’s not big enough. But I don’t stick my fry-up in a blender and drink it through a straw or anything.

Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction, educational?
Fiction, always. I learn stuff at work, I deal with reality all day. Why would I want more of the same when I’m trying to relax?

Close your eyes. Listen to your body. What part of your body is seeking attention? What is it telling you?
Well, I have little aches around the place but that’s what happens when you start to get old. Not quite sure when that happened. It’s asking for coffee. I’ll sort that in a sec 🙂

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

Do you prefer juice or fruit?
Juice is a song by “Chance the Rapper”. I haven’t listened to it as I already know I won’t like it. On the other hand, I love Froot as I’m a huge Marina and the Diamonds fan.

Hang on, have I misunderstood the question? Ooooh noooo…

I prefer apple and orange as juice, but cherries and peaches as fruit.

Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?
Until I was five I grew up in a dinky village called Carnon Downs, but I don’t really remember it. I did most of my growing up in the “big city” – Cornwall’s only city, the teaming metropolis of Truro, some 20,000 or so people! It doesn’t get any bigger than that.

It was just fine growing up there.

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colours would you use?
Sunshiny yellows as most of my childhood memories are of us cycling around the place in the sunshine during school holidays, our snorkel jackets worn only by the hoods.

I’ll also throw in a splash of red as I also have strong memories of Christmases, and red is a Christmas colour. Because of Santa.

Ways to Relax List: Make a list of what relaxes you and helps you feel calm.

• Listening to the music
• Walking in the Nature
• Reading of the books
• Watching of the Netflix