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.

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

If you were given a boat or yacht today, what would you name it?  (You can always sell the yacht later)
I would call it “The Happy Wanderer” as I’d be too scared to sail it anywhere so it would be ironic. And it would be a nice cheerful name when I came to sell it.

Which of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs describes you best?  (Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey) Plus what would the 8th dwarf’s name be?
In common with a few others, I guess “Sleepy” because I’m always tired. An ex of mine once even “forced” me to go to the doctor to get my thyroid checked. I can also be quite “Bashful” sometimes, and various people call me “Doc” on occasion.

As for the 8th dwarf, I don’t think “Grumpy” goes far enough. We need a truly nasty dwarf, hence “Asshole”.

Name a song or two which are included on the soundtrack to your life?
I know so many songs my mind has gone blank. Something about a promising start followed by a complete car-crash of a time ending with everything being okay. Anything come to anyone’s mind?

Complete this sentence:  I like watching…
Ooh, keep it clean, keep it clean… little bunny rabbits frolicking in sleepy summer meadows.

I also like watching water bubbling along little streams.

Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World. Week 36 already! Hello, September.

List 2 things you have to be happy about.
Netflix. PS4. What? I’m shallow, me. You wanted something deeper? Friends and family. There you go 🙂

If you could take a photograph, paint a picture or write a story of any place in the world, what and where would it be?
I’d love to visit New Zealand. Not just for the Hobbitses, though that’s a big reason! But New Zealand looks like such a lovely place. Shame it’s a bazillion miles away.

Should children be seen and not heard?
Absolutely! In fact, let’s not see them either.

Oooonly joking!

Children need to express themselves so they can grow. However, there also needs to be some discipline. I was recently in a restaurant where the parents let their toddler run around screaming the whole time.

It must be difficult for parents to find the right balance.

List at least five of your favourite first names.

• Blade
  
• Skylark
• Wishbone
• Ranger
• Butterbean
• Rainbow

I can’t wait to have kids, they’ll love me forever, on account of their awesome names.

Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World. Just a quick one this week as I’ve been ill for days, hardly slept and can’t concentrate.

Do I hear tiny violins? Playing for me? Aww…

What is your favourite comfort snack food?
I don’t snack as a rule, but I would choose chocolate or some sort of chocolate-covered biscuit.

Is the paper money in your possession right now organised sequentially according to denomination and with the bills right side up and facing the same way?
I’ve just got two ten pound notes in my wallet at the moment and yes, they are arranged neatly. If I have five pound notes as well they will be in front of the tens (they’re smaller) and twenty pound notes go behind the tens (they’re bigger). I rarely have twenty pound notes, though. You need to take a lot out of a cash machine to get twenties and I don’t use cash all that much. Only for the village market, hair cuts, that sort of thing.

If you were a mouse in your house in the evening, what would you see your family doing?
By “family”, that would be just me. The little mousie would see me get home, have my tea while watching whatever I’m currently working my way through (Star Trek DS9 and Stargate Atlantis), play some PS4 game, watch some Netflix and then watch whatever is currently on my “just before bed” list (ER at the moment).

Would you rather not be able to read or not be able to speak?
I’d rather not be able to speak. I don’t speak much and that would mean I wouldn’t have to talk to people on the phone any more. I’d hate not to be able to read.

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

Would you travel into outer space?
Hell yeah. Not in one of these new so-called spaceships we have, though. They sound rather dangerous. I want to go in style, get beamed up and then go to warp speed. I’d like to visit the pleasure planet of Risa, please.

Which country/city in the world (that you have never been to) would you most like to visit and why?
Can anyone guess? I bet regular readers can. I would go to Matamata, New Zealand. Because that’s where Hobbiton is! I could visit the Hobbits! Whoo-hoo 🙂

What could you do to breathe more deeply today?
Take a deeper breath? Is this to do with being calm? If so, I’m always pretty calm 🙂

Complete this sentence:  This creamy peanut butter sandwich could really use some…
… chucking in the bin. Yuck, the very idea of peanut butter sounds wrong. It sounds like peanuts (yuck) mashed up in butter. (Full disclosure – I’ve never eaten peanut butter.) It’s not such a big thing here. I don’t think it was around at all when I was little, though you can buy it now. I think it’s an American thing.

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

If you could have an endless supply of any food, what would you get?
Pizza. Piiiiiizzzzaaaa. Pizza. With pepperoni, Chorizo, loads of cheese. I assume I get to choose an endless supply of dessert too? I made myself the pizza described above yesterday, and I also made another Victoria sponge yesterday morning and had some for dessert so I’ll choose that. This time I used blackcurrant jam and remembered to frost the top!

What is the worst thing you ate recently?
I haven’t eaten anything bad recently. I’m trying to remember the last time I ate something bad. I usually eat something I’ve made and if we go out it’s to places we usually go and I have the same things (adventurous, aren’t I?).

You are comfortable doing nothing? For long stretches of time?
Probably not. I can’t remember the last time I was doing nothing so it’s hard to tell!

List of Jobs You Think You Might Enjoy: Even if you aren’t thinking about a career change, it can be fun to think of other jobs you might enjoy.

• Fighter pilot. I feel the need… the need for speed! Now I want to watch Top Gun again.
• Rally car driver. I feel the need… you get the idea.
• Forestry Commission person. I like the idea of spending my day wandering around the woods checking on the trees and what not.
• International jet setter type person. That may not be an official job, though.

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

What is your favourite part of the town/city you live in.  And what Country do you live in?
I live in Cornwall, a county in England, which is part of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), which is part of the United Kingdom (GB and Northern Ireland).

I live in a very small village. I don’t really know my favourite part. My little house, maybe?

Would you rather wear clown shoes every day or a clown wig every day?
No. No clown anythings for me thank you very much.

If I had to and it was every day it would have to be the hot itchy wig. How could I drive to work wearing clown shoes?

Which way does the toilet paper roll go? Over or under?
Over, of course! The majority of people are “over” people. Also, although it was never explicitly mentioned, I refer you to Seth Wheeler’s original toilet roll holder patent. “Over”, thank you very much.

Picture via cnet.com, but since it’s a patent I’m assuming it’s public domain

What do you do to make a living or during the day?  If you are retired what mostly occupies your day? Or if you are a student what are you studying?
I work in IT as a “System Architect“. I basically combine hardware, software, databases and so on to create a working system. I was doing the job for a year or so before it was made official a couple of weeks ago and I got the title 🙂

Exciting, no?