draliman on life

Everything has changed this week for Cee’s Share Your World! This week Cee has provided a list of list topics, and we must choose four list topics from this list of list topics and make a list of four things answering the question posed in the list topic we have chosen from the list.

Goodness!

Favourite Songs
This list changes over time. I’ve bought a couple of new albums recently so a couple of songs are from those. There are many classics of course which always remain favourites of mine, so these songs are more the ones I currently listen to on a daily basis.

• End of the Dream – Evanescence
• Froot – Marina and the Diamonds
• House on a Hill – The Pretty Reckless
• Wrong Side of the Sun – Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Favourite types of animals
Cute and fluffy :-).

• Monkeys!
• Kitty cats!
• Lemurs!
• Koalas!

Movies to cheer you up
It’s strange the things that make me laugh out loud… though maybe you won’t be surprised if you’ve read some of my stories. Warning – none of these are technically comedies.

• Planet Terror – laughed till I cried
• The Expendables – especially that one scene where the bloke’s head gets completely blown off
• Any apocalyptic zombie/”infected” film e.g. “World War Z”, “Resident Evil” series
• From Dusk Till Dawn – I’m including the Netflix series here, since one episode has heads being ripped off and everything – it’s hilarious!

Things I want to have in my home
Home upgrades.

• Massive home cinema system
• Sound-proof room in which to place said massive cinema system
• TARDIS-style relative dimensional system installed in home in order to accommodate sound-proof room
• Girlfriend with whom to watch films in newly-installed room – note, I also own less gory films e.g. “Pretty Woman”, “Miss Congenialty” and the like

Thanks for reading my world sharing for this week :-).

It’s Sunday, which is the day I write my contribution to Cee’s Share Your World.

What is the most important thing that you ever learned? (I bet it’s not something you learned in school)
Crumbs. I don’t know. Maybe I haven’t learned anything? I suppose, that life happens. It can be shaped somewhat by your decisions for better or worse, but by and large it trundles along and it’s best to just go with the flow.

Some people shape the destinies of many others, but I prefer the path of least resistance.  I’m happier that way.

What feeds your enthusiasm for life?
Netflix. Ha ha ha. No, seriously. Netflix. And nice walks around pretty locations.

What’s your most memorable (good or bad) airplane commercial or private flight?
I haven’t been on an aeroplane for years, but I used to travel a bit for work. I suppose it was my flight to a job interview in Cork (Ireland).

The weather was pretty bad. We circled for hours, then diverted to Shannon and landed. We stayed there long enough for a pint of Guinness, got back on the plane and finally arrived in Cork. The best bit was that I was so late there was no time to give my presentation (they’d been tracking me through the day and finally cancelled it) and we ended up having the interview in a very expensive hotel over dinner. And I got the job! Then I spent the weekend there, because it was cheaper to get a longer stay including hotel than the air fare there and back the same day.

If you were a great explorer, what would you explore?
I’d like to go to Central/South America and explore all the old Inca and Aztec temples and whatnot. They look quite impressive, though I would also get kidnapped and held for ransom, I expect, as that happens to everybody in films who go exploring such places.

Here’s my contribution to Cee’s Share Your World for this week.

Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?
My house has a ground floor and an upstairs which is fine by me. I’m a little worried that one day I won’t be able to handle the stairs. Maybe at that point I’ll be able to get a little bungalow instead. Alternatively, my stairs are wide enough for a stair lift…

If you have a TV, would you prefer the TV in the living room or another room?
It’s in the living room. My old TV is currently in the bedroom but it’s not plugged in, it’s “in storage”, basically. My living room has all the equipment – the set-top box, surround sound system and so on. I’m not a “stay in bed and watch TV” sort of person.

Entertainment Corner

When you leave a room, do you turn the lights off behind you or keep the lights on throughout your house most of the time? Explain your answer.
I turn all the lights off. Sometimes when I enter a dark room briefly I don’t bother turning them on if I can see what I’m doing. People who switch lights on randomly and then leave them on wind me up (unless they have young/infirm people in the house and which case it can be safer to leave them on).

Not only is electricity expensive, but I can’t help thinking of all the world’s resources we’re using up. Almost all my light bulbs are “energy-saving”, mind (around 5 Watts), though that’s pretty common everywhere since you can’t buy the old-style 100-150-200W bulbs any more.

What’s your favourite room in your home?
My living room. As per its name, it’s where I do all my living. Reading, watching TV, blogging, eating…

Here’s my post for Cee’s Share Your World for this week.

What type of pets do you have or want?  Or do you not want pets?
I don’t have any pets at the moment. If I were to get a pet it would be a cat. Cats are pretty independent and since I’m out at work all day, it would have to be a pet which could look after itself.

Plus, everyone on the interwebz loves cats so I could set up a camera in the hopes I could get a funny video or a meme or two out of it :-).

What was or is your favourite cartoon?
When I was little I enjoyed “StarFleet”, though that might have been puppets rather than a cartoon. Also “Battle of the Planets”. G-Force Fiery Phoenix go! Yay.

When I was a bit older, “Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds”.

Now that I’m all growed up, pretty much the only cartoon I watch (and coincidentally am currently binge-watching on Netflix) is “Archer”. Because it’s awesome.

Copyright FX Networks

I can highly recommend it. However, if you’re easily offended or indeed offended by anything at all, don’t watch it. You have been warned.

When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?
I wear socks at home. I have a pair of slippers but they’re pretty knackered so I don’t wear them much. If I’m going up into the loft I put on trainers so that I don’t slip on the ladder and end up lying in a crumpled heap until someone notices I didn’t turn up for work :-(.

Are you a traveller or a homebody?
The occasional trip is nice but for preference I like to stay at home.

Here’s my post for Cee’s Share Your World. Be sure to check out all the lovely photos on her blog!

What are your favourite spices?
I’m not a big fan of spices in sweet or dessert type things, so stuff like cinnamon wouldn’t be on my list. I can’t be bothered to Google which things are spices and which are herbs so I’ll go for pepper, chilli pepper, whatever stuff goes into curry powder and paprika. The hot stuff, basically!

What object do you always have with you when travelling and why?
My phone. It’s multi-purpose – good for any emergencies so I can contact people and good for taking quick photos of cool stuff. I haven’t linked it to my bank accounts (yet) but if I did it really would be a device for all occasions!

What is one thing you love about being an adult?
Not having to go to school. School was rubbish. I’d rather have responsibilities, bills to pay and so on than have to go to school again.

What item, that you don’t have already, would you most like to own?
If we’re going down the fantasy route and it’s only one item, it would have to be something which would enable me to get everything else. So some sort of magical “bag of unending funds” would be in order.

As for “real life” (booorrring) I really don’t know. Most things I want at the moment are replacements for knackered things I already own, like a new sofa, new cooker and the like. I very recently bought a “proper” camera as some of you know, so I have that!

Here is my contribution to Cee’s Share Your World, the weekly challenge where we answer four questions posed by Cee.

What was your favourite subject in school?
Definitely not maths or Latin. Yuckity yuck yuck!

I enjoyed Physics, which is what I went on to study. I also really liked English Language – that’s the grammer/composition part. I didn’t like English Literature. Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Bronte(s). I know these are the “classics” but life’s too short. Sorry.

Now if this gang had written “The Taming of the Vampire”, “A Midsummer Night’s Werewolf” or “Wuthering Decapitations” I might be interested.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away” (George Carlin). When have you had such a moment?
Hmm. I’m not sure I ever have. I’ve seen lovely landscapes and such which were “breathtaking” but I never got a massive emotional reaction from them to the extent that this question suggests, just a feeling of contentment. I don’t like sudden highs and lows anyway.

What’s your choice: jigsaw, crossword, or numeric puzzles?
I’ve never tried numeric puzzles – my maths is horrendous. I have no general knowledge whatsoever so I can’t do crosswords (unless they’re aimed at kids). So that leaves jigsaws, though the last one I did was a Star Trek one and that was a few decades ago.

If I did a jigsaw I’d have to put it in a frame, though. I wouldn’t be able to spend hours making something only to tear it apart immediately.

If you found an obviously abandoned car with $50,000 in the back seat, what would you do?
I’d call the police. This amount of money in an abandoned car? It must belong to drug dealers or the mob, and they’d miss even a single dollar, I reckon. Plus it would take ages to convert it all to pounds without “attracting attention”.

Even if it doesn’t belong to anyone, taking it would be theft. The concept of “finders – keepers” doesn’t exist in law (in the UK anyway). I wouldn’t do well spending time at “Her Majesty’s Pleasure”. I’m too pretty :-).

It’s time for me to participate in Cee’s Share Your World challenge. Here goes!

When was the last time you sat on a park or garden bench for more than ten minutes? Describe the occasion.
Ten minutes is actually quite a long time. When I’m out walking somewhere nice I generally only sit for a couple of minutes and then I’m keen to see what’s around the next corner.

I think the last time I sat for more than ten minutes was in my back garden last summer. I had bought a sun lounger and I sat out for about 45 minutes reading a book. Since it was “only 45 minutes” I didn’t use and sun tan lotion so I got a bit burnt on the legs :-(.

Would you ever be interested in observing a surgery or do you turn away when the nurse brings out the needle?
I’m not squeamish about needles. I often look as I’m intrigued by the blood suddenly spurting into the container. I watch surgeries on TV dramas (never reality, only fiction). I would not like to see surgery performed for real on an actual person, whether it be on TV or live.

In fact, having seen surgeries on TV I’m scared about having surgery in real life. The surgeons always seem to be chatting about their relationships or having meltdowns. I suppose that’s just required to advance the storyline, though!

Where’s your favourite place to take out-of-town guests?
Back to the railway station/airport. Begone, foul out-of-town guests bwa-ha-ha!

There are so many lovely places here. It would depend on their preference.

Woodland (Cardinham Woods):

Cliffs and whatnot (Tintagel):

Gardens (Trelissick):

If you had an unlimited shopping spree at only one store, which one would you choose? Why?
I would imagine I’d go for an electronics-type shop. That way I could get a whole bunch of computers and cameras and stuff.

It’s time for Share Your World again, hosted by Cee.

List 2 things you have to be happy about?
Oh goodness, I’m not so good with this sort of question. A good job in a great company, and living in a country where I don’t have to worry about very much at all compared to some.

Do you prefer ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise?
Yes. Also Tabasco, Worcester sauce, horseradish sauce, mint sauce etc etc. The way I “cook”, it’s usually best not to be able to taste the food.

This is all I have in at the moment. I hope it will do.

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colours would you use?
Golly gosh! I don’t know. I had a happy childhood so something bright, I suppose. Yellow, maybe.

Do you prefer a bath or shower?
A shower. Leaving alone the fact that after a bath I feel all sweaty and in need of a shower, baths are too expensive. I had an ex once whom I allowed to stay on in the place I was renting while she finished her finals at university (big mistake but that’s another story). She switched from showers to baths and tripled my water bill. Tripled!

Here’s a bonus for this week. I entered and won Evil Squirrel’s Second Annual Contest of Whatever, and here is what I got for my prize – a cool t-shirt direct from ES’s CafePress shop. This is also my very first selfie :-). And here’s a shameless link drop to my winning entry.

I tried one using the mirror and then I had a go by aiming the camera at myself and using the mirror to see what I was pointing the phone at.