Questions Meme
Just for a change, 'cos I don't normally do these.
1-Elaborate on your default icon.
A photo of myself, taken in b&w with a self timer with the camera resting on a filing cabinet in my office at work' cos the lighting was right.
It's a distinctive pic, especially if you know me, but it's not revealing if you don't. Which suits my blog perfectly; I'm a very private person and don't put myself on public display any more than I choose to. My deep innermost thoughts tend to stay that way.
2-What's your current relationship status?
Single
3-Ever had a near-death experience?
No.
4-Name an obvious quality you have.
I'm very musically inclined.
5-What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
Deck The Stills by Barenaked Ladies. Which is Arwen's fault for asking about Xmas parody songs.
6-Any celeb you would marry?
Depends how you define celebrity; I'd prefer to marry someone intelligent and talented.
7-Who will cut and paste this first?
Dunno. I think most of the ones who would do this will have beaten me to it.
8-Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
Eric once described me as AFP's resident Bill Oddie lookalike.
9-Do you wear a watch? What kind?
Not since I got a mobile phone.
10-Do you have anything pierced?
No.
11-Do you have any tattoos?
No.
12-Do you like pain?
It's been said that a little bit of pain lets you know you're alive. They never remember to add that a lot of pain lets you know it might not be for very much longer.
13-Do you like to shop?
For myself, yes. Buying for other people is a headache.
14-What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Chicken tikka & shami kebab in naan bread.
15-What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card?
A bicycle.
16-Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
My parents, to let them know I'd be stopping by their house shortly.
17-What is on your desktop background?
On my home PC is "Dawn Of Ubuntu", a bush on the african plains against an digitally softened background of greenery and golden sky. On my work PC is a picture of X-statiC onstage taken by someone who forgot to use flash. It's therefore a dark with blurred shapes and bright motion lines, and is surprisingly restful on the eyes.
18-What is the background on your cell phone?
Deep Purple, which is one of the phone's default colour themes, not the band.
19-Do you like redheads?
I don't have a preference, but I can think of several redheads I've liked.
20-Do you know any twins?
None that I know well, but there are Uwe & Rolf on AFP.
21-Do you have any weird relatives?
I don't think so, but some of them might.
22-What was the last movie you watched?
At the cinema, Stardust. On TV, Mr & Mrs Smith.
23-What was the last book you read?
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. Currently partway through The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa by Neil Peart.
24-Is there such a thing as love at first sight, or it is more likely to be "lust at first sight"?
I think there is such a thing, but I consider it to be vanishingly rare, and over-mythologised in a way that doesn't take into account all the times it happens but gets it wrong.
25-What's your favourite book?
This is an impossible question.
26-When was the last time you visited the street where you first lived?
Visited my parents last month, and that's the house I grew up in, but it wasn't the first. We moved out of my first house when I was two, but I continued to visit it for years afterwards as my best friend at school turned out to have moved into it after we left.
27-When was the last time you googled your own name?
Can't remember. A few years ago.
28-What was your favourite subject at school?
Probably English and Computer Studies. I might've said Music, but I didn't really enjoy the way it was taught and didn't take it at O level, something I rather regret now.
29-What was your least favourite subject at school?
PE, probably followed by French and German.
30-Do you like having your photograph taken?
Not much.
31-What time were you born?
About 3am.
32-Ever seriously questioned your sanity?
I couldn't find anyone to play 'bad cop'.
33-How many phone numbers do you have remembered and can say off the top of your head?
My home, work and mobile numbers, several extensions at work, the Dell Business Support line, my parents, and several friends whose numbers I committed to memory in the days before mobile phones and still remember even though they no longer live there.
34-Can you Limbo?
No.
35-Have you ever killed your own dinner?
No
36-How long have you been living at your current residence?
13 years.
37-What phobias do you have?
Unexpected spiders, precarious heights, anything going near my eyes.
38-What's your ideal breakfast?
Full English with orange juice and a cup of either tea or coffee, depending on my mood. Couldn't eat it every day though; too much work and too unhealthy, so it tends to happen only when I'm staying in hotels. Usually it's a banana and some wholegrain-based cereal with no sugar.
39-Where are you right now?
At home, on my computer in the front bedroom.
40-Why do you blog?
It's a good way to keep my friends up-to-date, and a good way to let my thoughts out in an organised manner. I'm a natural introvert and don't like to say anything unless I have something to say and know how to say it, which makes the written word better than the spoken.
41-What would you call your autobiography?
"Why Are You Reading This?"
42-What's the longest time you've stayed out of the country/where?
Two weeks abroad, in France.
43-Do you use ICQ, AOL Buddy list etc..?
No.
44-Do you have nightmares frequently?
Pretty rare, even as a child.
45-If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
Probably, as I seem to be easy to like and get on with. But if it were someone who didn't have at least some geekiness in common they might not see the point.
46-Which TV character could you be friends with?
Shaun the Sheep. (ETA: OK, so I forgot to edit this out when I copied the meme from CCA. But I couldn't think of one myself anyway.)
47- What's on your mouse pad?
A Dell logo. I snaffled it from work.
48- What is your ring tone?
"Doctor's Phone", ie. a straightforward ringing bell.
49. What did you watch on TV last night?
The Dead Pool.
50. Scary movies or happy endings?
I prefer dark movies to scary, and optimistic endings to happy. And let's not forget headfuck endings.
1-Elaborate on your default icon.
A photo of myself, taken in b&w with a self timer with the camera resting on a filing cabinet in my office at work' cos the lighting was right.
It's a distinctive pic, especially if you know me, but it's not revealing if you don't. Which suits my blog perfectly; I'm a very private person and don't put myself on public display any more than I choose to. My deep innermost thoughts tend to stay that way.
2-What's your current relationship status?
Single
3-Ever had a near-death experience?
No.
4-Name an obvious quality you have.
I'm very musically inclined.
5-What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
Deck The Stills by Barenaked Ladies. Which is Arwen's fault for asking about Xmas parody songs.
6-Any celeb you would marry?
Depends how you define celebrity; I'd prefer to marry someone intelligent and talented.
7-Who will cut and paste this first?
Dunno. I think most of the ones who would do this will have beaten me to it.
8-Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
Eric once described me as AFP's resident Bill Oddie lookalike.
9-Do you wear a watch? What kind?
Not since I got a mobile phone.
10-Do you have anything pierced?
No.
11-Do you have any tattoos?
No.
12-Do you like pain?
It's been said that a little bit of pain lets you know you're alive. They never remember to add that a lot of pain lets you know it might not be for very much longer.
13-Do you like to shop?
For myself, yes. Buying for other people is a headache.
14-What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Chicken tikka & shami kebab in naan bread.
15-What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card?
A bicycle.
16-Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
My parents, to let them know I'd be stopping by their house shortly.
17-What is on your desktop background?
On my home PC is "Dawn Of Ubuntu", a bush on the african plains against an digitally softened background of greenery and golden sky. On my work PC is a picture of X-statiC onstage taken by someone who forgot to use flash. It's therefore a dark with blurred shapes and bright motion lines, and is surprisingly restful on the eyes.
18-What is the background on your cell phone?
Deep Purple, which is one of the phone's default colour themes, not the band.
19-Do you like redheads?
I don't have a preference, but I can think of several redheads I've liked.
20-Do you know any twins?
None that I know well, but there are Uwe & Rolf on AFP.
21-Do you have any weird relatives?
I don't think so, but some of them might.
22-What was the last movie you watched?
At the cinema, Stardust. On TV, Mr & Mrs Smith.
23-What was the last book you read?
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. Currently partway through The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa by Neil Peart.
24-Is there such a thing as love at first sight, or it is more likely to be "lust at first sight"?
I think there is such a thing, but I consider it to be vanishingly rare, and over-mythologised in a way that doesn't take into account all the times it happens but gets it wrong.
25-What's your favourite book?
This is an impossible question.
26-When was the last time you visited the street where you first lived?
Visited my parents last month, and that's the house I grew up in, but it wasn't the first. We moved out of my first house when I was two, but I continued to visit it for years afterwards as my best friend at school turned out to have moved into it after we left.
27-When was the last time you googled your own name?
Can't remember. A few years ago.
28-What was your favourite subject at school?
Probably English and Computer Studies. I might've said Music, but I didn't really enjoy the way it was taught and didn't take it at O level, something I rather regret now.
29-What was your least favourite subject at school?
PE, probably followed by French and German.
30-Do you like having your photograph taken?
Not much.
31-What time were you born?
About 3am.
32-Ever seriously questioned your sanity?
I couldn't find anyone to play 'bad cop'.
33-How many phone numbers do you have remembered and can say off the top of your head?
My home, work and mobile numbers, several extensions at work, the Dell Business Support line, my parents, and several friends whose numbers I committed to memory in the days before mobile phones and still remember even though they no longer live there.
34-Can you Limbo?
No.
35-Have you ever killed your own dinner?
No
36-How long have you been living at your current residence?
13 years.
37-What phobias do you have?
Unexpected spiders, precarious heights, anything going near my eyes.
38-What's your ideal breakfast?
Full English with orange juice and a cup of either tea or coffee, depending on my mood. Couldn't eat it every day though; too much work and too unhealthy, so it tends to happen only when I'm staying in hotels. Usually it's a banana and some wholegrain-based cereal with no sugar.
39-Where are you right now?
At home, on my computer in the front bedroom.
40-Why do you blog?
It's a good way to keep my friends up-to-date, and a good way to let my thoughts out in an organised manner. I'm a natural introvert and don't like to say anything unless I have something to say and know how to say it, which makes the written word better than the spoken.
41-What would you call your autobiography?
"Why Are You Reading This?"
42-What's the longest time you've stayed out of the country/where?
Two weeks abroad, in France.
43-Do you use ICQ, AOL Buddy list etc..?
No.
44-Do you have nightmares frequently?
Pretty rare, even as a child.
45-If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
Probably, as I seem to be easy to like and get on with. But if it were someone who didn't have at least some geekiness in common they might not see the point.
46-Which TV character could you be friends with?
Shaun the Sheep. (ETA: OK, so I forgot to edit this out when I copied the meme from CCA. But I couldn't think of one myself anyway.)
47- What's on your mouse pad?
A Dell logo. I snaffled it from work.
48- What is your ring tone?
"Doctor's Phone", ie. a straightforward ringing bell.
49. What did you watch on TV last night?
The Dead Pool.
50. Scary movies or happy endings?
I prefer dark movies to scary, and optimistic endings to happy. And let's not forget headfuck endings.