Sixty

This meme was borrowed from Kath from Blurb from the Burbs and the Plastic Mancunian. I try not to do too many memes, but as I'm struggling with the task at hand at the moment, this has filled the gap between rewriting and formatting a document that will never get used by anybody. Besides, I walk out the door in a fortnight - what do they care?

There are some confronting questions here - some silly other really touched a nerve. I've tried to be as honest as I can.

1. Are you happier now than you were five months ago?
Definitely. Five months ago I had a dead end job in this company, a rotten pain in my side that would not go away and I had no idea what it was, I was staring redundancy in the face and I was wondering if I could go on a long holiday. Well, I’m being retrenched in a fortnight , the pain in the side has been fixed, the holiday has been had and I’m looking forward to a bright future.

2. Have you ever slept in the same bed with anyone that you shouldn't have?
Umm, yes, but I’m not going into details.

3. Can you sleep in total darkness?
I prefer it. Add quiet to the list and I’m in sleeping heaven.

4. Your phone is ringing. It’s the person you fell hardest for, the one who got away, what do you say?
Hello, no, you can come out to Australia – you know where to find me if you want to be with me. You know the terms.

5. What do you think about the weather this summer?
Bleargh. I hate humidity, though I’m loving the rain. I do rather like that it’s not 44 in the shade – that’s a bit unbearable – I just wish it wasn’t so humid.

6. How many people do you trust with everything?
Nobody totally, but that’s because there’s stuff in my life I’m not at liberty to share fully. Blarney comes pretty close to me trusting her with everything, but there are one or two things I have to hold back on – mainly around the spiritual side of my life which are bound by confidentiality which Blarney is aware of and doesn’t think the worst of me because of it.

7. What was the last thing you drank?
Water, from my water bottle on my desk. I try and drink two litres of water a day minimum.

8. Is there anyone you want to come see you?
See question four. I'd love to see Reindert again too - life is far more fun with him around the place.

9. Name one thing you love about winter?
Being able to sleep snuggled up under two duvets. Comfort food. Soup and toast. Cheese on toast, open fires, being able to run and not get too hot… the list could go on and on. I love winter. Oh, that's lots of things.

10. Have you ever dated a Goth?
No. Have dated a baker, an arms dealer, plenty of blokes in finance, accountancy and IT, public servants, a removalist and a house painter, but a goth, no.

11. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
A second interview with a consulting company (crap that’s tomorrow) and finishing off my dream from last week’s dream group.

12. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having?
We lost the cricket badly. It was wet and windy to walk to Carlton for a meeting so I’ll have to dial in, and I hate dialing in to meetings. Oh, and I will have an argument with one of my fellow masons about staying for supper. I had a mason’s meeting last night. I have another tonight. I don’t like eating at ten p.m. But I have to bring the sandwiches – this will also mean I have to clean up. Whoop de effing do. Grrr.

13. What's the longest that you have committed to one person and one person only?
Hmm, that’s a bit confronting. I was with somebody for a year in the early nineties. We lived together for three months. It goes down as one of the worst years in my life. He hung around, off and on, for three years in all. Not something I’m overly proud of.

14. What’s the first thing you did when you opened your eyes today?
Grabbed a friend’s cat that was asleep at the end of my bed for a quick cuddle. She’s a lovely, cuddly mite.

15. Has anyone ever told you they never want to ever lose you?
No. The nearest thing I’ve had happen to me like that was when I was leaving London, Lachlan told me not to go. It’s not the same though.

16. Is there anybody that you wish you could fix your relationship with?
Hmm. Yes. There are a few people who have got lost in the woodwork, but I rather wish I could have a closer relationship with my sister. It’s not like we don’t get on, we just have very little in common.

17. Could you go out in public, looking like you do now?
Yes. Writing this from my desk at work in between tidying up a document – hell I’m on the way out the door, I can get away with this. Regardless, I’m wearing business casual and I look respectable, though my hair could use a brush.

18. Do you think things will change in the next 3 months? How?
Hell,yeah! In the next three months I will have a new job, maybe a new car, will hopefully be running again, maybe even ten kilograms lighter and a hell of a lot happier. I’m really looking forward to revolutionising my life in the next few months. Massive life changes ahead.

19. Do you believe that you never know what you got until you lose it?
No, not really. I’m a great believer in appreciating everything you have daily. Going into things with an attitude of gratitude makes life far more bearable. Occasionally yes, you’ll trip yourself up when something or somebody leaves your life, but as a rule, I like to think I know what I have – which is a hell of a lot.

20. Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?
I have a couple of them. I’m really lucky like that. I’ve thankfully discovered that men, with age, get better like wine. Though they still occasionally smell and say stupid things, doesn't stop me talking to them.

21. If you were to live your life without your best friend, what would change?
Oh, I don’t like that question. Life without a bestie would mean no kids or cats to cuddle for a start. Nowhere to go on weekends. Nobody to bitch to about work. Nobody to turn to when things go awry. I don’t like thinking about stuff like that.

22. Tell us about a era of your life that you really miss.
I still miss London. I loved the freedoms. I loved the variety. I loved the strange people I used to meet, the culture and cultural events available and the brilliant theatre you could see. I don’t miss the fact that I was an illegal alien at that time and forever looking over my shoulder and unable to leave the country – but life was good.

23. Have you ever been betrayed by someone that came as a complete surprise? Without revealing the person, if yes, tell us about it.
Yes – but I can’t talk about it as it’s still working itself out. The betrayal has gone on under my nose. But again, I can’t talk about it – I’m still coming to terms with it, though a card reading a few months ago said of it. Funny how things like that come to pass.

24. Do you ever think that is a good idea to hide your feelings?
Sometimes, it’s a good thing. A very good thing. Like in the situation described in the last question - best to shut the trap and say nothing for a while.

25. Tell us about your favorite year when you were a student.
I remember year eleven at high school as being pretty good. Top of the class, first boyfriend, finding out about life and realising that I wasn’t stupid for the first time.

26. When was the last time you were in a very good mood? What caused it?
Skipping around Toledo with severe déjà vu was really good. Cuddling Blarney’s babies on the weekend was lovely. Cuddling the cat this morning was great too. I like being happy, what can I say.

27. Have you ever had a romantic relationship with a sibling of a good friend?
No. Thank goodness.

28. Tell us about the last thing that you did that you truly regret.
My regrets are really minor. Eating the whole tub of White Christmas ice cream on the weekend is something I regret – I enjoyed it, but I regret it too. Most of my regrets involve comfort eating.

Oh, and I regret not taking off another week on that big holiday as I would love to have seen more of the Netherlands and Spain.

29. When did you laugh today?
This morning, I was having a meeting with Jaspal, my counterpart at our Joint Venture company, Loud Hailing Bastard Corporate Co, discussing templates (that which I’m supposed to be fixing instead of writing this). As always, we have our meetings in the kitchen at work. The cricket was on the kitchen telly – a 50 inch flatscreen affair. Jas was barracking for the Poms. Seeing this guy with his big belly, turban and charming Indian accent sing, “Barmy Army!” touched my funny bone. Jas and I laugh a lot regardless, but this was just cute.

30. Do you trust easily?
Not really. Trust takes time. I’m open, but I know what I’m open about.

31. What do you care about that you wish more people would?
This will get a few people’s backs up – the right to safe, legal abortion, especially before twelve weeks of gestation. I certainly don’t believe that abortion should ever be taken lightly. It would be a lovely world if we didn’t have to have it – but for those have to make the decision to terminate a pregnancy, they should be able to do this without fear of being labeled a criminal. At the moment, in Australia, in some states you can be charged for having a termination. This is so wrong. It’s almost as distressing as the thought of going through a termination. I’m not going to go into the ethics of this. It’s just something I think we should have national laws governing.

32. Is it easier for you to go without food or go without sleep?
Not getting enough of either sends me barmy, but I have to err on the side of sleep. I only need five hours a night to function and can go a week on short hours without too many repercussions. I get weak, dizzy and crotchety without food.

33. What non-alcohol beverage do you enjoy drinking the most?
COFFEE. It’s a tradition. Love it. And not instant, but the good stuff.

34. When you walk into a room full of strangers, generally how is your confidence?
Pretty good for the most part. Though I’m naturally shy, I have nothing to fear, but it’s taken a lot of time to learn this. Strangers are just people. They eat, they drink, they poo, they put on their undies one leg at a time.

35. Does talking about sex with anyone but your lover make you uncomfortable?
Not really, but I don’t appreciate talking about sex in sleazy ways. See the following blog entry for details.

36. Do you tend to believe members of the opposite sex mostly behave the same way?
Absolutely not. Men are as diverse as women. Everybody is unique. There are a few generalised tendencies, for sure, but no, men are all different.

37. Did you drink any alcohol this week? If yes, what?
I had a beer at beer club with Wozza. As I’m on antibiotics I won’t be drinking alcohol again until next week.

38. Would you ever consider being a vegetarian?
Yes, but it’s not my preference. I was a vegetarian for two years when I was at university, but went back to meat after contracting glandular fever. But I have meat free days a couple of times a week.

39. Do you believe in the concept of soul mates?
Sort of. Yet to be proven, though I’ve seen evidence in friends.

40. What are your plans for this weekend?
Lots on. Saturday is meditation, followed by coffee with the crew from meditation, a massage, shopping cooking, cleaning. Sunday, pump class, coffee with the girls after pump, more cleaning, a bit of writing and some relaxing. May have dinner on Saturday night with friends if their son recouperates in time.

41. Do you think someone might be thinking poorly about you? Why might that be?
No, not really. If they are thinking poorly of me I hope they say it to my face. If my boss was about he’d be thinking poorly of me as I’m writing this rather than fixing the sodding template.

42. What features don't you have that you would like on your cell?
The ability to tell me who the blocked callers are. I have an iPhone so I have everything I need. I love that it has Angry Birds and Bejeweled Blitz on it. I wish there was an iPhone app for the Biggest Loser club website – would make life easier.

43. How many people can comfortably sleep in your bed?
Two – standard double.

44. What are you hoping happens by the end of 2010?
I'd love to have a job lined up to start in the middle of January. I'd love for this humidity to break. Winning the lottery would be lovely. But most of all, I'm hoping the job situation will sort itself, though I'm not too bothered if it doesn't happen until late January/early February.

45. What was the last video you watched on YouTube?
The Grounded Dutchman sent me this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdo79znnHl8 I nearly pissed myself laughing. And it's clean...

46. Would you ever agree to an open relationship with someone?
Although I say no, there is a part of me, a very small part of me,that thinks it may suit me on some levels. If I was to enter into such an agreement it would have to be very mutual and very honest.

47. Is there something that you could never give up?
Ice cream

48. Would you, (or did you) prefer a small, intimate wedding reception, or a big-scale, over-the-top reception?
Not that I’ve ever had the opportunity to have one, but I’d got the small, intimate affair.

49. What’s bothering you right now?
Other than I have to go home and make a loaf of sandwiches for masons tonight, very little.

50. Do you hate anyone?
No. I’m lucky like that. I dislike a lot of people, some of them with a passion, but hate is too strong a word. The nearest I’ve come to hating somebody is our former Prime Minister – John Howard. He was odious.

51. What were you doing at 12 am last night?
Listening to the fan drone at the end of my bed and the cat’s bell as it stalked round the flat in the dark while reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows while in bed.

52. Is the last person you kissed before your current situation mad at you?
Maybe, if he’s still alive. It’s been about three years since I’ve kissed anybody (baby’s heads and friend’s cheeks excepted) – and I’m still of the opinion that this relationship left me more scarred than any other. It’s time to let that one go.

53. Can a man and woman be friends without having feelings for each other?
Yes. I have that sort of relationship with the guys from work. Once again, I’m lucky.

54. Do you think long distance relationships work? If you’ve had one, tell us about it.
No, but I’ve never had one, unless you count living the other side of London from the guy I was seeing. Long distance friendships can work very well.

55. Do you know why it’s called “Random Boredom“?
Yes. Working the last weeks of a job is randomly boring. Hence writing this.

56. Do you think that it’s always the man’s responsibility to initiate sex?
Absolutely not. How boring would that be?

57. Have you ever made love while you were in the same room with another couple?
Um, I think I have to answer yes to this on a technicality – all I will say is that lots of strange substances were involved and it was sorta like, oh I can’t explain it. Drama groups breed strange friends and even stranger actions.

58. Tell us the best thing about your current or most recent S/O.
Never had a real significant other so I can’t answer this. I do hope when he comes along he’s incredibly kind.

59. Tell us the worst thing about your current or most recent S/O.
As above, though will probably moan about snoring or farting loudly.

60. If you could write a novel, what would it be about?
Rainbow Robertson and the Adventures at Hippy Corner has been brewing for years. If I could write something as brilliant as Cloud Atlas or The Moor's Last Sigh I'd be really happy - but I don't think I'm that good a writer