The Swapbot Questions

Writing this from a hotel room in Sydney. Lots to look forward to - my contract is up at the end of the week, so looking forward to a new job at the start of next year. I don't know where that it, but it will come. 

Also looking forward to at least six weeks of not working - where I will get to write, exercise, visit a friend in Brisbane and generally have some time to myself for a bit. Just hoping a new role comes in sooner rather than later, but I'm quite excited about the break and the new challenges ahead.

Very happy at the moment - but it is amazing how much life is improved by a tube of sweetened condensed milk used to ameliorate hotel coffee. Sweetened condensed milk makes life instantly better at any time. 

Questions, as always, come from Bev at Sunday Stealing. 

1. You can breathe underwater or be able to fly. Which one would you choose and why?

I'd love to be able to fly (without mechancial assistance). I think it would be great - also, I'm not overly fond of open water, so flying it is. Would make like a lot easier going to work too. No public transport. 

2. What's your go to order at a café?

For breakfast or dinner? 

Breakfast, it's either poached eggs on gluten free with a side of smoked salmon and tomato sauce (ketchup - and don't judge) or if I'm feeling a bit more decadent, Eggs Benedict. 

For dinner? Salt and Pepper Calamari or a Chicken Parmagiana. (For the Americans out there, Chicken Parmagiana is an iconic Australian meal. Crumbed chicken breast, smothered in Napoli (Marinara) sauce, and then topped with ham and melted cheese, normally served with chips and salad. There are websites dedicated to the best parmas in town like this one:  https://www.theurbanlist.com/melbourne/a-list/best-parmas-melbourne  I can vouch for the one at the Royston.)

My standard coffee order is a medium almond decaf latte. I'm an Australian living in Melbourne - we know about coffee (none of that Starbuck's muck). 

3. Where do you feel the safest?

In bed, about to go to sleep, especially when there is somebody next to me - which rarely happens, but I do sleep better when there is somebody else in the house. 

4. What is the one book or book series you could reread without getting bored for the rest of time?

I've read the Harry Potter Series a few times over, and will read it many times over again. I want to read Robertson Davies's The Cornish Trilogy again - maybe while I'm on sabbatical. Other books I have read over and over and love to death: 

•  The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
•  Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres. 
•  The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

I also think Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe will be added to this list. 

5. You will receive ten million dollars, but you need to spend one million dollars in 24 hours to receive the other nine million tax free (and you can’t tell anyone what you’re doing). What do you spend it on?

I'd buy a house in Melbourne. The average price for a house in Melbourne is about that now. Easy. 

6. What was your favorite vacation to date?

Other than the five weeks off where I went through Spain, The Netherlands, the US, Malaysia and Singapore? I think this last trip to India exceeded most of my exceeded most of my expectations. It wasn't the easiest of travels, but it was very rewarding. 

7. Is there any scent that reminds you of a specific memory? What is the scent and what does it remind you of?

Juicy Fruit chewing gum reminds me of my father. Gets me every time. 

8. What is your favourite TV series? Do you have just one or more?

I'm still on my Lucifer binge. Love it. I just like that its funny and has a good heart to it. 

Other favorite television shows in no particular order: 

•  Six Feet Under
•  The West Wing
•  Suits
•  The Doctor Blake Mysteries (though it's not really PC to say this)
•  Red Dwarf
•  Buffy the Vampire Slayer

9. They say that in life you need to try everything. Are there things you will never try?

I can think of two things. Heroin and necrophilia. Next.

10. If I ask you to close your eyes and remember a picture of you, what do you see?

There are two of them. One is of me at about seven years old. It's a school photo, I'm wearing a brown cardigan which my grandmother had knitted me and strangely I look pretty. The other one was taken of me at uni. I'm in a school uniform with a beer in my hand and I'm sitting in a shopping trolley. 

11. What was your childhood bedroom like?

I had what is called in Australian terms, the 'sleep out'. A converted verandah, some six foot wide by 22 foot long. It was the thoroughfare to the laundry and toilet. I painted it white. A card table was my desk (but I tended to do my homework on the dining room table). 

12. Are you a GoodWill, or any second hand store customer?

Only for fancy dress clothes. But I donate to the Salvos (Salvation Army charity store) regularly. 

13. How do you feel about the death penalty?

Australia abolished the death penalty in 1972, and the last person was executed in 1967 - the year before I was born. I'm not a fan of it at all. Too many innocent people have been executed for crimes they did not commit. It also doesn't leave any space for rehabilitation - as shown by the two fellows executed in Indonesia from the Bali Nine. Not saying they shouldn't stay in jail for what they did - but to show that they had been rehabilitated, only to die is such a waste. 

14.  If you could live in any fictional world, where would it be?

Please take me to Hogwarts. Please!

15. Do you believe in ghosts/spirits & have you had any experiences with them?

I think this question has appeared every week for the last month. Yes, I believe in ghost. I used to live in a haunted house in London. I'm not phased by spirits, as long as they are not too disruptive. 

Today's song: