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Atom Date: November 19 2009
Currently: Reading F1 Racing (October 2009 edition)
Mood: Contemplative !:l
Warning! Long entry alert!
Nothing I saw in F1 today particularly inspired me, so I'm doing this 100-item meme I spotted in Laraine Creech's Facebook notes.
2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
One wall of wallpaper and three of bright yellow paint*. On the paint, there are nine bookshelves piled high with books, a big poster featuring a map of the Silverstone circuit dating from 2002 and a framed photograph of me and my two best friends from secondary school/sixth form.
3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOU SLEEP?
I don't snore or grind my teeth, but apparently I'm nearly as talkative during some parts of my sleep cycle as I am when I'm awake. Fortunately few people are in a position to find out first-hand.
5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
6:30pm. Apparently I took most of the day to turn up - I wasn't exactly in a rush to make an appearance in the world.
8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)?
Difficult one. Among actual possessions, probably my PDA. But I try not to get too attached to particular items because everything is transient.
10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
Not unless the space is stuffed full of people. If it's stuffed full of inanimate or slow-moving objects (or the space just wasn't very big in the first place), I'm fine because I know where the remaining space will be.
12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
My ex-supervisor, who thought that persistently shouting bad names at someone with sensitive ears was a good idea. Eventually, my ears (and brain) protested too loudly for resisting to work.
15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF PROPOSING AT?
I have enough trouble seeing myself proposing in the first place...
16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
If I must have one, energy drink - I dislike the taste of the former and find the latter too sugary-tasting for anything except swimming galas (and even then I usually dilute it).
20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH?
I've had goldfish in the pond before, but I left the job of eating them to the local heron.
21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
When I was very small (I think I was four, but I might have been three), my great-grandparents gave me a knitted grey rabbit. It meant a lot to me because it was a tangible symbol of their love for me.
24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
Bon Marché. They seem to be one of the few brands that do clothing that feel practical and fit without looking ugly.
32. FAVORITE QUOTE?
"Million-to-one chances occur nine times out of ten" - Terry Pratchett, "Guards! Guards!"
33. FAVORITE PLACE(s)?
My local library (and every other library I've ever visited), Sheffield College, Silverstone
34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?
I've never been in the USA in the first place, but I've been to Switzerland, Belgium and France as well as the UK (where I live). The first two for swimming galas and the latter on a school trip.
35. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
I am a creature of habit who can be somewhat inflexible, struggle with interpreting the world at times... ...and also is rather messy!
36. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?
Quite a few people. I've had autographs from Eddie Jordan, Matt Neal, David Coulthard, Allan McNish, Martin and Alex Brundle.
39. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOULMATE?
No, but I think a significant minority have got a soulmate. The concept exists but some people are equally (or nearly-equally) compatible with multiple people and others aren't really compatible with anyone.
40. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED THIS OUT?
Looking through the F1 news on the internet, re-reading F1 Racing October 2009 in the process.
41. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?
No. Nearest I've had is having my head glued back together five weeks ago (what a way to fill a Sunday morning...)
45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT AND THEIR NAMES?
I don't know if I want kids at the moment, largely because I wouldn't have a clue how to bring them up if I had any. I have lots of potential names, but as yet no faces to attach them to...
46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My real middle names were also my mum's and grandma's middle names, but my first name wasn't named for anyone (apart from a religious figure - ironic since my parents aren't religious). My psuedonym's first name is from a book called "Dragonsbane" by Patricia C. Wrede - the character originally bearing that first name was a princess.
49. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
Cheap supermarket shampoo, in the "anti-grease" category. "Anti-chlorine" and/or "anti-dandruff" are bonus features. I use a separate conditioner, which is typically the fanciest one in the local pound shop.
50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I do - it's legible and fairly stylish in cursive format and cute in separated-letter format. Block capitals come out slightly strange, but never mind...
54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
If I was someone else, being friends with myself would still be an automatic impulse, wouldn't it? Would make for an interesting philosophical question.
58.WOULD YOU RATHER GAIN 58 POUNDS OR LOSE 58 Pounds?
Lose 58 pounds (but I wouldn't want to lose more than that).
60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
A red stuffed stegasaurus with a yellow tongue slightly sticking out and no eyes called Grinny. It's still my favourite toy.
62. WERE YOU A FAN OF BARNEY AS A LITTLE KID?
Barney was after my time. I watched lots of Sesame Street as a little kid though.
64. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE?
Macaroni and cheese, though mashed potatoes are also nice.
66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
My psuedonym's nicknames are "Alia" and "Ali". The former is my formal nickname while the latter is preferred by internetters with tired fingers.
69.WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES?
Explain to them the error of their ways, roll the eyes if they don't get it, then vacate the area (unless they're doing something that needs stopping, in which case you stop it).
71. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES?
I have all the ones I was born with connected to my body at this moment and do not anticipate repositioning any of them in the near future.
72. DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER IN YOUR ROOM?
The one I'm typing on, and at the moment my PDA (a mobile phone that pretends to be a computer) is in here being charged as well.
74. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE WHEN YOU ARE OLDER?
In a cheap house somewhere quiet but well-connected.
76. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
At this exact moment? Kelly Clarkson - a live version of "Beautiful Disaster".
78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Someone from a local JobCentre referring a client to the organisation I'm placed at (which provides assistance to unemployed people),
80. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
Reading, swimming, various forms of computing and listening to music.
82. FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR?
Autumn. Somehow it seems to be the gentlest season, F1 increases in tempo and lots of new stuff starts in my personal life (for example, it's the start of academic years).
84. HAVE YOU EVER REALLY AND TRULY HAD A BEST FRIEND?
Yes. Twice. The first one between nursery and sixth form and the second one during my university years.
91. WATCH TV TODAY?
15 minutes of news, about an hour of music channels, plus most of Golden Balls (it happened to be on when I was visiting Grandma). Unusually high amount for me.
92. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
This changes every year. This year it was September 3 (with June 21 and January 10 being a close second and third), last year it was 21 June, the year before it was 12 June...
93. PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
I play the guitar, keyboard and recorder - none of them particularly well, but I can get a tune out of each of them. I prefer singing though.
94. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?
If I were American, I'd vote Democrat. As it is, I vote Labour in general elections because my constituency happens to have a brilliant MP right now who deserves support (among other things for not agreeing with his party on certain key topics) and Liberal Democrat otherwise.
95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Neither, unless it's a really unexpected special occasion or you've warned me first. In which case either is fine.
99. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
That should be a plural. I am reading "Making Time" by Steve Taylor downstairs, F1 Racing (October 2009 edition) and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J. K. Rowling upstairs and "Nightwings" by Robert Silverberg when I'm out. I usually have at least three books on the go simultaneously, due to my bookworm-like nature.