It would probably take me about an hour to finish up the chapter if I actually sat down and did it.

[slemslempike]

I have half-finished drafts of about four posts, but I am posting a meme in lieu of actual content.

1. What is your occupation right now?

I am a student. I am trying to convince myself that I am a full-time student and should therefore be devoting more time than I am to writing in order to finish, while at the same time trying to convince the Jobcentre that I am a student in name alone and they should definitely give me some benefits. We shall see what they think of the letter my department wrote saying that I have no contact hours.

2. What color are your socks right now?

They are navy blue with thin horizontal stripes of reds, turquoises and purples.

3. What are you listening to right now?

7 Day Sunday on the iPlayer, because I have exhausted all the radio comedy I actually enjoy on there and Sarah Millican was on it, and I like her. It's not very good. It's not bad, just not engaging.

4. What was the last thing that you ate?

I had a toffee chip harvest bar, which I keep a stash of in my bottom desk drawer to sustain me through the more punishing episodes of procrastination. Before that I had a cheese and pickle sandwich on tiger bread for lunch.

5. Can you drive a stick shift?

Yes. I find automatics very disconcerting, and prefer not to drive them. I prefer not to drive at all, but if I must then a gear stick is more comforting.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?

A staff member at Lancaster Castle, who sold me a ticket for their promenade performance of The Merchant of Venice later this month. They do productions every two years, and they're normally a) very well regarded and b) very quickly sold out. I've never been before, and I'm really looking forward to it. Any castle would be a cool place to stage a moving performance, but Lancaster Castle also houses the crown court, so that will be handy for the set.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?

I found it on a post on friendsfriends. I'd never heard of the person in question before, they seem perfectly reasonable.

8. How old are you today?

I am 10484 days old precisely.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?

I have always liked watching gymnastics (are people watching Make It or Break It? If not you should be, it's GREAT), and since moving in with jekesta I have started to enjoy snooker, and sometimes darts. Mostly I like watching sport only with other people, especially if they don't mind explaining things to me.

10. What is your favorite drink?

I like cream soda, and pear juice, and Mirinda, which I was very pleased to get to drink a lot of when I was on holiday recently. Generally though I drink orange juice when I am out. I drink alcohol less and less these days, but I quite like a gin and tonic.

11. Do you dye your hair?

Yes. My current hair is brown, darker than what I think is my natural shade. I will probably have to keep this state of affairs for a while, but I'd rather have something more interesting. I miss the pink.

12. Favorite food?

How can I possibly choose? Steak, bread (I love bread), mature cheddar cheese, yorkshire puddings, sausages, pizza, so many things.

13. What is the last movie you watched at a cinema?

It was Avatar, which I saw in 2D in Cairo with an Italian girl I made friends with in the hostel. We both disliked it. I think I would have liked the look of the film a lot when I was younger, I couldn't really get away from the gender, colonial and racial representations of the film, and the story was really DULL. I hated everyone.

14. Favorite day of the year?

I don't think I have a consistent favourite day of the year. I like Christmas, because I ususally see my family and there is food and presents and it's quite relaxing.

15. How do you vent anger?

I don't so much vent anger as carefully cultivate it in order to give my blood pressure a workout. In order to do this I select suitable television programmes, blogs and lj users (none of you!). Then I make Alice and Jen listen to me complain about them, when it is all my fault for searching them out anyway.

16. What is your favorite season?

I don't think I have one. I like it when it is warm enough to go outside with only a hoody to protect me from the elements, and not too hot that I sweat overly or find jeans uncomfortable. I also like snow.

17. Cherries or Blueberries?

Cherries.

18. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?

YES, VERY MUCH SO. Who on earth wouldn't want to be emailed back? Is this one of the ways in which I discover my neediness is greater than I had thought?

19. Who is the most likely to respond?

Oh, I see. This was supposed to be an email, and people would email it back. I would never send this round by email, it seems a way to annoy people. But if I'd sent it, I'd want a response.

20. Who is least likely to respond?

I imagine most people I know feel the same way about such intrusions into their inbox and would largely ignore it.

21. Living arrangements?

Terraced house, shared with alicamel and jekesta. Though technically we are three separate households. Hear that, Preston decision-makers? SEPARATE HOUSEHOLDS.

22. When was the last time you cried?

Earlier today, which took me a little bit by surprise. It's good to cry sometimes though, I think.

23. What is on the floor of your closet?

My wardrobe has two large plastic boxes on the floor, one with socks and one with knickers. It's one of those futon company style ones where there aren't any doors, so it makes it easier to get dressed in the morning. (Afternoon, sometimes.)

24. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to?

I think terriem is the person on my flist that I've had contact with the longest. She is very busy though, and may well not be reading lj at the moment.

25. What did you do last night?

I made roast vegetables and sugar snap peas, wrote up my January books post while Alice and Jen watched something, possibly Would I Lie to You in the background, then we watched Make It or Break It together (AWESOME), then Jen and I played yahtzee (I won), then we watched Newswipe, then I watched Eastwick. I had meant to read another chapter of Ulysses, but it got sidelined. Tonight we're going to see Julian Clary. I am excited.

26. What are you most afraid of?

I really hate worms, maggots, caterpillars and millipedes, etc. Last night I suddenly started thinking about Snakes on a Plane, which wasn't conducive to sleep either.

27. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?

Plain. I don't like the processed cheese slices on many cheeseburgers, though sometimes if they specify that it's mature cheddar I'll have it. And I am too weedy for spicy food. If I'm ordering from somewhere that has lots of options I will specify that I am only interested in having the meat and the bread.

28. Favorite dog breed?

I don't like dogs. I think the Dulux kind of dogs are nice to look at from a suitable distance.

29. Favorite day of the week?

I think I have far less sense of time beyond "today" and "before today" and "after today" than the writer of this meme. I don't really have any structure to my time at the moment, which is something I can find difficult, but can't really imagine changing. Oh, except that on Tuesdays I go to my pub quiz, which I like. And on Thursday mornings I sign on, which I don't like.

30. How many provinces/states have you lived in?

I have lived in one state in the US.
I have lived in one country in the middle east.
I have lived in one city in Scotland.
I have lived in three counties in England.

31. Diamonds or Pearls?

Neither? I'm not really a jewellery person at all, though I bought a nice green stone necklace when I was visiting yiskah. I think that pearls look quite nice, when I've seen them. But not so much on earrings. One day I would like to have access to some real pearls to bite so that I can learn how to tell a fake in case the occasion arises. Is it biting you do to pearls? They're gritty, aren't they?

32. What is your favorite flower?

I don't really like flowers! I am a rubbish girl. I quite like looking at the spiky kind of weird flowers in botanical gardens and the like. Sunflowers are jolly.

Comments

hee hee!

[jinty]

I had to immediately go & look up my age in days. I am 14,465 days old.

Re: hee hee!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Oh my god! You are practically FOUR THOUSAND days older than I am. That's like ancient.

Re: hee hee!

[jinty]

Yes, ancient. I will be 40 this year!!!! Can't quite believe it.

Re: hee hee!

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

17,177... *crumbles into dust*

Re: hee hee!

[jinty]

PS also - I read this:
"28. Favorite dog breed?"
as "28. Favorite dog bread".

It did make me look again, mind.

Re: hee hee!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

DO dogs have bread? ARE dogs bread? I would probably like dogs more if they were actually bread.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

I like this. I like it because I have things to do.

Also, in what sense are you three households? Not you personally.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

When you say that you "share" your accommodation to jobcentre types they start asking about the other people's financial circumstances, and why they don't support you. So you need to be very clear to them that you rent one bedroom, and have shared access to living space. I also emphasise that we all have separate rental agreements. Otherwise they start asking for proof of earnings etc.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

Ah. That's quite interesting. It makes you seem like a tiny society all of your own. Technically you're probably a hamlet.

[peeeeeeet.livejournal.com]

Ooh. I kinda want that to happen here so that I can answer "they won't TELL me!" and "because they are TIGHT!" and such.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

If you don't need the money you can say what you like, of course.