The Waiting Man

These questions were written by apologiesqueen.

1. How many hours a day/night do you usually sleep?
Somewhere around 7 hours total, usually, but it's not consecutive... I'm forever waking up to drink, or am woken by Bella the Night Terror at anywhere between 2-5am for breakfast. No, she does NOT get fed at 2am... but it can take a couple of increasingly vehement rebuttals for her to get the message... Once a week I tend to crash for about 10 hours. I love those days!

2. What do you do when you can't sleep?
When insomnia strikes, I usually get up & head for the computer/music room, check the news sites, see if there's anything to read on DW/LJ, play either a sudoku or solitaire game or 10, then go back to bed & try again

3. How often do you devote time to just thinking about something?
My vindictive brain can decide to devote time exclusively to thinking about something - usually at a time that's pretty inconvenient like when I'm driving somewhere, or trying to fall asleep... at which point, refer to answer no. 2!!

4. If you had to choose one person to never talk to again, who would you choose?
I don't think I have anyone in my personal life at the moment that needs ostracising... & once someone is gone from my life, they're just gone & taken their drama with them so I don't have to think about it any more... There are plenty of public & media figures I wish I never had to listen to ever again, but that would be a long & probably contentious list!!

5. If you had to choose one person, NOT your significant other, who you would speak to every day for the rest of your life, who would you choose?
Apart from Long-Suffering Partner? Nobody... well no one I can think of that I feel the need to speak with every day. In a fantasy world unfettered by timeline or being dead - probably someone like Terry Pratchett, whose humanitarian ideals I admire(d) almost as much as his comic imagination... or Gautama Buddha for the life philosophy without the religious bullshit

Achoo! Spring is in the air for us, although I know other parts of the country are still hip deep in snow and still other parts of the world are heading into fall.

1. Do you have Spring or Fall allergies?
Not significantly... I don't think pollen really gets to me that much. Most of the time if I have a sneezing fit, it's because of dust of some kind... & you get that all year!!

2. Do you have something in particular that you are allergic to or is it just general?
Not allergies as such, but I can't drink cow's milk any more, nor orange juice, nor pineapple juice. They all tend to get down in my digestive system & start fights that inevitably end in the bathroom

3. What do you take, if anything, to help?
Soy milk... & I've found that mandarin juice is much kinder to my insides

4. Do you seem to be saying, “It’s just allergies” a lot more than usual these days (i.e. because of Covid)?
I've had a sporadic, slightly phlegmy cough for years - probably the legacy of a double-whammy lung infection years ago - & I have found myself automatically saying "It's not Covid!!" when I cough in company. So far, I've been right!!

5. What do you hope to get out and do this spring, allergies and pandemic willing?
Ask me in 6 months... we're heading into Autumn down here - my favourite season of the year... the humid Summer heat starts to back off, the weather isn't too stormy or windy... it's about as mild as Australian conditions get!!

There's a "National Read In The Bathtub Day" coming up next week, of all occasions...


1) Read any good books lately?
I'm currently working my way though the box set of The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated into English. Having watched the 2 seasons of the TV show, I have to say I wasn't expecting the depth, slower pace & different storyline that the books (I'm on the 3rd now) are providing... in a good way! Non-TV tie-inwise, I recently read the 2nd novel by Australian author Trent Dalton 'All Our Shimmering Skies' set in the Northern Territory during WWII & every bit as good as his first novel 'Boy Swallows Universe'

2) Taken any good baths lately?
I don't think I've had a bath this millennium... Before you accuse me of being unclean, I DO shower every day (& sometimes twice!!), it's just that there's no bathtub in WaitingManor. If spa-baths count, Long-Suffering Partner & I had one of those about 7 yeas ago

3) Do you read paper books, or do you prefer another format? I read physical books - both hard-cover & paperback. L-SP has a Kindle, but we just don't seem to get around to loading much onto it... there are a couple of Terry Pratchett books on there that, indicatively, I've been looking for physical copies of, but that's probably more to do with the fact I'm a completist when it comes to collecting authors', or musicians' works

4) Where's the most comfortable place in your home?
Depends what you're after. In the back yard there's a wooden bench that catches the morning & later afternoon sun which is nice in Winter, but a bit punishing in the Australian Summer, our sofa is nicely padded & long enough to stretch out on. But for reading, nothing beats the bed!!

5) What's the most relaxing sound you can put on?
I'm a 70s ambient fan, so Fripp & Eno's 'Evening Star' comes to mind first, followed by Eno's Ambient 4 - On Land', or 'Apollo' albums. To calm down for a while, before getting your energy back up to face the world, I strongly recommend 'Starless' by King Crimson... Starts gently, but you're up & running by the end

1) What sort of alarm wakes you up in the morning?
At 4.30 am it's Bella, who jumps onto my side of the bed & not-so-gently insists that it's breakfast time. I used to equally not-so-gently insist that it wasn't, but she can be pretty persistent, so breakfast time is now at 4.30 am... after which I go back to bed for another couple of hours of intermittent dozing before having to get up

2) If you can sleep in, how late do you sleep?
Usually until around 10-10.30am, when the neighbourhood noises are getting a bit too loud to ignore

3) What's for breakfast?
2 pieces of toast, or some bready equivalent, with Vegemite on one & peanut butter or honey on the other... & COFFEE!!

4) What makes you late to your next big thing?
My own procrastination, or getting distracted by the next little thing

5) What's your favourite caffeinated beverage?
At home - a Nespresso pod. Black with one sugar. At a café - a soy flat white with honey. On a hot day - Coke Zero

By spacefem...

1) What was the biggest thing that happened to you in 2021?
Reasonably explosively walked out on a job, after being personally abused & already being something of a physical wreck. While working for myself has its own worries & the money hasn't been as good as I was led to expect, we've managed to get through the year pretty well, without starving or falling behind in any bills - not being able to go anywhere significant for a holiday probably helped that too...

2) Where was the most exciting place you went?
Our only little trip away this year was to a small, off-grid cabin in the west of New South Wales, for a few nights of not quite camping, not quite motelling either. Nice to see I still know how to make a fire without it turning into a bushfire & that I can cook on it as well !!

3) Who helped you the most this year?
Long-Suffering Partner without a doubt... gave me permission to leave a job that was killing me by degrees & has supported me (almost) unquestioningly as I've found my new feet

4) What's your favourite new thing you bought?
A tie between the new work car... & last year's Christmas present that turned up this year

5) What was your most memorable entry?
For me, it was the edited & photo-annotated diary of our USA roadtrip in 2012 that I finally got 'round to posting. Not sure how many others enjoyed it, but it was memorable for me...

1.Had enough winter/summer yet or are you just getting started?
Summer seems to be just getting started down here - today's the first day I've seen the temperature well above 30 centigrade. It's going to be a humid & wet Summer, which I'm not really looking forward to...

2. Will you do anything to acknowledge the Winter/Summer Solstice?
Probably not... there'll be no naked frolicking, or sacrificing of animals large or small. Mind you, if the little dogs across the road don't shut up...

3. Will you have a Christmas vacation/break this year and travel some place?
We'll probably take a holiday at the end of January/early February once the schools/colleges/universities have gone back to their classrooms & the parents have gone back to work. The whole point of getting away from it all is ruined when it all goes to the same place you are...

4. What do you miss about the preceding season already?
Spring & Autumn are my favourites... not too much of one extreme or the other - one can pretend the planet's weather is not trying to get revenge on us for a few months

5. What don’t you miss?
Unexpected rain clouds getting in the way of my night sky photography!!

This week, I've snaffled davesmusictank's Friday Five questions...

Would you rather never be stuck in traffic again or never get another cold?
I'd rather have a cold than sit in traffic... For much of my working life, I've done the morning & evening peak-hour slow shuffle at least 5 days a week - & in the last 10 years Saturdays have become as bad, or sometimes worse than weekdays, due to EVERYBODY being out & about for school sport/shopping & none of the Mon-Friday traffic flow measures in place. At least a cold is a temporary thing... traffic is forever!!

Would you rather never be able to wear pants or never be able to wear shorts?
Easy - I never wear shorts anyway, even in the worst of Australia's notorious Summers

Would you rather have a horrible short-term memory or a horrible long-term memory?
I often describe my long-term memory as a vindictive bastard, as it has the ability to attach embarrassing things from my past to whatever my current thoughts are, with the flimsiest of premises. It also takes up valuable RAM with things like unneeded old phone numbers & addresses, as well as the name of the drummer, or 2nd saxophonist who played on the alternative take of an obscure song from 50 years ago. Short term memory these days is far more important. Long term memory is what external hard drives & Google are for...

Would you rather never get a paper cut again or never get something stuck in your teeth again?
Both are really annoying, but only one leads to tooth decay, so I'll suffer through the cut you never notice until slicing lemons...

Would you rather have the job you wanted but never got or the job you have now?
Without hesitation or doubt - the job I never got... & there have been a few of those!! I've definitely taken the slow road to financial stability & either missed the faster, better roads, or they've been blocked by roadworks.... or traffic!!

May I just say, before I begin, that I love the fact there's a National Rocky & Bullwinkle Day & I wish it was InterNational... but 'Have A Bad Day' Day just sounds like too many of the other days of the year

Today is National Rocky and Bullwinkle Day and Have a Bad Day Day among others.

1 Were you a fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle growing up or do you not even know who they are (full episodes can be found on YouTube)?
I loved R&B... it used to be on very early in the morning on weekdays & I'd watch while having breakfast & getting ready for school. My Father, curious about the laughter at 6.15am, joined me one morning & it became one of his favourites as well. I had no idea, until much later, how much actual History I learned about from that show

2. Did you watch the cartoon for them or for the other great parts, like Fractured Fairytales and The Adventures of Mr. Peabody and his Boy, Sherman?
The whole thing... always loved the Fractured Fairytales, though Peabody could run a bit hot & cold. My favourite joke from the show, & one I still use today, was the college called Wossamatta U

3. What constitutes a day bad for you?
When Murphy &/or his minions mess with my plans... When good things happen to bad people...

4. Would you rather have one crappy day and a great one to follow or 47 okay days?
I'll take the lows... as long as there are highs afterwards. 47 okay days sounds like medicated mundanity (Apologies to those who need that kind of medication - I'm not criticising, or belittling... & understand better than most)

5. What would you be willing to do to never have another bad day in your life?
I don't think there's anything you can do to guarantee that. There's an endless supply of idiots out there whose life goal appears to be 'Make things harder for smarter people'... See my previous post for evidence...

These questions were written by user archersangel from Dreamwidth.

1. Do you have a yearly, or monthly, clothing budget? Do you stick to it?
Not really, I tend to just pick stuff up as needed, or if it catches my eye & wallet

2. Do you buy trendy clothes, or classic pieces that can be worn for years?
I don't think I've ever been 'on trend' in the fashion stakes. I've basically been a few variations of 'Hippie Goth Cowboy' since the late 1980s - black jeans, Cuban-heel boots, long-sleeve shirt of various colours, or patterns, with a few concessions to weather extremes through the year (sometimes a t-shirt, sometimes Chuck Taylor sneakers, or a knee-length winter coat)

3. Is there a current fashion trend that you hate?
Too many to count, or list!! Generally, I'm not a fan of 'fashion' that screams how edgy & fabulous you are - 99% of the time, you look like an idiot

4. Have you had clothing altered to fit you better?
My jeans are always too long... off to the alteration shop!!

5. Is there a piece of clothing, or accessory, that you covet?
Snakeskin, Cuban-heeled, ankle-height boots...

1. What is your favourite carnival ride?
Wow... haven't been to an amusement park, or a carnival in a long time. Luna Park in Sydney used to have a ride called the Rotor, where you stood against the wall of a big, round, spinning thing & as it spun faster, you were pinned to the wall... occasionally you'd find yourself sliding around, or up the wall a bit, to general amusement. Simple physics, but a lot of fun!!

2. What is your favourite thing to do outside?
Take photos!! Walk... play with other people's dogs

3. What is your favourite household chore?
Are any supposed to be favourites? I can't say I really enjoy any of them, but laundry, washing the cars & sweeping the garage are less painful than others...

4. What is something that you always have with you?
Other than the inevitable phone (which I still forget occasionally) & wallet, probably something really exciting like the car keys...

5. If you could visit any single city in the world (that you have not visited before), where would you go?
London... then use it as a jumping-off point for Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Münich, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, St Petersburg, Oslo, Helsinki... Let's just say Europe in general, shall we?

1. What were you doing in 2001? 2011?
2001: Well, I turned 34... & finally broke out of retail sales & into more specialised fields, first in industrial safety, then my preferred audio-visual gear. This was probably also the end of me seriously pursuing music as a career... 2011: I went overseas for the first time since 1974. Only to New Zealand, but the bug bit hard & L-SP & I have been travelling as much as possible ever since

2. What's something you've kept going for over a decade?
My relationship with Long-Suffering Partner... my LJ &, by extension, DW 'blog... & a slow, but steady weight gain. Not too proud of that one...

3. What's an anniversary you want to mark down and celebrate?
Just the usual birthdays, wedding anniversary etc... I don't really keep track of dates for personal milestones, good or bad

4. What would your past self think of your present self?
I'd be disappointed that music didn't work out, but hopefully impressed by the photography & travel miles...

5. What was the first online communality that you loved?
I was adopted & encouraged by a small group of photographers on Flickr - most of whom are in the USA or UK & somehow, that made it all the more amazing... that people so far away were not only looking at my work, but appreciative of it. I've had a small readership on both LJ & DW, but I'd say none of the original LJ friends are here any more. At least not regularly. I still write as if I'm talking to them though...

These questions were written by mesotablar on dreamwidth.

1. What are your top 5 favourite foods?
Fish - most of them, grilled, or sashimi... Eye fillet steak, when I can afford it!... Southern-style fried chicken... Indian curries... Thai stir-fry, Shanghai dumplings... whoops, that's 6, but I could keep going!!

2. Is there something similar between them?
The first 3 are things my Mother & Grandmother couldn't cook well & I've spent my teen/adult life discovering how they should be done, the last 3 are my go-to takeaway choices... when I really shouldn't have another pizza

3. Can you cook them yourself?
Not too good on the Shanghai dumplings, but I can do the others reasonably well. My Long-Suffering Partner does the best home-fried chicken though!

4. Pick one, and tell us why it is so special?
Indian curries - the depth of flavours, the exotic taste, the different styles & that no 2 places do them the same way. I've never had 2 Chicken Kormas that were alike!!

5. Have you eaten your recommended servings of 2 fruit and 5 vegetables today?
I haven't even had breakfast yet, just a coffee... so coffee beans & sugar cane - do they count?!?

1. What luxury is totally worth the price?
Single Malt Scotch whiskey... a large television... an electric blanket... & one from the days of travel - a motel room off the main road, with a firm mattress & pillows!!

2. What is the most unique or silliest problem you have going on in your life at the moment?
Up until lockdown halted any practical progress, it's trying to find somewhere that prints photos on good quality paper, at the same size you can buy pre-made frames for them. Up 'til now, I could either get photos printed at sizes I couldn't buy frames for, or vice-versa. I'm not yet ready to use the online services I've seen advertised... I like to see what I'm getting...

3. If you were so wealthy you didn’t need to work, what would you do with your time?
Work with & support animal shelters. Play a lot more music. Take a lot more photographs. Get a lot more exercise!!

4. What is the most tedious and/or the most exciting sport to watch?
Most tedious, I find, is any motor racing. Round & round & round &... I also find tennis mind-numbingly dull. Perversely, I will happily watch Test cricket - the game that goes for 5 days & can still end in a draw. Parochially, I like watching AFL - Australian Rules football, Rugby Union & Rugby League - when my team is playing... I don't really watch sport just because it's on, there needs to be some emotional investment!

5. What do you think the ideal age to be is?
I usually find it's about 10 years younger than the age I am whenever I think about this kind of question... but seriously, probably somewhere in the late 30s... when you have your personality under control, know your strengths, have a career, or at least a trajectory & your metabolism hasn't started to slow down too much, so you can enjoy a good meal without having to make an exercise plan to work it off...

What's your favorite colour this week?
As always, deep shades of blue, or green


What job would be very unsuitable for you?
Anything involving construction, or maintenance at great heights - like a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, for example. I'd never get any work done because I'd be holding onto a steel girder with both arms, whimpering quietly...


What's your favorite Olympic sport?
100m sprint, because it's over in under 10 seconds... I'm not much of an Olympics, nor any other sports carnival, fan


Have you ever found yourself stuck out in the rain?
More often than I can count. Most memorably, I walked about 7 kilometres home in a torrential downpour... took about a week to dry out!!


What does the tooth fairy do with our teeth?
Keeps them filed, so we can get personalised dentures later in life

1. Where is the most beautiful nature in your area?
There's a walking trail on the headland where I live. Not only does it offer wonderful views of Sydney Harbour & out to the ocean, but there are several sites with Aboriginal rock carvings & plenty of local wildlife... usually disappearing into the bushes as you tramp past, but not always!

2. Does your household grow some of its own food?
We try to keep a herb garden going, but any attempt at growing actual produce is thwarted by the aforementioned wildlife, who get into back yards & gardens & think lemons, oranges & carrots are delicious. Funny how they never attack the chilli trees...

3. Do you recycle or repurpose a lot, a little, or somewhere in between?
We recycle as much as practical & have a compost bin/worm farm in the back garden

4. What do you think the most endangered part of the Earth is?
Other than the atmosphere? Low-lying islands in the South Pacific, our own Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon rainforest, the polar ice shelves, wildlife habitats in Asia...

5. What is the single best way for an individual to help the environment?
Don't be an unthinking, uncaring fuckwit