Writer's Block: Fantastic plastic

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I'm too squeamish, I think. I guess, as others have said, that if it was an issue of necessity - if I'd had an accident that left me horribly disfigured - then yes, but certainly not out of vanity.

Writer's Block: Roll the dice

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I don't know about "lucky", but my favourite number used to be 4. No idea why; I was young, my favourite colour was red, my favourite shape was a square, my favourite number was 4. There may well be a connection between the last two. But nowadays, it's not really something I think about. A number is a number is a number.

Whuh..?

How did it get to be nearly 2012 already?

I want some of my life back.

(I'll have the hour I spent watching the first episode of Demons, for a start...)

(no subject)

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
Became the co-owner of a Blu-Ray player. Hosted a house-warming party.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
ISTR not actually making any firm resolutions. This year will be differnt, as there are certain aspects of my life that I really need to change.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nobody.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nobody.

5. What countries did you visit?
This year I've stayed very firmly in the UK; indeed in England. That will change next year.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Organisation, and enough energy to be organised.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Sarah taking me to see Wicked. Misha & Zoe's wedding. Becky & Tony's housewarming and Doctor Who watch. Out housewarming and Doctor Who watch. Sarah's works Christmas do. The holidays in Swanage and the Lake District. Those all for the right reasons. Sarah discovering she'd had £1500 swiped from her account, very much for the wrong reasons.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
None really. I suppose actually getting to the point of having a housewarming was an achievement of sorts. Cooking a good meal for our neighbours, also felt like a bit of an achievement.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Nothing really stands out. I suppose that point where I had the existing pain in my right arm from a trapped nerve, a new pain in my left side from the fall in Swanage, and toothache all at once was kind of fail, albeit not really my fault. The sleepless nights were, um, "fun".

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
See above...

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Most of the really nice additions to the armoury I had bought for me. The Back to the Future and Lord of the Rings Blu-Rays were nice, as was the Lego Star Wars game for the Wii.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Sarah's, and a great many of my friends and family.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Certain people, mainly relating to upsets from a few years ago. But I really ought to learn to let go.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Fuel, groceries, and DVDs.

15. What were you really, really, really excited about?
Nothing much, if I'm honest. Going to see Wicked! at the start of the year, and Doctor Who throughout the year were both sources of excitement, as were the holidays and conventions. Apart from that it's been a pretty quiet year. Oh, the Matt Smith/Karen Gillan/Arthur Darvill signing at Westfield Stratford, of course. How can I forget that?

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
As I'm not really up-to-speed with contemporary music, and most of my listening is old stuff that I've owned for many a year, nothing really.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) Happier or sadder? Not much different.

b) Bigger or smaller? I don't know, but I suspect bigger.

c) Richer or poorer? About the same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Being organised.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being disorganised.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
A very pleasant day with Sarah, her mum, and her mad aunt Alice.

21. How many one-night stands?
None.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?
It's a cliche, but every day, I fall a bit more in love with Sarah.

23. What was your favourite TV programme?
Doctor Who, obviously. Also Fringe (just wish it was on a bit more consistently), Ringer, and Misfits.

24. How will you see in the New Year?
We have no particular plans, and as I'm on piano/organ rota for the following morning, I suspect I'll be having an early night.

25. Do you hate / dislike anyone now that you didn't hate / dislike this time last year?
I don't really go in for hating or disliking people.

26. What was the best book you read?
RJ Anderson's faery books (Knife, Rebel and Arrow) are all wonderful.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Erm. None. I still love Erasure and Pet Shop Boys, and various other stuff, but haven't really "discovered" anything this year that I didn't already know about.

28. What did you want and get?
Loads of stuff on my Amazon wish list. Going to see Wicked.

29. What did you want and not get?
Loads of stuff on my Amazon wish list. :-)

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, even though I've only seen that in the last couple of days. Tintin a close second.

31. What did you do on your birthday?
Woke up with a headache, but when I was better Sarah took us out to Nando's, then we visited her sister's family, then church for a carol service, followed by the house of one the church folks for a Christmas party. Very pleasant, but I could have done with being a bit less busy!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being organised.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Much the same as previous years. Scruffy chic. But with added brown corduroy trousers.

34. What kept you sane?
Sarah being awesome. Various friends and family. Never being short of something to watch on the tellybox.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I haven't gone overboard much on fancying celebrities this year. Will admit to a bit of a crush on Kate Griffin, admittedly.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
LGBT rights, and particularly same-sex marriage.

37. Who did you miss?
My ex-wife and my grandma.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Can't really think of many new people I've met. Zoe's sister is really sweet.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Again, nothing new; but I've had my existing beliefs - that family and friends are really massively important and not to be taken for granted - reinforced time and again.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Oh dear. Once again can't really think of anything. I think Paula Abdul did one about "one step forward, two steps back". That would sum up my disorganisation level... *g*