Random Questions And Answers For A Friday Lunchtime

What are you reading now? I bought “Generation A” by Douglas Coupland just after getting the Kindle, but still haven’t started reading it. Lack of free time, allied with the continual draw of Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, and enumerable funny cat videos mean I never seem to sit down with a book any more. The Kindles have stopped us buying paper books though, which our book shelves are quite pleased about. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Both. Sounds strange, I know. As soon as I am awake on a morning, I can get up. If an alarm is set for work I invariably wake up minutes before it is due and switch it off before it starts wailing. Conversely, I also regularly employ the tactic of staying up far too late (particularly on Sunday nights) to avoid tomorrow coming. I guess a part of that is down to the children eroding “me” time more an more as they get older, and stay up later. Can you touch your nose with your tongue? No. I remember children at school being able to do that, and trying so hard myself that my tongue hurt. Can you close your eyes and raise your eyebrows? Yes. I can also raise each eyebrow independently, which drives our children and my better half mad, because none of them can do it. It’s become something of a party piece, and causes our children to pull all manner of crazy faces while trying to copy me. Do you have pets? We have three identical ginger cats, called Tom, George and Sam. They are about a year old, and getting very good at killing things. As spring arrived, deliveries of mice and birds become a daily occurrence in our house. We also have four chickens, and I can’t even remember all their names “ mainly because we’ve lost so many to foxes in recent years that I’ve given up learning which is which. The children have perfect memory of all their names of course “ in the same way they know which toy belongs to who, which dinner plates, which cups, and so on. I probably had a memory that good once upon a time. How many rings before you answer the phone? I usually pick the phone up immediately that I realise it’s ringing “ although with my mobile it’s invariably on silent, or vibrate “ so it’s more a case of noticing it’s ringing at all. It drives my other half nuts. What is your best childhood memory? Difficult one to answer, because there are so many great childhood memories. One of the most clear would be the birthday cake when I was six. My nan made the thickest, heaviest cake I or anybody else had ever seen. It had cadbury’s flakes for candles, with cherries on top. I think it probably destabilized the earth’s orbit. What are some of the different jobs that you have had in your life? I’ve swept up throughout a factory, I’ve put plastic spacers between thousands of paving slabs every morning, I’ve done payroll for the family business, I’ve been an IT manager, I’ve been a marshall at several marathons, I’ve been a freelance web designer all sorts of things really Any new and exciting things that you would like to share? Ummm it’s Friday? Fridays are always exciting, aren’t they? What is most important in life? Being healthy, being happy, and having good friends. What Inspires You? My children, my better half, and my friends. My children inspire me to continually try to be a better Dad, to provide more for them, to make them laugh, to be there when they are upset, and to give them as many opportunities as I can. My better half inspires me to be there to support her, to catch her, and to be the rock she can rely on. My friends inspire me because they are all exceptional in different ways “ I’m very lucky to have them.