It's Me

Welcome to a very wet and miserable South Manchester. I’ve looked at the weather forecast for today and it is bad. 

I don’t care. I don’t plan on going anywhere today at all – and this time next week I will be on a cruise liner navigating Greek islands in the Aegean Sea in what will officially be the end of summer for me. When I return it will be my birthday and I fully expect to see commercials for Christmas paraphernalia appearing everywhere. 

Doesn’t time fly? 

Let’s jump into a silly pond of Sunday Stealing questions. 

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?

I want it to be The National Lottery telling me that I have won millions of pounds on either Lotto or Euromillions. 

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?

Of course I do. Dumping your shopping trolley randomly is one of my pet peeves, especially now that I do all of the grocery shopping. 

Once, one lazy shopper dumped their trolley behind my car, which meant that I had to move it out of the way to unload my trolley. 

And being a good citizen, I took both of them back. 

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?

I can be both. I like to listen to what other people are saying but I also contribute to the conversation.

4. Do you take compliments well?

I am quite a humble person and this means that I don’t really know what to say when I receive a compliment. Usually I mumble a surprised “Thank You” and feel a little awkward (if I’m honest). 

5. Do you play Sudoku or Wordle?

I have played Sudoku in the past but I have never played Wordle. 

6. Did you ever go to camp as a kid?

We don’t have “camp” in the UK so the answer is no. 

7. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you?

Absolutely. When it comes to religion, I like to chat about it rather than avoiding the subject. I was baptised a Roman Catholic but I am not religious at all. That said, it doesn’t stop me from chatting to people about their beliefs. I  might not share their views but I guess you can say that about most subjects. 

One of the most interesting chats I had was with a Jehovah’s Witness who tried their best to convert me into their cult. 

I would love to have a chat to a Scientologist and have been tempted to pop into the Scientology shop in the centre of Manchester just to see what they have to say – especially after my “encounter” with them as a naïve 19 year old in Amsterdam. 

Actually I will reconsider my answer to this question. I would date anybody – but not a Scientologist. The reason is that I wouldn’t want to be attacked for criticising them or have to suffer “disconnection”.

8. Would you rather pursue or be pursued?

I assume that you are talking about dating here. I gave up pursuing because I got fed up of being rejected. Some women were nice about it but I inwardly cringe even at lovely rejections like “Oh Dave – you’re such a lovely guy but I only want to be friends. I’m really sorry”. 

Every relationship I have had, I’ve been pursued – even though I had no idea that I was actually being pursued. I quite enjoyed it, if I’m honest. 

9. Have you ever fired a gun?

You may be surprised to hear this but the answer is yes. On a trip to Vietnam we visited the Củ Chi tunnels near to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) back in 2019.  Basically you could pay to fire a gun at a target and I had a couple of goes. I missed. 

Here is evidence:

10. Would you rather dine at Olive Garden or Panera?

I have never heard of either Olive Garden or Panera. However, I looked them up and I think that I would probably prefer Olive Garden.