Life's meaning (or is it just 42?)

Welcome to a dull and cloudy South Manchester; at least it isn’t raining though – which is good. 

Our house is now on the road to recovery following a triple whammy of domestic issues. 

First, the boiler decided to give up on life and is now enjoying life in silicon heaven. 

Second, we had not one, but two leaks in the bathroom which caused water to leak down into the kitchen – and this happened while we were on holiday so we returned to a very damaged portion of kitchen ceiling. 

Third, I noticed a damp patch at the back of my desk.

The good news is that our friendly neighbourhood gasman, a guy we know and trust, installed a brand new boiler, which is now working brilliantly. Also, we know a former builder who is skilled in most things from construction to building and he fixed the leaks in the bathroom. And now, this week, some guys recommended by our neighbours have sorted out the kitchen ceiling and the damp patch, working their magic to make sure the dampness never resurfaces. 

All we need to do is repaint the offending areas and normal service will be resumed. 

I’m quite pleased that everything is now sorted out but my bank account is moaning and groaning, especially as we are off on our travels again in a couple of weeks. 

Let’s dive in with some daft questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1. If you could go back to any age, which would you choose and why?

I would choose to be eighteen years old, just after I had finished my ‘A-Level’ exams and was preparing for going to university. I had such a good time during those three years that I would love to revisit them with a wiser more mature head on my shoulders. It was fun but hard work. I would want the end result to be the same but to relive those times would be really fun. 

2. If you could snap your fingers and change any single aspect of your life today, what would you change?

I would probably snap my fingers and immediately acquire the winning ticket in this week’s Euromillions lottery. I am not a greedy person at all but the arrival of several million pounds would allow me to fulfil the dream of travelling around the world and writing about my experiences. Apart from the normal limitations of life, I wouldn’t want to change a thing other than that. 

3. Define a "good" or "successful" life.

There are people out there who have a list of items to tick off to achieve a “good” or a “successful” life and these include things like:

• Get qualifications. 

• Get a good job

• Get married

• Have kids

• Get to the top of the corporate ladder

• Retire 

• Become a grandparent

• Meet your maker

I always find such things too clinical and impersonal and they never take into account the complexity of being a human being. They never mention emotion goals or social aspects of your life, like friends and the way you treat other people. I think such things are equally if not more important than any list provided by so-called driven workaholics with no empathy (like my old nemesis Mr Motivator). 

I would say that if you have managed to get through life successfully with a reasonable career and made a lot of people happy along the way, with more people loving you than not loving you then you have had a pretty fruitful life. As far as careers are concerned, it is great to be successful but if you got there at the expense of others and your work/life balance was 100% work and nothing outside (like Mr Motivator would like) then in my opinion you haven’t succeeded at all. 

I’m quite happy where I am in life at the moment, despite Mr Motivator’s attempts to persuade me otherwise. 

4. What's the best compliment you've ever received?

I’ve been told that I am nice guy on a few occasions. That’s good enough for me. 

Oh - and people complement my hair a lot; I hate my hair. 

5. What's the most valuable thing your parents taught you? 

My dad was young when he passed (he was only 44 years old) but he was wiser than he gave himself credit for. He urged me to use my full potential and also not to forget those who help you along the way. 

My mum taught me how to cook and do all household chores, which was invaluable when I went to university. And her lessons are still there today as I am effectively the domestic god(dess) in our house as Mrs PM is still working.