Let's Play Tag!

So....there I was, just innocently lurking about the interwebs, catching up on the celeb gossip pages researching Very Important Scientific Stuff, when... ba da bing ba da boom!... the lovely but devious Leanne at From Chaos Comes Happiness tagged me to do this meme.

Now that you all know who is to blame for the following mind numbingly boring fascinating facts about me, you can pop over later and thank Leanne in person ...but right now you need to focus on Me, Me, Me, just Me (isn’t that what a meme is all about?)

Anyway, pour yourselves a drink, preferably something alcoholic or caffeine-reinforced (you’re going to need it), and let’s begin...

1. if you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family?
Hmmm....have you read about the antics of our 247 tropical fish on here? Would you want those incestuous little cannibals in your family? I think not...

2. if you can have a dream come true, what would it be?
OK, this is probably going to sound a bit contrived, but right now I just wish that everyone important in my life was healthy and happy.

3. what is the one thing most hated by you?
Arrogance...people thinking they’re better than anyone else, based on their social status, looks or education.

4. what would you do with a billion dollars?
Lay it all on the floor and roll around on it shouting... “I’m rich! I’m rich beyond my wildest dreams!” Seriously, I’d try to be ever so sensible...statistics show that most lottery winners die poor and alone, and are eaten by Alsatians - or is that something from “Bridget Jones’ Diary”?

First, I’d put one-third of it away on high investment returns, and pay a good accountant to look after my funds. Then I’d make sure that everyone in my family was financially secure. I’d set up a trust account for each of my nieces, nephews, goddaughters and the little ones of a couple of my good friends...to offer them a future, be it university or art school fees, or money to start up their own business. I’d sell our house and buy a bigger one (not a mansion but somewhere damn nice in the country yet still close to town, with an indoor swimming pool, sauna and home cinema)...and a couple of holiday homes (one in each hemisphere so that we could always escape to the sun). I’d tell B to quit his job and re-train as whatever he wants (he’s so bored with what he does). But before then, I’d tell my boss I’m taking the year off (I'd want to know I still had a job waiting for me), book two ‘Round The World’ first class air tickets and we’d head off to explore...

5. what helps to pull you out of a bad mood?
Chocolate, or a long walk....to go and buy chocolate.

6. which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Being loved by anyone is fantastic...loving someone is only exquisite when that love is returned.

7. what is your bedtime routine?
A soak in the bath tub (no matter how late I get in), then my face, eye, arm and hand creaming session, and a few minutes of reading before lights out.

8. if you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your partner?
Through a mutual friend at university (now the dad of our goddaughter) – we exchanged insults from afar for about a month then decided to go out....

9. if you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?
A Master Chef like Michel Roux Jr, creating a new signature dish for his twice Michelin-starred London restaurant, “Le Gavroche”.

10. what kinds of books do you read?
It varies widely depending on my mood, and I tend to have a couple of books on the go at any one time. I have to read a lot of high brow medical journals for my job, so when reading for pleasure, I look for some light relief. I read a lot of travel books, and I do like a gripping thriller, like something from Douglas Kennedy, or anything with a slight historical edge (early 20th Century). I have to confess to indulging in some mindless chick lit at times...

11. how would you see yourself in ten years time?
Ten years’ older... but hopefully fifteen years’ wiser and still looking five years’ younger than I am right now. I’ve got a lot of living to do between then and now.

12. what’s your fear?
Just about everything frightens me...but I probably fear flying the most, and I fear that I will meet my demise in a flaming ball dropping out of the sky. It is a fear that I have had to learn to deal with (using pharmaceuticals).

13. would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to visit outer space?
I wouldn’t give it up for one day...there is no way in this solar system you’re getting me inside a space shuttle...did you not read number 12? Wake up! Pay attention!

14. would you rather be single and rich or married, but poor?
I’d take the married and poor only on condition it’s married to my very own hubby (I’d say “current” but that sounds like I have another one lined up)...I wouldn’t want to be poor and married to some prize asshole too – I’d shoot myself (or him rather!)

15. what’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
If it’s Monday to Friday, I think “Crap! It’s Monday to Friday!”...Saturday or Sunday, I delight in the thought that it’s not Monday to Friday.

16. if you could change one thing about your spouse/partner what would it be?
Nothing....B, in the words of Bruno Mars, “You’re amaaaazzzzing, just the way you are!” [Even though you still haven’t worked out that no matter how much channel hopping you do, you are never ever going to avoid the ad breaks...you see the TV bosses time them just right to catch the likes of you]

17. if you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
I’ve actually grown used to my name...hated it as a child, and wished my folks had named me Yvette, as they’d planned until my precocious older brother decided Nat was a better option. He must really like it, as it’s my niece’s second name.

18. would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?
That’s a tough one to know as I am lucky enough not to have been in that situation. I’m not sure...I have a very long memory.

19. if you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?
Pasta with basil pesto, pine nuts and shavings of parmesan (Ha! You thought I was going to say chocolate!)

Right, that's me done with. Now for the best part...I get to select four other bloggers to answer the same questions. So, I am tagging...

The talented TK, at Postcards from Malaysia

The sagacious Sid, at Verbal Diarrhoea

The verbally astute Vegetable Assassin

The ever-popular Pat Tillett

The wondrous Wandering Saffa Chick

The eloquent Eloise in NY, and

The brilliant Bossy Betty

Yes, well spotted...there are actually more than four people on that list! That’s because I like to have a contingency plan....a little extra in reserve....but I still hope that everyone I tagged can participate.