Retroexposure

Chapter 27 - Haircuts, Courts, Hospitals and Crank Calls

Thursday 17th April 2008 11:45pm

In regards to the Helicopter incident on Tuesday, there weren't any public reports made in the paper the following day.
I've had my haircut today. Such an improvement! I know that some of the older women from Mum's generation and up, liked my long curly hair, but I don't! I can't stand it! Mind you, if it was long and straight I probably wouldn't like it then either! I used to go for extreme clipper cuts, a 2 all over which is practically bald! Nowadays I go for a sensible clipper cut, just like today's one, which was a 7 on the top and 6 around the sides.
In the taxi on the way home, the driver did something that I'd never seen before. As we drove past a cemetery, he switched his radio off and then after passing it, he switched it back on. I asked him why he did that, joking that was it because he didn't like Sam Cooke's 'Wonderful World'. When he explained that it was his way of being respectful to the dead, boy! Did I feel a fool for making that joke! Both Mum and I were impressed with this show of respect. We do something similar too. Whenever we see a funeral cortege pass us by, we always bow our heads and make the sign of the cross on ourselves.
Friday 18th April 2008 12am

11:45pm

I received my court summons this morning, which means that apart from the remaining biannual appointments, come next Friday, I will be a free man again! I'm going to miss L, but she has said that if I ever needed to talk to someone, call her. Is it wrong to miss your probation officer? 11:46pm

Saturday 19th April 2008
1:18pm

Having now read 'A Walk To Remember', I am starting on the books that I borrowed from the library on Thursday. If I can't afford to buy books at the moment, then I'll hire them. And when I am in a position to, I'll then buy them. To start off with I am going to read a Crime Scene Investigation tie-in novel called 'Snake Eyes'. To be honest all the books I've hired are either books that have been turned into films or TV show tie-in novels. I know that there are quite a few Doctor Who novels around. But I haven't decided if I'll read those in the future.
I'd finished reading 'A Walk To Remember' last night. I was that determined to finish it, that I read the last 30-odd pages while watching TV. It was a phenomenal book; I could totally see myself as the main character. Nicholas Sparks is an extremely talented author. Another of his books has been made into a film as well, Message In A Bottle, so when I can afford that, I'll have to add that to my collection! But when I'm in town next, to sign on and go to the Internet café, I'm going to see if I can write to him and commend him on his stories. How a man can write such heartfelt and emotional stories, I just don't know, although I hope to emulate him. I normally associate women with romantic novels. Male authors usually write crime, action, thriller or sci-fi novels. Don't they? Because I can't think of any other male romantic novelists, and before you start, Shakespeare and Dickens do not count! Not in this example anyway. 1:32pm

Tuesday 22nd April 2008 6:32pm

I was in WH Smiths today and seeing the amount of novels that the likes of Nicholas Sparks and Stephen King have written over the years, scared me! I read the introduction to Carrie, and Stephen King said that he'd written several short stories that got published in magazines before he wrote his first novel, and that made me nervous. Do I have to have short stories published first before I write a novel? Do I even have to have had journalistic experience? You know what? I'm gonna write this diary for as long as is necessary, and I'm going to, somehow, complete my first novel, the wrestling one. Then I'm going to do that romantic novel. I've even got the initial premise in my head for it too. I'll include it here, just in case I forget it in the future!! The title of this novel will be called To Fall In Love Again and, as I'm pretty good at writing in the first person, it'll be written from the main character's perspective. It might need some kind of research first. What kind of research, I don't know. It'll be about a guy whose wife or girlfriend dies in the opening chapter, and how he struggles to cope with losing her, and how he feels guilty when a new woman comes on the scene. How does he deal with those feelings? Is he allowed to have those feelings? Will he be able 'To Fall In Love Again'? What do you think? Schmaltzy, is probably the best description! I think it might work too!
Going back to by current book reading, I've finished reading that CSI novel and now I'm onto a '24' novel! Being less than 300 pages sure helps when reading through them quickly!! Not looking forward to reading Stephen King's omnibus of Richard Bachman books, which is almost 900 pages, yikes!!
6:49pm