Ingrowing Toenails And Other Recurring Themes

The memory of Converse being reluctantly thrown in the bin. I sacrificed their beauty for the health of my toe. It's a lasting image that I have stored in my mind. That image is below:

I had to throw away my favourite pair of trainers, when  working on camp. Just before I left from the UK to go and work there. I started to suspect through the increasing pain in my big toe, on both feet no less. I may be suffering from an ingrowing toenail. I had never realistically had one before but this was starting to make me worry slightly. To avoid further pain, it was suggested that I 'pack' my toe with 'TCP' soaked cotton wool and stuff it under my nail, along the side of the toenail bed. Well, in short I did that and whilst on camp the pain grew ever worse. I started to limp and it was exacerbated as both toes were affected. It really was a painful experience. One that may have directly influenced my entire experience. I'm obviously incorporating that into the story. In reality, the left toe was actually 'cured' if you can call it that by a rogue baseball hitting me in the foot and bursting the infected toenail bed. It bled, that bleeding stained my trainers but they were also uncomfortable to wear, as for whatever reason the leather on them really pressed on the nails. I ended up buying a pair of black Saucony Jazz trainers with red detail. They  were one of the most comfortable pairs of trainers I have ever owned. I did also buy a brown pair at the same time, I think I got them from Danbury Mall. I still have those trainers to this day. No joke, they look like they've been worn by Forrest Gump. But, I still have and still wear them to run in.

The famous and surviving Saucony Jazz Trainers from 2004 

The new trainers and throwing away of the original pair didn't cure my right toenail and in fact it wasn't until I returned to the UK that I had that toenail removed by a doctor. It was such a relief to have it gone. Turns out I still had TCP soaked cotton wool jammed under it, although the TCP was no longer smelling of antiseptic, instead like sour rotting flesh. It was perhaps the worse smell I've ever encountered. It filled the room when that nail was ripped out and that still stays with me just how nauseating that was. There are a few other actual medical related experiences that I'm including in the story. I have or will be exaggerating them slightly but they are based on reality of those I experienced on camp. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a malingerer. Being away from home, you have to fend for yourself. It did affect me though.

I like recurring themes and situations. I like those recurring elements in films, like Stanley Kubrick and tracking shots, the use and inclusion of violence  or Hitchcockian 'MacGuffin's', the use of trains, relationships with a mother etc etc. I love all those auteur traits. The toe nail thing is one of mine. I also like the use of Absinthe. I'm sure I may have mentioned that before but it's something that crops up in many stories I've written in the past and it's something that I continue to make use of. The intelligence of it, or that's the thought I have of it for some reason.  Always very interesting - starting an evening on the green fairy, and the results thereafter.

Music too. I like including references to music. Never with the intention to be obscure, my musical taste is alternative but open to everything. I like characters experiencing music and how it shapes them as characters. A part of me still wishes I kept the original CDs from Camp. I think I got rid of them all.

It's the iconography of pieces of music like, Tubular Bells or even Joe Tex in Tarantino films or the syncopated soundtrack of Full Metal Jacket or most Kubrick films for that matter. I find it useful to search through all the many influences to draw inspiration and educate yourself to progress a story. Take parts of real life, experiment with imagination and meddle with familiarity.

The writing is flowing again. I find myself in conversations about subjects and my mind wanders to the progression of the story or how I can add another element into my story. Then I'm dropped back to reality and how best to migrate a server and still offer full protection from a security stand point ( the day job ) I love the manifestation of an idea.Where it comes from and how it begins to grow and evolve right in front of you. It's perfection.

That'll have to do for now. I am at a point where I just need to focus again to finish this scene.

Until Next Time...

Do Good Things