(diaryland) June 18, 2001 - 9:37 a.m.

I had to wear a goddamn skirt today again. Usually it�s because I couldn�t be bothered washing socks, but today I had an overabundance of clean socks. But they were drying in the lounge room. And when I went in there, this morning, there was some guy there, asleep, right next to all my socks. I have no idea when this guy got there. But there he was, asleep, near my socks. I had flicked the light on, and when I saw him sleeping there, I apologised lengthily, but I think he was still sound asleep. I probably could have just walked on over and taken some socks. But I felt so silly from having apologised to him while he was still completely asleep, I had to retreat. It was all just wrong.

So here I am today, wearing a skirt with stockings. I hate it. Random people appear in my house a lot.

I read four books this week. I don�t normally read that many. One of them was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. It was an alright book; one of those sweeping epic type things. Just about everyone was far more interesting than the star of the book, and at times, the story wasn�t really about her at all, which I liked. It really needed to be about other people a lot because the main chick just wasn�t all that exciting. But it was OK. I particularly liked the way that Isabel Allende doesn�t overdo certain things. Such as, when you have a revelation about one of the characters in the book, the way you find out is subtle � a couple of offhand comments smattered throughout a chapter make your perception of a character change completely without you even noticing.

And then I read a book about two guys who didn�t meet each other till the end of the book and then they had a fight. It was great. My band has the same name as the book now.

And then I read a book that everyone reads. My geography teacher told me to read it about eight years ago, so I didn�t. He was a crazy guy. He was a boisterous American. He kept telling the class that he came from Detroit, Michigan, and he had a huge ring that he always wore that apparently lots of American uni students get when they finish their courses. But I finally read it yesterday. It is a very famous book. It�s about a guy who just does some stuff, then goes to a museum. You�ve probably read it. Michele lent it to me. She was right when she said that the book is a lot like most diaryland diaries. People will write things about their lives, and muse intelligently about it, using everyday language. There are a lot of people who really want to be Holden Caufield, but they don�t realise they already are. It�s not difficult. You just have to be some guy. It�s a really great book.

And now I am reading a book set in England during the second world war. It is by one of my top five favourite authors. I will tell you what it�s like when I finish.