A singer in my bloodstream......

.....stayed mainline all my life.

One of the many things people have commented about me is my somewhat colourful imagination. As a teenager I would often while away the hours in between thinking about girls and football writing short stories. They were mainly awful of course, but the ideas were there. It's something I've never properly followed up, as the mundane realities of life followed, and I, in turn, followed them.

But now the creative juices are stirring again. Having recently been made redundant, I'm at a crossroads. The notion of spending the rest of my working days tied to both a desk and a 9-5 schedule is something which fills me with as much terror as the prospect of one day in the company of Kerry Katona watching endless reruns of Big Brother. With this in mind, I sent off for a prospectus for an official writing course from the Writer's Bureau which arrived today. I've always had the ideas, I just need something to hone these ideas and bring them to life, and this could be the very thing. The course isn't cheap, and in the present climate of unemployment and parenthood, is a risk. Yet, the alternative of a life working for the man is just so unappealing. The next few weeks could certainly be life changing in the professional world of Planet Mac.

My daughter is a huge inspiration in this. I look at her with a mixture of pride, love and awe in equal measures. It truly is the greatest feeling in the world being a father, as clichéd as it sounds, and I want to be someone for her. I want her to grow up and tell her friends that the person's name on the cover of the novel in the bookstore is that of her father.

So, will I take the plunge and get professional help to further these ambitions? To be honest, it's been many years since I've had any real ambitions. Years of mindlessly toeing the line, heading towards retirement in that socially pre-determined path. There's a stirring in the air. Is it time to embrace it or let it go.....