A month gone..

It has been over a month since I last posted on this journal, and I've not really posted much here this year, either.

Before I go into that, though, let me start by whining.

Why is it that when I'm off, I cannot sleep well the night before? I toss. I turn. I constantly wake up. I get indigestion, which wakes me up. I have headaches. Whatever it takes to keep me from sleeping soundly till morning. Sometimes, it's my fault, as I stay up late, and the morning sun around this time of year gets past my best efforts to block it from my window (at around 8am). But a lot of the time, this isn't the case. It's just an inability to rest when I don't have something pending. As you might expect, this was the case last night.

Anyway, I just haven't felt the urge to post like I used to. I still read it daily (sometimes, multiple times daily), and I comment from time to time. Yet, when it comes to my own journal, I usually decide "Ahh.. I'll do it later." Later invariably is when I'm going to bed, and then I decide "I can't now, I have to sleep".

I've also learned that it's not WoW's fault since, from May 1 through the 21, I wasn't playing WoW at all (I'd even cancelled my subscription). At the same time, though, I WANT to post, because it's nice to be able to go back and read it later. Looking back, it also seems to tie into when I had my surgery (I was definitely posting more before it, than afterward.)

So, what *have* I been up to? Well, working, sleeping, and trying not to think about work. The third option doesn't really have much interesting in it (a little WoW, some LotRO, book reading, movie watching, quiet time stuff). I recognize that I need to get around to that Top Ten movie list I promised back in March, as well as pics of my room (it's changed a teensy bit since I posted that I finished decorating, but not much). I guess I can break each thing up into a paragraph (or less), so you need not read what you don't wanna.

( Work )

( World of Warcraft )

( Lord of the Rings Online )

( Health and Fitness )

More has been happening, but it's mainly been the release of D&D 4e (and the campaigns that go with it) and an influx of new heavy metal (I'm particularly partial to the "new" Symphony X CD: Paradise Lost). More later. I hope this isn't too much at once. I want folks to read this. :)

The Da Vinci Code

In early May, while I was on WoW hiatus, I finally got around to reading Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar. I picked it up on a whim a year or two back, because of the connection to the Knights Templar (real world knights.. I mean, come on!). That book was awesome. It was enjoyable, fast-paced, and the pages turned themselves. I'd love to see it as a movie.

I realized something then, too. I *can* enjoy fiction that's not strictly fantasy or science fiction. It was more of a modern day thriller that used the Templar myth as the backdrop, more than it was a fantasy story set in modern day (which I also like, but I digress). So, I got to thinking about what else I could read that would give me the same thrill.

I chose my copy of The Da Vinci Code (TDVC), by Dan Brown. As with Khoury's book, I'd picked it up a while back, but never got around to reading it. Also, as with Khoury's book, I was gripped. The nonstop action kept me reading. It made me think some, too, since the Holy Grail has always tied into Arthurian legend, and I'm a sucker for that. Just one of those things that make you go hmmm...* When a co-worker saw I was reading The Da Vinci Code, he lent me his copy of Angels & Demons, saying it was a better book by far. You know? He was right, and that's not disparaging TDVC at all. They're both rather good books. One day soon, I'll have to pick up a copy of Angels & Demons for my own.

I've run out of books like that to read, though. I am not sure what authors to look for, or where to look for them at a bookstore. I want to get that other Dan Brown book, but I'll have to remember its name (or read the back cover when I find Dan Brown at the bookstore). Anyone know of any other authors that write in a similar vein?

Tonight, and the whole reason I titled this post thus, I got The Da Vinci Code on DVD. Tom Hanks wasn't bad as Langdon, though I think a more fitting actor could have been found. Sophie's actress was good, but she seemed to be lacking a little of the fire from the novel. Sir Ian McKellan, however, was inspired for the role of Sir Leigh Teabing, even if I did hear Gandalf a couple of times (and Magneto once). :) I wasn't really fond of how they ended the movie, since it deviated significantly in ways, but was basically the same. I definitely preferred the book's ending, but I found it an enjoyable way to spend the evening.

I work 6a-3p tomorrow, doing accounting supposedly. We'll see what I'm doing when I get there. I'm all set to mind every P and Q that I come across. Wish me luck.

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* - If you can cite the source for that, you get a gold star! :)