Not much has happened since my last post. At least not much interesting. I've come to a conclusion, more of a realization perhaps. But I find myself somewhat unwilling to go into detail. Or maybe apprehensive I guess. School started. My classes are by far the most boring ever. I miss engineering. At least then there was a challenge. Maybe it was so great because it was too much of a challenge for me. No sense dwelling in the past when you can't change it I suppose. But I do miss it. The challenge. The excitement of finally getting something right. The friends that were always around...everything I suppose.

I started a new book. Angels & Demons. It's the prequel to The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. I plan to read that one next. Angels & Demons has been good so far, I've enjoyed it. Enough to read nearly 400 pages over the last day and a half. While Catholicism doesn't interest me in an "I want to be Catholic" sort of way, the history of all the terrible things that have been done "in the name of God" is captivating. But I suppose that is the way it is in all religions. There may not be "Holy Crusades" in the present, but when it really comes down to it the battles between religion and religion and religion and science IS quite prominent. I also find it interesting how, when it comes down to it, all tmehe major religions really do tell quite nearly the same story. Sure, there are obvious deviations, but who knows what may have been lost in perception and translation. There are obvious deviations even within modern history books about the Civil War...look at one from New York and one from Texas. You'd barely think they were talking about the same thing. And that wasn't even 200 years ago. This was 2,000 years ago. Anyone who can say that there is no possibility for variation of the same story is ridiculous. Ridiculous. And that's all I have to say about that.

I also bought several more books in addition to Dan Browns. One is My Friend Leonard, the next book written by James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces. Yeah, I've read the CNN news reports on how "the book is a lie" and "how he fooled Oprah" and this and that. Don't particularly care. I thought the book was good. It had to have some truth to it. So the guy exaggerated some charges and such. Who sells an autobiography that doesn't exaggerate something about themselves? Sure, maybe it's something good most of the time. But still...I dunno, I guess I kind of expected some exaggeration. I mean he was on drugs, blacking out and such. Perhaps I'm wrong, but don't you NOT remember the things that happen when you blackout? The book would have been pretty damn short had he said "well, I don't remember this entire period of my life, so even though it's important and kind of vital to my explanation, I won't include it." Yeah. Maybe I just read too much fiction and come to expect the same from nonfiction. Whatever. I liked the book. Once I finish with Dan Brown's work, My Friend Leonard is next on the list. The other book I bought was just kind of an impulse, this looks interesting kind of thing. I really don't know what to expect from it, but the subject is one that has the potential to be highly interesting to me. It's called Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. The New York Times called it "Riveting." I think "riveting" is the dumbest critic word ever. I mean, really. Riveting? WTF. Just say "captivating" or something. Riveting is something you do to a building. With rivets. Anyway, I think that will probably end up being airplane entertainment or the like, since because I have way too much free time and nothing to do with it I will probably have zipped through the other 3 by Feb 2.

Oh man. Feb 2. It's so soon! :) I'm more excited every day. I've been skiing before, twice even, and snowboarding once (kinda :-P...we'll call it "snowfalling" for the most part) but not in Colorado yet, and most definitely not recently. I love being in the snow. Yeah, yeah I realize that it must suck to deal with it for a whole season, and that the day after it falls and is all pretty it gets all gross due to cars and such, but still...when it's falling or freshly fallen it's so beautiful.