3. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

This book reminded me why I love Dan Brown so much. It's so hard to put down a book by him. I regret waiting so long to read it. I never knew how much history there is in Washington D.C.

The Lost Symbol focuses on Freemasonry and the entire story takes place in Washington D.C. Robert Langdon is invited to speak at the capital by his friend and mentor Peter Solomon (a 33rd degree Mason). Professor Langdon arrives for his lecture to find the room completely empty. What he does find is the severed hand of Solomon, which leads to a 12 hour chase throughout the museums and buildings in the city.

Dan Brown made me cry twice while reading this book. Twice. Damn you Dan Brown! Reading the Lost Symbol makes me want to hop on the next train down to the capital.

Adam is coming back in two days. I'll say it again. Two days. It hit me today that I get to spend the next two months with someone that really cares about me. I'm not looking forward to classes in a week, but I can't wait to be back at UMass.

My classes this semester are going to be a challenge. I foresee many hours in the library.

Math 300 - Fundamental Concepts of Math
Math 331 - Differential Equations
Compsci 121
(And two random gen eds. I haven't decided what I wanted to take. A lot of the classes I'm interested in are closed. I know I can always go to the professor and override that though.)

So... what to take? Here are some of the classes that I'm interested in taking...

Classics 224 - Greek Mythology
Anthro 150 - Ancient Civilizations
Econ 103/104 - Intro to Micro/Macro
Sociology 106 - Race, Gender, Class & Ethnicity

If I take that Anthropology course it covers the last two requirements that I need. I haven't decided... :(

Any ideas?

2. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

The Looking Glass Wars is the true story of Alice in Wonderland. It had a slow start for me and I almost stopped reading it, but I gave it a chance. This book is for a younger audience, but definitely an entertaining read. The white rabbit is actually Alice's tutor, Bibwit Harte and the Mad Hatter is a humorless bodyguard called Hatter Madigan. Alice in Wonderland wasn't my favorite Disney movie as a child and I never actually read the book by Lewis Carroll. The Looking Glass Wars is part one of the trilogy, and I'm definitely going to read the next two this year.

I was having a fairly normal day today. I woke up at 8am for a doctor's appointment. I had some blood taken for testing, and made an appointment for a PFT at the hospital. This afternoon I had lunch with Ricky at No Problemo (finally, a chicken burrito!) and then I spent a few hours (and a few dollars) at Baker Books. I spent the rest of my afternoon at home, reading and watching a Man vs. Wild marathon with my father.

Around 6pm, I heard fighting outside of my house. I live in a very poor part of my city, so this is nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, I chose to ignore it. About 10-20 minutes later, I heard a woman scream - out of the ordinary. I looked out of my window, but I couldn't see what was happening up the street. I put it out of my mind and decided to go back to watching television with my father. Another half hour to an hour later, my mother came home telling us that there were five or six cop cars outside and a news van.

Of course I decided to go outside, I'm curious! Two houses away from my own, three people were murdered. MURDERED! The house was taped off and news reporters were running around. I can't believe that I sat on my ass and ignored everything. I feel sick my stomach that someone 200 ft away from me was murdered while I sat on my couch and watched television.

This isn't the first time that there's been a murder on my street, but this is the first time that it has really affected me. I heard someone scream for help and I did nothing about it. I'm a terrible person.

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

My first book of 2010. I've been meaning to read this book for years. The Hitchhiker's Guide was an entertaining read, although it was a little too short in my opinion. The beginning was a little confusing for me. Arthur Dent. Aliens. Bulldozer. Beer. Earth is zapped. But once all of the characters were introduced, I was sucked right in. I wish Trillian had more of a background. She was definitely overlooked. But all in all, a great book to start off my year. :)

I really want to see this movie now as well.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

I drove up to Brockton like I did last year. I drove to Bry's and from there we went to Greg's party with Nia, Armin, and Julio. It was packed at Greg's and there were a ton of people that I didn't know. Everyone decided to poke fun at me for last year, which I wasn't expecting. I'm glad it's over with and someone else is the victim though. I've had enough ridicule for one year, thank you! I didn't really drink much. I didn't feel comfortable there for some reason. I don't know.

There used to be a New Year's party at my grandmother's house every year but for some reason there isn't one this year? No delicious food today... :(

New Year's resolution: READ.