It’s the Holidays, and this year I’m sort of in a bah humbug mood, mainly due to financial issues. If I had the money to spend, it would be a great time of year, as it usually is. I miss the days when I used to get a large chunk of money in the form of a bonus, and gifts would be had by all. Unfortunately that isn’t the case this year, and as a result I’ve had to scrounge. My mood has improved over the past couple weeks though, and for that I’m grateful. Hopefully by Christmas I’ll have scrounged enough to get everyone a little something, I hate going to family gatherings empty-handed. On that note, onward with my mini-updates:

• I haven’t played LOTRO since my last post about playing my newly purchased Warden. I enjoy the game relatively enough, but it’s just not holding my attention, not with PS3 games and other real-life events taking place. I really love having an MMO to play that I enjoy, but I still don’t think I’m in love with LOTRO. My Sister and her Husband haven’t been playing either, due to financial strains and a lack of internet, so I think it’s my time to slink away from it, and be MMO-less.
• I have been finding the urge to play WoW more compelling mainly because of all the work put into the areas of the game I have already played through, up to Burning Crusade. I had just broken into that part of the world when I then purchased WotLK and started a Death Knight. Shortly thereafter I went back to EQ2 until just before it went F2P. So being able to play a game I already know “through” again with it being fresh sounds good. From what I have read on most MMO blogs, everyone is back in that game. I know I never really gave it a good long chance, but at this point I’m not quite ready to jump back in either. I think I would like to purchase Cataclysm for the new races and for the end game stuff, although I could check out the newer old content by just paying a re-sub. Either way, with funds as they are, most people will probably be done with the expansion and moved onto something else before I find my way back to Azeroth.
• I played Uncharted 2 a bunch during the extra cash holidays, and caught wind today that they will be running 4x cash from December 22nd until January 3rd, covering all the end of year holidays. Rumor has it they’re ramping up for another level cap increase, so I’m assuming it will get a lot of people up to the current cap of 80. I managed to get to level 56 during the last bit of extra cash, so I’m aiming to be at least level 60 before the new year. I also managed to snag my co-op trophies, for beating all the objective maps on hard and crushing difficulties.
• After finishing the co-ops yesterday, I ended up starting the Black Ops campaign, borrowing Keith’s copy to run through it. If I had to guess I’m about 1/3 of the way through the game, having earned a few new trophies, causing me to hit level 7 on my gamer profile.
• Today I decided to play some more Sacred 2, and since I haven’t really been hanging out at my sister’s as much I am playing at home. Because I have a better understanding of the game now, and because I made some adjustments on the TV, I haven’t had too much issue figuring out what I need to know as far as reading the menus goes. I also didn’t want to touch the only existing character I had, because that was my duo parter with my Brother-in-law. With any luck I’ll acquire a 2nd controller over the holiday, and then I will be able to play with him more readily.
• I’ve been reading quite a bit lately, mostly online, but I’ve also picked up where I left off in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Series. I finished the 4 books that were out up until King was in an accident, and there was the issue where he might not write anymore, and then there was the fan outcry for him to finish the series. When he did, I ordered the last 3 books at once. I started reading “Wolves of the Calla”, book 5, 2 or 3 years ago. I hadn’t touched it since. I took my step-dad a couple of doctor appointments, and viola, I was reading again. I have poured through 100 pages at least at this point, bringing me to around page 400, about 2/3 through the book. It’s been a good read, and I look forward to finally finishing the series.
• Because of the renewed interest in reading, I have also taken a renewed interest in writing. I haven’t really written much, but I have read through notes on stories I had already started, and am pondering new ways in which to create the works. There is still much to think about but I am making progress, and it would be nice to start making some headway into something creative.

That’s about all I have for now, but I have a feeling I will have more to share soon.