It's been awhile

♫♫ It's been awhile
Since I could hold my head up high... ♫♫

It's hard to believe that a song that once kept me afloat is over 25 years old. I also find it hard to believe how long it's been since I darkened these virtual halls.

As much as I wanted to believe that I emerged on the other side of the pandemic in a reasonably good shape, it scarred me. Between that and the general life happenings - I battened down the hatches to weather the storms. It felt like just a few months have passed, but it's been... 5 years?

For close to two years I didn't read. It brought me no pleasure, just feeling of guilt that I've committed to books I won't be able to finish (and not for the usual DNF reasons). The layoff, the job insecurity, and a best friend drama did nothing to alleviate the stress and pressure kept piling on.
Long story short - life lifed something fierce and some things had to give.

So, you may ask, what's the story with the books? And the coffee?
For health reasons I switched to decaf and I'm happy to say that the current technology make it taste like actual coffee. Yay, science!
And I read again. Apparently, when the light in the soul went out, a cure was contained in stories that were able to match the grim darkness of the mind.  

My partner, long-time Warhammer 40k fan, pointed me towards Dan Abnett. My first encounter with Gaunt and his Ghosts did not go as he hoped it would. On his second attempt to lure me into the far future, he brought me Eisenhorn: the Omnibus. And so it's begun. 
I've devoured Eisenhorn and Ravenor stories. I'm yet to touch on Bequin (I'm holding off until the third one is released). I loved The Infinite and The Divine. And now I'm deep in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. My second encounter with Colonel-Commissar is going much better and I've just finished The Necropolis. Damn, what a ride that was... 

So, what's next? 
More stories, I guess, more healing, more adventures in the imaginary world of pages. I'm taking a break from the grimdark future to read three stories: I'm a Weapon by Sean Robins (because the author reached out to me), Scrapped Hope by Remy W. Anders (because the cover of the book is a picture of hand-crafted diorama-style artwork and I'm a sucker for a good cover!), and Faeland's Champion by Mark Cushen (because I loved the cover art of the first book, reviewed it, and now I want to know what happens next).
It is also my hope that I'll have a bit more headspace to actually take care of this page. I missed it dearly.