2/21/07 Ash Wednesday

It's Ash Wednesday. A day of remorse for your sins. A day of reflection and obligation. A day where I know who my honest friends are because they're the ones that will tell me that I have a black smudge on my forehead. I always go to the noon mass to get my ashes because there's no possible way that I can get out of work and over to the church in time for the 5:30 mass. This creates an interesting situation where I spend the second half of the day at work with ashes on my head in an area where most people are not familiar with Ash Wednesday (or at least the ashes part). Some people stare but don't say anything, some people say something, and some people pretend that they don't see it at all. So I spend the day explaining that no, it's not copy toner, or black marker, or pencil smudge, and I deliberately had it put there, but thanks for letting me know, and feel free to tell me if there's something there on any other day than Ash Wednesday. For a good explanation of the ashes, try here. For the next 40 days, I'm also chocolate-free. Believe me, this is a HUGE sacrifice, as there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have a piece of chocolate. Except for today. And the next 39. I may end up killing someone before this is over. I'm already having withdrawal.

In addition to being Ash Wednesday, it's also Stepher's birthday. Happy Birthday Stepher! Have a big piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles for me.