It would seem that the first day of the Lenten fast came upon me quickly and quietly, like a thief in the night, determined to steal away all of my precious vices. Fortunately, I was prepared. Over the years, I have discovered the best way to combat the stringent rules of Lent is to not be a Catholic, and therefore completely forget when the period of atonement and sacrifice is supposed to begin. Ash what? Who?
I have been aided and abetted in my non-Catholicism by sympathetic parents, who raised me as they themselves were raised: in the staunch tradition of non-practicing, agnostic, and/or atheist protestant/Jewish secularism. It was a beautiful childhood. All the holidays, none of the fuss or squabble over attending services or adhering to religious strictures. And yet here I am, all grown up (in the physical sense, if not the mental -- sigh), and I�m once again considering what I ought to give up for Lent. Where did my parents go wrong?
Admittedly, I�m a little late with this consideration, what with the period of the fast having begun yesterday. Also admittedly, I�m not giving anything up for strictly religious purposes. As I believe I discussed in this space last year, I feel a certain amount of self-imposed sacrifice helps to strengthen and define a person�s character, and that is always a good and respectable thing. Of course, with my whole �not being a Catholic� vibe, if I screw up, who cares? Who also cares if it takes me until Easter to determine just what, exactly, I�ll be forfeiting these long forty days?
Being as it is the second day of Lent already, and taking into account that I�d not realized the fast had already begun until sometime yesterday afternoon, I�m already a little cornered as far as my options are concerned, in choosing my personal sacrifice. It�s too late to give up coffee, and far too late to give up chocolate. Both of which are just as well. If I had to give up one or the other, I might as well kill myself now and save my withdrawal symptoms the trouble. I could give up chips, but I never eat chips. I could give up soda, but I hardly ever drink soda. I could give up cake, but, again, death.
I already only eat meat once a week, and don�t partake of junk food or ice cream enough that giving them up would be of significant impact. I guess the truth is that my lack of commitment to Lent makes me far less willing to forego the vices I ascribe to (chocolate and television being chief among them) that would be the most difficult to abandon. Plus, yesterday I had some chocolate and watched a lot of trash TV, so�too late! I could give up lettuce again, but why wage a battle I already know I�m going to lose? It�s tricky, this decision.
I suppose, rather than giving up something specific, I could just�give up. I mean, now that Sam has tendered her two week notice to Sophie (did I forget to mention that?), my already insane workload will likely increase another 50%, at least. The graceful thing to do at this point would probably be to just surrender and allow myself to be consumed and digested by Arts-Friendly.
Unless, of course, the company has decided give me up for Lent. Then all bets are off.
Someone Got Here By Searching For: Pier 1�s budget And: she chop his balls off I�m Watching: The O.C., and still waiting on that bear. And: Angel, which actually had me riveted for the first time in a long time.