Lent: Ash Wednesday

In the name of all that is good I am giving up curry for Lent.

I'm entirely unsure of what I will eat for the next 40 days and 40 nights, but curry will not be it. For anyone who knows me, I eat curry a minimum of four days a week. That's right, folks--it is the STAPLE of this Indian's diet.

It was between curry and alcohol so it's amazing that curry lost. But I am more of a lush than a glutton and this is the self-awareness I've found today. The somber truth that St. Patty's Day falls within the parameters of Lent as well as the reality that tonight I'm hosting a corporate promotion event with an open bar--best not to break your lenten resolution on Ash Wednesday itself.

It could have been caffeine, but I may very well lose my job if it was caffeine so in the interest of self-preservation that got x-nayed. Not to mention the grande mocha frappuccino staring at me at this very moment. Tsk tsk!

I'm not Catholic, but growing up I always bore the Ash on my forehead with pride. Since moving to America in 1992 this has not been the case, branded as I am, passively, by the color of my skin choosing not to actively brand myself with the Godly mark. The reality is that I haven't been as close to God instead moving close to all things secular--puberty on. But this year, this lapsed Protestant who enjoys Mass (Catholic service), plans to head over to St. Patty's in the PM to bear the ashen mark for the short subway ride home to the UES.

Have to set an example for the dog, after all.