Aschenmittwoch

it is indeed ash wednesday, which i explained to rachel and matty numbchucks on monday evening as I pondered what i would give up. lutherans don't really have to give up anything, but some of us choose to. but i think it should say somewhere that grad students are exempted. especially when the beginning of lent happens two weeks before finals. i mean, seriously--which of the typical things could i possibly go without without going insane--coffee, alcohol, and other drug like substances. i don't eat chocolate, so that wouldn't really count. so i decided to give up pop, which will be both good for me and something i will really miss. i love pop. i love the carbonation on the back of my throat. i love the sugary goodness. so on the way back from church at noon, i stopped at safeway to get some lunch. and now i am drinking a giant vat of iced tea with artificial sweetener. it's yummy, but i miss the bubbles.
and i've got the cross on my forehead and feel like a little bit of a freak because everyone is staring me, but i don't want to wash it off, because i don't think that's the point.