seventh new thing...

well here we are again, another installment of the 52 new things. as i told my mom the other day, as planning for these new things every week has become more time consuming, i find that i no longer have time to blog about what i am doing. i seriously think one of my new things in the coming weeks might have to be writing 10 blog posts in one sitting. otherwise i will never catch up. mostly because-- as those of you who actually have met me are sure to know-- i can't be succinct about anything, especially when it comes to writing. i think that is becoming the most frustrating thing about my day job right now, i have to figure out how to write about a topic in 20 page little packages when really i could go on and on for twice as long. as is evidenced by the length of this opening paragraph about nothing. sheesh.

ok. so new thing number 7. this new thing is a total indicator of how woefully behind i am in my blogging. for my new thing this week, i decided to participate in one of the most sacred of christian ceremonies, something i had tried and failed miserably at in the past. i began the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer. i gave something up for lent.

if this year goes the way i would like it to, there will be many new things that involve religion and the church. i spent much of my life wishing to be closer to god. not to make this a very special episode of the 52 new things or anything, but i have always felt more like a little vagabond child with her nose pressed firmly to the window of some expensive restaurant that she will never be able to eat in when it came to religion. always wondered if i just missed out on that "faith" gene that so many of my friends always seemed to have at the ready. but i have recently discovered that only i can change how isolated i have felt. so i thought participating in lent was the perfect beginning point. a preparation through prayer and penitence. an alliterative self-denial. and so with patience also along for the ride, i decided to give up two things-- one to cleanse my body and another to cleanse my spirit. one worked out. the other, lasted a mere 2 hours.

for the cleansing of the body, i gave up red meat, a serendipitous selection since soon after i swore it off, a lot of it was recalled due to some less than savory "euthanasia" practices in california. while this in itself was difficult (i mean, no more hamburgers! and meatloaf! and steak! and pepperoni! who the hell knew there was beef in pepperoni?!? this is seriously going to impact my pizza eating!), the second act of penance meant to cleanse my spirit proved much more difficult. i decided to give up profanity. now, i don't curse like a sailor. in fact, much of what is considered derogatory and inappropriate language i have to look up. but profanity had begun to take over for more intelligent conversation. plus, i figured it would make me aware of why and when i was using it. a social crutch, perhaps? so on ash wednesday, i said good-bye to beef and bad words. then, the next week i took madison to the veterinarian for her annual exam. one shot, one fecal and six pills. $150. goddammit! and bam! my spiritual cleansing was through. but i am happy to report i made it 40 days without eating any red meat. yeah jesus! now give me my pepperoni pizza goddammit!