Holy Holidays Batman!

In case all of the heathens that read this blog aren't aware, we are now in the 40-day period of Lent. Yes, Mardi Gras is more than a time for getting drunk, showing tits, and throwing beads. It is a day where you are supposed to get rid of all of those things that get you in trouble during Lent, historically it was flour products (I think) which is why many churches have pancake dinners on Tuesday. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and I was one of those people that had ashes on their head, although I was at church at 7:30 so nobody saw it besides the other 400 people that also had ashes on their head.

Now, I have always followed the tradition of Lent where I give up something that I like as a version of fasting. In the past I gave up MTV (when I was maybe 10), soda, fast food, and chips. This year I wanted to give up something that has always been a really bad part of my diet. I've conquered many of these things: I only drink diet soda maybe twice a week, the sweet smell of donuts make me sick usually, I rarely have fast food (usually at the beginning of a road trip), and I have never been much of a desert person. So what do I give up? Well, I have found that there is one food item that has stealthily added to my girth over the years. I have long preached the greatness of this staple food product in all of its forms, yet its best-tasting forms are the worst for me. Now, I am no low-carb freak, but I have decided to give up...

POTATOES

Yep. I figured out that the potato is the best and most evil food. I can think of 4 forms of potato that are probably responsible for at least 10-15% of my extra weight: skins, fries, hash browns, and tater tots. They are soooooo good, but they are soooooo deep-fried, covered in cheese, sour cream, chili, bacon, etc. So until Easter I will eat nothing that is made of or includes a potato.

Now, my other Lent tradition is to add something good. I think I have a decent exercise schedule, although it is off a bit right now. So, I will stick to 3 gym days, 2 walking days and 1 soccer day. That's exercise every day. However, that's not an addition.

My addition will be a minimum of 1 hour of reading for pleasure every day. I am 20 pages from finishing Kafka on the Shore and I really want to finish my Khrushchev biography. I do read a lot now, but not nearly as much as I would like. In a way, I envy my friend Peter (from Pete the Elder) since he reads voraciously, although he reads all of these conservative books that trash liberals. (I'm sure he'll give me some shit for that). I think Peter reads about 3-4 books a month. Maybe its because he's a fast reader, maybe its because he works at a library, or maybe its because he isn't addicted to several TV shows. Whatever the reason, I want to get through more of the maybe 30 books that I have bought and have not even cracked open.

Anyways, I think that Lent is a good thing and always gives me a reason to look at the bad things I do and try to fix them.