It's 1:48 pm. I just woke up. My half-sickness isn't getting any better, but it disappears after I take a shower and go to work. I even woke up at 9 am. I don't even have some crazy dreams to speak of. I need to start working out again. I feel old.

Thursday night at the club. It's like Dee's friend, who said "Oh man, I haven't been to Ash Wednesday mass in a year." It was something like that. Actually, maybe two years for me. If I wasn't so gutless, I wouldn't have guarded my chair for so long. Nimz even voluteered to ask a girl to dance for me, but things didn't go as planned.

Freaking irony. Watching doors open as you're walking through a different one.

There are a few times in life where I wish I would stop thinking before I did anything. I figure things will happen in His time, but it doesn't mean I can just sit on the sidelines forever.

I thought this would get easier.

Everyone's got a story to tell.

As for myself, I've got plenty. I really wish I had time to write them down or something. Even if I had an hour a day set aside, that wouldn't be enough time to get into the really developed stuff, the stories that take a lifetime to write. It's alright though, because I haven't written the epilogue to most of them yet.

Last night was an unusual night. After watching a little bit of Scott's baseball game and taking some pictures, I went to tutor John. Driving around Irvine and Newport Beach, I've learned to look out for the most ridiculously discourteous drivers, but I think they've caught on, because two of them almost hit me yesterday. I raced over to Interfaith for Ash Wednesday mass, and to this day I'm amazed that the floor doesn't cave in. Lent is always a good time for a new beginning. I reflected on what I could give up, but I've already given up most luxuries (that cost me money). There's so much more I can do than give up something. Small things in great love, as Mother Theresa said. Father John Francis spoke about relationships in the homily, and looking back at all the relationships I have with the people in my life, I see there's a lot of work to be done.

After mass, I sprinted over to Rubios, gobbled down 4 fish and shrimp tacos, wishing they had $1 fish tacos instead of $1.49 fish tacos. What can you do? Already late for tutoring, I strolled in feeling sheepish as ever, but it didn't feel like time was slowly grinding. I gave the two boys a writing assignment, and they did a lot better than I thought they would. Maybe they were holding back or something. They've been laughing a lot more too, which means they understand what's going on and the mistakes they make. Man, I wish I could laugh at my mistakes like that. That's another something else to work on. Joseph kept erasing his sentences before he had to read them, but I think he's made the most progress. He made some pretty random sentences like "TNT made the burrow explode." If tutoring was always this much fun, I would have been a teacher. That's not to say I'm closing any doors yet.

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust...

Forty days and forty nights. I have a feeling this Lent is going to be different.

Lesson of the day:

Don't take trashbags unless you're damn sure nobody's around. Or else you're gonna get called on it. Man, I wish that was on tape.

It's all left on the table.

It feels good.