I’ve been sick with a cold for the past several days, which means that people have been slowly inching away from me whenever I’m on the subway and they hear me sneezing. On the upside, the cold has left me with little appetite, which made Ash Wednesday fasting easier this year.

—2—

Lent kind of snuck up on me this year; it’s earlier than usual. I wasn’t sure what to give up or add, but I ended up deciding to cut back on YouTube, since I’ve been getting sucked in to watching videos lately. Also, I’m going to try to make my bed every morning, since I generally hate making my bed and it’s a sort of penance/discipline for me. I’m also trying to spend more time in silent, contemplative prayer, since I think sometimes I treat prayer like another item on my to-do list and don’t actually place myself in the presence of God or have a real conversation with Him. I’ve been really busy and overwhelmed lately, and I think I need to make time for quiet and stillness. We’ll see how it goes.

—3—

Last week I listened to the soundtrack for the Broadway musical Hamilton for the first time, and within about two days I was completely obsessed. I listened to it all week, and now my coworker, who sits next to me, is obsessed, too. We’re entering the ticket lottery every day! I hope I get the chance to see it live at some point, but even just listening to the music is amazing. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a lyrical genius. Also, I think it’s fantastic that they’ve made it possible for high school students in NYC to see the show, and that they’re giving out $10 front-row tickets through the lottery (since Hamilton is on the $10 bill).

—4—

In my CCD class this week, I had my students play a game, and one of the questions was, “On what day was Jesus crucified?” One kid answered immediately, “Black Friday!” The whole class found it hilarious.

—5—

Our ski trip two weeks ago went well! The weather was great on the mountain. There actually hadn’t been any snow in Hunter after the blizzard that came through NYC, so it was all artificial snow. That meant it was icy in places, but overall it was a great day. I haven’t skied very often over the past several years—just once last year and again this year—but it’s nice to know that the muscle memory is still there after many childhood ski trips. I used to go out to Colorado every few years. The skiing out west is definitely better, but it’s nice to have the chance to take a ski day within driving distance of New York. Toward the end of the day I ventured to a few black diamond runs, and it was a lot of fun. And then we got to enjoy home-cooked meals and board game nights in the house we rented for the weekend (I won a few rounds of Coup).

—6—

Driving back to the city after our ski trip last Sunday was even more stressful than anticipated. Driving in New York City is the absolute worst; I usually avoid it at all costs. This was actually the first time I drove in Manhattan—I had driven through Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, but thus far I had successfully avoided Manhattan. We hit a bunch of detours and came across a number of crazy drivers. It took about two hours to get from Hunter to New York, and then another two hours to get through New York to drop off my friends and back home. The worst was when we were going through a toll, and the car in front of me stopped in the EZ Pass–only lane (where you’re not supposed to stop at all). He then got out of his car and pulled the EZ Pass out of the trunk. Why would you keep your EZ Pass in your trunk? What is the point of having an EZ Pass if you keep it in your trunk?! It took forever for the tollbooth officer to process the man’s fine, and I was stuck sitting there behind him the whole time. By the time I got home, I was so exhausted and relieved that I just collapsed on the floor in gratitude.

—7—

There were a lot of police out on the street near my office this morning. When I got to work, I saw why—there’s a New York Times article reporting that five people have been arrested in connection with the gas explosion that happened here last year. Crazy!

Have a great weekend, everyone—and for those of you in the Northeast, stay warm!