On Ash Wednesday Here

I decided to attend the 13:10 mass today at the campus chapel. It was a nice service, but we had to administer the ashes amongst ourselves. I, almost inevitably it seemed, failed in my administration because unlike the usual ashy texture I was expecting, it was paste. And since I had been expecting ashes, I'd only dipped my finger in a little, resulting in insufficient ash content to properly draw a cross, and my having to re-dip mid way to complete the cross. Additionally, one of the readings was a paraphrased version, updated to be, I suppose, more modern. I wasn't a fan, but I suppose it reached a certain audience and perhaps was more accessible. I actually quite like the chapel; the Anglican church in town has a very small congregation in a very large setting, and the Catholic cathedral is a bit intimidating and huge. The chapel, granted, isn't as architecturally interesting as either of the other two, but it's closer, more convenient, and the people are more approachable and friendly. So it's my favorite for now.

On Today's Efforts

Today I bought three new toothbrushes; one for my special paste, one for my regular paste, and one for when I'm well again. I threw out my old one, and am cleaning my other mouth things in boiling water regularly. I will further buy a new waterbottle tomorrow. I've now been taking the medicine for over 24hrs, and it's only gotten worse, but I'm going with the idea that it merely needs a while to become effective. It now is extremely painful, pretty much making it impossible for me to do readings and such (too distracting), and I'm on the it's-too-painful-to-eat-so-I'm-not diet. In addition to general pain and swelling and discolouration.. it is now peeling off. Which is all very lovely. My hope is that I wake up tomorrow and it's considerably better. If it's not improved by next Tuesday (a week from my doctor appointment) I'll definitely be back in.