As many people know, Mardi Gras marks the last day of festivities before Ash Wednesday, which signifies the beginning of Lent.

Lent is a time of prayer and fasting and self-reflection for us Catholics. We're usually called upon during this time to give something up, as self-denial is good for us.

This year, I'm giving up several things for Lent. One of them is cursing.

You may laugh, but this will be quite a hardship for me.

I started cursing a lot when I first became a lawyer. Something about the high-pressure work environment just brings out the worst in me.

So because it's my last day of being able to do it for a while, I need to get the following out of my system:

This morning my %$#@ alarm didn't go off, but the %$#& construction next door to me was so ^%$* loud that I woke up at &$#!% 7 a.m. anyway. Then the &%$# subway was running late, making me 15 ^%$ minutes late for a &$#% meeting my *&%^#*% boss had called out of the blue without %$#%#& telling me about it. Then after another 3 hours spent calling #%^&# clients, I finally got to go home, but I just missed a (&^#!% subway and had to walk home in the @$&!!# rain and &^% 20 degree weather. What the ^$#@*?

I just got back from a business trip to Our Nation's Capital.

While there, I took the opportunity to visit the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol and watch the Senators vote on a bill.

Wow! We were so close we could see their facial expressions, watch them schmooze each other, etc.

I kept thinking, "Wow, John McCain and John Kerry both look exactly like they look on tv!"

I also caught a glimpse of both of my Senators.

I also saw the Senate staffers sitting behind the Senators' podiums, along a wall. I noticed that the Democratic staffers sat along one wall, and the Republicans along another wall. There was some glaring and chest-beating.

Afterwards, I walked around the Capitol building and read about the history of the United States Congress, and saw the U.S. flag and felt my chest swell up with pride and acknowledgment of the history I was witnessing.

It was a very Jimmy Stewart day.

It's been really cold here for the past couple of days.

It's been particularly tough for me, having just come back from my fabulous South American summer vacation.

On top of that, many law firms have been laying off attorneys, to an extent that's unheard of in history. I have several friends who have lost their jobs, and needless to say, the stress level has been higher than usual all over the City.

I've been cooped up indoors, shivering and doing work, keeping my nose to the grindstone.

So maybe it's caused me to start hallucinating during my commute, the only few minutes each day I can be outside?

I have two pieces of evidence that my mind is playing tricks on me.

FIRST, this morning on my way to work I saw this:

So the lighting is such that it's hard to see in the photo, but if you can't tell, both signals are lit at the same time!! I wasn't sure whether to cross the street or wait! My head almost exploded from the uncertainty.

SECOND, on my way home tonight, I saw a guy commuting home, dressed in a nice business suit, clutching a fancy leather briefcase, and riding a unicycle.