NEEDING GUIDANCE . . .

I gave up red meat for Lent.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I'm not even Catholic!!!

40 days of no burgers, no steaks, no home-marinated kalbi, no dumplings, no chili, no hot dogs (for whatever beef those are worth. . .), no meatballs. Agony. And it's almost over!

But the prevailing question is: does Lent end at sundown of the Saturday before Easter, Easter morning, sundown of Easter evening, or the midnight between Easter and Monday? The answer to this question is very important. It could mean a difference of up to 48 hours in the time in which I can sink my teeth into a luxuriously juicy filet mignon.

So, my trusty Hooch did a touch of research on my behalf. Apparently, Holy Week climaxes on Holy Thursday -- yep, in THREE DAYS -- so I technically could burger up in front of "Friends." Or I could stick it out to the traditional Holy Saturday sun-down deadline, and gnaw my steak that night (damn Daylight Savings Time). Or I could just see long I can really make this teensy sacrifice and wait till the Easter Dinner at church, where there BETTER BE SOME BEEF!

I'll let you know how it goes.