5 Things You Need to Know This Week

>> THAT WAS EMBARRASSING! Remember the time you accidentally locked yourself out of your house while you were in your underwear? Or the time you got the invitations to the black-tie dinner and the nudist colony clam bake mixed up? AWKWARD! Well, did you also know that there is a day to remember those moments in life that you would rather forget? It’s National Awkward Moments Day, and it’s today. The idea is to realize we all have our little embarrassments in life and to revel in them for one day.

>> SPRINGTIME FOR EVERYONE: This just in from the “Taking All the Fun Out of Life” department: At 11:02 a.m. GMT Wednesday, the tilt of the Earth’s axis will be inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, therefore ushering in the Vernal Equinox — Vernal meaning “pertaining to spring” and equinox meaning “equal night.” … On a less stuffy level: HEY! Spring is here this Wednesday at 7:02 a.m. and summer can’t be too far behind! See, that’s a more fun way to look at it.

>> NEIGHBORLY ADVICE: If they had a hall of fame somewhere for good people, the very first class of inductees would have to include Fred Rogers. The kindly host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” helped a generation of kids grow and learn about life. It’s been 10 years since Mr. Rogers died, but people have honored his legacy by creating “Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Day” every March 20. To celebrate, all you have to do is be nice and do something neighborly for someone. Wearing a sweater while doing it is optional.

>> MARCH MADNESS: It happens every year. Joe “Basketball Fan” slices up stats and trends, match-ups and rankings and fills out his NCAA Tournament bracket with all the care of a NASA scientist plotting celestial orbits. “Casual Basketball” Cathy has never watched a single game, couldn’t tell a Blue Devil from a Hoosier, and fills out her bracket because she likes UCLA’s powder blues and the fact that Xavier reminds her of the guy from the X-Men. Guess which one wins every year? Yep. This year tournament starts Tuesday and Wednesday with a few “play-in” games and gets going full bore Thursday at noon.

>> RATED ARRRRRRR: If you were in attendance for the debut performance of “The Pirates of Penzance” in New York City, you would have seen a wonderful musical performance. You’d also be ungodly old, because that first show was on Dec. 31, 1879. Luckily, the show’s been such a hit for the past 134 years that it’s still being performed these days. If you’d like to catch one of these performances, then head over to the F.M. Kirby Center this Friday at 8 p.m. And enjoy.