...and now for some sad news

Angela's father passed away on the 18th. Angela tells me that by some miracle they were able to bring him back from the brink long enough for the whole family to gather so he could say his goodbye's and they could say theirs. My heart goes out to Angela right now, and to the rest of her family.

Saying goodbye to loved ones seems to be a recent development on my radar. A dearly beloved family friend was taken suddenly while enjoying himself on the beach with his wife and two youngest sons. The memorial service is happening today, and I am sad that I will not be able to be there to remember the wonderfulness that was his life with the rest of the community back home. I almost collapsed when I initially learned of the news... and then alternated between feeling completely normal and sobbing uncontrollably. I seem to have settled into a simple pace of moodiness and irritability for the time being, though I hope that will wear off soon.

Now that Angela's father has passed, she will be facing these feelings as well... only more so, because this was her Dad. The man who raised her. The pillar of her family. A leader in her community.

My Dad has made me swear that when he goes, instead of holding a sad event in his honor, we will instead put on a grand roast and have a fabulous time at his expense. I guess it is in that spirit that Angela will continue with the triathlon that we have signed up to do. She will be finishing the race in her father's name, and I will be finishing the race to be there for her as well as to honor her family.

I guess our timing for signing up for this event is good. It will give Angela an outlet to channel her feelings and it will help me to feel like I'm part of something important.

I signed up to do what?

My friend Angela and I have decided to train for and complete a triathlon with Team in Training (LLS). Angela's dad has been fighting Leukemia, so we decided to do something to make ourselves better, while trying to support the cause. We'll lose weight, feel great and accomplish an impressive goal, and at the same time we can raise money to try and find a cure for blood cancers. It's a win win!

I'm not gonna lie though, I'm really scared. I tried training for a marathon once, and my knee got really pissed at me. So, yeah... I'm worried that my body won't let me do it. I'm also taking time off from performing to pursue this, so I'm worried that my skills will get dusty while I'm pursuing more athletic interests. I'm also completely freaked about swimming in Lady Bird lake!!

So, to accomplish this goal I'm gonna have to overcome a few personal demons. Wish me luck!

No promises on how often I'll update this blog. My goal is to hit it at least once a week, but we'll see how it goes.

Training begins January 31st, and the race is on May 25th. If you're interested in donating (no pressure... but seriously do it. No really... money please...) you can do that here: Aden's fund raising page

I'm so tech savvy!

Check out the new website I designed for my comedy troupe, The Starter Kit. I think it looks nice.

http://tskcomedy.com