Finally Returned!

Well, hello out there. I know it has been ages since I last posted (almost a month to the day, in fact), and I'm sincerely sorry for that. There has been a lot going on. Recently, I've been knee-deep in applying for this graduate program. I'm extremely excited about it, and can't wait to finish up my essay and get the whole process done. Also, as my friend Jeni said, I can't wait to have my nights taken over by classwork and reading and all of that. Back to school!

Also, I've begun training for the 2009 NYC Marathon, coming up November 1st. Long-time readers know that running a marathon has been a goal of mine for years, but through either not being selected in the race lottery or through ridiculous schedule changes (2009 LA Marathon, I'm looking at you), I've never been able to get into one. Until now. After three attempts, I finally made it into the NYC Marathon, and I couldn't be more excited. I think I posted about this earlier, but now I have a date, excellent running shoes (Asics to be exact, and I'm never going back), and two different training programs I've combined that have me feeling stronger and fitter than I've ever felt as a runner. Good times!

And, there is one other event that has happened since I last posted, and in fact, it is the main reason I haven't been posting since I got back to Los Angeles. Two days after I returned to LA, on my grandfather's 90th birthday, his blood pressure dropped dangerously low, and we spent the day in the hospital running tests. He was eventually discharged, but this inspired us to get him checked more thoroughly than we had in a while, and the prognosis is not good. His esophagus is failing, and he will likely die from not being able to swallow; the forecast is anywhere from very soon to about six months. I accepted something like this happening a long time ago, but still, it's quite hard. I'll post more about my thoughts on this later.

All right, well, I'll try to post more tomorrow, but until then, goodnight!