December 11th or First Official Post

Weight: 260
Smoking? Yes.
Drinking? Yes.

Now that that's out of the way, I can actually start writing a little bit.  Now, I apologize in advance, as I wanted my first real post to be a positive and introspective look at weight loss in society, however, I have my mind on a different topic, and wanted to write about it.  Yesterday, a fraternity brother of mine called me.  I was ecstatic to hear from him, as we haven't talked in over a year, until he said, "I wish I could have called under better circumstances."  Another fraternity brother of mine, one Chris Alonzi, passed away yesterday.  Now, I haven't had a Facebook account in over a year, so I wasn't even aware that in June of 2012, he was diagnosed with leukemia.  A more positive person did not exist on the planet Earth, and to be honest, I really don't think I would've had the wherewithal to fight it as strongly and for as long as he did.  He endured the most painful and terrifying side of the
American healthcare system, including an unnecessary brain surgery, three bone marrow biopsies, a lung biopsy, a spinal tap, 68 days of chemotherapy, 3 weeks of rehab, and (the icing) an ineffective stem cell transplant.  Now, I did not write this post to mourn Chris, nor to rant about the healthcare system we have in this country (that will come later).  I wrote this to celebrate one of the most sincere and upbeat people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  We met the first day we joined the fraternity, bonding over a shared middle name, and spent countless hours with all of our brothers.  An infinite number of cigars, Guinnesses, and parties brought our pledge class ever closer together.  When I left DePauw, life happened, I deleted my facebook, and fell out of touch with all of my brothers.  I miss them all now, and know that they miss Alonzi just as much if not more than me.  He would not want to be mourned, he would want a party thrown for him, and I will do as much, and if you want to celebrate a wonderful individual, I make one request.  Make a toast to Christopher Alonzi.  You may not have known him, but he would have brightened your life as much as he did mine.  To Chris Alonzi!  Perge, my brother.
R.I.P. Chris Alonzi (pictured in the middle)