Last week was another tough week for me. My dear friend Denz passed away.
We were ex-colleagues who worked in the same department in one of my previous jobs. We worked on a few projects together and at some point, we sat in the same area at work. We shared the same passion for music and love for singing and dancing. We talked a lot about American Idol and we also often shared videos of performances that impressed us. I discovered Steve Balsamo's version of Gethsemane through him. Like me, he was often asked to host or sing at weddings (or both). One time, he told me that if/when he got married, he wanted me to sing at his wedding.
It was our participation in a company event that made us bond even more. Our company was celebrating a milestone anniversary and the event organizers decided to stage a big musical to showcase my company's history. Both Denz and I auditioned and we both made it to the cast. We had hours of practice everyday after work and we also rehearsed for whole days on Saturdays and Sundays. This gave us and the rest of the cast a lot of time together and a lot of shared experience. During Denz's wake, a handful of us were able to visit. We got to talk to Denz's sister and his mother. When we told them that we were Denz's castmates in the musical, both of them lit up and they told us how Denz talked about that experience with such fondness.
Due to his medical condition, we hadn't gotten to see each other frequently but I did get to see him a few times after I left that job, usually during his birthday. Quite recently, our castmates discussed the idea of a reunion and I'm gutted that we didn't organize one sooner because it might have given us a chance to see Denz one more time before he passed away. Still, I'm happy that we continued to keep in touch through the years. Farewell, Denz.
We were ex-colleagues who worked in the same department in one of my previous jobs. We worked on a few projects together and at some point, we sat in the same area at work. We shared the same passion for music and love for singing and dancing. We talked a lot about American Idol and we also often shared videos of performances that impressed us. I discovered Steve Balsamo's version of Gethsemane through him. Like me, he was often asked to host or sing at weddings (or both). One time, he told me that if/when he got married, he wanted me to sing at his wedding.
It was our participation in a company event that made us bond even more. Our company was celebrating a milestone anniversary and the event organizers decided to stage a big musical to showcase my company's history. Both Denz and I auditioned and we both made it to the cast. We had hours of practice everyday after work and we also rehearsed for whole days on Saturdays and Sundays. This gave us and the rest of the cast a lot of time together and a lot of shared experience. During Denz's wake, a handful of us were able to visit. We got to talk to Denz's sister and his mother. When we told them that we were Denz's castmates in the musical, both of them lit up and they told us how Denz talked about that experience with such fondness.
Due to his medical condition, we hadn't gotten to see each other frequently but I did get to see him a few times after I left that job, usually during his birthday. Quite recently, our castmates discussed the idea of a reunion and I'm gutted that we didn't organize one sooner because it might have given us a chance to see Denz one more time before he passed away. Still, I'm happy that we continued to keep in touch through the years. Farewell, Denz.
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