Real allergy and metaphorical one

I am allergic to beer. It is the hops actually. A mutual friend of Matt's told me the only way he would donate would be if he taped the money to a 40oz and sent it to me - I had to pour some out for Matt and drink the rest. I decided to use that as a sick fundraiser. I told him it would take a minimum of $100 for me to do it and I will video tape it. I am going to sell tickets to watch a live broadcast of it. I will drink it real fast and then puke for a while. I can handle that if I get some good donation $$ out of it. Whatever works right? It is better than spending a day trying to wrap presents or cook or something else I can't do. Puking - I am a pro at that.

Last night when I got into the pool it felt like I was allergic to it. I am trying to stay positive, but man do I hate swimming. It is the worst thing I do all day. There is nothing good about it at all. I feel anxious before the water and that is reinforced by several "drowning moments" where I am not able to breathe and take in water and panic. The water is freezing at my gym. Just standing in it would be torture. The frustration might be the worst though. I am not trying to be the best swimmer - I just want to be mediocre. I have never had to strive for mediocrity before.

On a good note, I swam with Kathryn last night. She is faster and likely always will be. However, I was able to keep up with her for a while here and there. It was a great morale booster, and she was a good sport about me chasing after her. It is really great to have someone that I am already close with to share the experience with and to be able to support each other in our weak areas. I am also getting a lot closer with my team-mates. At first glance on kick-off I thought to myself that "these aren't my kinda people", but now, as I get to know them, I see that they are all great people.