Highlights of my Day... Friday, April 18

1. Curiously showed up to my first period class, wondering if a particular Monday morning sports student had also showed up... nope. Another email from him showed up in my email box. I tell ya... I'm convinced that if some of my students were forced to live in the "real world" and not that of the comfort of mommy and daddy's wing, they'd die. I've said this before and I'll say it again, when I was in university, not only did I hold down my own two-story apartment, I also was a full-time student and worked to cover my butt bartending on the weekends and doing other random jobs, like hair modeling, promotional work for various liquor companies, and being a hired hostess to accompany dancers at stags. I worked my butt off and my professors showed me no slack. They didn't email me their lecture files, nor did they ever email me to tell me I have missed class, and besides my Korean culture professor, I doubt my other professors even knew my name. I was just another number on their attendance sheet, another digit on their pay check, and another seat taken in their class.

2. I can't really complain too much about my university life though. I did what I had to do but I did get some pretty sweet handouts, courtesy of my bartending job. I had my own driver for awhile, paid for courtesy of one of my customers. I flew out to New York to see my brother courtesy of another customer. Jewelery, clothes, numerous rides on souped-up Harleys... I lived quite the life. But, like everything, it came with a price. I paid my price... I showed up every weekend for work, wore the clothes they had bought me, and tried to forget the fact that my family would personally shot me down if they only knew the dirt I had to deal with. I remember the day I told my customers that I was moving to Korea to teach. For the most part, I let them believe I was just another dumb blond bar rat who'd only be known as the girl that loved to throw lemons and limes at her customers and who was notorious for getting into random bar scraps. Most didn't even know I had put my way through university, let along even knew how to spell "university". Reflecting back on my days as a bartender/student, I miss them. Don't get me wrong, it defintely wasn't all glit and glamour. I dealt with rude drunks, corrupted police, brain-dead bouncers who only protected their girlfriends, punks who wouldn't pay or wouldn't leave, perverts who tried to catch a cheap feel, bikers who I knew better than to tick off, and police who wanted to know what had happened but a pocket full of cash and bikers around me that stopped me from opening my mouth. But you know what, I had an awesome boss, Rooster. A boss who treated me like I was his daughter. A boss who I loved and who really kept me sane when insane and retarded things happened, and EVERY night they happened.

3. I miss Rooster.

4. I miss my winter vacation time, when all I had to do was go boxing and weight training. Lately I have felt so under the gun with work. I've got it all under control but I feel like there is no room for error. If only I could just go and teach instead of dealing with all the "behind-the-scenes" stuff like marking quizzes and tests, and dealing with administration stuff.

5. Junior Mint informed me that this new girl at our club is planning to do her pro test soon. If only my last opponent, Mi Ran, was this girl.... seriously. No offense but this girl with her "I like boxing cause of the cute boys" mentality is going to be killed in the ring. She only knows the basics of pad work, doesn't like doing the heavy bag cause she doesn't like working up a sweat, and refuses to have sparring practice. Damn chick.

6. My words of advice for her... don't do it! Don't do your pro test unless you're seriously in love with boxing and all that that includes... the gruelling training, the dieting, black eyes and bloody noses, the feeling like you're going to puke at the end of a hard train, and the realization that this will label you as ugly and unattractive by many people in Korea. Then there's the whole emotional side of boxing, the mental struggle you'll eventually experience, the feeling of being totally emotionally, physically, and mentally drained... and knowing that you'll have to do it all over again. You have to love boxing to be a great boxer. It has to be in your heart cause if it's not, you don't stand a chance.

7. I miss my former boxing coach in Canada, Egerton Marcus.

8. Q was out with some of his coworkers and so he called me up, urging me to come join him and so I got ready and left my apartment, thinking that I'd be there shortly... wrong. Ended up running into the Sambu Hyun Bin in the elevator. I didn't notice him but he over saw me text messaging Junior Mint in Korean. This spurred a conversation. Besides the weekly "Hi" and wink, he never has really talked to me. And if that wasn't surprising enough, him talking to me that is, he offered to drive me to where I was going. I told him a taxi was waiting for me. He followed my taxi. It was like the twighlight zone... I blame my "bum pants", as I call them. They're a pair of cute white 3/4 length cargo pants who's back pocket flaps refuse to go down, thus catching the attention of passerbyers and causing them to look at my bum.... hehehe.

9. The Sambu Hyun Bin liked my pants... and had this been a year ago, I would have been all over the fact that he liked them. He's like a mystery man to me. To be looked at, admired and pondered over, but not to have or touch. With his cigerette hanging out the side of his mouth and his tossed shaggy hair, he strikes me as being incredibly, mysteriously handsome though I am sure, by Korean standards, he's not remotely handsome.

10. I showed up all giggly at where I was supposed to meet Q. I couldn't tell him about the Sambu Hyun. Q's not a jealous guy by any means but I'm sure no guy likes hearing about their girl's fasination with another man. I wouldn't want Q to feel any less than amazing. God knows Q's more than amazing. And so I dropped my thoughts of the Sambu Hyun Bin and resumed my place by Q's side as he proudly introduced me to his coworkers.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you know what I mean?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance.
-- William Wirt