2. Korean age and western age, two different numbers. Here’s the lowdown on how Koreans calculate age:
A baby is in their mother’s womb for approximately 9 months, which is just short of a year, and so when the baby is born they consider it one year old.
However, and this is the confusing part, when the new year comes (January 1st), that same baby turns one… along with everyone else that is. We ALL turn one year older on January 1st. Not really sure on how to explain that but, and here’s the really confusing part, a baby born on January 1st, 2008 and a baby born on December 31st, 2008 will both be two years old on January 1st, 2009 despite the first baby being one year old and the other being one day old.
Soooooo… this explains why when you ask a young Korean kid “how old are you?”, they’re a bit stumped for the answer. I can understand the whole idea of a baby being one when it’s born but the New Year’s thing I can’t really grasp. So when that confused kid answers, “I am 8 years old”, in western age they’re probably 6 or 7.
3. I guess returning to Canada is looking better and better now that I know it means I’ll be gaining back two years of my life and won’t take me to 40 before I’m due… yikes… hehehe.
4. Got a phone call from Junior Mint; he had a Christmas present for me. His gift, a fight!!! No sooner did I get off the phone with him but I headed over to the boxing club, only to have the fight taken away from me. Turns out my opponent is on a much higher level than me and, based on my track record, I’m not allowed to fight a six-round fight yet or fight her. She’s a fan favourite who’s fought my former team mate, Min Young, two times and won both times. This would be her 7th or 8th fight.
5. Q called me and urged me not to take the fight. I knew all beats would be against me winning but that’s kind of why I wanted it. It’d be such a wicked challenge. I’d have nothing to lose if I lost but so much to gain if I won. I’d definitely be the underdog who’d be frowned upon and expected to lose. I don’t really have a choice now though, whether or not I want the fight. The officials made it quite clear on the phone that I’m not allowed to fight this match.
6. … but that didn’t stop Junior Mint. Leave it to Junior Mint to keep his 110% faith in me. If there’s anyone in this entire world that would believe in me to the very end, it’d be him. I think he believes in me more than I believe in myself actually. Junior Mint ended up spending the next hour calling the boxing commission office in Seoul and my opponent’s manager, trying to work out some kind of deal to let me fight. Talks ended around 5:30pm and ended with the boxing commission promising Junior Mint they’ll have a meeting about this on Monday when the office reopens.
7. It was rather nerve racking having to train while Junior Mint sat just feet away from me talking about me on the phone and calling up my sponsors. Nothing is quite as humbling though, than having to call up MBC Sports (major sports channel here who I have an arrangement and promise with), telling them I have a fight and then having to call them back up to tell them that it’s cancelled… and then calling AGAIN, a third time, to tell them that it’s a maybe.
8. I really want this fight... I need this fight.
9. With less than a month away from the fight that’s a “maybe” till Monday, Junior Mint made me do extra rounds on the heavy bag. Both him and I were so frustrated and so while he took it by pacing around the club, I took it out on the sand bags, minus any boxing gloves on… and I definitely have the bloody knuckles to prove it.
10. In sadder news, Mi Nam’s new beloved toy that he instantly became obsessed with... that blue chew toy my mom mailed him… died today. He’s still very much in love with it but it no longer makes it’s squeaky noise. I don’t know what happened but it’s just a noiseless blue chew toy now.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Have you ever wanted something so badly?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.
-- Plato
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