Quite the busy night... packed with lots of people, strangely amusing conversations, and a disgustingly amount of fun... hahaha.Saturday, February 28, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Saturday, February 28
1. Seems like I wasn't the only one in lazy mode at training today. Black Skinny slept on the couch while Milk Dud played a computer game, and I tried to stay continually focused while Q watched a bit of TV. Thankfully Saturdays are kind of expected slack-off day but today, yikes, we definitely milked the word "slack"... hahaha.
2. Every month Q spends a weekend out in Daejon, his hometown, where he spends the weekend over-indulging with his middle school friends. Mi Nam was always my ticket out of tagging along, after all, he is like a child. A day and a half home alone and this little guy will not only flip the house inside out but he'll also try to eat half of it. Nothing gets left on the floor while he's alone, nothing that is that you want to still be there when you come back... hahaha.
3. I like Q's middle school friends, I do, I really do actually, but the same thing always happens when I go there. They end up pushing and pulling me to a million restaurants and I end up getting homesick for my own friends in Canada. Strange, I know, but the more I hang out with them the more and more I miss my friends back in Canada. It's almost as if one moment with them robs me of one moment with my friends, which isn't true because it'd be impossible for me to see my friends every month. But that's just how it feels to me. I decided to go this weekend though, much to everyone's surprise.
4. I literally almost peed my pants, seriously, as Q's promised "15 minutes and we're there" turned into exactly 56 minutes and me squirming in my seat. He got a good kick out of that... hahahah. The other day Q and I watched this show on TV, called "Strange People" or something like that, anyway, on the show a Korean lady drank her own pee. She claimed it gave her essential vitamins. I say, spend a little cash and invest in a good multivitamin... hahaha. Anyway, while I squirmed in my seat and banged on the dashboard in my desperate attempt at saving my dignity, Q laughed away and continually yelled, "Just drink it"... hahaha. He even went so far as to find some random empty cup in his truck and pass it to me. And for the rest of the evening, somehow, this pee-drinking lady became somewhat of a focus for the evening conversations.
5. Met up with his friends at an overly expensive restaurant where I was too shy to tell them the main dish (boiled meat) was nasty and so instead I nibbled away at the side dishes and kimchi jjigga. There was about 15 of us in total.
6. Last time I met up with his friends one of the girls was fully pregnant but today some little ankle biter showed up and the happily plump pregnant girl was back to being a skinny-minnie. Needless to say as you can probably guess, the ankle biter was hers. Apparently it's been almost a year since I last saw them all... oh gosh, has it seriously been that long?! Wow.
7. After dinner we all drove off this this outdoor soccer field where the guys had rented it for an hour. Turns out the hour was an hour later than we had anticipated and so we froze our knickers off while we waited. The girls, on the other hand, were definitely not agreeing to wait and so they separated from the main group and headed off somewhere together. I had no anticipation of playing soccer but I wanted to watch. My attention and willingness to hang around with that baby lasted pretty much as long as it took me to blink and baby talk and wedding talk wasn't what I had come for, so, I stayed with the guys.
8. Gotta give it to the Koreans for their hilariously cute spontaneous games that they break out into and have so much fun doing. Tonight, while waiting for their time on the soccer field, they decided to play a game. The point of the game was to stand several feet away from the pylon and kick the soccer ball at it. The last player to hit the pylon had to pay for the food and whatnot at the next restaurant. For awhile there Q had me sweating it out in the cold as he continually missed the pylon and had nothing but my wallet on him. Losing is one thing, but him losing would mean me shilling out mad cash for about 15 hungry mouths... no thanks.
9. Soccer was followed by more food at another restaurant, which was then followed by more food at yet another restaurant... and then another restaurant. Restaurant count for the night, 4, bowls of kimchi jjigga that I had eaten, 3. By the last restaurant, the fourth, I wasn't impressed. These people make it almost impossible for someone who doesn't drink and doesn't eat like a whale to keep up and feel comfortable. My tummy was still feeling a bit odd from being sick the other day, my ears hurt from all their low talking, and my brain was feeling rather fried from the evening of jam-packed translating and "Korean-only".
10. I know Q missed his friends, I got that, and I wanted him to have fun, but yet again thoughts of my own friends in Canada sitting around without me got me a bit down. It was inevitable.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How can you make a home if you can't forget your old home?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Home is not where you live but where they understand you.
-- Christian Morgenstern
2. Every month Q spends a weekend out in Daejon, his hometown, where he spends the weekend over-indulging with his middle school friends. Mi Nam was always my ticket out of tagging along, after all, he is like a child. A day and a half home alone and this little guy will not only flip the house inside out but he'll also try to eat half of it. Nothing gets left on the floor while he's alone, nothing that is that you want to still be there when you come back... hahaha.
3. I like Q's middle school friends, I do, I really do actually, but the same thing always happens when I go there. They end up pushing and pulling me to a million restaurants and I end up getting homesick for my own friends in Canada. Strange, I know, but the more I hang out with them the more and more I miss my friends back in Canada. It's almost as if one moment with them robs me of one moment with my friends, which isn't true because it'd be impossible for me to see my friends every month. But that's just how it feels to me. I decided to go this weekend though, much to everyone's surprise.
4. I literally almost peed my pants, seriously, as Q's promised "15 minutes and we're there" turned into exactly 56 minutes and me squirming in my seat. He got a good kick out of that... hahahah. The other day Q and I watched this show on TV, called "Strange People" or something like that, anyway, on the show a Korean lady drank her own pee. She claimed it gave her essential vitamins. I say, spend a little cash and invest in a good multivitamin... hahaha. Anyway, while I squirmed in my seat and banged on the dashboard in my desperate attempt at saving my dignity, Q laughed away and continually yelled, "Just drink it"... hahaha. He even went so far as to find some random empty cup in his truck and pass it to me. And for the rest of the evening, somehow, this pee-drinking lady became somewhat of a focus for the evening conversations.
5. Met up with his friends at an overly expensive restaurant where I was too shy to tell them the main dish (boiled meat) was nasty and so instead I nibbled away at the side dishes and kimchi jjigga. There was about 15 of us in total.
6. Last time I met up with his friends one of the girls was fully pregnant but today some little ankle biter showed up and the happily plump pregnant girl was back to being a skinny-minnie. Needless to say as you can probably guess, the ankle biter was hers. Apparently it's been almost a year since I last saw them all... oh gosh, has it seriously been that long?! Wow.
7. After dinner we all drove off this this outdoor soccer field where the guys had rented it for an hour. Turns out the hour was an hour later than we had anticipated and so we froze our knickers off while we waited. The girls, on the other hand, were definitely not agreeing to wait and so they separated from the main group and headed off somewhere together. I had no anticipation of playing soccer but I wanted to watch. My attention and willingness to hang around with that baby lasted pretty much as long as it took me to blink and baby talk and wedding talk wasn't what I had come for, so, I stayed with the guys.
8. Gotta give it to the Koreans for their hilariously cute spontaneous games that they break out into and have so much fun doing. Tonight, while waiting for their time on the soccer field, they decided to play a game. The point of the game was to stand several feet away from the pylon and kick the soccer ball at it. The last player to hit the pylon had to pay for the food and whatnot at the next restaurant. For awhile there Q had me sweating it out in the cold as he continually missed the pylon and had nothing but my wallet on him. Losing is one thing, but him losing would mean me shilling out mad cash for about 15 hungry mouths... no thanks.
9. Soccer was followed by more food at another restaurant, which was then followed by more food at yet another restaurant... and then another restaurant. Restaurant count for the night, 4, bowls of kimchi jjigga that I had eaten, 3. By the last restaurant, the fourth, I wasn't impressed. These people make it almost impossible for someone who doesn't drink and doesn't eat like a whale to keep up and feel comfortable. My tummy was still feeling a bit odd from being sick the other day, my ears hurt from all their low talking, and my brain was feeling rather fried from the evening of jam-packed translating and "Korean-only".
10. I know Q missed his friends, I got that, and I wanted him to have fun, but yet again thoughts of my own friends in Canada sitting around without me got me a bit down. It was inevitable.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How can you make a home if you can't forget your old home?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Home is not where you live but where they understand you.
-- Christian Morgenstern
Friday, February 27, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Friday, February 27
1. Woke up feeling so much better than my funky-chunky-fish throwing, stomach-turning yesterday.
2. Got asked to be a one-time guest speaker at a university to talk about boxing in Korea... cool. Am hoping to wow the crowd with my Korean and love of the sport.
3. Am slowly getting myself back in the back-to-school mentality and so today I sat down to plan my course syllabus and first lecture PowerPoints.
4. Seriously contemplating going to Hong Kong the last weekend of March with Kicks.
5. With about one week till the annual Arnold Classic, to be held in Ohio, I can't believe how pumped I am for it and I'm not even attending. I'd love to attend it though because it's such an amazing show of sportsmanship. There's bodybuilding, weightlifting, grappling, cheer leading, boxing, gymnastics, arm wrestling, fencing... and so much more. I remember back in the day when I use to annually attend Fame Canada in Toronto and cheer for a couple of my friends (and one particular ex) who use to compete in the body building shows.
6. This year though I've been really following a couple of the competitors in the Arnold Classic, Jen Hendershott and Isabelle Turell. Jen has always been one of my favorite female fitness competitors who I've always admired for her hard work and passion for fitness. Just recently I added Isabelle to my list of fitness ladies after I discovered her homepage and just how sweet of a lady she it (plus she shares my love of so-ugly-they're-cute dogs... hahaha). Although she's a bit more extreme with the muscle than my usual liking, after all she is a bodybuilder, I really respect her for her honesty and drive.
7. Turns out Tosca Reno will be at the Arnold Classic this year... now I'm totally jealous!!! I'd so love to be there, hopefully one day I will!
8. I've missed two of my Korean tutoring classes which means I haven't had class in two weeks. Am feeling it lately. I'm really trying hard to push myself with my studies and am hoping to finish the entire course by the end of this year. I still have two more levels to go.
9. At training tonight Junior Mint suggested I go a bit easy with training after I seriously felt I was going to black out when I was skipping. Yesterday the contents of what I ate all day were still well below what I usually eat in one of my five meals and then today I again ate very little. I'm use to eating up quite a storm but my tummy still feels a bit odd. My brain says "go-go-go" but my body screams "wait-wait-wait"... needed to find a balance today.
10. Junior Mint is convinced a certain someone I met at Panty Boy Jr.'s game is trying to scout me out after a mystery man repeatedly called the club, eager to talk to me. I'd never leave Junior Mint though. He's too much like family to me and he and Egerton Marcus are who made me the boxer I am today. Bonds like that are to be respected, protected and maintained.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What can you build overnight that's worth it?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
2. Got asked to be a one-time guest speaker at a university to talk about boxing in Korea... cool. Am hoping to wow the crowd with my Korean and love of the sport.
3. Am slowly getting myself back in the back-to-school mentality and so today I sat down to plan my course syllabus and first lecture PowerPoints.
4. Seriously contemplating going to Hong Kong the last weekend of March with Kicks.
5. With about one week till the annual Arnold Classic, to be held in Ohio, I can't believe how pumped I am for it and I'm not even attending. I'd love to attend it though because it's such an amazing show of sportsmanship. There's bodybuilding, weightlifting, grappling, cheer leading, boxing, gymnastics, arm wrestling, fencing... and so much more. I remember back in the day when I use to annually attend Fame Canada in Toronto and cheer for a couple of my friends (and one particular ex) who use to compete in the body building shows.
6. This year though I've been really following a couple of the competitors in the Arnold Classic, Jen Hendershott and Isabelle Turell. Jen has always been one of my favorite female fitness competitors who I've always admired for her hard work and passion for fitness. Just recently I added Isabelle to my list of fitness ladies after I discovered her homepage and just how sweet of a lady she it (plus she shares my love of so-ugly-they're-cute dogs... hahaha). Although she's a bit more extreme with the muscle than my usual liking, after all she is a bodybuilder, I really respect her for her honesty and drive.
7. Turns out Tosca Reno will be at the Arnold Classic this year... now I'm totally jealous!!! I'd so love to be there, hopefully one day I will!
8. I've missed two of my Korean tutoring classes which means I haven't had class in two weeks. Am feeling it lately. I'm really trying hard to push myself with my studies and am hoping to finish the entire course by the end of this year. I still have two more levels to go.
9. At training tonight Junior Mint suggested I go a bit easy with training after I seriously felt I was going to black out when I was skipping. Yesterday the contents of what I ate all day were still well below what I usually eat in one of my five meals and then today I again ate very little. I'm use to eating up quite a storm but my tummy still feels a bit odd. My brain says "go-go-go" but my body screams "wait-wait-wait"... needed to find a balance today.
10. Junior Mint is convinced a certain someone I met at Panty Boy Jr.'s game is trying to scout me out after a mystery man repeatedly called the club, eager to talk to me. I'd never leave Junior Mint though. He's too much like family to me and he and Egerton Marcus are who made me the boxer I am today. Bonds like that are to be respected, protected and maintained.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What can you build overnight that's worth it?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Thursday, February 26
1. Waking up too fast resulted in a very, very nasty morning scene as certain "projectiles" instantly made their way up and out from my tummy and unto the floor... and my housecoat.
2. I promise to never ever eat any more fish from that food stand in the Galleria. Just thinking about it is making me sick.
3. After I cleaned up my morning mess, I pretty much spent the whole day on the couch.
4. Between 9am and 9pm I did nothing but act like a human vegetable. I ate nothing, drank nothing... did nothing. I tried to force myself to eat something but the thought alone of food turned my stomach.
5. Finally around 10pm I finally managed to stomach something, some bread Q brought me.
6. With all my laying around the house and waiting for both time and my food poisoning to pass, I got thinking about people, more specifically, people who insist on spreading their bad vibes. Gotta love people who continually try to pee on other people's parade, sarcastically speaking. I ask you, what's wrong with people now days?! So what if someone has a nicer house than you, a better job, or whatnot. There are so many other things we could be focusing our interest and efforts on than "haves" and "have nots". If you have the time to complain about it than you have the time to do something about it. I know a lot of people in the haves category are not fairly there but so be it, what good does it do you complaining about it?!!! Instead of sitting around and accepting whatever life gave them, they went out and did something about it. And what's so wrong about being happy for those who have achieved whatever it is that they wanted?! Since when did reaching goals and conquering dreams become the reason why we don't like people?
7. This reminds me of a friend of mine, a Korean friend who since early childhood has been practicing a particular sport. While all his friends were hanging out at the park or going to the movies, he was at training. He ate, slept, breathed, and lived the sport. Many years later he was then faced with the issue of having to go to the Korean army. All Korean males, with some minor exceptions, have to go to the Korean army for roughly two years. At the time when he was to be enlisted he was offered a huge sponsorship and a chance to travel the world doing what he had been practicing since he was a little boy. It was one of those very rare once in a lifetime opportunities, take it or leave it. This was the very dream he had been wishing and working for but it couldn't have come at a worse time. As it happened, my friend's father ended up paying his son's way out of the army and, despite not regretting it, my friend constantly feels the burden of this decision. He's now a very successful professional athlete but many of his friends are now former friends and he's constantly disrespected and looked down upon for his decision. But, and I ask you to answer honestly, what would you have done? If your dream was finally on your doorstep and all you had to do was accept it after years of striving towards it, would you give it up or would you take it?
8. I for one will be the first to say that I would have done the same. This is your life, you only have one so what's the point of wasting your time on dreaming a dream when you can go out and make it actually happen? And that's what I'm doing here, I'm living my dream. When I entered university many years back, I had a dream. My dream was to move to Korea to teach and so that's what pushed me through schooling and got me here. I never really dreamed of becoming a professional boxer but instead just really wanted to see how far I could take my boxing. So that's what I am doing, teaching and boxing. And although my dreams may at times burden me, just like my friend's does, at least I took my chances, took my shot at happiness, and did something about my dream instead of the so many people who clearly don't. I don't feel bad or regret anything that I am doing here in Korea because I can't change any of the bad choices I made, I can only learn from them and continue living a life that I think is pretty great. I'm living a life that is so far from the "cookie-cutter life" that so many people I know have settled for.
9. My dream of Korea may end but then my next dream will kick in and then I'll pursue it, but please, please don't think for one moment that you're in any position to stop my dream. If anything, it just makes me stronger and makes me feel sorry for you.
10. I went through a really trying and nasty time last fall and I'm still trying to move past it. I'm really trying to turn over a new leaf in my life, trying to be more optimistic, trying to better myself, but it's so continually hard to do so. You and I are no different in that we all need encouragement and love, so I don't want to wake up to pestimistic comments on my homepage. They don't and will never make me a better person. I am but one girl trying to live her life and somewhere along the way I agreed to share it with you here, on the Internet, so I'm asking you politely to be more considerate.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why is it so much easier for people to be mean than to be nice?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Good girls may go to Heaven, but the rest of us can go wherever we want!!!!
-- Chylanna
2. I promise to never ever eat any more fish from that food stand in the Galleria. Just thinking about it is making me sick.
3. After I cleaned up my morning mess, I pretty much spent the whole day on the couch.
4. Between 9am and 9pm I did nothing but act like a human vegetable. I ate nothing, drank nothing... did nothing. I tried to force myself to eat something but the thought alone of food turned my stomach.
5. Finally around 10pm I finally managed to stomach something, some bread Q brought me.
6. With all my laying around the house and waiting for both time and my food poisoning to pass, I got thinking about people, more specifically, people who insist on spreading their bad vibes. Gotta love people who continually try to pee on other people's parade, sarcastically speaking. I ask you, what's wrong with people now days?! So what if someone has a nicer house than you, a better job, or whatnot. There are so many other things we could be focusing our interest and efforts on than "haves" and "have nots". If you have the time to complain about it than you have the time to do something about it. I know a lot of people in the haves category are not fairly there but so be it, what good does it do you complaining about it?!!! Instead of sitting around and accepting whatever life gave them, they went out and did something about it. And what's so wrong about being happy for those who have achieved whatever it is that they wanted?! Since when did reaching goals and conquering dreams become the reason why we don't like people?
7. This reminds me of a friend of mine, a Korean friend who since early childhood has been practicing a particular sport. While all his friends were hanging out at the park or going to the movies, he was at training. He ate, slept, breathed, and lived the sport. Many years later he was then faced with the issue of having to go to the Korean army. All Korean males, with some minor exceptions, have to go to the Korean army for roughly two years. At the time when he was to be enlisted he was offered a huge sponsorship and a chance to travel the world doing what he had been practicing since he was a little boy. It was one of those very rare once in a lifetime opportunities, take it or leave it. This was the very dream he had been wishing and working for but it couldn't have come at a worse time. As it happened, my friend's father ended up paying his son's way out of the army and, despite not regretting it, my friend constantly feels the burden of this decision. He's now a very successful professional athlete but many of his friends are now former friends and he's constantly disrespected and looked down upon for his decision. But, and I ask you to answer honestly, what would you have done? If your dream was finally on your doorstep and all you had to do was accept it after years of striving towards it, would you give it up or would you take it?
8. I for one will be the first to say that I would have done the same. This is your life, you only have one so what's the point of wasting your time on dreaming a dream when you can go out and make it actually happen? And that's what I'm doing here, I'm living my dream. When I entered university many years back, I had a dream. My dream was to move to Korea to teach and so that's what pushed me through schooling and got me here. I never really dreamed of becoming a professional boxer but instead just really wanted to see how far I could take my boxing. So that's what I am doing, teaching and boxing. And although my dreams may at times burden me, just like my friend's does, at least I took my chances, took my shot at happiness, and did something about my dream instead of the so many people who clearly don't. I don't feel bad or regret anything that I am doing here in Korea because I can't change any of the bad choices I made, I can only learn from them and continue living a life that I think is pretty great. I'm living a life that is so far from the "cookie-cutter life" that so many people I know have settled for.
9. My dream of Korea may end but then my next dream will kick in and then I'll pursue it, but please, please don't think for one moment that you're in any position to stop my dream. If anything, it just makes me stronger and makes me feel sorry for you.
10. I went through a really trying and nasty time last fall and I'm still trying to move past it. I'm really trying to turn over a new leaf in my life, trying to be more optimistic, trying to better myself, but it's so continually hard to do so. You and I are no different in that we all need encouragement and love, so I don't want to wake up to pestimistic comments on my homepage. They don't and will never make me a better person. I am but one girl trying to live her life and somewhere along the way I agreed to share it with you here, on the Internet, so I'm asking you politely to be more considerate.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why is it so much easier for people to be mean than to be nice?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Good girls may go to Heaven, but the rest of us can go wherever we want!!!!
-- Chylanna
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, February 25
1. Morning meeting at Dankook meant getting my new work schedule and meeting my new coworkers. I think there's ten of them in total, which means us "oldies" are totally outnumbered by the new folk... hahaha.
2. While everyone mingled and chatted it up in the staff room, I checked my email and did my own thing. I'm sure they're a group of great people but I don't really care to meet new people and I don't really like mixing business with pleasure. Having said that though, the two dudes I met at Immigration the other week seem pretty cool. Turns out one of them is currently training for a marathon and so that's definitely impressive.
3. Must admit that I'm exceptionally optimistic about this new semester at work. Not only do we have a whole new crew of professors but with all these new coworkers has come a sense of freshness and new possibilities. Yes, I liked many of my former coworkers but it was evident that there were clear groups among us and so that divided us. I, for one, was never in any particular group and, if anything, I associated myself more with the office assistants. I went to work to work. Business and pleasure were two different things to me, things I tried hard not to mix while at the university working.
4. Although I'm teaching a course that is similar to pulling teeth (English reading), I am also teaching listening and pronunciation, and my schedule rocks!!!
6. At training today Gangster Oppa was there. He greeted me with a huge smile, congratulated me on my game, and continued to be all buddy-buddy with me long after our initial conversation. I guess I'm "cool" again now his books. Thanks but no thanks. I've never cared to be cool.
7. Left boxing super exhausted and super hungry. Earlier on today I had bought some sushi from the Galleria, hoping that Q and I would share it later but I ended up eating it all after boxing. I was so hungry. At first I noted that it tasted a bit off but I thought it was just because I've never really had this particular fish before. So I disregarded the strange taste and wolfed it down.
8. An hour later, if that, the fish hit me right in the gut and so I couldn't do anything but curl up on the couch and pray that I wasn't dying.
9. Q rushed over and found me curled up on the floor and moaning. He suggested I go to the hospital but it was late and I hate hospitals. Canadian hospitals with their long waiting times are what will kill you and Korean hospitals with their "needle-in-the-butt" solution for every disease or problem under the sun are no better.
10. So there I stayed for the rest of the evening, curled up and trying to sweat it out.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Before we work on artificial intelligence why don't we do something about natural stupidity?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
-- William G. McAdoo
2. While everyone mingled and chatted it up in the staff room, I checked my email and did my own thing. I'm sure they're a group of great people but I don't really care to meet new people and I don't really like mixing business with pleasure. Having said that though, the two dudes I met at Immigration the other week seem pretty cool. Turns out one of them is currently training for a marathon and so that's definitely impressive.
3. Must admit that I'm exceptionally optimistic about this new semester at work. Not only do we have a whole new crew of professors but with all these new coworkers has come a sense of freshness and new possibilities. Yes, I liked many of my former coworkers but it was evident that there were clear groups among us and so that divided us. I, for one, was never in any particular group and, if anything, I associated myself more with the office assistants. I went to work to work. Business and pleasure were two different things to me, things I tried hard not to mix while at the university working.
4. Although I'm teaching a course that is similar to pulling teeth (English reading), I am also teaching listening and pronunciation, and my schedule rocks!!!
Monday: 9:20am - 1pm (2 classes)5. Finally got down to business with my Korean homework. Designated my whole afternoon to my studies.
Tuesday: 11:20am - 3pm (2 classes)
Wednesday: 9:20am - 1pm (2 classes)
Thursday: 9:20am - 3pm (3 classes)
Friday: day off
6. At training today Gangster Oppa was there. He greeted me with a huge smile, congratulated me on my game, and continued to be all buddy-buddy with me long after our initial conversation. I guess I'm "cool" again now his books. Thanks but no thanks. I've never cared to be cool.
7. Left boxing super exhausted and super hungry. Earlier on today I had bought some sushi from the Galleria, hoping that Q and I would share it later but I ended up eating it all after boxing. I was so hungry. At first I noted that it tasted a bit off but I thought it was just because I've never really had this particular fish before. So I disregarded the strange taste and wolfed it down.
8. An hour later, if that, the fish hit me right in the gut and so I couldn't do anything but curl up on the couch and pray that I wasn't dying.
9. Q rushed over and found me curled up on the floor and moaning. He suggested I go to the hospital but it was late and I hate hospitals. Canadian hospitals with their long waiting times are what will kill you and Korean hospitals with their "needle-in-the-butt" solution for every disease or problem under the sun are no better.
10. So there I stayed for the rest of the evening, curled up and trying to sweat it out.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Before we work on artificial intelligence why don't we do something about natural stupidity?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
-- William G. McAdoo
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, February 24
1. Despite my year-long avoidance of meeting more of Q's family, somehow today Q managed to convince me to meet his father and his grandmother, Q Sr. and Granny Q. Recently Q just bought a new apartment in Mokcheon and so today I agreed to help him move his stuff there. One problem, his washing machine was at his grandmother's house, which ultimately meant I had to go there with him.
2. Meeting the parents has never been a problem with me, in Canada that is, but here in Korea things are so different. I'm not one of those traditional girls who OK with a life of cooking, cleaning and tending to the family. My cooking consists of eggs and chicken, I'm a great cleaner, but I don't want to tend to a family because I don't want a family of my own. And when Korean mothers hear this and note that I box, play wrestle, and my idea of cooking is paying someone else to do it, I'm sure I must come across as the man in the relationship. I've already met Q's mother however, and she really liked me. I think I won her over with my manners (yes, I do have manners... I just chose not to share them with some of you annoying homepage commenters), and my appetite. I ate everything she fed me... hahaha.
3. As we pulled down a small country road, I knew I had but a few remaining minutes before Q's truck would be approached by Granny Q. Q Sr. has had numerous brain surgeries and so, for the most part, he lives with his mother on the farm, Q's grandmother.
4. When I got out of Q's truck, Q told me to hug them. He's got this impression that all Westerners hug each other but I'm so not a hugging kind of gal. Having gone to university in Toronto with a large crowd of Italians and Portuguese crew of friends, I'm one of those a kiss-on-both-cheeks kind of gal.
5. Most of my visit consisted of giggling, well, that and eating the delicious kimchi jjigga that his grandmother cooked us. I just couldn't get over how closely Q resembled his father. Their appearances, face gestures, body language,... even their laugh was the same.
6. As for Granny Q she rambled on about life on the farm and I tried to follow but she talked to fast. She'd stop ever so often in between her sentences, note me trying hard to make sense of her words, and then she'd give a giggle and pat me on the bum... hahaha.
7. Q introduced me to his family dog, Mary, which upon asking him what her name was I seriously think he made up a name on the spot. Later I asked Granny Q how old Mary was and she said, "Mary who?"... hahaha. She was a beautiful dog with blonde and white fur, and who's eyes looked like they belonged to a wolf. Mary's an outdoor dog so needless to say she was pretty dirty but that didn't stop me from petting her and repeatedly kissing her head.
8. We didn't stay too long at Q's grandmother's house, just long enough to get in a couple of giggles, a couple of hugs, and a bowl of kimchi jjigga. It was nice to meet them, very nice actually. And despite Granny Q going on about how her house wasn't "presentable", I thought it was perfect. She lives in this very old traditional Korean house way out in the sticks and I'm convinced it's the only place in Korea where you can hear nothing but your own breathing and thoughts. Q says that house has been in his family for over a hundred years and so I like how shows character and age.
9. After Granny Q got in one more pat to my bum, we were off finish moving stuff into Q's new apartment. He bought the apartment a couple of months ago at a kind of police auction and is hoping to rent it out soon. It's a beautiful three bedroom apartment with, and get this,... an oven!!!
10. Moving stuff was followed by grocery shopping and then grocery shopping was followed by an extended long cat nap that turned into a "Seniors nap"... which then turned into me calling it a night early.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you act your age?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
-- Mark Twain
2. Meeting the parents has never been a problem with me, in Canada that is, but here in Korea things are so different. I'm not one of those traditional girls who OK with a life of cooking, cleaning and tending to the family. My cooking consists of eggs and chicken, I'm a great cleaner, but I don't want to tend to a family because I don't want a family of my own. And when Korean mothers hear this and note that I box, play wrestle, and my idea of cooking is paying someone else to do it, I'm sure I must come across as the man in the relationship. I've already met Q's mother however, and she really liked me. I think I won her over with my manners (yes, I do have manners... I just chose not to share them with some of you annoying homepage commenters), and my appetite. I ate everything she fed me... hahaha.
3. As we pulled down a small country road, I knew I had but a few remaining minutes before Q's truck would be approached by Granny Q. Q Sr. has had numerous brain surgeries and so, for the most part, he lives with his mother on the farm, Q's grandmother.
4. When I got out of Q's truck, Q told me to hug them. He's got this impression that all Westerners hug each other but I'm so not a hugging kind of gal. Having gone to university in Toronto with a large crowd of Italians and Portuguese crew of friends, I'm one of those a kiss-on-both-cheeks kind of gal.
5. Most of my visit consisted of giggling, well, that and eating the delicious kimchi jjigga that his grandmother cooked us. I just couldn't get over how closely Q resembled his father. Their appearances, face gestures, body language,... even their laugh was the same.
6. As for Granny Q she rambled on about life on the farm and I tried to follow but she talked to fast. She'd stop ever so often in between her sentences, note me trying hard to make sense of her words, and then she'd give a giggle and pat me on the bum... hahaha.
7. Q introduced me to his family dog, Mary, which upon asking him what her name was I seriously think he made up a name on the spot. Later I asked Granny Q how old Mary was and she said, "Mary who?"... hahaha. She was a beautiful dog with blonde and white fur, and who's eyes looked like they belonged to a wolf. Mary's an outdoor dog so needless to say she was pretty dirty but that didn't stop me from petting her and repeatedly kissing her head.
8. We didn't stay too long at Q's grandmother's house, just long enough to get in a couple of giggles, a couple of hugs, and a bowl of kimchi jjigga. It was nice to meet them, very nice actually. And despite Granny Q going on about how her house wasn't "presentable", I thought it was perfect. She lives in this very old traditional Korean house way out in the sticks and I'm convinced it's the only place in Korea where you can hear nothing but your own breathing and thoughts. Q says that house has been in his family for over a hundred years and so I like how shows character and age.
9. After Granny Q got in one more pat to my bum, we were off finish moving stuff into Q's new apartment. He bought the apartment a couple of months ago at a kind of police auction and is hoping to rent it out soon. It's a beautiful three bedroom apartment with, and get this,... an oven!!!
10. Moving stuff was followed by grocery shopping and then grocery shopping was followed by an extended long cat nap that turned into a "Seniors nap"... which then turned into me calling it a night early.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you act your age?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
-- Mark Twain
Monday, February 23, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Monday, February 23
1. Today marked a one year anniversary for me and nobody suspected a thing... good.
2. Pumpkin Cheeks, Little Miss Sunshine and I loaded up the car and headed off to Panty Boy Jr.'s fight today. With an expected two hour drive ahead, I loaded up my bag with Korean homework but the drive ended up turning into a three hour ordeal.
3. Arrived to what felt like the opposite corner of Korea and low and behold there was Panty Boy Jr. getting all prepared for his fight. Junior Mint was there with him, as where a whole cluster of other UP Boxing Club members and fans. Kicks was fighting the crazy Korean subway system but had told me that she'd come out too, cool.
4. Panty Boy Jr. was the main fight for today and so we all eagerly awaited with much anticipation for his fight. His fight was going to be shown live on MBC ESPN Spots and so that was pretty exciting. They had this wicked stage set up for all the fighters to come out when their name was announced. Fire shot out of the sides, lights flashed and the music blasted with each new fighter who was announced. I stood far to the right of the stage but could definitely feel the heat from the stage fire. It was awesome.
5. The fight before Panty Boy Jr. was definitely a brutal bloody butchering. Both fighters had bloody faces and after about round 6, they had to continually pause the fight to clean up the blood and ensure that the fighters were OK. The one fighter that won was a bit of a cocky dude who left his opponent bleeding from the nose, mouth and upper part of the eye. But despite winning, he too had scored quite an injury; a massive bump on the one side of his head that looked more like a rendition of "Aliens" or "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". He looked to have instantly grown another half a head!!!
6. All the while I was watching the boxing fights and chatting with other UP Boxing Club members, I kept on getting interrupted by various people who randomly asked me to pose for pictures, offered me their business cards, or to congrats me on my last fight. One notoriously known boxing manager approached me and asked me to make an appearance at his boxing club in Seoul and so I'm considering it. My buddies from the club thought it hilarious how one camera man and his assistant continually insisted on stalking me with their large camera. They were all up in my face and so although it was funny at first, it got a bit annoying after cause my buddies didn't want to stand with me while the camera "stalked" me. I had been standing beside this one particularly odd woman who insisted on wearing leather black pants, an awful orange sweater and large dark sunglasses. She was a bit too much into herself but we all burst into laughter when she mistook the camera man following her instead of me. Upon realizing it, she turned, gave me the once-over, gave a little smirk, and then walked away.
7. Kicks arrived with just minutes before Panty Boy Jr. were to strut his stuff and do his notoriously cocky catwalk on the stage... hahaha. I laugh because he always comes across as so arrogant and rude when he has fights but when I train or hang with him, he's got to be one of the most sincere, sweet and polite young men I've ever met. He's so far from cocky but he likes to play up the bad boy punk image for the crowd and the cameras... it definitely gets them going too!
8. In the first round Kicks and I held our breath as he left himself open and took some punches but in the second round, oh gosh... in the second round it was lights out for his opponent!!! Panty Boy Jr. knocked his opponent out in the second round and we all yelled and jumped for joy. Everyone, including Panty Boy Jr., was shocked. I had joked with him prior to his fight and told him, "I want you to kill him". Of course I don't mean literally kill him but it's kind of an inside joke we got going on with our teammates. Koreans always say "fighting" but I thought I'd kick it up a notch and say "kill". It's more or less has become our team saying now. No sooner did he step out of the ring but then he turned and asked me, "Did I kill him?" "Yes... and it was beautiful!"
9. The joke of the night afterwards was the thought that I got more camera time than Panty Boy Jr. who was the main match tonight... hahaha. Q texted me, as did many other friends, to tell me that they saw me on TV tonight and loved my close-ups... hahaha.
10. And after I finally returned home to Cheonan and tucked myself in my bedding, I texted Panty Boy Jr. and thanked him for the awesome show tonight. He responded by thanking me for coming and called me the future female champion, which only reinstated just how awesome of a teammate he is and how so deserving he is of his new champion title.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is success to you?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it.
-- Author Unknown
2. Pumpkin Cheeks, Little Miss Sunshine and I loaded up the car and headed off to Panty Boy Jr.'s fight today. With an expected two hour drive ahead, I loaded up my bag with Korean homework but the drive ended up turning into a three hour ordeal.
3. Arrived to what felt like the opposite corner of Korea and low and behold there was Panty Boy Jr. getting all prepared for his fight. Junior Mint was there with him, as where a whole cluster of other UP Boxing Club members and fans. Kicks was fighting the crazy Korean subway system but had told me that she'd come out too, cool.
4. Panty Boy Jr. was the main fight for today and so we all eagerly awaited with much anticipation for his fight. His fight was going to be shown live on MBC ESPN Spots and so that was pretty exciting. They had this wicked stage set up for all the fighters to come out when their name was announced. Fire shot out of the sides, lights flashed and the music blasted with each new fighter who was announced. I stood far to the right of the stage but could definitely feel the heat from the stage fire. It was awesome.
5. The fight before Panty Boy Jr. was definitely a brutal bloody butchering. Both fighters had bloody faces and after about round 6, they had to continually pause the fight to clean up the blood and ensure that the fighters were OK. The one fighter that won was a bit of a cocky dude who left his opponent bleeding from the nose, mouth and upper part of the eye. But despite winning, he too had scored quite an injury; a massive bump on the one side of his head that looked more like a rendition of "Aliens" or "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". He looked to have instantly grown another half a head!!!
6. All the while I was watching the boxing fights and chatting with other UP Boxing Club members, I kept on getting interrupted by various people who randomly asked me to pose for pictures, offered me their business cards, or to congrats me on my last fight. One notoriously known boxing manager approached me and asked me to make an appearance at his boxing club in Seoul and so I'm considering it. My buddies from the club thought it hilarious how one camera man and his assistant continually insisted on stalking me with their large camera. They were all up in my face and so although it was funny at first, it got a bit annoying after cause my buddies didn't want to stand with me while the camera "stalked" me. I had been standing beside this one particularly odd woman who insisted on wearing leather black pants, an awful orange sweater and large dark sunglasses. She was a bit too much into herself but we all burst into laughter when she mistook the camera man following her instead of me. Upon realizing it, she turned, gave me the once-over, gave a little smirk, and then walked away.
Motor Cross: You're like Oprah.
Me: Haha... I'm not quite as big as her.
Motor Cross: Hmm... yes. You're only 53kg.
(he meant how people know me on a first name bases like a celebrity but note what was lost in translation here... "not as popular" as opposed to size... hahaha)
7. Kicks arrived with just minutes before Panty Boy Jr. were to strut his stuff and do his notoriously cocky catwalk on the stage... hahaha. I laugh because he always comes across as so arrogant and rude when he has fights but when I train or hang with him, he's got to be one of the most sincere, sweet and polite young men I've ever met. He's so far from cocky but he likes to play up the bad boy punk image for the crowd and the cameras... it definitely gets them going too!
8. In the first round Kicks and I held our breath as he left himself open and took some punches but in the second round, oh gosh... in the second round it was lights out for his opponent!!! Panty Boy Jr. knocked his opponent out in the second round and we all yelled and jumped for joy. Everyone, including Panty Boy Jr., was shocked. I had joked with him prior to his fight and told him, "I want you to kill him". Of course I don't mean literally kill him but it's kind of an inside joke we got going on with our teammates. Koreans always say "fighting" but I thought I'd kick it up a notch and say "kill". It's more or less has become our team saying now. No sooner did he step out of the ring but then he turned and asked me, "Did I kill him?" "Yes... and it was beautiful!"
9. The joke of the night afterwards was the thought that I got more camera time than Panty Boy Jr. who was the main match tonight... hahaha. Q texted me, as did many other friends, to tell me that they saw me on TV tonight and loved my close-ups... hahaha.
10. And after I finally returned home to Cheonan and tucked myself in my bedding, I texted Panty Boy Jr. and thanked him for the awesome show tonight. He responded by thanking me for coming and called me the future female champion, which only reinstated just how awesome of a teammate he is and how so deserving he is of his new champion title.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is success to you?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it.
-- Author Unknown
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Sunday, February 22
1. Have you ever had one of those days where you just wanted to pull the covers over your head and wish it away? Well, today was that day for me. But no matter how many times I tried to repeatedly buried my head in my covers, the day just wouldn't pass as fast as I wanted it to.
2. Spontaneously decided to play hide-and-seek and so I hid in my closet. I guess I should have told a certain someone that we were playing a game... don't ask... hahaha.
3. Officially labeled myself the queen of hide-and-go-seek after I managed to contort my body, stuff myself into my small carry-on suitcase, and zip it up... again, don't ask... hahaha.
4. A lot of stupidness went down today, stupidness that I don't really want to talk about but for the sake of keeping my homepage updated, I've agreed to mention it. And yes, I know "stupidness" is not a real word... easy there tiger.
5. Got word that Drama Boy broke up last week with overly-jealous, borderline psycho girlfriend and I fought my urge today to text him "Congrats!". We've all been there, done that, had the brutal relationship that left you thinking "what was I doing?!" afterwards so I guess this is his turn.
6. So much for needing to find a sports massage therapist, turns out I have my own personal masseuse that does house-calls... wicked. Scored a foot massage, a full back and a shoulder massage... sweet. He left me feeling like a total human vegetable, I couldn't move after, but it was so good.
7. After my game last week, I granted myself one week of "sinful eating"... one week of conscious-free indulging in whatever I wanted and whenever I wanted it. I can't say it's been totally sinful though. I ate cream pasta yesterday which isn't so bad but it's a killer to my usual clean eating.
8. Hmm.. let's see, what did I eat that was so out-of-the-norm for me this week:
10. I'm way too preoccupied with my weight, I know. I blame it partly on the fact that Junior Mint weighs me twice a day, six days a week, but I know I am to blame for it too. I'm not afraid of becoming overweight, it's quite the opposite actually. I'm frustrated. Yes, I am at a point of frustration. Where my body is, where my body should be and where I want my body to be seems to be three different places and it's frustrating. But I promised myself something this year and so regardless of how frustrated I get, I am reminded of the promise I made myself on New Year's Eve.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
High-tech tomatoes, mysterious milk, supersquash... are we supposed to eat this stuff or is it going to eat us?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
My favorite animal is steak.
-- Fran Lebowitz
2. Spontaneously decided to play hide-and-seek and so I hid in my closet. I guess I should have told a certain someone that we were playing a game... don't ask... hahaha.
3. Officially labeled myself the queen of hide-and-go-seek after I managed to contort my body, stuff myself into my small carry-on suitcase, and zip it up... again, don't ask... hahaha.
4. A lot of stupidness went down today, stupidness that I don't really want to talk about but for the sake of keeping my homepage updated, I've agreed to mention it. And yes, I know "stupidness" is not a real word... easy there tiger.
5. Got word that Drama Boy broke up last week with overly-jealous, borderline psycho girlfriend and I fought my urge today to text him "Congrats!". We've all been there, done that, had the brutal relationship that left you thinking "what was I doing?!" afterwards so I guess this is his turn.
6. So much for needing to find a sports massage therapist, turns out I have my own personal masseuse that does house-calls... wicked. Scored a foot massage, a full back and a shoulder massage... sweet. He left me feeling like a total human vegetable, I couldn't move after, but it was so good.
7. After my game last week, I granted myself one week of "sinful eating"... one week of conscious-free indulging in whatever I wanted and whenever I wanted it. I can't say it's been totally sinful though. I ate cream pasta yesterday which isn't so bad but it's a killer to my usual clean eating.
8. Hmm.. let's see, what did I eat that was so out-of-the-norm for me this week:
- Baskin Robin's ice cream (it was large but I had an eating partner help me)9. Tomorrow my week of sinful eating ends and honestly I'm looking forward to it. Tonight I ordered in a small pizza and ate half of it. It was loaded with sweet potato and tasted delish but I felt so bloated afterwards. I know it's kind of sad to say this but eating has kind of lost it's appeal to me. I no longer eat to really enjoy the food but to feed my body. I eat out of necessity and so while most people would be turned off eating the same foods everyday like I do, I really don't mind it. I have a different purpose in mind when I eat. I'm more preoccupied with bettering my body in the long run than the ten minutes or so of satisfaction that comes with the average meal most, and I hate this word, "normal" people eat.
- one vanilla milkshake
- two large size Coffee Bean coffees
- a whole whack of peanut butter
- a chocolate bar (which I ended up dropping half of it)
- a glass of red wine with a plate of cream pasta
- a couple of handfuls of caramel popcorn
10. I'm way too preoccupied with my weight, I know. I blame it partly on the fact that Junior Mint weighs me twice a day, six days a week, but I know I am to blame for it too. I'm not afraid of becoming overweight, it's quite the opposite actually. I'm frustrated. Yes, I am at a point of frustration. Where my body is, where my body should be and where I want my body to be seems to be three different places and it's frustrating. But I promised myself something this year and so regardless of how frustrated I get, I am reminded of the promise I made myself on New Year's Eve.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
High-tech tomatoes, mysterious milk, supersquash... are we supposed to eat this stuff or is it going to eat us?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
My favorite animal is steak.
-- Fran Lebowitz
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Saturday, February 21
1. Fell asleep last night in the strangest of positions as a result of not wanting to disturb Mi Nam from what looked like a very slumber sleep. But waking up in that same position meant I had gone from 28 to 80 in a matter of seconds when I tried to sit up... ouch!!!
2. A pinched nerve in my back combined with skipping and boxing didn't exactly result in a winning equation and instead resulted with a lot of "ohhhhh" and "ahhhh". So training was a bust today. I painfully barely got through thirty minutes of skipping and a couple of rounds of shadow boxing before I stopped... in frustration and in a lot of pain. It was too much.
3. Definitely have to find some kind of sports massage therapist in Cheonan.
4. I've got a new friend, Kicks, and she's cooler than cool so be jealous... be very jealous... hahaha. She's a stunning rugby player who just spent a month down in Thailand at a kind of Mauy Thai boot camp, which I'm totally jealous of... hahaha. It's about time I finally found a sports-minded girl friend. I'm so sick of those "I'm-all-about-my-boyfriend" girls or those girls who's hobbies consist of drinking and coffee shop jumping. So running into Kicks was quite refreshing and so unexpected.
5. Anyways, today she came to Cheonan and so I took her to check out my boxing club. Tang, Junior Mint, and Panty Boy Jr. were there when we arrived and so we all got chatting. She doesn't speak Korean though, mind ya, she lives in Itaewon. If Songtan is Little America than Itaewon is Big America in Korea.
6. We chatted up a storm over a plate of Cheonan's best pasta, courtesy of Dono Marco.
7. Favourite restaurants in Cheonan:
8. Hearing about Kick's amazing travel stories and whatnot made me think I've been living under a rock for the past four years, seriously. I need to get out more. Kicks is planning on going to go to Hong Kong at the end of March to watch an international rugby tournament and so I'm thinking about joining her on this trip. Why not, right?! After all, what's the point of making all this money and having so much time off work if you aren't going to do anything with it?!!! My fear is that I'm going to leave Korea with no real memories except for those I made in the boxing ring or in my classroom. I need more than just that. And with so many beautifully amazing countries just a short plane ride away, it's about time I branched out and explored what God has so easily put on my doorstep.
9. Kicks kicks... hahaha. We had such a great time and I can't even begin to tell you how great it was to finally meet someone who's also so into sports and training. I introduced her to Mi Nam and Mi Nam was totally lovin' her too... hahaha. Kicks left Cheonan with probably more of Mi Nam's fur on her clothes than that left on Mi Nam... hahaha.
10. Later in the evening I ended up meeting up with Q. He suggested we go catch a flick and so we checked out "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons". It was an interesting flick but a tad bit too long for my liking. To tell you the truth though, I found it rather depressing. The thought of this main character growing older while he watches those around him get older and die was sad.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where do you want to go?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
2. A pinched nerve in my back combined with skipping and boxing didn't exactly result in a winning equation and instead resulted with a lot of "ohhhhh" and "ahhhh". So training was a bust today. I painfully barely got through thirty minutes of skipping and a couple of rounds of shadow boxing before I stopped... in frustration and in a lot of pain. It was too much.
3. Definitely have to find some kind of sports massage therapist in Cheonan.
4. I've got a new friend, Kicks, and she's cooler than cool so be jealous... be very jealous... hahaha. She's a stunning rugby player who just spent a month down in Thailand at a kind of Mauy Thai boot camp, which I'm totally jealous of... hahaha. It's about time I finally found a sports-minded girl friend. I'm so sick of those "I'm-all-about-my-boyfriend" girls or those girls who's hobbies consist of drinking and coffee shop jumping. So running into Kicks was quite refreshing and so unexpected.
5. Anyways, today she came to Cheonan and so I took her to check out my boxing club. Tang, Junior Mint, and Panty Boy Jr. were there when we arrived and so we all got chatting. She doesn't speak Korean though, mind ya, she lives in Itaewon. If Songtan is Little America than Itaewon is Big America in Korea.
6. We chatted up a storm over a plate of Cheonan's best pasta, courtesy of Dono Marco.
7. Favourite restaurants in Cheonan:
1. Mainz = Awesome, if not the best, Korean BBQ food served in a pub-like cozy
atmosphere.
2. Dono Marco = Probably the only Korean who's mastered real pasta. It's served up in small place but very modern place and the fact that the owner/cook always comes to say goodbye and thank you to me is the perfect way to cap off the meal.
3. Abis = A beautiful large old house that's been turned into a restaurant that's ultra romantic at night, especially if you score one of their patio tables. Their pizza and pasta are great but it's more so about the atmosphere.
4. California Roll = A trendy second floor restaurant that serves an assortment of mouth-watering California rolls.
5. Shabu-Shabu (the one beside my building) = Shabu-shabu is beef, vegetables and noodles cooked in a big delicious broth. This family-operated restaurant is always packed so go there early.
6. Spicy Chicken = It's a run-down corner restaurant that looks ghetto with it's 5 tables but they serve up the meanest plate of spicy chicken that will leave your tongue numb and tummy smiling.
7. JeJu Island Restaurant = This hot spot is located downtown but is somewhat camouflaged but beyond it's initial hidden gate, it opens up to a large house/restaurant. They bombard you with side dishes, the most delicious fried fish, and the lady of the place has a nak for remembering faces and generously giving out smiles.
8. Hearing about Kick's amazing travel stories and whatnot made me think I've been living under a rock for the past four years, seriously. I need to get out more. Kicks is planning on going to go to Hong Kong at the end of March to watch an international rugby tournament and so I'm thinking about joining her on this trip. Why not, right?! After all, what's the point of making all this money and having so much time off work if you aren't going to do anything with it?!!! My fear is that I'm going to leave Korea with no real memories except for those I made in the boxing ring or in my classroom. I need more than just that. And with so many beautifully amazing countries just a short plane ride away, it's about time I branched out and explored what God has so easily put on my doorstep.
9. Kicks kicks... hahaha. We had such a great time and I can't even begin to tell you how great it was to finally meet someone who's also so into sports and training. I introduced her to Mi Nam and Mi Nam was totally lovin' her too... hahaha. Kicks left Cheonan with probably more of Mi Nam's fur on her clothes than that left on Mi Nam... hahaha.
10. Later in the evening I ended up meeting up with Q. He suggested we go catch a flick and so we checked out "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons". It was an interesting flick but a tad bit too long for my liking. To tell you the truth though, I found it rather depressing. The thought of this main character growing older while he watches those around him get older and die was sad.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where do you want to go?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
Friday, February 20, 2009
Look who's sporting the baby bump!!!Say hello to one of my lovely ladies, the ever so cute, ever so funny Andi. She and I have been best buds since about grade two. If Andi did something, most likely I'd do it too, and likewise with her... not anymore though. We're quite the polar opposites now. She's got the house in the sticks with the hubby, the 9-5 job, and the baby on the way. I have the downtown loft on the other side of the globe with the dog, the 9-1 job that's here today but may be gone tomorrow, and am living a more "fly-by-night" single's life.
Highlights of my Day... Friday, February 20
1. Well I got so far as to shower, get dolled up and put my boots on, but just as I was about to open up my apartment door, my cell phone rang. It was the Cheonan Trump's assistant, the First Lady as I like to call her. Meeting canceled.
2. Got lots of slaps on the bum today at Hongik... hahaha. I don't know what it is with these Korean ajjumas (older women) but they always seem to get all touchy-feely with me at random times. Today it was over my fight and when I told them I tied my game, instantly Hongik's weight training room turned into a men's football locker room with about a dozen or so Korean ajjumas eagerly slapping me on the bum.
3. Change of plans with my friend Nat. She's coming tomorrow instead. She called me up to apologize and we started gabbing about numerous things. Unlike me, Nat travels a lot, something I wish I did but haven't because I really don't have anyone to travel with. Q never has more than a couple of days off in a row and most of my friends don't have the needed money. I have both, money and time, but I'm not really into traveling alone. It's not even a matter of safety, it's a matter of wanting to make memories with someone as opposed to sitting on some beautiful exotic beach with no one to chat it up with. Nat just might be the traveling buddy I've been needing.
4. Took a boxing pad to the side of my lip which only served to leave yet another bruise on my face... great. Just add it to the collection.
5. Motor Cross dropped by the boxing club. He use to be quite the cutie but has been on this huge diet kick lately. Mind ya, he's more or less popping pills as opposed to really dieting and losing the weight through exercising. He's quite proud of all the weight he's lost and so he proudly whipped up his shirt to show me but, honestly, I thought he was more attractive when he had a bit of pudge on him.
6. Panty Boy Jr. has his big title match this upcoming Monday night and so I'm stoked about that.
7. I'm still somewhat the Polish Smirf and I didn't think it was so bad until I met up with Buff Boy the Original and I caught my reflection in a mirror. I looked like one of those double-faced circus freaks. The right side of my face looks normal but my left side is a different story. I joked and told him that we're like beauty and the beast, me being the beast, but reassured him that in a couple of days I'll return to being the beauty and so he'll have to do something about his beastly looks... hahaha.
8. We had originally met up for coffee but coffee turned into me spilling my beans about things and then he insisted we go out for dinner, where he then spilled his beans. He took me out to one of my favourite restaurants for cheese tak galbi (cheese chicken). Buff Boy the Original has this "I'm honest" mentality that he thinks justifies why he's got absolutely no strainer on his mouth. And thankfully for me, I was just about finished my meal because when he started spilling his beans.. oh gosh.
9. For the sake of my homepage having quite the variety of readers, including my mother and whatnot, I'll refrain from regurgitating some of his stories. But I will say this, Buff Boy the Original left Korea for over a year and, in doing so, he really tried to "experience" what was out there... the good, the bad, the pretty, and the oh so down-right-ugly... and apparently he's got quite the collection of Polaroids to prove it... hahaha.
10. I never considered Buff Boy the Original to be an innocent boy, I always knew there was a wild streak in him but never in a million years did I ever think he'd do the things he did while away and then tell his mother!!! Oh gosh. And with his story about the Polaroids, I burst out into a complete giggle fest. I had a small cup of coffee in my hand but by the time we reached the stop lights, I had most of it on my hands from laughing so hard. I must have laughed for ten straight minutes all the while Buff Boy the Original walked beside me and hid his face in his hoodie... hahaha. My giggle fest lasted from when we left the restaurant, to us checking out the movie times in the theater, to me arriving at my apartment elevator... a full downtown walk... hahaha.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did you ever think 10 years ago that you'd be here today?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-- Marcel Proust
2. Got lots of slaps on the bum today at Hongik... hahaha. I don't know what it is with these Korean ajjumas (older women) but they always seem to get all touchy-feely with me at random times. Today it was over my fight and when I told them I tied my game, instantly Hongik's weight training room turned into a men's football locker room with about a dozen or so Korean ajjumas eagerly slapping me on the bum.
3. Change of plans with my friend Nat. She's coming tomorrow instead. She called me up to apologize and we started gabbing about numerous things. Unlike me, Nat travels a lot, something I wish I did but haven't because I really don't have anyone to travel with. Q never has more than a couple of days off in a row and most of my friends don't have the needed money. I have both, money and time, but I'm not really into traveling alone. It's not even a matter of safety, it's a matter of wanting to make memories with someone as opposed to sitting on some beautiful exotic beach with no one to chat it up with. Nat just might be the traveling buddy I've been needing.
4. Took a boxing pad to the side of my lip which only served to leave yet another bruise on my face... great. Just add it to the collection.
5. Motor Cross dropped by the boxing club. He use to be quite the cutie but has been on this huge diet kick lately. Mind ya, he's more or less popping pills as opposed to really dieting and losing the weight through exercising. He's quite proud of all the weight he's lost and so he proudly whipped up his shirt to show me but, honestly, I thought he was more attractive when he had a bit of pudge on him.
6. Panty Boy Jr. has his big title match this upcoming Monday night and so I'm stoked about that.
7. I'm still somewhat the Polish Smirf and I didn't think it was so bad until I met up with Buff Boy the Original and I caught my reflection in a mirror. I looked like one of those double-faced circus freaks. The right side of my face looks normal but my left side is a different story. I joked and told him that we're like beauty and the beast, me being the beast, but reassured him that in a couple of days I'll return to being the beauty and so he'll have to do something about his beastly looks... hahaha.
8. We had originally met up for coffee but coffee turned into me spilling my beans about things and then he insisted we go out for dinner, where he then spilled his beans. He took me out to one of my favourite restaurants for cheese tak galbi (cheese chicken). Buff Boy the Original has this "I'm honest" mentality that he thinks justifies why he's got absolutely no strainer on his mouth. And thankfully for me, I was just about finished my meal because when he started spilling his beans.. oh gosh.
9. For the sake of my homepage having quite the variety of readers, including my mother and whatnot, I'll refrain from regurgitating some of his stories. But I will say this, Buff Boy the Original left Korea for over a year and, in doing so, he really tried to "experience" what was out there... the good, the bad, the pretty, and the oh so down-right-ugly... and apparently he's got quite the collection of Polaroids to prove it... hahaha.
10. I never considered Buff Boy the Original to be an innocent boy, I always knew there was a wild streak in him but never in a million years did I ever think he'd do the things he did while away and then tell his mother!!! Oh gosh. And with his story about the Polaroids, I burst out into a complete giggle fest. I had a small cup of coffee in my hand but by the time we reached the stop lights, I had most of it on my hands from laughing so hard. I must have laughed for ten straight minutes all the while Buff Boy the Original walked beside me and hid his face in his hoodie... hahaha. My giggle fest lasted from when we left the restaurant, to us checking out the movie times in the theater, to me arriving at my apartment elevator... a full downtown walk... hahaha.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did you ever think 10 years ago that you'd be here today?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-- Marcel Proust
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Not only does he not care for football and not leave his stuff laying around every where but he loves me even when I have bruises on my face, he always wants to be by my side, and on a chilly day like today, he always shares his sweater with me and cuddles.
He IS the best guy a girl could ever possibly wish for!
Highlights of my Day... Thursday, February 19
1. Woke up, opened my eyes and did my usual "Good morning Cheonan" stretch at the top of my stairs but instead of being greeted by a downtown full of scurrying Cheonanites, I was greeted by snow. Looks like Canada has landed in Korea... minus all the warm-faced friends and people I love.
2. And so I decided to hibernate in my house for as long as I possibly could today.
3. My attempt at catching up with my Korean diary writing crashed and burned today as I accidentally crashed on the floor. I had purposely taken today off of Korean tutoring for the sole purpose of catching up on homework. I totally blame it on Mi Nam though. With his round bulging belly the temptation to cuddle up to him and doze off was just too great for me today... hahaha.
4. My days of leisurely lazying around the house are slowly but surely coming to an end, I know this. Today I got a reminder of it too in a couple of emails sent to me from former university students of mine. They emailed me asking me about my class schedule, hoping that they'd register for one.
5. Tomorrow my friend Nat is hoping to come visit me here in Cheonan if she gets all her work visa stuff done and so I started thinking, how the heck am I going to entertain her here in Cheonan?! You see, no one really comes to Cheonan. People usually leave it to go find fun elsewhere. Hmmm... I can think of a handful of great restaurants but beyond that I'm kind of stumped, partly because of the bad weather and partly because, well, it's Cheonan... hahaha.
6. After taking but one single day off training and considering my success this past Tuesday, I was sure I'd be greeted with a happy Junior Mint who'd insist I take it easy tonight at training... no such luck. No sooner did I enter the boxing club but he yelled at me, telling me that I shouldn't have taken a day off training and insisting that I weigh-in. Weigh-in?! I thought my days of dreading the scale were over for the time being and with no game scheduled, considering, I thought I'd be scale-free for awhile.
7. New idea Junior Mint is juggling: fight me as a light/junior flyweight, meaning I'd have to drop down to about 48kgs... yikes.
8. And so much for the idea of light training tonight, Junior Mint drilled me and pushed me around on pad work. My face has healed a lot but it's still somewhat tender to the touch so getting hit by a pad to the side of my face felt greeeeeeeeeeeeat.
9. Yesterday I got a phone call from my friend Satoshi in Japan. He called to wish me a huge congrats and we talked about Black Skinny's upcoming fight, to be held in Japan. I was hoping to attend it but now it looks like all hope may be crushed. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed on this one but it's scheduled for a Monday in April and, well, I have classes on Monday... not that I sneaked a peek at the schedule that is.
10. After training I took Mi Nam out for a late night jog around the neighborhood. It had started snowing again and so the little guy got soaked in the snow. He loved it though. Upon arriving back at my building, it was clear that he was way beyond dirty. His beautiful coat went from white to dark gray. I ended up running into this one guy who lives on the 17th floor of my building. I didn't remember him but he remembered Mi Nam's name and gave Mi Nam some of his bread. Nice. Mi Nam shows up looking like a filthy beast and scores the attention of hot guys and cute girls but I get no love even remotely like that... nice, real nice. It's definitely a dog's life!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How many dog years are in one human year?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.
-- Samuel Butler
2. And so I decided to hibernate in my house for as long as I possibly could today.
3. My attempt at catching up with my Korean diary writing crashed and burned today as I accidentally crashed on the floor. I had purposely taken today off of Korean tutoring for the sole purpose of catching up on homework. I totally blame it on Mi Nam though. With his round bulging belly the temptation to cuddle up to him and doze off was just too great for me today... hahaha.
4. My days of leisurely lazying around the house are slowly but surely coming to an end, I know this. Today I got a reminder of it too in a couple of emails sent to me from former university students of mine. They emailed me asking me about my class schedule, hoping that they'd register for one.
5. Tomorrow my friend Nat is hoping to come visit me here in Cheonan if she gets all her work visa stuff done and so I started thinking, how the heck am I going to entertain her here in Cheonan?! You see, no one really comes to Cheonan. People usually leave it to go find fun elsewhere. Hmmm... I can think of a handful of great restaurants but beyond that I'm kind of stumped, partly because of the bad weather and partly because, well, it's Cheonan... hahaha.
6. After taking but one single day off training and considering my success this past Tuesday, I was sure I'd be greeted with a happy Junior Mint who'd insist I take it easy tonight at training... no such luck. No sooner did I enter the boxing club but he yelled at me, telling me that I shouldn't have taken a day off training and insisting that I weigh-in. Weigh-in?! I thought my days of dreading the scale were over for the time being and with no game scheduled, considering, I thought I'd be scale-free for awhile.
7. New idea Junior Mint is juggling: fight me as a light/junior flyweight, meaning I'd have to drop down to about 48kgs... yikes.
8. And so much for the idea of light training tonight, Junior Mint drilled me and pushed me around on pad work. My face has healed a lot but it's still somewhat tender to the touch so getting hit by a pad to the side of my face felt greeeeeeeeeeeeat.
9. Yesterday I got a phone call from my friend Satoshi in Japan. He called to wish me a huge congrats and we talked about Black Skinny's upcoming fight, to be held in Japan. I was hoping to attend it but now it looks like all hope may be crushed. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed on this one but it's scheduled for a Monday in April and, well, I have classes on Monday... not that I sneaked a peek at the schedule that is.
10. After training I took Mi Nam out for a late night jog around the neighborhood. It had started snowing again and so the little guy got soaked in the snow. He loved it though. Upon arriving back at my building, it was clear that he was way beyond dirty. His beautiful coat went from white to dark gray. I ended up running into this one guy who lives on the 17th floor of my building. I didn't remember him but he remembered Mi Nam's name and gave Mi Nam some of his bread. Nice. Mi Nam shows up looking like a filthy beast and scores the attention of hot guys and cute girls but I get no love even remotely like that... nice, real nice. It's definitely a dog's life!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How many dog years are in one human year?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.
-- Samuel Butler
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, February 18
1. Woke up to discover that although the swelling in my left eye has gone down dramatically, apparently the colouring in my face has also changed. I am now the Polish smurf... nice. Blotches of blueish-gray have shown up above the one corner of my lip and there's another blotch of blue that streaks across my left check.
2. Despite looking like I just had a bad run-in with a blue marker, I headed out to immigration today to ask for an extension on my work visa. I didn't anticipate running into anyone I knew, considering my lack of "foreign-involvement" here in Cheonan, and so I didn't think too much about my face. Well, it was all fine and dandy until two young guys started to talk to me. Turns out they're new coworkers of mine, great. "Please don't look at my face" I found myself repeatedly saying.
3. I must have looked like some spousal abuse victim because this one guy and his girlfriend offered to help me out, or show me pity if I was the victim they assumed I was. Regardless, the guy was sweet enough to direct me in the immigration and so I took my number and waited. I was number 114 and after an hour they had gone from 30 to 51. "Oh my gosh" I thought to myself, "this is going to take all day!!!" But just then, the girlfriend in that couple I had talked to earlier came up to me and offered me her number. "They took my boyfriend and us together... so I thought you could use my number" she said. I gave her a thanks but it was quickly followed up with a huge smile when I noticed what her number was.... 56, sweet!!!
4. Well it's official, I am legally allowed to stay in Korea for another month while I wait for all my paperwork for my work visa renewal to come from Canada.... sweet.
5. Being questioned if I was OK by a couple of LotteMart ladies who gave me a couple of "what's wrong with her face?!" looks sent me into hiding mode and so I scooted around LotteMart covering my face with a loaf of bread... hahaha.
6. Later in the day, after I had given my house a good cleaning, I laid down with Mi Nam and enjoyed my freedom. No fight to train for, no place I had to be, no meeting I had to race off to... I had absolutely nothing to do. Basking in the enjoyment of that thought only lasted for so long until I felt I needed to get up and do something.
7. I've been neglecting my Korean diary writing for a couple of days now and so I had three day's worth of writing to catch up on, not exactly easy or fun.
8. Got treated to chumchi kimchi jjigga (tuna stew) tonight and it was simply devine! Oh how I missed my chumchi kimchi jjigga... hahaha.
9. Milked the offers of free massages tonight and was left feeling like a complete jellyfish after one too many massages. I'm not really experiencing much pain from my fight actually but my face is a bit sore to touch and my neck is a tad bit stiff. I figured after a month of twice a day training I was due for a day off. Apparently Junior Mint didn't completely agree with me on that one and so in addition to him drilling my teammates about what I was up to, he also sent Q to seek me out and then he flooded my phone with numerous text messages.
10. But despite the numerous messages and whatnot, I simply refused to go into training. I had earned this day off and after getting my head bashed in for a good eight minutes, I figure it'd do me good to lay low for one day. I knew days like this would be limited and my success with my fight would only raise the expectations and demands put on me by others. So tonight I did absolutely nothing but pop in a movie and finish off the ice cream I received yesterday. I watched a movie starring the ever-so-beautiful Hyun Bin. I think the English translation of the title is "A Millionaire's First Love", or something like that. It was about this rich spoiled guy (Hyun Bin) who's forced to change schools and graduate in order to get his due inheritance but, in doing so, he falls in love with a girl who later he finds out is dying and was his childhood love. And yes, I will admit it, I did shed some tears.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How long am I going to be the Polish smurf?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I am not a has-been. I am a will be.
-- Lauren Bacall
2. Despite looking like I just had a bad run-in with a blue marker, I headed out to immigration today to ask for an extension on my work visa. I didn't anticipate running into anyone I knew, considering my lack of "foreign-involvement" here in Cheonan, and so I didn't think too much about my face. Well, it was all fine and dandy until two young guys started to talk to me. Turns out they're new coworkers of mine, great. "Please don't look at my face" I found myself repeatedly saying.
3. I must have looked like some spousal abuse victim because this one guy and his girlfriend offered to help me out, or show me pity if I was the victim they assumed I was. Regardless, the guy was sweet enough to direct me in the immigration and so I took my number and waited. I was number 114 and after an hour they had gone from 30 to 51. "Oh my gosh" I thought to myself, "this is going to take all day!!!" But just then, the girlfriend in that couple I had talked to earlier came up to me and offered me her number. "They took my boyfriend and us together... so I thought you could use my number" she said. I gave her a thanks but it was quickly followed up with a huge smile when I noticed what her number was.... 56, sweet!!!
4. Well it's official, I am legally allowed to stay in Korea for another month while I wait for all my paperwork for my work visa renewal to come from Canada.... sweet.
5. Being questioned if I was OK by a couple of LotteMart ladies who gave me a couple of "what's wrong with her face?!" looks sent me into hiding mode and so I scooted around LotteMart covering my face with a loaf of bread... hahaha.
6. Later in the day, after I had given my house a good cleaning, I laid down with Mi Nam and enjoyed my freedom. No fight to train for, no place I had to be, no meeting I had to race off to... I had absolutely nothing to do. Basking in the enjoyment of that thought only lasted for so long until I felt I needed to get up and do something.
7. I've been neglecting my Korean diary writing for a couple of days now and so I had three day's worth of writing to catch up on, not exactly easy or fun.
8. Got treated to chumchi kimchi jjigga (tuna stew) tonight and it was simply devine! Oh how I missed my chumchi kimchi jjigga... hahaha.
9. Milked the offers of free massages tonight and was left feeling like a complete jellyfish after one too many massages. I'm not really experiencing much pain from my fight actually but my face is a bit sore to touch and my neck is a tad bit stiff. I figured after a month of twice a day training I was due for a day off. Apparently Junior Mint didn't completely agree with me on that one and so in addition to him drilling my teammates about what I was up to, he also sent Q to seek me out and then he flooded my phone with numerous text messages.
10. But despite the numerous messages and whatnot, I simply refused to go into training. I had earned this day off and after getting my head bashed in for a good eight minutes, I figure it'd do me good to lay low for one day. I knew days like this would be limited and my success with my fight would only raise the expectations and demands put on me by others. So tonight I did absolutely nothing but pop in a movie and finish off the ice cream I received yesterday. I watched a movie starring the ever-so-beautiful Hyun Bin. I think the English translation of the title is "A Millionaire's First Love", or something like that. It was about this rich spoiled guy (Hyun Bin) who's forced to change schools and graduate in order to get his due inheritance but, in doing so, he falls in love with a girl who later he finds out is dying and was his childhood love. And yes, I will admit it, I did shed some tears.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How long am I going to be the Polish smurf?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I am not a has-been. I am a will be.
-- Lauren Bacall
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Notice the "N" in the middle of his shirt... it's splattered with my blood.I had chomped down too hard on my mouth guard during the fight and, unknown to me, it meant that I had brutally cut the inside of my mouth and bit a huge chunk of skin from the inside.
My blood was all over his shirt, both the front and the back, and my shirt as well... nice.
Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, February 17
1. I couldn't really sleep last night, it was like Christmas all over again, minus the cheery good feeling that comes with knowing there's presents, cabbage rolls, and whatnot. This was like a nightmare version of Christmas. I had tossed and turned in my bedding and had the strangest of dreams. In my dream I was fighting but had noticed that I put my boxing shorts on backwards and so they all laughed as I stopped the fight to take them off and fix them.
2. I barely stomached my breakfast and so trying to eat anything else prior to my fight was out of the question. Q tried to make me eat a chocolate bar but I ended up spitting it out. I've never been so overwhelmed with such conflicting emotions. I was happy, ecstatic, nervous, scared, but proud. I knew that no matter what, win or lose, I had already won in that I was about to do what so many people wouldn't even have the balls, so to speak, to do.
3. When we arrived at the arena, we scrambled to find a place for us to get busy gearing up and prepping for the fight. Another boxer from my club was fighting today and so his wife and kids came along. Together we sat behind a curtain on stage, waiting for our fight to be called. Unlike him however, my fight was on stand-by, which meant they didn't know when they were going to slot me in. .. dang KBS. Junior Mint was a bit annoyed at this, as was I, because it meant that if I was too down the list than my fight wouldn't appear on TV. And, as fate would have it, I ended up being last on the list. Had MBC Sports been covering the fights, I definitely would have got a lot of air time, considering the agreement I have with them. But today, it was KBS running the show.
4. I tried to stay focus and keep to myself prior to my game but coach had me situated in the corner of the stage and so I kept peering out. I had such a perfect view of the fights from there. I ended up chatting a bit with some of the guys watching the fights. One even asked to take a picture with me, that was cool. I made him literally pinky-swear to me that he'd cheer loud for me when it was my fight.
5. It's crazy... I'm convinced. I'm convinced you have to be a bit nuts to willingly go in front of a massive crowd and let some other athlete beat on you! At one point I turned to Q and asked, "What's wrong with me? Why do I love this stuff?!" Seriously though, it's a love hate relationship that I'll never fully understand. I mean, there I was, nervously sweating it out, feeling like I wanted to both run away from the ring and jump into it at the same time! I told Q, "I just want to fight... I don't care what the answer to the fight is." I knew I was already going against numerous odds.... this being Korea, my opponent having way more experience and plenty of wins, I assumed the crowd were all leaning towards my opponent... etc. I assumed I was the underdog.
6. There were two other foreign girls who fought before me and both got smoked. Then I watched in horror as the guy from my club got the snot knocked out of him in the second round. Second round KO... brutal. I instantly shed my face from the sight of his hands being tossed up into the air and I covered my ears so that I couldn't hear him crash unto the ring floor. "I'll show them... I can do this" I kept on telling myself.
7. Finally my time came. Before we approached the ring, I turned to Q and told him that no matter what the outcome of the fight was, I needed him to tell me after that he's proud of me. "Don't leave me alone after!" I added. Then I followed Q and together we stepped up into the ring. "This is it" I told myself, "... this is what I've wanted". As Q stepped out of the ring I turned and looked at him and Junior Mint. "I love you guys!" I told them. Junior Mint responded with "I love you too" and then it was game on.
8. At one point in the game I got called for holding and so that ticked me off considering what else had been going on at that moment. We had kind of exchanged a couple of nasty words. In my frustration, I lost a bit of my focus and bit down hard on my mouth guard. I don't remember much of the fight except for the fact that I kept on trying to push her into the corner so that I could drill her. It went so fast and after the forth round I went back to my corner. Q eagerly picked me up and spun me around. He was so sure I had won. I, on the other hand, knew I had messed up by repeatedly dropping my left guard and wasn't sure of a win but felt I had given it my all.
9. My game ended in a tie and my opponent's coach insisted that I keep the trophy. It wasn't until later, when the show was over and the crowd had died down that I was approached by many who insisted that I was the real winner. It felt awesome hearing their words and it made me feel all that more eager to jump back into training and prepare for another fight. On the way home I watched my fight on my camera. I wasn't so much watching it as I was listening to those in the background, those cheering for me. Q and Junior Mint had been yelling their heads off but I could make out a couple of key guys in the background repeatedly yelling out my name and encouraging me. I'll never forget that because here I always thought I was fighting alone. Junior Mint and Q were so proud of me and so all the way home they kept on throwing me smiles and winks in the car. I couldn't wait to get back to the club though. I wanted nothing more than to put my trophy in the club window and have it sit beside the many trophies Black Skinny and Panty Boy have won. Tomorrow's morning sun would come shine down on it, my teammates would see it, and it'd always be there to remind me to never give up. And to think, almost a year ago today this very same situation, a fight, was what had shattered my heart and yet here I am today, a totally different fighter.
10. Before I made my way home though and showered, Junior Mint insisted that I head out for dinner. Turns out a couple of the guys were waiting to celebrate with me. Unfortunately, regardless of how hungry I was, I couldn't really open my jaw. I had bit down too hard and for too long on my mouth guard during the fight and now was struggling to laugh... hahaha. I did however manage to eat ice cream later on... but then again, it was ice cream and there are always exceptions made for ice cream!!!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why do we continually like to scare ourselves... scary movies, roller coasters..?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.
-- Author Unknown
2. I barely stomached my breakfast and so trying to eat anything else prior to my fight was out of the question. Q tried to make me eat a chocolate bar but I ended up spitting it out. I've never been so overwhelmed with such conflicting emotions. I was happy, ecstatic, nervous, scared, but proud. I knew that no matter what, win or lose, I had already won in that I was about to do what so many people wouldn't even have the balls, so to speak, to do.
3. When we arrived at the arena, we scrambled to find a place for us to get busy gearing up and prepping for the fight. Another boxer from my club was fighting today and so his wife and kids came along. Together we sat behind a curtain on stage, waiting for our fight to be called. Unlike him however, my fight was on stand-by, which meant they didn't know when they were going to slot me in. .. dang KBS. Junior Mint was a bit annoyed at this, as was I, because it meant that if I was too down the list than my fight wouldn't appear on TV. And, as fate would have it, I ended up being last on the list. Had MBC Sports been covering the fights, I definitely would have got a lot of air time, considering the agreement I have with them. But today, it was KBS running the show.
4. I tried to stay focus and keep to myself prior to my game but coach had me situated in the corner of the stage and so I kept peering out. I had such a perfect view of the fights from there. I ended up chatting a bit with some of the guys watching the fights. One even asked to take a picture with me, that was cool. I made him literally pinky-swear to me that he'd cheer loud for me when it was my fight.
5. It's crazy... I'm convinced. I'm convinced you have to be a bit nuts to willingly go in front of a massive crowd and let some other athlete beat on you! At one point I turned to Q and asked, "What's wrong with me? Why do I love this stuff?!" Seriously though, it's a love hate relationship that I'll never fully understand. I mean, there I was, nervously sweating it out, feeling like I wanted to both run away from the ring and jump into it at the same time! I told Q, "I just want to fight... I don't care what the answer to the fight is." I knew I was already going against numerous odds.... this being Korea, my opponent having way more experience and plenty of wins, I assumed the crowd were all leaning towards my opponent... etc. I assumed I was the underdog.
6. There were two other foreign girls who fought before me and both got smoked. Then I watched in horror as the guy from my club got the snot knocked out of him in the second round. Second round KO... brutal. I instantly shed my face from the sight of his hands being tossed up into the air and I covered my ears so that I couldn't hear him crash unto the ring floor. "I'll show them... I can do this" I kept on telling myself.
7. Finally my time came. Before we approached the ring, I turned to Q and told him that no matter what the outcome of the fight was, I needed him to tell me after that he's proud of me. "Don't leave me alone after!" I added. Then I followed Q and together we stepped up into the ring. "This is it" I told myself, "... this is what I've wanted". As Q stepped out of the ring I turned and looked at him and Junior Mint. "I love you guys!" I told them. Junior Mint responded with "I love you too" and then it was game on.
8. At one point in the game I got called for holding and so that ticked me off considering what else had been going on at that moment. We had kind of exchanged a couple of nasty words. In my frustration, I lost a bit of my focus and bit down hard on my mouth guard. I don't remember much of the fight except for the fact that I kept on trying to push her into the corner so that I could drill her. It went so fast and after the forth round I went back to my corner. Q eagerly picked me up and spun me around. He was so sure I had won. I, on the other hand, knew I had messed up by repeatedly dropping my left guard and wasn't sure of a win but felt I had given it my all.
9. My game ended in a tie and my opponent's coach insisted that I keep the trophy. It wasn't until later, when the show was over and the crowd had died down that I was approached by many who insisted that I was the real winner. It felt awesome hearing their words and it made me feel all that more eager to jump back into training and prepare for another fight. On the way home I watched my fight on my camera. I wasn't so much watching it as I was listening to those in the background, those cheering for me. Q and Junior Mint had been yelling their heads off but I could make out a couple of key guys in the background repeatedly yelling out my name and encouraging me. I'll never forget that because here I always thought I was fighting alone. Junior Mint and Q were so proud of me and so all the way home they kept on throwing me smiles and winks in the car. I couldn't wait to get back to the club though. I wanted nothing more than to put my trophy in the club window and have it sit beside the many trophies Black Skinny and Panty Boy have won. Tomorrow's morning sun would come shine down on it, my teammates would see it, and it'd always be there to remind me to never give up. And to think, almost a year ago today this very same situation, a fight, was what had shattered my heart and yet here I am today, a totally different fighter.
10. Before I made my way home though and showered, Junior Mint insisted that I head out for dinner. Turns out a couple of the guys were waiting to celebrate with me. Unfortunately, regardless of how hungry I was, I couldn't really open my jaw. I had bit down too hard and for too long on my mouth guard during the fight and now was struggling to laugh... hahaha. I did however manage to eat ice cream later on... but then again, it was ice cream and there are always exceptions made for ice cream!!!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why do we continually like to scare ourselves... scary movies, roller coasters..?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.
-- Author Unknown
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