1. It was a bad day, for the most part that is, and I just couldn't shake some things. I hadn't slept well on account that I let some of yesterday's words and whatnot get too deep under my skin. However, today ended up being a day full of advice. It started off with a dream about my Korean culture professor from University. “Remember one thing, keep your mind open in Korea because Korea is the land of one people – Koreans” I’ll never forget him telling me this. It was on my last day of class, still some time before I would actually head out to Korea. I had told him that I needed to go get my head out of these books and experience Korea for myself. Another professor told me once, “Just because something is different doesn’t mean it is wrong”, this too has stuck in my head. Trying to use their words of wisdom in my life has been hard but I’m trying.
2. Another person who offered up advice was Junior Mint. He gave Snickers advice, telling him to take extra care with me.
3. It was just one of those days when I really wanted and really needed to be alone, so I jumped on an express bus to Seoul.
4. I went shopping.
5. Returned to Cheonan, headed to Coffee Bean for some peace and quiet and a good cup of strong coffee. My good cup of strong coffee was rudely interrupted by some random Korean guy peering over at me. I tried to ignore him but it was pretty hard to continue to do so when he invited himself to sit down at my table.
6. When he had the nerve to ask for a sip of my coffee, I didn’t say anything but instead held up my fist. It was pretty clear my answer was no.
7. Unknown to this uninvited stranger at my table, I figured out that he wasn’t quite a stranger after all. It’s been three years since I’ve seen him and I thought it rather ironic to note that back then I tried hard to talk to him but he ignored me. Yet here we were tonight, me trying to ignore him and he trying his hardest to get me to talk. Where I know him from is my boxing club. He’s part Japanese, part Korean, and I remember him because he use to be the “wanktta” (loner) at my boxing club. He trained really hard, had a super hard body, but just as hard as he trained he tried equally hard to remain anti-social and not talk.
8. Had to recruit help via text messages… hahaha. I had been sitting there for about 40 minutes trying to get this guy to get the drift to leave but was unsuccessful. I think the fact that I knew him from before was the only reason why I didn’t just come out and tell him off. He said he wanted to practice English conversation with me but I tried to stick to only speaking Korean.
9. Not only did Cherry Pie come to my rescue but so did her husband and so did Snickers.
10. Was back to feeling myself, so Snickers and I walked around downtown, got some street food and then enjoyed some of Baskin Robins’ good old loving ice cream in a dish.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you ever have 'one-of-those-days'?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
-- William James
As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).
After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.
Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.
2 comments:
having one of those days right now :( hope yours gets better from here.
Yo Becca,
Sorry for the late response but ya, it did get better from there. How about yours?
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