Cruising downtown with my Korean baby...
... and my dad... and my two nieces.Saturday, July 30, 2011
A Family Affair... Saturday, July 30
Headed to Toronto with my dad and Snickers to attend one of my brother's wedding receptions. Turns out they got married way back on Valentine's Day and had kept it a secret. I somewhat understand why the secret considering the bigger situation at play with my mom's health but I doubt I could have kept that a secret for so long.
Snickers was thrilled to see Little R again, as he's labelled her his favourite. She's still the silent one that I first met last year but now she's actually able to talk.
So while Snickers hugged and kissed Little R I was being cuddled and loved by Big E. Both Little R and Big E wore matching dresses, had their hair all dolled up, and were even sporting nail polish and make-up. And to think I wasn't allowed to wear make-up until I was 18!!!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why are kids so fast to grow up?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
In youth we learn; in age we understand.
-- Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach
The wedding reception was at a beautiful restaurant in Toronto and many of my extended family members showed up... even my mother showed up!!! Because of my mother's critical condition she's been having to prepare for this evening for a long time now, making sure she got plenty of rest, the doctor's ok, specific instructions made known, and numerous precautions made. She really needed this though; she's been looking forward to this event for months now and I honestly believe the anticipation of it all has been kind of like medicine for her soul.
I finally got to meet my brother's wife at the reception so that was cool, and I got to meet my other brother's new baby girl. She's a tiny one with very little baby pudge on her but I can tell my older brother is already so in love with her.
About a month ago my oldest brother had another baby girl, making this little one his third girl.
Snickers was thrilled to see Little R again, as he's labelled her his favourite. She's still the silent one that I first met last year but now she's actually able to talk. 
So while Snickers hugged and kissed Little R I was being cuddled and loved by Big E. Both Little R and Big E wore matching dresses, had their hair all dolled up, and were even sporting nail polish and make-up. And to think I wasn't allowed to wear make-up until I was 18!!!QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why are kids so fast to grow up?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
In youth we learn; in age we understand.
-- Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach
Friday, July 29, 2011
One More Hug Please... Friday, July 29
Helped my mother pick out the flowers for her funeral today.
“Am I the only one freaked out by this scene?” I asked Snickers as my mom continued to talk with the visiting florist. But this is the reality, my mother is dying.
I’ve been in Canada only two days now but the harsh reality of my mother’s illness has hit me like a ton of bricks and is sinking in. She’s been fighting cancer now for a couple of years and I knew she was doing really bad but when they told me she’s in the palliate care wing of the hospital I knew it was bad. I’m relieved to know she’s not in any pain. They’re not treating her with any drugs or any kind of treatment; they’re just making sure she’s comfortable.
She’s had a lot of time to mentally prepare herself for the enviable but those of us around her seem to be doing worse than her, mentally. Both Snickers and I are staying at my parents’ house, so I’ve been cooking up a storm for my dad, making sure he eats well, eats right and eats at all. We’ve loaded up his fridge and cupboards with foods that we’ve promised to teach him how to cook and when we’re not at the hospital by my mom’s side we’re at home by my father’s side. Visiting friends and going out to have fun aren't even a thought in my mind right now because heaven help I go somewhere, something happens and my dad can't get a hold of me.
It’s been a year since I last saw my mother and thank God she was sleeping when I arrived at the hospital to see her. She’s no longer the curvaceous woman with the long luscious brown locks. Instead, she’s sporting a short bob cut and is much tinier than me, dropping from 250lbs to about 110lbs.
She’s still my mom, just a smaller and sleepier version.
My concern though is with my father, the faithfully devoted man who has made my mom the apple of his eye for over 40 years. For over 40 years my mom has ruled his universe and they’ve been unsperateable. I don’t know how he’s continued on for as long as he has and how he’s been so strong with the situation regarding my mother. I don’t know if I could do the same if I were in the same situation and Snickers was sick. It’d crush my spirit and I’d probably just sleep the days away. My father continues to be strong though and I think he really needed us to come visit him, if not to help him around the house but to give him a break from the sad situation at hand.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Would you rather know or not know?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I love you Canada mom.
-- Snickers
“Am I the only one freaked out by this scene?” I asked Snickers as my mom continued to talk with the visiting florist. But this is the reality, my mother is dying.
I’ve been in Canada only two days now but the harsh reality of my mother’s illness has hit me like a ton of bricks and is sinking in. She’s been fighting cancer now for a couple of years and I knew she was doing really bad but when they told me she’s in the palliate care wing of the hospital I knew it was bad. I’m relieved to know she’s not in any pain. They’re not treating her with any drugs or any kind of treatment; they’re just making sure she’s comfortable.
She’s had a lot of time to mentally prepare herself for the enviable but those of us around her seem to be doing worse than her, mentally. Both Snickers and I are staying at my parents’ house, so I’ve been cooking up a storm for my dad, making sure he eats well, eats right and eats at all. We’ve loaded up his fridge and cupboards with foods that we’ve promised to teach him how to cook and when we’re not at the hospital by my mom’s side we’re at home by my father’s side. Visiting friends and going out to have fun aren't even a thought in my mind right now because heaven help I go somewhere, something happens and my dad can't get a hold of me.
It’s been a year since I last saw my mother and thank God she was sleeping when I arrived at the hospital to see her. She’s no longer the curvaceous woman with the long luscious brown locks. Instead, she’s sporting a short bob cut and is much tinier than me, dropping from 250lbs to about 110lbs.
She’s still my mom, just a smaller and sleepier version.
My concern though is with my father, the faithfully devoted man who has made my mom the apple of his eye for over 40 years. For over 40 years my mom has ruled his universe and they’ve been unsperateable. I don’t know how he’s continued on for as long as he has and how he’s been so strong with the situation regarding my mother. I don’t know if I could do the same if I were in the same situation and Snickers was sick. It’d crush my spirit and I’d probably just sleep the days away. My father continues to be strong though and I think he really needed us to come visit him, if not to help him around the house but to give him a break from the sad situation at hand.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Would you rather know or not know?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I love you Canada mom.
-- Snickers
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Great Race... Wednesday, July 27
Almost didn't make it to Canada but titling this entry as "the Great Race" doesn't quite fit cause though it's tale now makes for a great story, it was anything but great when it was occurring.
So here's what was supposed to go down:
8am bus to Incheon Airport
10am arrive at the airport and check-in
12:40pm fly to Japan... then to San Francisco, and then to Toronto, Canada.
Snickers stayed up all night so that he wouldn't miss our bus and I was sure the 8am bus would get us there with plenty of time. Well, we got the 8am bus but plenty of time wasn't in the cards.
It started raining during the bus ride. It rained and rained... and flooded. It flooded the streets, stopping cars in their tracks and causing numerous accidents. No word of a lie, buses parked beside the river in Seoul were 80% under water!!!
Our expected two-hour bus ride turned into three but when the driver got out of the bus I knew something was up. Traffic had come to a complete halt and the 7am bus was only but two cars ahead of us.
"There is no way I'm missing our flight!" I told Snickers and with that we decided to jump off the bus.
The bus driver showed pity on us and gave us his umbrella. We then grabbed our luggage, jumped over the highway barrier and ran across four lanes of oncoming highway traffic only to walk 20 minutes back the way we came but on the shoulder of the highway.
Running INTO highway traffic and then ALONG side it... I definitely don't recommend that to anyone!!!
Twenty minutes back was a subway entrance. Snickers jumped the subway entrance gate, as did I. Security alarms sounded but we kept on going, like I said there was no way we were going to miss our flight. We were on a mission. Jumping the entrance and hitching a free ride means you have to jump the exit and so we did, even with a full crowd of people witnessing the whole thing. When we finally arrived to the airport we checked-in but we then had to head over to another terminal, a forty minute commute within the airport vaccinities.
Turns out we weren't the only ones late so a lot of flights out of Korea had been delayed. Boarded our 12:40pm flight at exactly 12:52pm. We were the very last to board but we probably were the happiest people to board that flight.
... and the rest was smooth sailing, well smooth flying in this case.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's worth the fight for to you?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Just do it.
-- Nike
So here's what was supposed to go down:
8am bus to Incheon Airport
10am arrive at the airport and check-in
12:40pm fly to Japan... then to San Francisco, and then to Toronto, Canada.
Snickers stayed up all night so that he wouldn't miss our bus and I was sure the 8am bus would get us there with plenty of time. Well, we got the 8am bus but plenty of time wasn't in the cards.
It started raining during the bus ride. It rained and rained... and flooded. It flooded the streets, stopping cars in their tracks and causing numerous accidents. No word of a lie, buses parked beside the river in Seoul were 80% under water!!!
Our expected two-hour bus ride turned into three but when the driver got out of the bus I knew something was up. Traffic had come to a complete halt and the 7am bus was only but two cars ahead of us.
"There is no way I'm missing our flight!" I told Snickers and with that we decided to jump off the bus.
The bus driver showed pity on us and gave us his umbrella. We then grabbed our luggage, jumped over the highway barrier and ran across four lanes of oncoming highway traffic only to walk 20 minutes back the way we came but on the shoulder of the highway.
Running INTO highway traffic and then ALONG side it... I definitely don't recommend that to anyone!!!
Twenty minutes back was a subway entrance. Snickers jumped the subway entrance gate, as did I. Security alarms sounded but we kept on going, like I said there was no way we were going to miss our flight. We were on a mission. Jumping the entrance and hitching a free ride means you have to jump the exit and so we did, even with a full crowd of people witnessing the whole thing. When we finally arrived to the airport we checked-in but we then had to head over to another terminal, a forty minute commute within the airport vaccinities.
Turns out we weren't the only ones late so a lot of flights out of Korea had been delayed. Boarded our 12:40pm flight at exactly 12:52pm. We were the very last to board but we probably were the happiest people to board that flight.
... and the rest was smooth sailing, well smooth flying in this case.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's worth the fight for to you?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Just do it.
-- Nike
Monday, July 25, 2011
I Want to Feel Beautiful... Monday, July 25
The other night it was Snickers' birthday so I put on my best and strutted out the door proudly with my gorgeous man by my side. I thought I was looking rather pretty -- and pretty uncomfortable too in a cocktail dress that was dangerously short. When our dinner finished and I stepped out of the restaurant I couldn't help but overhear the comments of some girls outside.
They said I looked like a man in a dress.
Snickers was still inside the restaurant, paying the bill, so I was out there all alone with a bunch of onlookers watching to see if I'd react. I didn't say anything to Snickers when he joined me outside, nor did I say anything when he asked me what was wrong. But when the girls gave a shocked look, shocked that a Korean man was with me, they made me go from feeling like a man in a dress to a cheap prostitute. You see so many Korean women with Western men but when Korean men date Western women it's so often responded with confussion, as if us Western women are out of their league.
I'll tell you what's out of my league, stupid rude comments like that!
Snickers didn't know what was really going on cause he was on his cell but if I had told him he would have punched them square in the head, no questions asked. I didn't tell him the full story until we got home.
"Do you ever wish I was skinny?" I asked him.
"No, I love your Polish bum... plus if you skinny we no can wrestle" was his response.
So often I feel so out of place in Korea and not because I'm a foreigner but because of my boxing and weight training. I'll never be that skinny girl with stick-thin arms and equally thin legs and I don't want to be either. Mind ya, because I don't fit the stereotypical "pretty girl" label that Korea has created it often leaves me struggling with trying to look pretty.
I live but only a strone-throw away from my weight training gym but I tell ya, it feels like the walk of shame every time I go to and from that place. A guy stopped his car the other day and rolled down his window so that he could get a better look at me. He looked at me with such a confused look and I felt so mad to be feeling so out of place.
"I eat healthy, I train hard and yet the girl who is pencil thing and white as a ghost is viewed as physically beautiful in this country... that's whacked!" I once told Snickers.
This week I'm heading to Canada for a bittersweet visit. I'll be traveling to the very opposite side of this globe, where the women are strong and the men who love them admire and respect that.
I'm looking forward to freely being able to wear a tank top without random strangers fondling my arms or looking at me as if I'm some kind of side show circus freak. I'm looking forward to going out with my husband -- yes, a Korean man -- without people questioning or being confused as to how a Korean man "landed" a foreign woman.
I'm looking forward to feeling free to feel beautiful again.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What makes you feel beautiful?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
They said I looked like a man in a dress.
Snickers was still inside the restaurant, paying the bill, so I was out there all alone with a bunch of onlookers watching to see if I'd react. I didn't say anything to Snickers when he joined me outside, nor did I say anything when he asked me what was wrong. But when the girls gave a shocked look, shocked that a Korean man was with me, they made me go from feeling like a man in a dress to a cheap prostitute. You see so many Korean women with Western men but when Korean men date Western women it's so often responded with confussion, as if us Western women are out of their league.
I'll tell you what's out of my league, stupid rude comments like that!
Snickers didn't know what was really going on cause he was on his cell but if I had told him he would have punched them square in the head, no questions asked. I didn't tell him the full story until we got home.
"Do you ever wish I was skinny?" I asked him.
"No, I love your Polish bum... plus if you skinny we no can wrestle" was his response.
So often I feel so out of place in Korea and not because I'm a foreigner but because of my boxing and weight training. I'll never be that skinny girl with stick-thin arms and equally thin legs and I don't want to be either. Mind ya, because I don't fit the stereotypical "pretty girl" label that Korea has created it often leaves me struggling with trying to look pretty.
I live but only a strone-throw away from my weight training gym but I tell ya, it feels like the walk of shame every time I go to and from that place. A guy stopped his car the other day and rolled down his window so that he could get a better look at me. He looked at me with such a confused look and I felt so mad to be feeling so out of place.
"I eat healthy, I train hard and yet the girl who is pencil thing and white as a ghost is viewed as physically beautiful in this country... that's whacked!" I once told Snickers.
This week I'm heading to Canada for a bittersweet visit. I'll be traveling to the very opposite side of this globe, where the women are strong and the men who love them admire and respect that.
I'm looking forward to freely being able to wear a tank top without random strangers fondling my arms or looking at me as if I'm some kind of side show circus freak. I'm looking forward to going out with my husband -- yes, a Korean man -- without people questioning or being confused as to how a Korean man "landed" a foreign woman.
I'm looking forward to feeling free to feel beautiful again.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What makes you feel beautiful?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I'm always flattered when people recognize me but having this dude in way too tight clothing that looks painted on and having him yell out "Amy boxer" at me in a pack grocery store was kind of embarrassing... equally hilarious though!!!
His buddy got in on the action.I don't drink and I absolutely hate beer but I took their taste test cups of beer to be nice but moreso to get out of the embarrassing spotlight... hahaha.
Attack of the Cass Man... Sunday, July 24
Sporting a buzz while grocery shopping wasn't exactly what I was planning for but that's exactly what happened. After I was recognized by one of the taste test beer dudes I had no choice but to politely take his taste test sample. He stood there watching while I took a sip.
Then the other sample guy called me over. He was representing a different beer. I counted four of these sample dudes, two for each beer being sampled today.
Snickers and I aren't drinkers and I personally rather suck on my own toes than down some beer. I had been given four samples from the four differen sample dudes and with each one I only sipped a little and then passed it on to Snickers.
Grocery shopping on an empty stomach isn't a good thing, not only because it means you'll buy things you want to eat then as oppose to planned on buying plus it could lead you into trouble... like today.
Ending up having to sit out for a bit while Snickers and I waited out the buzz of the taste test samples. Dang. And leave it to me to be ultra giggly when ever a tiny remote drop of liquor touches my lips. I must have broke out into way too many Raffi songs and animal impersonations... hahaha.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why do people like beer so much?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Why is American beer served cold? So you can tell it from urine.
-David Moulton
Then the other sample guy called me over. He was representing a different beer. I counted four of these sample dudes, two for each beer being sampled today.
Snickers and I aren't drinkers and I personally rather suck on my own toes than down some beer. I had been given four samples from the four differen sample dudes and with each one I only sipped a little and then passed it on to Snickers.
Grocery shopping on an empty stomach isn't a good thing, not only because it means you'll buy things you want to eat then as oppose to planned on buying plus it could lead you into trouble... like today.
Ending up having to sit out for a bit while Snickers and I waited out the buzz of the taste test samples. Dang. And leave it to me to be ultra giggly when ever a tiny remote drop of liquor touches my lips. I must have broke out into way too many Raffi songs and animal impersonations... hahaha.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why do people like beer so much?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Why is American beer served cold? So you can tell it from urine.
-David Moulton
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Got all dolled up for my husband's birthday celebration tonight -- dinner for two.
He insisted that I don't buy him a birthday cake or gift but after I picked up the bill for the dinner there was hardly any cash left in my purse to buy anything else. He got four orders of meat, an order of dwanjung-jjigga (soup with rice), and nangmyoung (cold noodles)... enough to feed five adults. Dang, feeding this Korean hottie is expensive.
Birthday Wishes... Saturday, July 23
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday my dear hunk-a-hunk-of-burning love.
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
Today marked Snickers' birthday. He turned 27 today and I spent it quite proudly today, knowing full well that I've got a younger man to keep me young. He's four years younger than me and I love it.
I love you Snickers!!! I love you like a Dairy Queen blizzard after a piano recital, a hot cup of coffee on a rainy day, a crackling fire on a cold winter night... yup, I love you a lot. Sometimes I think I love you too much.
"I crazy love you squared" is his response to me telling him this.
Gosh... with your broken English you're just too damn cute!!!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What more could you ask for?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.
-- Author Unknown
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday my dear hunk-a-hunk-of-burning love.
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
Today marked Snickers' birthday. He turned 27 today and I spent it quite proudly today, knowing full well that I've got a younger man to keep me young. He's four years younger than me and I love it.
I love you Snickers!!! I love you like a Dairy Queen blizzard after a piano recital, a hot cup of coffee on a rainy day, a crackling fire on a cold winter night... yup, I love you a lot. Sometimes I think I love you too much.
"I crazy love you squared" is his response to me telling him this.
Gosh... with your broken English you're just too damn cute!!!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What more could you ask for?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.
-- Author Unknown
Friday, July 22, 2011
Like Pulling Off a Bandaid... Friday, July 22
Well, I did it. I experienced my last day of work at both the academy and the daycare.
My time at the daycare concluded with a surprise going away party during class time with my mini-Koreans. Several parents had said their goodbyes to me in the morning, one of which asked me "Honestly, why are you leaving?" to which I told her a simple condensed version of the truth.
It was pain stakingly hard going through the day, knowing that I'd be leaving them for good today but I did it. And I did it without sheding a tear, that is until they threw me a surprise party. The children and my co-teachers had made a special book for me by which every child in my class made a page. On one side of the page was their picture and on the other side they had written a message and drew a picture. I was okay with them one-by-one reading out their messages to me but it was when my co-teacher told them to hug me after presenting their particular page that got me all teary eyed. I tried my hardest to be strong, if not for my own sake but for my mini-Koreans, but it was brutally hard. Many of my mini-Koreans cried. I felt so touched but so sad to be leaving.
"I'm leaving" I reminded myself. I didn't want to leave but I had to. Because of a simple break in contract which administration will never admit to I put a lot of children that mean so much to me, as well as myself, through pure heartache today. I'm still very disappointed with the head manager and especially my program manager, a person who should have been more sportive of me rather than the main discouragement in my job that he quickly evolved into. Professionally speaking, he owes me an applogy. It's much overdue and I've given up waiting for it but I guess that's the price for I pay for not being a fellow drinking buddy or online gaming buddy with my boss.
Sounds bitter yes, but I am not bitter. I'm disappointed and sadden. Oddly enough my disappointment with management only pushed me to work harder, like the geek in high school who went from geek to sheek just to punk off their bully. Everyday since that brutal phone conversation and then again after they broke the contract I've woken up and wanted to quit my job because of not feeling supported or appreciated by upper management. They really let me down but I didn't quit. That'd only give them the upper hand and I knew it'd only hurt myself and those I work hard for -- my co-teachers and mini-Koreans. Hurting them was the last thing I wanted to do because they've been nothing but amazingly supportive, caring and dedicated.
Upper management will never fully understand nor fully appreciate just how great of a team they have at the Bundang location and that's a shame because they have some really, really awesome workers there who continually pour their hearts into their work. I too was one of them and it broke my heart having to say goodbye today.
I try very hard not to mix business with pleasure but it was definitely a huge pleasure being with my mini-Koreans and I will miss them so much. There's one girl in particular who I had anticipated it being extremely hard to say goodbye to today. For the past couple of weeks I've been struggling with this fact. Today she totally broke down during my goodbye party and I couldn't look at her. Her eyes swelled up with tears and then they flowed. They flowed for the next hour and a half. Together we played our usual tag game outside and for a brief moment she forgot all about the fact that I was leaving but then the knowledge of the parting returned.
My time at the daycare came to a sweet ending with Snickers showing up. He joined us for lunch time and then sat with me in the teacher's room while I cleaned up. Both my co-teachers presented to me a card and small gift of appreciation. I gave them a hug, told them I'll miss them but I know this won't be the end of this great friendship. I really admire the two co-teachers I have and have nothing but kind words and lots of support for what they do and who they are. I was a bit sad that my director wasn't in today for me to say goodbye because I will miss her too. Honestly, I will miss everyone who works at the daycare, even the ladies in the kitchen who day-after-day cook up a mean, mean lunch that's so delish!!!
As for the academy, we had a school quiz game today and I gave my class a pizza party to say goodbye. I think what I'll miss most about my part time academy job is the fact that everyone is so relaxed and easy-going. I never felt pressured to do anything so that was my motivation that pushed me to do more. Whether it was staying late to print out and assemble a large board game or writing letters each week to my students, I felt a lot of freedom with my job and my boss really allowed me to be as creative as I wanted. The only real restriction being that I had to use a certain textbook but that was expected.
My academy boss called me into the office before I left. He thanked me for all my hard work and told me that if I ever wanted extra work to give him a call. He said he was sad for seeing me go but was sure we'd meet again. Nice guy but a really great man to work for.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why is there always someone who has to spoil things?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
-- Author Unknown
My time at the daycare concluded with a surprise going away party during class time with my mini-Koreans. Several parents had said their goodbyes to me in the morning, one of which asked me "Honestly, why are you leaving?" to which I told her a simple condensed version of the truth.
It was pain stakingly hard going through the day, knowing that I'd be leaving them for good today but I did it. And I did it without sheding a tear, that is until they threw me a surprise party. The children and my co-teachers had made a special book for me by which every child in my class made a page. On one side of the page was their picture and on the other side they had written a message and drew a picture. I was okay with them one-by-one reading out their messages to me but it was when my co-teacher told them to hug me after presenting their particular page that got me all teary eyed. I tried my hardest to be strong, if not for my own sake but for my mini-Koreans, but it was brutally hard. Many of my mini-Koreans cried. I felt so touched but so sad to be leaving.
"I'm leaving" I reminded myself. I didn't want to leave but I had to. Because of a simple break in contract which administration will never admit to I put a lot of children that mean so much to me, as well as myself, through pure heartache today. I'm still very disappointed with the head manager and especially my program manager, a person who should have been more sportive of me rather than the main discouragement in my job that he quickly evolved into. Professionally speaking, he owes me an applogy. It's much overdue and I've given up waiting for it but I guess that's the price for I pay for not being a fellow drinking buddy or online gaming buddy with my boss.
Sounds bitter yes, but I am not bitter. I'm disappointed and sadden. Oddly enough my disappointment with management only pushed me to work harder, like the geek in high school who went from geek to sheek just to punk off their bully. Everyday since that brutal phone conversation and then again after they broke the contract I've woken up and wanted to quit my job because of not feeling supported or appreciated by upper management. They really let me down but I didn't quit. That'd only give them the upper hand and I knew it'd only hurt myself and those I work hard for -- my co-teachers and mini-Koreans. Hurting them was the last thing I wanted to do because they've been nothing but amazingly supportive, caring and dedicated.
Upper management will never fully understand nor fully appreciate just how great of a team they have at the Bundang location and that's a shame because they have some really, really awesome workers there who continually pour their hearts into their work. I too was one of them and it broke my heart having to say goodbye today.
I try very hard not to mix business with pleasure but it was definitely a huge pleasure being with my mini-Koreans and I will miss them so much. There's one girl in particular who I had anticipated it being extremely hard to say goodbye to today. For the past couple of weeks I've been struggling with this fact. Today she totally broke down during my goodbye party and I couldn't look at her. Her eyes swelled up with tears and then they flowed. They flowed for the next hour and a half. Together we played our usual tag game outside and for a brief moment she forgot all about the fact that I was leaving but then the knowledge of the parting returned.
My time at the daycare came to a sweet ending with Snickers showing up. He joined us for lunch time and then sat with me in the teacher's room while I cleaned up. Both my co-teachers presented to me a card and small gift of appreciation. I gave them a hug, told them I'll miss them but I know this won't be the end of this great friendship. I really admire the two co-teachers I have and have nothing but kind words and lots of support for what they do and who they are. I was a bit sad that my director wasn't in today for me to say goodbye because I will miss her too. Honestly, I will miss everyone who works at the daycare, even the ladies in the kitchen who day-after-day cook up a mean, mean lunch that's so delish!!!
As for the academy, we had a school quiz game today and I gave my class a pizza party to say goodbye. I think what I'll miss most about my part time academy job is the fact that everyone is so relaxed and easy-going. I never felt pressured to do anything so that was my motivation that pushed me to do more. Whether it was staying late to print out and assemble a large board game or writing letters each week to my students, I felt a lot of freedom with my job and my boss really allowed me to be as creative as I wanted. The only real restriction being that I had to use a certain textbook but that was expected.
My academy boss called me into the office before I left. He thanked me for all my hard work and told me that if I ever wanted extra work to give him a call. He said he was sad for seeing me go but was sure we'd meet again. Nice guy but a really great man to work for.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why is there always someone who has to spoil things?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
-- Author Unknown
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Bad Marriage Advice from a Good Marriage Man... Thursday, July 21
While chatting it up with Snickers in the car, he started to talk about my brother who is getting married next week. Now I should note that I have two brothers but Snickers has taken a real strange liking to one of them in particular. No, neither my brother or Snickers is gay... hahaha.
Snickers is strange and deranged but I wouldn't want him any other way!!!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Love is All Around... Tuesday, July 19
I’ve got love for my mini-Koreans, love for my husband, love for my family and friends – both 2-legged ones and 4-legged ones, love for Ggum Guum, love for my mini-Koreans and kick-a$$ coworkers, love for my boxing and weight training, love for the monsoon season, and I’ve even got love for the gangster wanna-be down the street who randomly follows me down the street in his car and winks.
This Friday I’m resigning from my daycare and finishing my contract with my part time academy job – both of which I have love for but also a love for the ending that’s coming. It’ll be a bittersweet parting, one that I’m sure will be array of mixed emotions and tears.
I have no idea what job I’ll take on next but I have a love for that fact too.
I got offered the writing job I went for but declined it because of the hours. Another offering came from one of my mini-Koreans at the daycare but I’m hesitant as to whether I’ll take it or not because it involves a lot of traveling outside of Korea. I’ve got some more offers too, one from someone off my homepage and others I applied for, but right now I’m in no real rush to sign any contract.
Right now my focus is on getting my Polish butt to Canada, seeing my ill mother and meeting my brother’s soon-to-be wife.
Yup, love is all around and for the spots in my life where it is sour, those spots are slowly but surely being pushed out.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is love all around you?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
To love and be loved is to feel the sunshine on both sides.
-- Author Unknown
This Friday I’m resigning from my daycare and finishing my contract with my part time academy job – both of which I have love for but also a love for the ending that’s coming. It’ll be a bittersweet parting, one that I’m sure will be array of mixed emotions and tears.
I have no idea what job I’ll take on next but I have a love for that fact too.
I got offered the writing job I went for but declined it because of the hours. Another offering came from one of my mini-Koreans at the daycare but I’m hesitant as to whether I’ll take it or not because it involves a lot of traveling outside of Korea. I’ve got some more offers too, one from someone off my homepage and others I applied for, but right now I’m in no real rush to sign any contract.
Right now my focus is on getting my Polish butt to Canada, seeing my ill mother and meeting my brother’s soon-to-be wife.
Yup, love is all around and for the spots in my life where it is sour, those spots are slowly but surely being pushed out.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is love all around you?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
To love and be loved is to feel the sunshine on both sides.
-- Author Unknown
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The average dog here equaled about three of the average sized dogs. They didn't look like dogs either, they were more like horses!!!
Even the puppies were massive, but they were oh so cute!!!
My favorite of them all was this particular dog... a gentle giant.Crazy Big Dogs!!!... Saturday, July 16
Meet up with a super cool, young couple out in Chungju who have a dog farm that specializes in a certain massive breed of dog that originates from Russia. We talked briefly at their house and it was there that I first caught glimpse of one of their dogs.
If you thought Pyen Chi was a massive pup than yikes... calling their dog massive is the understatement of the year!!! Mi Nam looked like he could be a side dish for it!!!
They took us for a little drive to their dog farm where I was overwhelmed by the rows and rows upon rows of dogs in cages. I'm guessing there must have been easily any where from 70 to 100 dogs.
I'm not a fan of keeping dogs caged up but considering the actual massive size of these dogs and the great number of them I felt somewhat relieved to have them in cages. They were quite tame and sweet whenever I approached one of their cages to pet them but upon stepping back and putting my hands in my pocket, they all started to bark.
I met a beautiful mother dog who was nursing eight little pups. Her pups were only about three weeks old but were already sporting massive paws with sharp claws. In the cage next to them was another litter of pups. These particular pups were about a month old and already they looked to be as big as Mi Nam back at Ggum Guum.
Snickers directed most of his attention towards the little pups but a certain dog at the end of the line had caught my attention. He was only 4 years old but was the calmest of them all. The man told me that he was the father of the dog I had met back at his house and the grandfather of the pup Snickers had been holding. What a handsome grandfather I thought to myself. I felt bad for him because his fur was all wet from the intense monsoon season Korea's been having and now he was struggling with the heat. Weighing in at 110kgs and sporting all that long, long fur must be a tough life but he looked quite proud sitting there by himself.
I'm not a fan of long haired dogs, I don't even like touching Pyen Chi's fur. I stuck to petting only the noses of the dogs but with the grandfather looking hindered by the hot weather and his coat changing, I tried to pull out some of his loose fur.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's a better friend to have than a dog?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's.
-- Mark Twain
If you thought Pyen Chi was a massive pup than yikes... calling their dog massive is the understatement of the year!!! Mi Nam looked like he could be a side dish for it!!!
They took us for a little drive to their dog farm where I was overwhelmed by the rows and rows upon rows of dogs in cages. I'm guessing there must have been easily any where from 70 to 100 dogs. I'm not a fan of keeping dogs caged up but considering the actual massive size of these dogs and the great number of them I felt somewhat relieved to have them in cages. They were quite tame and sweet whenever I approached one of their cages to pet them but upon stepping back and putting my hands in my pocket, they all started to bark.
I met a beautiful mother dog who was nursing eight little pups. Her pups were only about three weeks old but were already sporting massive paws with sharp claws. In the cage next to them was another litter of pups. These particular pups were about a month old and already they looked to be as big as Mi Nam back at Ggum Guum.
Snickers directed most of his attention towards the little pups but a certain dog at the end of the line had caught my attention. He was only 4 years old but was the calmest of them all. The man told me that he was the father of the dog I had met back at his house and the grandfather of the pup Snickers had been holding. What a handsome grandfather I thought to myself. I felt bad for him because his fur was all wet from the intense monsoon season Korea's been having and now he was struggling with the heat. Weighing in at 110kgs and sporting all that long, long fur must be a tough life but he looked quite proud sitting there by himself. I'm not a fan of long haired dogs, I don't even like touching Pyen Chi's fur. I stuck to petting only the noses of the dogs but with the grandfather looking hindered by the hot weather and his coat changing, I tried to pull out some of his loose fur.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's a better friend to have than a dog?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's.
-- Mark Twain
Friday, July 15, 2011
Goldie Gets Smacked at the Store... Friday, July 15
And here I thought Asian women were the wrost drivers, that's what my friends in Canada always said, but ironically all the accidents any one of our family of machines -- Goldie, Gotti, Maximus, or Kaito -- have been in they've all been connected to Asian men.
Are Asian men the worst drivers or is it just that there's more of them driving and thus upping the possibilities? Hmmm... all I know is that tonight we got into yet another accident with Goldie, our car. Goldie is a big beast of a woman that was given to us by a boxing sponsorer. She's built like a tank, has plenty of room for us to carry our furry four-legged extended family members and she's never let us down. In a lot of ways she reminds me of my mom's nasty old station wagon that took way too many beatings for it's time but kept on trucking away. I remember once, after my mom had loaded her up with all us kids and her babysitting kids we headed off to the lake but then she choked. My mom had to driver her backwards all the way home and leave it to us kids to think this was the coolest adventure yet!!
But anyways, back to Goldie.
Goldie is a magnet for trouble, we’re convinced of this and the proof is in the number of accidents she’s been in, of which I should note only two were of her wrong doing, and by “her” I mean Snickers being in the driver’s seat.
1. Driver exiting the underground parking tapped our car = minor scratch on the door
2. Unavoidable collision when we slide down an ice-slick hill in winter = scratched front bumper
3. Snickers backed up into a short barrier pole at Adidas = small dent in the side
4. Snickers backed up into a poll at the chicken soup restaurant = small dent in the back
5. While waiting at a red light Snickers was rear ended = scratches on the back bumper
6. Front corner of the car got nicked by some kid on a bike = no damage but a big commotion
7. TODAY’s parking garage minor collision = scratched paint on the side door
Of the seven accidents, only #3 and #4 were Snickers’ fault. Number 2 was unavoidable in that there was nothing we could do but brace ourselves. The weather was brutal, roads were icy and neither the breaks not steering helped. Number 5 scored us a lot of money. Number 7, today’s accident, scored us a full pocket wad full of cash. Personally I felt bad for the guy who hit us in accident number seven. Not only did he just hit our car and dish out money for that but his buddy in the front seat had just puked his brains out both in and outside of the car and his girlfriend in the backseat was giving him a hard time. “And she’s so ugly” Snickers added… hahaha.
Accident number 6 was the scariest though. We were on our way back to Ggum Guum from Snickers’ mother’s house when we made a right hand turn and jetting right into on-coming traffic jetted two teens on bicycles. The first one cleared the front of our car but the second one clipped the front. I didn’t know what part of him had hit the car and it’s not that I was worried about the car, gosh no, but I was thought for sure the hit would make the kid’s bike spin out of control. The particular intersection this occurred at has four lanes of traffic for each direction so the road is 8 lanes wide.
I was freaked out but Snickers was ticked. He spun the car around. It felt like we did a 360 right there on the spot – holy James Bond move!!! What ended up happening was we chased down the two kids, totally ignoring the set of lights and oncoming traffic. I told Snickers to stop but if you know Snickers, you know that once he has something in his head there’s no stopping him.
The two boys and their bikes had stopped at LotteMart so we quickly pulled up beside them and literally jumped out of the car. Snickers gave them an earful, telling them to be more careful unless they want to die young. It was obvious the two boys were shook up, as were both Snickers and I, and they continually apologized. I asked them if they were ok and they said yes but that the one felt sick from the close call.
I seriously felt like I was going to poop my pants when it happened. If that kid had have been one second slower, his bike would have spun out of control and he probably either would have gone under the car and crushed or would have been thrown into the oncoming traffic and hit. But despite the fact these two boys were in the wrong and Snickers wasn’t breaking any road/driving rules when it happened, if they had been seriously hurt it the authorities would have pointed their fingers at him.
“I hope you believe in God” I told the kid, “because tonight you almost died!”
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you believe in God?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I fear one day I'll meet God, he'll sneeze and I won't know what to say.
-- Ronnie Shakes
Are Asian men the worst drivers or is it just that there's more of them driving and thus upping the possibilities? Hmmm... all I know is that tonight we got into yet another accident with Goldie, our car. Goldie is a big beast of a woman that was given to us by a boxing sponsorer. She's built like a tank, has plenty of room for us to carry our furry four-legged extended family members and she's never let us down. In a lot of ways she reminds me of my mom's nasty old station wagon that took way too many beatings for it's time but kept on trucking away. I remember once, after my mom had loaded her up with all us kids and her babysitting kids we headed off to the lake but then she choked. My mom had to driver her backwards all the way home and leave it to us kids to think this was the coolest adventure yet!!
But anyways, back to Goldie.
Goldie is a magnet for trouble, we’re convinced of this and the proof is in the number of accidents she’s been in, of which I should note only two were of her wrong doing, and by “her” I mean Snickers being in the driver’s seat.
1. Driver exiting the underground parking tapped our car = minor scratch on the door
2. Unavoidable collision when we slide down an ice-slick hill in winter = scratched front bumper
3. Snickers backed up into a short barrier pole at Adidas = small dent in the side
4. Snickers backed up into a poll at the chicken soup restaurant = small dent in the back
5. While waiting at a red light Snickers was rear ended = scratches on the back bumper
6. Front corner of the car got nicked by some kid on a bike = no damage but a big commotion
7. TODAY’s parking garage minor collision = scratched paint on the side door
Of the seven accidents, only #3 and #4 were Snickers’ fault. Number 2 was unavoidable in that there was nothing we could do but brace ourselves. The weather was brutal, roads were icy and neither the breaks not steering helped. Number 5 scored us a lot of money. Number 7, today’s accident, scored us a full pocket wad full of cash. Personally I felt bad for the guy who hit us in accident number seven. Not only did he just hit our car and dish out money for that but his buddy in the front seat had just puked his brains out both in and outside of the car and his girlfriend in the backseat was giving him a hard time. “And she’s so ugly” Snickers added… hahaha.
Accident number 6 was the scariest though. We were on our way back to Ggum Guum from Snickers’ mother’s house when we made a right hand turn and jetting right into on-coming traffic jetted two teens on bicycles. The first one cleared the front of our car but the second one clipped the front. I didn’t know what part of him had hit the car and it’s not that I was worried about the car, gosh no, but I was thought for sure the hit would make the kid’s bike spin out of control. The particular intersection this occurred at has four lanes of traffic for each direction so the road is 8 lanes wide.
I was freaked out but Snickers was ticked. He spun the car around. It felt like we did a 360 right there on the spot – holy James Bond move!!! What ended up happening was we chased down the two kids, totally ignoring the set of lights and oncoming traffic. I told Snickers to stop but if you know Snickers, you know that once he has something in his head there’s no stopping him.
The two boys and their bikes had stopped at LotteMart so we quickly pulled up beside them and literally jumped out of the car. Snickers gave them an earful, telling them to be more careful unless they want to die young. It was obvious the two boys were shook up, as were both Snickers and I, and they continually apologized. I asked them if they were ok and they said yes but that the one felt sick from the close call.
I seriously felt like I was going to poop my pants when it happened. If that kid had have been one second slower, his bike would have spun out of control and he probably either would have gone under the car and crushed or would have been thrown into the oncoming traffic and hit. But despite the fact these two boys were in the wrong and Snickers wasn’t breaking any road/driving rules when it happened, if they had been seriously hurt it the authorities would have pointed their fingers at him.
“I hope you believe in God” I told the kid, “because tonight you almost died!”
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you believe in God?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I fear one day I'll meet God, he'll sneeze and I won't know what to say.
-- Ronnie Shakes
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Joking around with my boys at boxing.I should note here that "my boys" here are definitely under age for me to be hanging out with but apparently my silliness ables me to fit right in... hahaha.
Still smiling after a grueling workout and just able to lift our arms after boxing... just the way we like it. Wait, correction needed there... LOVE IT!!!
Still smiling after a grueling workout and just able to lift our arms after boxing... just the way we like it. Wait, correction needed there... LOVE IT!!! Just a Brief Word... Thursday, July 14
On July 27th I'm off to Canada with a brief stop in Tibet. And no, the visit to Tibet isn't to see where my "adopted little one", aka Pyen Chi the Pee Master Beast of Fur is from. I may have adopted her but come on, lets not get silly with that... hahaha.
I'll be in Canada for just over a week, just long enough for me to have to cancel my upcoming muchly anticipated fight.... dang on having to make that call.
Snickers has a fight scheduled for late August so our trip to Canada will be filled with early morning runs and weight training, though I think Snickers might end up trying to use my brother's kids for weight training -- squats with the two little girls on his back, bicep curls with one hanging off each of his arms, that kind of thing... hahaha.
I'll be meeting my brother's fiancee for the first time when we arrive in Canada so that'll be both very weird and very cool. My parents have already met her and they really like her but I'm dying to meet the girl that's tamed my brother. I suppose it'll be no more stranger than showing up after all these years and introducing a total stranger to them as my husband... hahaha.
Life is weird but that's the beauty of it.
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Would you want life any other way?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.
-- from the movie Forrest Gump
I'll be in Canada for just over a week, just long enough for me to have to cancel my upcoming muchly anticipated fight.... dang on having to make that call.
Snickers has a fight scheduled for late August so our trip to Canada will be filled with early morning runs and weight training, though I think Snickers might end up trying to use my brother's kids for weight training -- squats with the two little girls on his back, bicep curls with one hanging off each of his arms, that kind of thing... hahaha.
I'll be meeting my brother's fiancee for the first time when we arrive in Canada so that'll be both very weird and very cool. My parents have already met her and they really like her but I'm dying to meet the girl that's tamed my brother. I suppose it'll be no more stranger than showing up after all these years and introducing a total stranger to them as my husband... hahaha.
Life is weird but that's the beauty of it.
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Would you want life any other way?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.
-- from the movie Forrest Gump
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Busy Little Me... Tuesday, July 12
I’ve been too busy to enjoy the rain. I say enjoy because I do love the rainy days. Beyond the whole comfy feeling of a rainy day, rainy days here in Korea are an especially welcomed quest in my week.
With the monsoon season mixed in with the summer heat, rainy days are truly a blessing. The summer sun here roasts us like ants under a magnifying glass so the rain is a refreshing cool down. Complain about the rain, as most do here in Korea, but if it weren’t for the rain blocking out the brutal sun and it’s skin-frying rays, they’d be all complaining it’s too hot.
I love running in the rain and no, not splashing around in the puddles like a little kid but running as in working-out running. No one’s out on the path but me, no sooner do I work up a sweat but then it’s washed away by Mother Nature, and the added weight of wearing soaked-through clothes ups the intensity of my training.
Rainy days at the daycare however… yikes. Keeping 22 overly active mini-Koreans in a building all day is quite challenging because they do need their outdoor play to run off some energy. They’re good though and I’m going to really miss them when I finish this job. There’s one mini-Korean in particular that I’ll miss and today she stopped me in the hall when we were heading to the bathroom to wash our hands. She stopped me to say “Amy teacher, I love you” and I tell ya, I could have crashed and crumbled right there on the spot. She’s going to be the hardest part of walking away from this job.
With my days at both the daycare and my part time academy job dwindling down, I’ve been looking for a new job. Honestly, my choices here in Korea are pretty much teach English or… teach English. And it’s not that I don’t like teaching English because I really do. It’s that I really don’t have a choice but to teach English that really bothers me. I mean, as a foreigner I really am limited and expected to teach English. I couldn't even work at some run down coffee shop even if I wanted to. Sometimes it seems like getting a "normal" job or any job here that's not some how connected to teaching English seems next to impossible. I'd have a harder time trying to get a minimal coffee shop cashier job than I would getting a teaching position.
The stereotype here in Korea seems to be that if you’re south east Asian you work in an industrial complex, if you are Russian you’re in the sex industry, and if you’re North American, Australian or British you’re an English teacher.
Finding a job that’s outside of the classroom is hard but the other day I scored an interview for a writing job. I thought I’d be in and out of that interview in no time but boy was I wrong. The interview was a bit over 2 hours, of which I spent 20 minutes writing an on-the-spot 700 word expository essay for them. Three people interviewed me, drilled me about my educational and work experience, and then quizzed me with “what-would-you-do-if” situations. I quite liked the intensity of the interview.
I’m on the fence as to whether I really want this job though now because of the details of the job, particularly the hours, are not what I was lead to believe. I’d love to do the job they’re offering and attack all the challenging and brain teasing work it’d imply but I’m not about to let anything beyond my husband and my boxing eat up all my time and effort.
The interview ended with them asking me what my expected pay was and because I wasn’t as optimistic going out of it the interview as I was going in, I threw them a big number. I figured I had nothing to lose.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you love what you do?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
-- Aristotle
With the monsoon season mixed in with the summer heat, rainy days are truly a blessing. The summer sun here roasts us like ants under a magnifying glass so the rain is a refreshing cool down. Complain about the rain, as most do here in Korea, but if it weren’t for the rain blocking out the brutal sun and it’s skin-frying rays, they’d be all complaining it’s too hot.
I love running in the rain and no, not splashing around in the puddles like a little kid but running as in working-out running. No one’s out on the path but me, no sooner do I work up a sweat but then it’s washed away by Mother Nature, and the added weight of wearing soaked-through clothes ups the intensity of my training.
Rainy days at the daycare however… yikes. Keeping 22 overly active mini-Koreans in a building all day is quite challenging because they do need their outdoor play to run off some energy. They’re good though and I’m going to really miss them when I finish this job. There’s one mini-Korean in particular that I’ll miss and today she stopped me in the hall when we were heading to the bathroom to wash our hands. She stopped me to say “Amy teacher, I love you” and I tell ya, I could have crashed and crumbled right there on the spot. She’s going to be the hardest part of walking away from this job.
With my days at both the daycare and my part time academy job dwindling down, I’ve been looking for a new job. Honestly, my choices here in Korea are pretty much teach English or… teach English. And it’s not that I don’t like teaching English because I really do. It’s that I really don’t have a choice but to teach English that really bothers me. I mean, as a foreigner I really am limited and expected to teach English. I couldn't even work at some run down coffee shop even if I wanted to. Sometimes it seems like getting a "normal" job or any job here that's not some how connected to teaching English seems next to impossible. I'd have a harder time trying to get a minimal coffee shop cashier job than I would getting a teaching position.
The stereotype here in Korea seems to be that if you’re south east Asian you work in an industrial complex, if you are Russian you’re in the sex industry, and if you’re North American, Australian or British you’re an English teacher.
Finding a job that’s outside of the classroom is hard but the other day I scored an interview for a writing job. I thought I’d be in and out of that interview in no time but boy was I wrong. The interview was a bit over 2 hours, of which I spent 20 minutes writing an on-the-spot 700 word expository essay for them. Three people interviewed me, drilled me about my educational and work experience, and then quizzed me with “what-would-you-do-if” situations. I quite liked the intensity of the interview.
I’m on the fence as to whether I really want this job though now because of the details of the job, particularly the hours, are not what I was lead to believe. I’d love to do the job they’re offering and attack all the challenging and brain teasing work it’d imply but I’m not about to let anything beyond my husband and my boxing eat up all my time and effort.
The interview ended with them asking me what my expected pay was and because I wasn’t as optimistic going out of it the interview as I was going in, I threw them a big number. I figured I had nothing to lose.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you love what you do?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
-- Aristotle
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Out and About with the Live Stock... Sunday, July 10
Off to Granny Kim’s house we went.
This past week it was K-Gere’s birthday so today we headed off to Granny Kim’s house for what was anticipated as a day of lots of eating, talking, and killing mosquitos.
Let it be known, killing mosquitos while all the doors and windows are open is just flat out pointless and yes, I’d have to rank a mosquito/ fly swatter as one of the most nastiest things in a house… hence why Snickers can’t seem to find his and has “lost” three already. Note the quotes around lost. He didn’t lose them, I just decided they were better stored outside so I threw them out the window from our third floor apartment… hahaha.
Anyways… so off to Granny Kim’s house we went. K-Gere was there, he’s always a big fan of me as is Granny Kim whose hand apparently always finds a way to incorporate a tap on my bum or brush of my leg into any and all situations. Both my sister-in-laws had arrived so the twins were there, as were a couple of Snickers extended family.
It’s official – well in the ears and minds of those in the room – Snickers’ cousin is now to be addressed by the name “Brooklyn”.
It’s also official, Snickers learned a new skill today – how to break into a car. Great, like my bad boy-in-disguise needed to add another skill to his already full list of bad boy things. It came about today when he again – for the third time in 2 months – locked his keys in the car with the car still running. This has happened plenty of times before but being all the way out in no-man’s-land where there’s more rice fields than homes and where the livestock outnumbers us people 7:1, the chances of the insurance company coming to bail us out is right up there with one of the neighboring pigs flying by to catch the commotion.
Besides the dancing by the twins that accompanied the birthday cake and breaking into our own car, we did manage to make rice cake.... well, we paid someone in town to mix it for us and then we spent a good chunk of the afternoon cutting it, rolling it in bean powder and then eating it.
Gotta love Koreans and their hundred and one ways to use rice; I am huge fan of rice cake!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
If your family wasn't your family, would you pick them to be?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Treat your family like friends and your friends like family.”
-- Proverb quotes
This past week it was K-Gere’s birthday so today we headed off to Granny Kim’s house for what was anticipated as a day of lots of eating, talking, and killing mosquitos.
Let it be known, killing mosquitos while all the doors and windows are open is just flat out pointless and yes, I’d have to rank a mosquito/ fly swatter as one of the most nastiest things in a house… hence why Snickers can’t seem to find his and has “lost” three already. Note the quotes around lost. He didn’t lose them, I just decided they were better stored outside so I threw them out the window from our third floor apartment… hahaha.
Anyways… so off to Granny Kim’s house we went. K-Gere was there, he’s always a big fan of me as is Granny Kim whose hand apparently always finds a way to incorporate a tap on my bum or brush of my leg into any and all situations. Both my sister-in-laws had arrived so the twins were there, as were a couple of Snickers extended family.
It’s official – well in the ears and minds of those in the room – Snickers’ cousin is now to be addressed by the name “Brooklyn”.
It’s also official, Snickers learned a new skill today – how to break into a car. Great, like my bad boy-in-disguise needed to add another skill to his already full list of bad boy things. It came about today when he again – for the third time in 2 months – locked his keys in the car with the car still running. This has happened plenty of times before but being all the way out in no-man’s-land where there’s more rice fields than homes and where the livestock outnumbers us people 7:1, the chances of the insurance company coming to bail us out is right up there with one of the neighboring pigs flying by to catch the commotion.
Besides the dancing by the twins that accompanied the birthday cake and breaking into our own car, we did manage to make rice cake.... well, we paid someone in town to mix it for us and then we spent a good chunk of the afternoon cutting it, rolling it in bean powder and then eating it.
Gotta love Koreans and their hundred and one ways to use rice; I am huge fan of rice cake!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
If your family wasn't your family, would you pick them to be?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Treat your family like friends and your friends like family.”
-- Proverb quotes
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Ringside Excitement... Saturday, July 9
Headed to Anyong for a lot of blood, sweat and tears – live boxing.
I’ll never get sick of watching live boxing...
I’ll never get sick of standing for hours on end because of the anticipation and heighted interest in a good fight…
I’ll never get sick of running into fellow Korean boxers and all the coaches…
I’ll never get sick of being recognized by fellow Korean boxers and spectators…
I’ll never get sick of the camera action though I must say it’d be nice to not have them follow me around and monitor me. Slipping out into the bathroom for privacy and to eat a mini-meal is not cool.
I didn’t get to meet up with the IFBA President today so I didn’t get my couple-of-times-a-year hug which she always gives me. She had sent someone to fill in for her, a lady by the name of Kim Messer. I anticipated meeting her and it was interesting to hear her story. She’s a former IFBA champion boxer who was actually born in the very city today’s bouts were being held in. She lived in an orphanage here until she was then adopted by an American family, then she moved to America. Today was kind of like a homecoming for her so I’m sure it was a great day for her though I felt a bit bad for her because I spoke way more Korean than she did. None the less, the Korean crowd loved her and it was pretty cool to meet her.
One of the main fights for the day was between Korea’s very own and long time standing champion Kim Dan Be and a female boxer from China. I’ve seen Dan Be fight numerous times but today was the first time I saw Liu Jian Li from China fight. Liu Jian Li was fighting to uphold her undefeated status and Dan Bi was fighting as the current Mini Fly Champion. When Liu walked out of the change room my jaw just about dropped… wow. She was ripped! I’m talking about V-cut shoulders, a 6-pak and horseshoe calves! Her body looked intimidating as hell but she sported a huge smile that I thought totally clashed with her image but was very cute and sweet. Dan Be on the other hand dropped my jaw too but not in a good way. The weigh-in requirements had been set for mini flyweight – 47kgs – but Dan Be didn’t look up to par with her opponent and she appeared somewhat nervous.
Looks can be deceiving, I told myself… a lesson I learned three years ago. And who should be there also but the very woman who gave me a brutal testimonial lesson about this – Park Mi Ran, my very first opponent here in Korea.
Dan Bi’s fight ended in a draw, a pretty disappointing conclusion, but my interest in the day’s boxing matches quickly turned to Mi Ran when I got word that she was fighting today. It was during Dan Bi’s fight that I noticed Mi Ran. She was standing but just a few feet away from me, wearing the same t-shirt she fought me in and standing with her coach. I gasped when I saw her but she responded with a huge hi and a huge smile.
I wanted to tell her how devastated I was when I lost my debut professional fight to her three years ago, how she broke my heart, shattered it actually, and how it took me so long to pick myself up from those four short 2 minute rounds we spent together.
Those four rounds changed my life.
It felt rather ironically humorous to be standing in her corner, posing as the loudest fan cheerer and offering her advice on what combos to pull out in the ring but it was good. She lost her fight but when I told her she fought hard and strong she thanked me and looked honestly happy to have me be there with her.
No big knock-outs today and there was only one match where the blood was freely flowing. Both Dan Bi and a male fighter scored bad cuts on their upper eye from head butting but there certainly was a lot of skill and talent played out today in the ring.
On a side note, turns out Snickers and I got quite the commentary during the fights. I can never sit when I watch a fight, I'm too busy standing on my toes with anticipation, well that and I like to yell out calls and throw random shadow punches. Turns out the KBS TV broadcasters had a field day on the fact that I was standing while Snickers was sitting. They refered to as being "opposite of norm", claiming that the girl should be sitting and the guy should be standing.
Hahaha, "opposite of norm"... if only they knew just how true that is.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did you catch the action?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Opposite of norm.
-- KBS sports broadcasters
I’ll never get sick of watching live boxing...
I’ll never get sick of standing for hours on end because of the anticipation and heighted interest in a good fight…
I’ll never get sick of running into fellow Korean boxers and all the coaches…
I’ll never get sick of being recognized by fellow Korean boxers and spectators…
I’ll never get sick of the camera action though I must say it’d be nice to not have them follow me around and monitor me. Slipping out into the bathroom for privacy and to eat a mini-meal is not cool.
I didn’t get to meet up with the IFBA President today so I didn’t get my couple-of-times-a-year hug which she always gives me. She had sent someone to fill in for her, a lady by the name of Kim Messer. I anticipated meeting her and it was interesting to hear her story. She’s a former IFBA champion boxer who was actually born in the very city today’s bouts were being held in. She lived in an orphanage here until she was then adopted by an American family, then she moved to America. Today was kind of like a homecoming for her so I’m sure it was a great day for her though I felt a bit bad for her because I spoke way more Korean than she did. None the less, the Korean crowd loved her and it was pretty cool to meet her.
One of the main fights for the day was between Korea’s very own and long time standing champion Kim Dan Be and a female boxer from China. I’ve seen Dan Be fight numerous times but today was the first time I saw Liu Jian Li from China fight. Liu Jian Li was fighting to uphold her undefeated status and Dan Bi was fighting as the current Mini Fly Champion. When Liu walked out of the change room my jaw just about dropped… wow. She was ripped! I’m talking about V-cut shoulders, a 6-pak and horseshoe calves! Her body looked intimidating as hell but she sported a huge smile that I thought totally clashed with her image but was very cute and sweet. Dan Be on the other hand dropped my jaw too but not in a good way. The weigh-in requirements had been set for mini flyweight – 47kgs – but Dan Be didn’t look up to par with her opponent and she appeared somewhat nervous.
Looks can be deceiving, I told myself… a lesson I learned three years ago. And who should be there also but the very woman who gave me a brutal testimonial lesson about this – Park Mi Ran, my very first opponent here in Korea.
Dan Bi’s fight ended in a draw, a pretty disappointing conclusion, but my interest in the day’s boxing matches quickly turned to Mi Ran when I got word that she was fighting today. It was during Dan Bi’s fight that I noticed Mi Ran. She was standing but just a few feet away from me, wearing the same t-shirt she fought me in and standing with her coach. I gasped when I saw her but she responded with a huge hi and a huge smile.
I wanted to tell her how devastated I was when I lost my debut professional fight to her three years ago, how she broke my heart, shattered it actually, and how it took me so long to pick myself up from those four short 2 minute rounds we spent together.
Those four rounds changed my life.
It felt rather ironically humorous to be standing in her corner, posing as the loudest fan cheerer and offering her advice on what combos to pull out in the ring but it was good. She lost her fight but when I told her she fought hard and strong she thanked me and looked honestly happy to have me be there with her.
No big knock-outs today and there was only one match where the blood was freely flowing. Both Dan Bi and a male fighter scored bad cuts on their upper eye from head butting but there certainly was a lot of skill and talent played out today in the ring.
On a side note, turns out Snickers and I got quite the commentary during the fights. I can never sit when I watch a fight, I'm too busy standing on my toes with anticipation, well that and I like to yell out calls and throw random shadow punches. Turns out the KBS TV broadcasters had a field day on the fact that I was standing while Snickers was sitting. They refered to as being "opposite of norm", claiming that the girl should be sitting and the guy should be standing.
Hahaha, "opposite of norm"... if only they knew just how true that is.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did you catch the action?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Opposite of norm.
-- KBS sports broadcasters
Friday, July 01, 2011
All Dolled Up... Friday, July 1
Saw "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in theater today and all I can say is dang Megan Fox, you've got nothing on Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I heard the other day that Megan Fox was fired when she made some accusation, claiming that the movie director was like Hitler on the spot. Wrong move girl. Looks like your looks couldn't get you out of that one!
I don't particulary like Megan Fox's look, Snickers thinks she looks cheap, but I know I wasn't the only one "hating" Rosie for looking picture-perfect in every shop. She was the envy among all us girls -- foreigners and Korean.
Today's night out at the movies was a date with Snickers. I wore a thin black skirt that hugged me just enough but not too much that I couldn't quite move, a white t-shirt and a pair of new nude coloured heels. They're not actually new heels, they're two months old but given my daytime job and evening packed with training, I never have the chance to wear them. Oh ya, I even did my make-up special for the date -- frosted light green eye shadow with a pale lip. Yup, I got all dolled up.
My days of daily high heels, body-clinging clothes, and jewels accenting my complete outfit seem so far away. When I'm not sweating it up at the daycare I'm sweating it up at home outside with the two dogs or at the gym or at boxing. My days consists of runners, body-clinging mini-Koreans, and hair barettes stashed in every pocket and purse so to keep my hair out of my face.
I miss the days when I use to fine-tune my outfit, leave the house looking good and coming home with the same feeling. Now I come home desparately needing a shower or lacking the time to shower cause I have to race off to training.
It's surely nice to get dressed up and though tonight was only a trip to the theater, I jumped at the opportunity to get dolled up and make an occassion of it.
It was a date, a hot date and I'd like to think it was a hot date not because of the brutally hot Korean weather but because of us... well, at least in my eyes ;)
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are we alone?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You may lose faith in us, but never in yourselves.
-- Optimus Prime, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
I don't particulary like Megan Fox's look, Snickers thinks she looks cheap, but I know I wasn't the only one "hating" Rosie for looking picture-perfect in every shop. She was the envy among all us girls -- foreigners and Korean.
Today's night out at the movies was a date with Snickers. I wore a thin black skirt that hugged me just enough but not too much that I couldn't quite move, a white t-shirt and a pair of new nude coloured heels. They're not actually new heels, they're two months old but given my daytime job and evening packed with training, I never have the chance to wear them. Oh ya, I even did my make-up special for the date -- frosted light green eye shadow with a pale lip. Yup, I got all dolled up.
My days of daily high heels, body-clinging clothes, and jewels accenting my complete outfit seem so far away. When I'm not sweating it up at the daycare I'm sweating it up at home outside with the two dogs or at the gym or at boxing. My days consists of runners, body-clinging mini-Koreans, and hair barettes stashed in every pocket and purse so to keep my hair out of my face.
I miss the days when I use to fine-tune my outfit, leave the house looking good and coming home with the same feeling. Now I come home desparately needing a shower or lacking the time to shower cause I have to race off to training.
It's surely nice to get dressed up and though tonight was only a trip to the theater, I jumped at the opportunity to get dolled up and make an occassion of it.
It was a date, a hot date and I'd like to think it was a hot date not because of the brutally hot Korean weather but because of us... well, at least in my eyes ;)
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are we alone?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You may lose faith in us, but never in yourselves.
-- Optimus Prime, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
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