My first and last real drink of 2011, a glass of wine over dinner with Snickers.
Tonight wasn't so much about ringing in the new year as it was saying goodbye to the old. I'm so done with 2011. Saturday, December 31, 2011
Ringing in Late... Saturday, December 31
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, so this year I'm doing things differently. Tonight Snickers and I talked about this over dinner, New Year's Eve dinner out. We had headed out to one of our favorite restaurants here in Cheonan for a quiet romantic dinner but romance wasn't on the menu of discussion, change was.
Tomorrow, like last year, we're planning on doing our usual New Year's day coffee date -- coffee sipping and resolution writing at a cozy coffee shop. Tonight I started to think seriously about all that went down this year and all that I hope for in 2012. 2011 was a hard year, possibly my hardest yet, so it was with a huge sigh of relief that New Year's Eve was finally here.
I've been waiting for today this whole year -- the day I get to close the door on 2011.
2012 entered tonight without the anticipated bang, minus the New Year's Eve strike at midnight kiss and without me yelling out the window "Happy New Years" for all the neighbors to hear. Nope. New Year's came quietly and Snickers and I slept through it. Actually, I woke up at exactly 12:02am to greet it. Snickers, on the other hand, didn't wake up till about 1am to give it any kind of recognition and by then I had poured myself a glass of red wine. We had purchased the bottle earlier on today, anticipating a romantic nightcap with mocha bread and a good midnight smootch, but Pyen Chi grabbed our mocha bread off the counter when we were out at dinner and then we had fallen asleep before midnight.
I had had a single glass of red wine during dinner -- my first and last real drink of 2011 -- but I had slept off any of the buzz it had given me during dinner. When I realized it was 12:02am and consequently already 2012, I thought I'd crack open the bottle, pour a little and then wake Snickers up to toast him. He was out like a light so I sat beside him and took a sip.
I took more than just a sip actually... I took two glasses, and two glasses were enough to send me into super giddy-mode. When Snickers woke up I was sitting in the kitchen trying to tie Pyen Chi's blanket around her waist. I was quite buzzed and when I realized it I started to laugh so hard, knowing full well that it's been over a year and a half since I last had a drink. I think I'm good to go for another year now.
Tomorrow, like last year, we're planning on doing our usual New Year's day coffee date -- coffee sipping and resolution writing at a cozy coffee shop. Tonight I started to think seriously about all that went down this year and all that I hope for in 2012. 2011 was a hard year, possibly my hardest yet, so it was with a huge sigh of relief that New Year's Eve was finally here.
I've been waiting for today this whole year -- the day I get to close the door on 2011.
2012 entered tonight without the anticipated bang, minus the New Year's Eve strike at midnight kiss and without me yelling out the window "Happy New Years" for all the neighbors to hear. Nope. New Year's came quietly and Snickers and I slept through it. Actually, I woke up at exactly 12:02am to greet it. Snickers, on the other hand, didn't wake up till about 1am to give it any kind of recognition and by then I had poured myself a glass of red wine. We had purchased the bottle earlier on today, anticipating a romantic nightcap with mocha bread and a good midnight smootch, but Pyen Chi grabbed our mocha bread off the counter when we were out at dinner and then we had fallen asleep before midnight.
I had had a single glass of red wine during dinner -- my first and last real drink of 2011 -- but I had slept off any of the buzz it had given me during dinner. When I realized it was 12:02am and consequently already 2012, I thought I'd crack open the bottle, pour a little and then wake Snickers up to toast him. He was out like a light so I sat beside him and took a sip.
I took more than just a sip actually... I took two glasses, and two glasses were enough to send me into super giddy-mode. When Snickers woke up I was sitting in the kitchen trying to tie Pyen Chi's blanket around her waist. I was quite buzzed and when I realized it I started to laugh so hard, knowing full well that it's been over a year and a half since I last had a drink. I think I'm good to go for another year now.
Friday, December 30, 2011
The Boy With the First Flower... Friday, December 30
I was standing waiting for the camp's closing ceremony to start when I got a text message from a friend back in Canada, asking me if I had remained in touch with a common elementary friend, Pardeep. I have so I texted her back and asked her why.
Pardeep was a guy I meet back in the day, back in elementary school when I lived in a very white suburban city. He stood out at my school because of his ethnic background and was sometimes teased because of it. I remember once seeing a boy rip off Pardeep's turban and watching as Pardeep's long, long, jet black hair flew out into the open air. When I told my mother the story that day, she told me to be extra nice to him because he was like me, "beautifully different" as she put it. Whether it was kids calling me "Church Girl" or them teasing me about my small eyes which they insisted meant I was part Asian, I had tasted what it meant to be different. It never really was the extent to which Pardeep had endured, none the less, I agreed with my mother and tried to be extra nice to him.
Me being nice to him was one day "rewarded" with flowers. Yup, I was either 12 or 13 at the time when it happened. I was upstairs when my mom called me down, telling me that a boy had brought me flowers. I thought it was a joke at first but low and behold there at my front door stood Pardeep with a massive bouquet of mixed-coloured flowers. It was the first time any boy had ever bought flowers. Instantly my body went several shades of red with embarrassment as my two brothers raced up the stairs to come laugh at me. "If you don't like these I can buy you roses" was Pardeep's response to all the commotion.
Today I got word that the first boy to ever buy me flowers died. He fell from his 21st apartment. I don't know the details of the story but I was told by other friends in Canada that it's been all over the news so I looked it up on the Internet. Apparently he was wanted by the police. When they arrived at his apartment this past week, he tried to flee by jumping onto a neighbor's balcony but he slipped and fell. The police found him dead on the 9th floor balcony.
I was shocked when I read the news of the event -- my friend, a boy I went to elementary school with, someone who I grew up with. News of his shocking death flooded the pages of my friends on Facebook but it didn't make it feel anymore real. It still very much feels like a fictional story. Things like this just don't happen where I come from. This is so crazy.
Pardeep was a guy I meet back in the day, back in elementary school when I lived in a very white suburban city. He stood out at my school because of his ethnic background and was sometimes teased because of it. I remember once seeing a boy rip off Pardeep's turban and watching as Pardeep's long, long, jet black hair flew out into the open air. When I told my mother the story that day, she told me to be extra nice to him because he was like me, "beautifully different" as she put it. Whether it was kids calling me "Church Girl" or them teasing me about my small eyes which they insisted meant I was part Asian, I had tasted what it meant to be different. It never really was the extent to which Pardeep had endured, none the less, I agreed with my mother and tried to be extra nice to him.
Me being nice to him was one day "rewarded" with flowers. Yup, I was either 12 or 13 at the time when it happened. I was upstairs when my mom called me down, telling me that a boy had brought me flowers. I thought it was a joke at first but low and behold there at my front door stood Pardeep with a massive bouquet of mixed-coloured flowers. It was the first time any boy had ever bought flowers. Instantly my body went several shades of red with embarrassment as my two brothers raced up the stairs to come laugh at me. "If you don't like these I can buy you roses" was Pardeep's response to all the commotion.
Today I got word that the first boy to ever buy me flowers died. He fell from his 21st apartment. I don't know the details of the story but I was told by other friends in Canada that it's been all over the news so I looked it up on the Internet. Apparently he was wanted by the police. When they arrived at his apartment this past week, he tried to flee by jumping onto a neighbor's balcony but he slipped and fell. The police found him dead on the 9th floor balcony.
I was shocked when I read the news of the event -- my friend, a boy I went to elementary school with, someone who I grew up with. News of his shocking death flooded the pages of my friends on Facebook but it didn't make it feel anymore real. It still very much feels like a fictional story. Things like this just don't happen where I come from. This is so crazy.
This past week I was a paid 'professional kid', which meant I got to go swimming, sledding, and all that fun stuff kids do but got paid to do it... cool.
Mind ya, it also meant I was bombarded and up to my ears in kids non-stop at a resort I wasn't allowed to leave.
But my partner in crime (Ashley) helped me out and together she and I and our B-Red team had four and a half action-packed long days.
Non-Stop, Action-Packed Camp... Friday, December 30
This past week I stayed up in Icheon working at an English camp. The camp was being hosted at the SK Telecom resort that also houses the SK professional basketball camp so I anticipated running into some tall men... hahaha.
The SK Telecom resort was a sports fanatic's heaven... indoor and outdoor soccer fields, an indoor driving range, two swimming pools, a sauna room, weight training gym, yoga meditation room, WII room, ping-pong room, a bowling ally, ballet room, and an indoor jogging track that outlined the basketball court. It was awesome and we basically used every single one of these rooms for the English activities we planned for the English camp kids. I was a huge fan of the large swimming pool and the indoor jogging track.
On a different note, not only did I run into these freakishly tall basketball players but I also got to train with them so that was super cool! One of them showed me a new weight training exercise and I went jogging with two others. With me being away from boxing for the week I had promised Junior Mint that I'd keep up with my own personal training -- jogging, shadow boxing and weight training -- so that's exactly what I did but I did it with the basketball team. My work day from the English camp was basically 9am to 9:30pm everyday but because they turn the main lights off at 10pm I had to depend on waking up early for training. I woke up everyday at 7am and headed down to the basketball gym to run the indoor jogging track, do some HIIT skipping, shadow boxing, ab training and weight training. Then I'd return to my room around 8am, shower and then have breakfast.
I anticipanted not being keen on the food so I had come loaded with tons of food -- tuna, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, broccoli, and beef jerky. For the most part my breakfasts consisted of mixing some mustard into my tuna and nibbling on broccoli. I was picky with what I ate in the cafeteria for my lunch and dinner but because I had to eat these two meals with the kids I couldn't exactly head up to my room for tuna and broccoli. Powdered donuts and extra sugary juices were the going trend for snack time so I kept things like my beef jerky and granola bars stashed in my pockets for snack time.
The English camp was jam packed with kids and jam packed with lots of activities, ranging from Golden Bell quizzes to swimming and sledding. There was very little time in between activities to breath or catch a moment of silence so when the work day was done I'd retreat up to my room, lay on my bed in silence and then crash around 10pm or so. I had three roommates assigned to my room, all of us foreign ladies and all of us very much craving some peace and quiet after the craziness of our work day.
At the end of the full jam-packed week the sight of Snickers picking me up at the camp was a much anticipated joyous event. It had been a fun week and I had met some awesome people but I was so ready for home. Pyen Chi had joined Snickers for the long ride out to Icheon to pick me up so that was fun parading her around for the kids and my co-teachers to meet.
The SK Telecom resort was a sports fanatic's heaven... indoor and outdoor soccer fields, an indoor driving range, two swimming pools, a sauna room, weight training gym, yoga meditation room, WII room, ping-pong room, a bowling ally, ballet room, and an indoor jogging track that outlined the basketball court. It was awesome and we basically used every single one of these rooms for the English activities we planned for the English camp kids. I was a huge fan of the large swimming pool and the indoor jogging track.
On a different note, not only did I run into these freakishly tall basketball players but I also got to train with them so that was super cool! One of them showed me a new weight training exercise and I went jogging with two others. With me being away from boxing for the week I had promised Junior Mint that I'd keep up with my own personal training -- jogging, shadow boxing and weight training -- so that's exactly what I did but I did it with the basketball team. My work day from the English camp was basically 9am to 9:30pm everyday but because they turn the main lights off at 10pm I had to depend on waking up early for training. I woke up everyday at 7am and headed down to the basketball gym to run the indoor jogging track, do some HIIT skipping, shadow boxing, ab training and weight training. Then I'd return to my room around 8am, shower and then have breakfast.
I anticipanted not being keen on the food so I had come loaded with tons of food -- tuna, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, broccoli, and beef jerky. For the most part my breakfasts consisted of mixing some mustard into my tuna and nibbling on broccoli. I was picky with what I ate in the cafeteria for my lunch and dinner but because I had to eat these two meals with the kids I couldn't exactly head up to my room for tuna and broccoli. Powdered donuts and extra sugary juices were the going trend for snack time so I kept things like my beef jerky and granola bars stashed in my pockets for snack time.
The English camp was jam packed with kids and jam packed with lots of activities, ranging from Golden Bell quizzes to swimming and sledding. There was very little time in between activities to breath or catch a moment of silence so when the work day was done I'd retreat up to my room, lay on my bed in silence and then crash around 10pm or so. I had three roommates assigned to my room, all of us foreign ladies and all of us very much craving some peace and quiet after the craziness of our work day.
At the end of the full jam-packed week the sight of Snickers picking me up at the camp was a much anticipated joyous event. It had been a fun week and I had met some awesome people but I was so ready for home. Pyen Chi had joined Snickers for the long ride out to Icheon to pick me up so that was fun parading her around for the kids and my co-teachers to meet.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
A Not-Very Christmasy Christmas... Sunday, December 25
Today marked my second Christmas as 'wife', first Christmas for Pyen Chi, and the first Christmas without both my mother and Mi Nam in my life.
Last night's Christmas Eve was a total bust so I wanted nothing more than to sleep away this year's Christmas. We had anticipated doing our usual Christmas day festivities -- morning Children's performance-watching, romantic dinner out, and then opening presents in between.
I love Snickers, I love him and all his two thousand and one parts, but I'll be the first to admit that he's brutal when it comes to the holidays. He's never bought me a Christmas present, a birthday present, or any kind of anniversary present. He bought me chocolates once for Valentine's Day but it's because I kind of gave him a hard time about it. In his defence though, I will say he's boughten me random little gifts before for no other reason than to be sweet. I remember when we were first dating, he showed up with a blue rose for me -- that was pretty cool. Then there was the time when the hair dresser in Seoul killed my hair and I headed back to Cheonan in tears on the bus. Snickers surprised me at the bus terminal with a ton of flowers.
I just wished he'd buy me an actual holiday present though.
I anticipated him not buying me a present for Christmas so I bought myself my own present -- boots and a winter coat. I'll be the first to say I can't stand Ugg boots, I think they're fugly to the core, but considering how much time I spend outside playing with Pyen Chi I need something to keep my little feet warm. These boots leave my feet sweating... dang!!!
As for Snickers' gift, he's all about 'couple wear' so I bought him couple winter fur hats and couple sweaters. I also bought him a pair of pretty sweet looking CK undies. For Pyen Chi, I bought her a stuffed tiger paw (to go along with a silly game I play with her) and a silver name tag.
For the most part, this year's Christmas was spent 90% in bed. I wanted to sleep the day away but I did manage to get myself dolled up for a dinner out with Snickers... only to return home and crawl back in bed.
I'll be honest with you, it was a hard Christmas but Snickers promised me this would be our last Christmas in Korea. The plan is to move back to Canada this year but whether or not that actually goes through we're planning to spend next Christmas in Canada, either as residents or visitors. I've always struggled with searching out the Christmas spirit here in Korea and I think, for me at least, it just doesn't live in Korea. We woke up to snow yesterday, that was nice, but it just doesn't cut it. I want snow up to my knees. I want to struggle with untangling the Christmas lights and freeze my toes off while I hustle around doing my Christmas shopping. More importantly though, I want to be surrounded by friends and family for Christmas -- I need that for Christmas to happen. And though I have my in-laws and friends in Korea, my in-laws don't even celebrate the holiday, neither do most of my friends (Korean friends).
I'm so over Christmas in Korea. I need a REAL Christmas and next year that's exactly the gift Snickers promised me for next Christmas.
Last night's Christmas Eve was a total bust so I wanted nothing more than to sleep away this year's Christmas. We had anticipated doing our usual Christmas day festivities -- morning Children's performance-watching, romantic dinner out, and then opening presents in between.
I love Snickers, I love him and all his two thousand and one parts, but I'll be the first to admit that he's brutal when it comes to the holidays. He's never bought me a Christmas present, a birthday present, or any kind of anniversary present. He bought me chocolates once for Valentine's Day but it's because I kind of gave him a hard time about it. In his defence though, I will say he's boughten me random little gifts before for no other reason than to be sweet. I remember when we were first dating, he showed up with a blue rose for me -- that was pretty cool. Then there was the time when the hair dresser in Seoul killed my hair and I headed back to Cheonan in tears on the bus. Snickers surprised me at the bus terminal with a ton of flowers.
I just wished he'd buy me an actual holiday present though.
I anticipated him not buying me a present for Christmas so I bought myself my own present -- boots and a winter coat. I'll be the first to say I can't stand Ugg boots, I think they're fugly to the core, but considering how much time I spend outside playing with Pyen Chi I need something to keep my little feet warm. These boots leave my feet sweating... dang!!!
As for Snickers' gift, he's all about 'couple wear' so I bought him couple winter fur hats and couple sweaters. I also bought him a pair of pretty sweet looking CK undies. For Pyen Chi, I bought her a stuffed tiger paw (to go along with a silly game I play with her) and a silver name tag.
For the most part, this year's Christmas was spent 90% in bed. I wanted to sleep the day away but I did manage to get myself dolled up for a dinner out with Snickers... only to return home and crawl back in bed.I'll be honest with you, it was a hard Christmas but Snickers promised me this would be our last Christmas in Korea. The plan is to move back to Canada this year but whether or not that actually goes through we're planning to spend next Christmas in Canada, either as residents or visitors. I've always struggled with searching out the Christmas spirit here in Korea and I think, for me at least, it just doesn't live in Korea. We woke up to snow yesterday, that was nice, but it just doesn't cut it. I want snow up to my knees. I want to struggle with untangling the Christmas lights and freeze my toes off while I hustle around doing my Christmas shopping. More importantly though, I want to be surrounded by friends and family for Christmas -- I need that for Christmas to happen. And though I have my in-laws and friends in Korea, my in-laws don't even celebrate the holiday, neither do most of my friends (Korean friends).
I'm so over Christmas in Korea. I need a REAL Christmas and next year that's exactly the gift Snickers promised me for next Christmas.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Bah Humbug... Saturday, December 24
Original plan for tonight -- Christmas Eve -- involved the following:
1. Rent an old skool Christmas movie.
2. Bake Christmas cookies with Snickers.
3. Make 2 cups of my home made secret recipe white hot chocolate.
4. Watch the movie while nipping on homemade cookies and sipping on hot chocolate.
That WAS the plan but this was what really went down:
1. Waited 4 hours for Snickers to remember we had a Christmas Eve date. Recently he started playing Starcraft -- a computer game that apparently is highly addicting -- and lost track of the time while out playing with friends.
2. He arrived home, totally forgot it was Christmas Eve and asked if we'd go grocery shopping so I threw the Emart bag at him.
3. Walked out, sat in the park and got teary-eyed. I had hyped up the evening so much in my head so I was incredibly disappointed.
4. Instead of trying to make anything out of the evening, I insisted I wanted to be left alone, then fell asleep at 9pm.
On a plus note, I'm anticipating that this will be my last Christmas Eve in Korea. The Christmas spirit doesn't live here in Korea and consequently I'm guessing Santa won't be visiting here tomorrow.
Bah Humbug.
1. Rent an old skool Christmas movie.
2. Bake Christmas cookies with Snickers.
3. Make 2 cups of my home made secret recipe white hot chocolate.
4. Watch the movie while nipping on homemade cookies and sipping on hot chocolate.
That WAS the plan but this was what really went down:
1. Waited 4 hours for Snickers to remember we had a Christmas Eve date. Recently he started playing Starcraft -- a computer game that apparently is highly addicting -- and lost track of the time while out playing with friends.
2. He arrived home, totally forgot it was Christmas Eve and asked if we'd go grocery shopping so I threw the Emart bag at him.
3. Walked out, sat in the park and got teary-eyed. I had hyped up the evening so much in my head so I was incredibly disappointed.
4. Instead of trying to make anything out of the evening, I insisted I wanted to be left alone, then fell asleep at 9pm.
On a plus note, I'm anticipating that this will be my last Christmas Eve in Korea. The Christmas spirit doesn't live here in Korea and consequently I'm guessing Santa won't be visiting here tomorrow.
Bah Humbug.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Despite the chilliness of the evening weather that scared off many from training, tonight I trained with two of my teammates and my favorite Highschool Kiddie.
I didn't need Junior Mint (coach) to push me tonight though, I was definitely running on quite the high from getting scheduled a fight. In fact, I trained so hard that Junior Mint told me maybe I should tame it down a bit... and I've got the bloody knuckles to prove it.Like The First Time... Thursday, December 22
If a guy getting all worked up for nothing means he gets "blue balls" than getting a boxer all worked up for a fight that's yet to be scheduled or even promised leads to a similar frustration. You can tell when Snickers is reaching his frustration breaking point when he starts egging on various fights, fights outside of the ring and totally not connected or held in the boxing club. My frustration shows it's head via randomly taking days off boxing and upping my running.It's totally frustrating training so bloody hard and not being scheduled a fight. Personally, for me I need a fight to keep me focused. I love boxing but the idea of a fight possibility is what drives me to continually train so hard and push it with eating clean. If there's no fight for a certain period of time than why continue to be so strict with myself?!
I'm very much a goal oriented person. The persuit of a fight being a much needed goal -- a focal point. So it came with much relief today when Junior Mint called me and said he just scheduled me a fight. Usually he calls me to ask me first but I've been busting my fight at boxing, pulling in extra hours helping train others in addition to doing all my boxercise classes, so he knew I needed a fight.
All we need now is a fight for Black Skinny and then we'd have a fight for everyone on our pro team. Tonight there were three of us on the fight line up list training. We trained together and we trained hard.
I love the anticipation of a fight -- the hard training, crazy dieting, doing extra road work (long distance runs and HIIT runs), and all the hype that comes with it. Most importantly though, it gives my hard training purpose.
I'm so done with 2011. It wasn't a good year for me or for UP Boxing Club with regards to staying in the boxing community spotlight. I'm convinced 2012 is going to be our year -- our year to put Cheonan strongly on the map and to really show Korea what UP Boxing Club is all about.
I'm pumped.
... "Like the first time" is our club's motto and tonight we definitely portrayed this to a T. With the windows cranked open and our breath visable in the cold, chilly air, we trained hard and we trained long. Packing the new year with several fights for UP was exactly what we needed to remind us to keep the love of boxing fresh, alive and strong... "Like the first time".
I'm very much a goal oriented person. The persuit of a fight being a much needed goal -- a focal point. So it came with much relief today when Junior Mint called me and said he just scheduled me a fight. Usually he calls me to ask me first but I've been busting my fight at boxing, pulling in extra hours helping train others in addition to doing all my boxercise classes, so he knew I needed a fight.
The UP Boxing Club fight line up:
January 15 -- The Heavy Hitter
January 29 -- Cheonan Bulldog
February 5 -- The Grizzly Bear [me]
February 26 -- The Korean Hulk [Snickers]
All we need now is a fight for Black Skinny and then we'd have a fight for everyone on our pro team. Tonight there were three of us on the fight line up list training. We trained together and we trained hard.
I love the anticipation of a fight -- the hard training, crazy dieting, doing extra road work (long distance runs and HIIT runs), and all the hype that comes with it. Most importantly though, it gives my hard training purpose.
I'm so done with 2011. It wasn't a good year for me or for UP Boxing Club with regards to staying in the boxing community spotlight. I'm convinced 2012 is going to be our year -- our year to put Cheonan strongly on the map and to really show Korea what UP Boxing Club is all about.
I'm pumped.
... "Like the first time" is our club's motto and tonight we definitely portrayed this to a T. With the windows cranked open and our breath visable in the cold, chilly air, we trained hard and we trained long. Packing the new year with several fights for UP was exactly what we needed to remind us to keep the love of boxing fresh, alive and strong... "Like the first time".
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Mi Nam, Are You Here?!... Wednesday, December 21
Today both Pyen Chi and I had a heart-moving morning when I decided it was about time I throw out Mi Nam’s old blanket. It was actually our bed under-padding but when we got a new one we decided to give our old one to Mi Nam. He loved it. He loved it so much that he refused to let Pyen Chi come close to it so then we had to get Pyen Chi her own blanket. I’ve been holding off on what to do with this padding. It’s been laying on the floor, under the desk and under Mi Nam little red bed, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to move it since Mi Nam died.
I thought about donating it to the animal shelter out in Asan but it got splattered with blood, Mi Nam’s blood, in his last remaining moments so I just want to get it out of the house. I need to get it out of the house.
Today it left the house.
I scooped it up and got quite teary eyed when I accidently lost grip of part of it. It unfolded a bit and there before me was Mi Nam’s blood out in the open, exposed. I was quite to pick up the end that unfolded but then a wave of Mi Nam’s smell hit me. Pyen Chi started to bark… bark so loudly and continually.
When I returned from taking it outside, Pyen Chi was huddled near the desk, backing at Mi Nam’s little red bed that remained. I think I’ll keep it there. My mom had sent Mi Nam a little stuffed dog which Snickers and I called June Bug, as a kind of joke because my father is petrified of them. June Bug remains in Mi Nam’s red bed and the little red bed is still under the desk.
For the rest of the day, Pyen Chi stayed beside the desk and randomly she’d moan and whimper. Occasionally she’d bark, too. I caught a bit of it on my cell phone video but haven’t figured out how to upload it onto my computer.
It was quite freaky.
Pyen Chi is a huge fan of naps but today her naps were suddenly and continually interrupted with her popping her head up and glaring at Mi Nam’s bed. It was almost as if he – or something – was in the little red bed. I definitely believe in spirits and in angels, and I believe that some people linger around before “moving on”, but I don’t know if I believe if animals do the same thing. I’ve never really thought of it before.
All I know though is that I’ve been really struggling with Mi Nam’s death, much more than ever expected and I can say honestly that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t get choked up over him. Whether it’s walking by where he’s now buried, seeing his collar at the door, or even saying his name, I find myself shocked by just how much I miss my four-legged little friend, Mi Nam. I don’t know if I’ll ever love Pyen Chi like how I love Mi Nam. I don’t know if I’ll ever let myself to do so or if I even want to do so. All I know is that I miss him so damn much and today it definitely felt like he was here once again.
I thought about donating it to the animal shelter out in Asan but it got splattered with blood, Mi Nam’s blood, in his last remaining moments so I just want to get it out of the house. I need to get it out of the house.
Today it left the house.
I scooped it up and got quite teary eyed when I accidently lost grip of part of it. It unfolded a bit and there before me was Mi Nam’s blood out in the open, exposed. I was quite to pick up the end that unfolded but then a wave of Mi Nam’s smell hit me. Pyen Chi started to bark… bark so loudly and continually.
When I returned from taking it outside, Pyen Chi was huddled near the desk, backing at Mi Nam’s little red bed that remained. I think I’ll keep it there. My mom had sent Mi Nam a little stuffed dog which Snickers and I called June Bug, as a kind of joke because my father is petrified of them. June Bug remains in Mi Nam’s red bed and the little red bed is still under the desk.
For the rest of the day, Pyen Chi stayed beside the desk and randomly she’d moan and whimper. Occasionally she’d bark, too. I caught a bit of it on my cell phone video but haven’t figured out how to upload it onto my computer.
It was quite freaky.
Pyen Chi is a huge fan of naps but today her naps were suddenly and continually interrupted with her popping her head up and glaring at Mi Nam’s bed. It was almost as if he – or something – was in the little red bed. I definitely believe in spirits and in angels, and I believe that some people linger around before “moving on”, but I don’t know if I believe if animals do the same thing. I’ve never really thought of it before.
All I know though is that I’ve been really struggling with Mi Nam’s death, much more than ever expected and I can say honestly that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t get choked up over him. Whether it’s walking by where he’s now buried, seeing his collar at the door, or even saying his name, I find myself shocked by just how much I miss my four-legged little friend, Mi Nam. I don’t know if I’ll ever love Pyen Chi like how I love Mi Nam. I don’t know if I’ll ever let myself to do so or if I even want to do so. All I know is that I miss him so damn much and today it definitely felt like he was here once again.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Only a face a mother could love?! I think not. Ironically enough, though he's making a funny face in the second picture, this is a more true depiction of Snickers -- always silly and always fun.
After almost two years of marriage we're still very much attacted at the hips and very much in love. We still have our "date night", and even "day dates" too for that matter, and we continue to be that couple that used to make me sick... hahaha.God Bless the Korean Men... Tuesday, December 20
Next week I’ll be MIA from Cheonan and from the Internet on account that I’ve taken a position at a four and a half day English camp. It’s being hosted at the SK Telecom training resort which is quite a beautiful resort but, because of security reasons, there’s absolutely no Internet access. I question if I’m even able to bring my phone. I remember back when I tutored at Samsung, they’d put a security picture on my cell camera and check to see if it’s been tampered with whenever I left.
So ya, next week I’ll be preoccupied. It’s a toss-up on who will miss me more, Pyen Chi or Snickers… hahaha. My coach said he’ll miss me the most.
Today I had a training session as a means of prep for the camp. Yesterday I had training too although yesterday seemed more like a test of my patience if anything. The directions they gave me were rather sketchy in that the hospital they said their building was beside, well, turns out on the other side of Seoul there’s another hospital with the same name and it being quite big meant the taxi driver who picked me up after I arrived in Seoul took me there. It took me three hours to get to where I was supposed to be, not cool.
I thought I’d simply slip into the meeting via the back door, no such luck. The room was packed with foreigners and Korean helpers but all the foreigners were guys. I was the only female foreigner with a F2 visa which just goes to show you the ratio of foreign men marrying Korean women vs. foreign women marrying Korean men!
I’m so pro-Korean men. They tend to be more sensitive, attentive to detail, and their definition of what it means to be a man is so different than that of Western men. They’re not afraid to show a softer side, hell they even wear pink and do so with not a second thought. They’re pretty… pretty gorgeous and their skin, wow, soft and smooth. I can’t believe they’re not butter;)
God, thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful men we call Korean men. It’s days like today when I absolutely love Korea. There’s just so much eye-candy (Korean men) everywhere I turn. I feel the cavities filling up my eyeballs… hahaha. All jokes aside, I do think Korean men are much more attractive than Western and European men -- beyond just physically. I’ve always had a flair for Asian men in general, a certain attraction and curiosity towards them, and I have absolutely no interest towards Western men. I have gone to the dark side -- black hair side that is... hahaha. I guess in a way, you know how most Westerns think Asians all look the same, well, most Western men look the same to me now… hahaha.
Silly, I know, but I love waking up every single day, opening my eyes and seeing my beautiful Korean man with his jet black hair all tossed about and his tiny eyes looking at me. I think Snickers is a stunning man and his child-like personality that accompanies his charming looks makes quite the amazing package. Sometimes I joke with him, telling him, “Open your eyes!”. My friends and family back in Canada always used to tease me about my small eyes so I guess I’ve met my match. We have small eyes together and I love the fact that when we both smile they seem to disappear into our rosey cheeks.
So ya, next week I’ll be preoccupied. It’s a toss-up on who will miss me more, Pyen Chi or Snickers… hahaha. My coach said he’ll miss me the most.
Today I had a training session as a means of prep for the camp. Yesterday I had training too although yesterday seemed more like a test of my patience if anything. The directions they gave me were rather sketchy in that the hospital they said their building was beside, well, turns out on the other side of Seoul there’s another hospital with the same name and it being quite big meant the taxi driver who picked me up after I arrived in Seoul took me there. It took me three hours to get to where I was supposed to be, not cool.
I thought I’d simply slip into the meeting via the back door, no such luck. The room was packed with foreigners and Korean helpers but all the foreigners were guys. I was the only female foreigner with a F2 visa which just goes to show you the ratio of foreign men marrying Korean women vs. foreign women marrying Korean men!
I’m so pro-Korean men. They tend to be more sensitive, attentive to detail, and their definition of what it means to be a man is so different than that of Western men. They’re not afraid to show a softer side, hell they even wear pink and do so with not a second thought. They’re pretty… pretty gorgeous and their skin, wow, soft and smooth. I can’t believe they’re not butter;)
God, thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful men we call Korean men. It’s days like today when I absolutely love Korea. There’s just so much eye-candy (Korean men) everywhere I turn. I feel the cavities filling up my eyeballs… hahaha. All jokes aside, I do think Korean men are much more attractive than Western and European men -- beyond just physically. I’ve always had a flair for Asian men in general, a certain attraction and curiosity towards them, and I have absolutely no interest towards Western men. I have gone to the dark side -- black hair side that is... hahaha. I guess in a way, you know how most Westerns think Asians all look the same, well, most Western men look the same to me now… hahaha.
Silly, I know, but I love waking up every single day, opening my eyes and seeing my beautiful Korean man with his jet black hair all tossed about and his tiny eyes looking at me. I think Snickers is a stunning man and his child-like personality that accompanies his charming looks makes quite the amazing package. Sometimes I joke with him, telling him, “Open your eyes!”. My friends and family back in Canada always used to tease me about my small eyes so I guess I’ve met my match. We have small eyes together and I love the fact that when we both smile they seem to disappear into our rosey cheeks.
Monday, December 19, 2011
I couldn't have hit the nail more accurately on the head when I called Korea "The Flipside". Pyen Chi drinks her water in the morning with her butt sticking up and my husband refers to eat my food but my teammates and buddies at boxing love my treats. The stranger my treats get the more they like them.
Self-Punch... Monday, December 19
Pulled a “Jae Sub” at boxing tonight, meaning I accidently punched myself in the mouth today when doing pad work. Yup, you read right. Sported a swollen lip for the rest of the evening, nice. Such mishaps – silly, self inflicted and accidental – like this happen a lot at the boxing club. They’re inevitable, so we’ve name them according to either the first person that pulled the silly mishap or the person who does it the most.
Despite giving myself the mother of all swollen lips, I definitely earned my “stripes” tonight at training – tiger stripes, as in the sweat lines that appear on the creases of your sweater.
The Dentist trained tonight at the same time I did and he brought a friend, another dentist… great. As if having one dentist at the boxing club wasn’t stressful enough for me. (Did I mention I hate the dentist, not this dentist in particular, all of them). The Dentist tried to get me talk to his friend who had apparently lived in Canada for a month or something like that. I didn’t get the full story but I definitely tried not too because I have somewhat of a borderline phobia of dentists. Stuck to training hard, taking very little breaks and ignored all eye contact in hopes of not having to talk to the two dentists. Talk about kicking up the intensity of training several notches!
The other day I made several of my teammates whole wheat flax seed tortillas and made them several of what I call “Cinna-fun Torts”. Today they made a special request for healthy cookies. My mission, now that I’ve accepted it, is to make just that… healthy cookies. Stay tuned for that;)
Despite giving myself the mother of all swollen lips, I definitely earned my “stripes” tonight at training – tiger stripes, as in the sweat lines that appear on the creases of your sweater.
The Dentist trained tonight at the same time I did and he brought a friend, another dentist… great. As if having one dentist at the boxing club wasn’t stressful enough for me. (Did I mention I hate the dentist, not this dentist in particular, all of them). The Dentist tried to get me talk to his friend who had apparently lived in Canada for a month or something like that. I didn’t get the full story but I definitely tried not too because I have somewhat of a borderline phobia of dentists. Stuck to training hard, taking very little breaks and ignored all eye contact in hopes of not having to talk to the two dentists. Talk about kicking up the intensity of training several notches!
The other day I made several of my teammates whole wheat flax seed tortillas and made them several of what I call “Cinna-fun Torts”. Today they made a special request for healthy cookies. My mission, now that I’ve accepted it, is to make just that… healthy cookies. Stay tuned for that;)
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Korean weddings -- their version of a more "modernized" wedding -- is definitely an experience you'd have to experience if you come or live in Korea. I just don't recommend throwing on a traditional Korean hambok and doing it.
My sister-in-law made for a beautiful bride but I think all women regardless of whatever always look like the most beautiful female at their wedding.
I think it's the fact that they're glowing that makes them so beautiful. Today my sister-in-law was definitely glowing as was K-Gere. K-Gere was quite the proud father and he shed some tears during the ceremony.
On My Best Behaviour... Sunday, December 18
Not really wanting to write about the wedding.
It went down today, as expected, and I was uncomfortable in a hambok, as expected. My sister-in-law was a beautiful, blushing bride, as expected, and Snickers looked handsome in his suit, as expected.
It was a typical rendition of what Koreans think a modernized wedding should be -- overly-glamorized, overly-priced, very much for the cameras only, and within the hour not only was the ceremony over but so was the meal.
I’m not a fan of such weddings.
My sister-in-law runs a study-room in her apartment so many of the students performed during the ceremony. One of the performances consisted of several girls singing a pop song and randomly popping up signs that wrote “kiss”, “hug” and “clap” in Korean. Snickers frowned at them, insisting it was tacky. I turned to him and told him, “if this ever went down at our wedding, I’d seriously walk down the isle and leave you!”
Harsh, I know… hence why I never had such a wedding, or a wedding at all for that matter.
It went down today, as expected, and I was uncomfortable in a hambok, as expected. My sister-in-law was a beautiful, blushing bride, as expected, and Snickers looked handsome in his suit, as expected.
It was a typical rendition of what Koreans think a modernized wedding should be -- overly-glamorized, overly-priced, very much for the cameras only, and within the hour not only was the ceremony over but so was the meal.
I’m not a fan of such weddings.
My sister-in-law runs a study-room in her apartment so many of the students performed during the ceremony. One of the performances consisted of several girls singing a pop song and randomly popping up signs that wrote “kiss”, “hug” and “clap” in Korean. Snickers frowned at them, insisting it was tacky. I turned to him and told him, “if this ever went down at our wedding, I’d seriously walk down the isle and leave you!”
Harsh, I know… hence why I never had such a wedding, or a wedding at all for that matter.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Pre-Wedding Jitters... Saturday, December 17
Tomorrow's the much anticipated sister-in-law's wedding and ever since I've been warned that I'll be wearing a hot pink hambok I've been dreading it.
I hate that I'm dreading her wedding. I want to attend her wedding as me -- Amy -- not as a far-fetched image of myself that's so very Korean and so far from who I really am.
I know this is Korea; I'm more than well aware of this fact.
I speak Korean...
I eat Korean...
I wear Korean...
I listen to Korean...
I sing Korean...
I watch Korean...
I play Korean...
I even married Korean.
I probably speak, eat, wear, listen to, sing, watch, and play Korean more than I do English. And in doing sometimes I question just how much Korea let's me be me -- a Polish/Canadian. So often I feel like my own culture, my identity as a Polish/Canadian is pushed aside and given less than second priority. I felt more freedom with expressing my own culture and whatnot when I taught English. Students loved hearing about the cultural differences, learning the slang and mannerisms, but now I have no students. I don't teach English so now my medium for practicing my culture seems to be rather obsolete and limited to either my own home or venting about it over coffee.
My Korean professor at university was right. "When you go to Korea you'll meet one person -- Korean" was what he told me when I told him I was going. Korea is infested with Koreans and though I think they really do want to become more in tune with Western culture and more modernized, they're still very much Korean-focused. Oddly enough, this is what initally really sparked my interest. I come from Canada, a huge multicultural country where depending on where I go I am the minority. Canada is a beautiful collague of cultures, unlike Korea that is very Korean-Korean.
Sometimes I feel rather choked in Korea, wanting to break free and just explore, experience and live my own culture. Korea has it's own way of thinking, a way of thinking and a way of life that can be frustrating to me. Whether it's the heirarchy of age or dominance given to the men, some things in this culture just don't fly by me but I try my best to either ignore it or bite my lip. It's goes beyond this though. It seems to interrupt and interfer with things that I do value. Things that are special to me like holidays and things related to the holidays that I no longer participate in or are very limited in doing so.
Take Christmas for example, a holiday that is pretty much given a solid month (if not more) of recognition in Canada. Korea gives it one day. Advent calendars, cabbage rolls, decorating the Christmas tree and house, the manger story on Christmas morning, going door-to-door singing Christmas carols, Christmas Eve candlelight services, listening to the Salvation Army Band, making ginger bread houses, sending Christmas cards, a birthday cake in the shape of a cross for Jesus on Christmas... I can't even cook a cake here. Regular ovens are pretty much a luxury.
So many of the things that make Christmas Christmas to me seem so far away. Instead, I have a cheap two dollar Advent calender I bought from Emart, I can't bring myself to unpack the Christmas decorations my mom sent me last year, and the extent of celebrating Christmas here consists of going out for dinner and watching a children's performance in Korean and at a church that really has no meaning to me besides it being beside my old apartment.
Christmas in Korea always feels like a Charlie Brown Christmas.
Sometimes I feel like I either have to conform to Korea on my own accord, risk being pushed into it or risk not really fit in if I don't conform. My in-laws will never introduce me as a professional boxer who runs her own fitness company, nor will they tell anyone I'm Polish/Canadian. I'm "Amy, a former Dankook University professior who is Canadian". Canada seems to have some kind of luxery appeal to it. My family is very proud of our Polish heritage, so I was raised to respect this fact. I never called myself Canadian or even considered myself Canadian until I came to Korea. Moreover, I haven't worked at Dankook for almost two years.
I love Korea but I love being a Polish/Canadian from Canada. I just wish Korea wasn't so Korean at times because being in this mono-culture country is sometimes very hard for me to be me when I'm so not Korean. I feel like I'm juggling the two cultures -- Korea's and mine.
I wish Korea was more accepting of difference.
Tomorrow I'll be attending my sister-in-law's wedding in a Korean-created version of what my in-laws want me to be -- Korean -- and I feel rather sad about it. I'm always trying to cater to their Korean culture but when will they cater to mine?
"Make me a Polish cabbage roll and I'll gladly wear a hambok" I told Snickers.
I hate that I'm dreading her wedding. I want to attend her wedding as me -- Amy -- not as a far-fetched image of myself that's so very Korean and so far from who I really am.
I know this is Korea; I'm more than well aware of this fact.
I speak Korean...
I eat Korean...
I wear Korean...
I listen to Korean...
I sing Korean...
I watch Korean...
I play Korean...
I even married Korean.
I probably speak, eat, wear, listen to, sing, watch, and play Korean more than I do English. And in doing sometimes I question just how much Korea let's me be me -- a Polish/Canadian. So often I feel like my own culture, my identity as a Polish/Canadian is pushed aside and given less than second priority. I felt more freedom with expressing my own culture and whatnot when I taught English. Students loved hearing about the cultural differences, learning the slang and mannerisms, but now I have no students. I don't teach English so now my medium for practicing my culture seems to be rather obsolete and limited to either my own home or venting about it over coffee.
My Korean professor at university was right. "When you go to Korea you'll meet one person -- Korean" was what he told me when I told him I was going. Korea is infested with Koreans and though I think they really do want to become more in tune with Western culture and more modernized, they're still very much Korean-focused. Oddly enough, this is what initally really sparked my interest. I come from Canada, a huge multicultural country where depending on where I go I am the minority. Canada is a beautiful collague of cultures, unlike Korea that is very Korean-Korean.
Sometimes I feel rather choked in Korea, wanting to break free and just explore, experience and live my own culture. Korea has it's own way of thinking, a way of thinking and a way of life that can be frustrating to me. Whether it's the heirarchy of age or dominance given to the men, some things in this culture just don't fly by me but I try my best to either ignore it or bite my lip. It's goes beyond this though. It seems to interrupt and interfer with things that I do value. Things that are special to me like holidays and things related to the holidays that I no longer participate in or are very limited in doing so.
Take Christmas for example, a holiday that is pretty much given a solid month (if not more) of recognition in Canada. Korea gives it one day. Advent calendars, cabbage rolls, decorating the Christmas tree and house, the manger story on Christmas morning, going door-to-door singing Christmas carols, Christmas Eve candlelight services, listening to the Salvation Army Band, making ginger bread houses, sending Christmas cards, a birthday cake in the shape of a cross for Jesus on Christmas... I can't even cook a cake here. Regular ovens are pretty much a luxury.
So many of the things that make Christmas Christmas to me seem so far away. Instead, I have a cheap two dollar Advent calender I bought from Emart, I can't bring myself to unpack the Christmas decorations my mom sent me last year, and the extent of celebrating Christmas here consists of going out for dinner and watching a children's performance in Korean and at a church that really has no meaning to me besides it being beside my old apartment.
Christmas in Korea always feels like a Charlie Brown Christmas.
Sometimes I feel like I either have to conform to Korea on my own accord, risk being pushed into it or risk not really fit in if I don't conform. My in-laws will never introduce me as a professional boxer who runs her own fitness company, nor will they tell anyone I'm Polish/Canadian. I'm "Amy, a former Dankook University professior who is Canadian". Canada seems to have some kind of luxery appeal to it. My family is very proud of our Polish heritage, so I was raised to respect this fact. I never called myself Canadian or even considered myself Canadian until I came to Korea. Moreover, I haven't worked at Dankook for almost two years.
I love Korea but I love being a Polish/Canadian from Canada. I just wish Korea wasn't so Korean at times because being in this mono-culture country is sometimes very hard for me to be me when I'm so not Korean. I feel like I'm juggling the two cultures -- Korea's and mine.
I wish Korea was more accepting of difference.
Tomorrow I'll be attending my sister-in-law's wedding in a Korean-created version of what my in-laws want me to be -- Korean -- and I feel rather sad about it. I'm always trying to cater to their Korean culture but when will they cater to mine?
"Make me a Polish cabbage roll and I'll gladly wear a hambok" I told Snickers.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Introducing the fabulous Sunny -- probably Cheonan's one and only Korean hair designer who speaks English and understands us foreign girls don't have Korean hair. No colour is unavailable at her salon, unlike others who only offer black, blacker, blackest, and brown.
In anticipation of my sister-in-law's wedding, today I got my hair done.
Pyen Chi reacted as if nothing had changed but Snickers... yikes, he absolutely loved it, especially the fact that Sunny had curled it (with a curling iron... no perm for me). Feeling Like A Trophie... Thursday, December 15
Only a couple more days till I turn into a "foreign doll"... a toy to parade around, or so I surely am anticipating as hinted by the strange wedding prep plans that have been going down.
I'm being forced to wear a Korean hambok at my sister-in-law's wedding and though I realize that yes this is Korea and yes my in-laws are Korean, I am not Korean. I've never heard of in-laws having to wear the traditional dress at a wedding. I've only really seen the mothers and older ladies wear them. I thought it was a matter of preference on behalf of those wearing it. However, I've been told I have to wear one. No ifs, ands, or buts. I'm not impressed.
Being forced to wear one has turned me into a sour puss, I know, but I really don't feel comfortable being turned into what feels like a trophie. I'm so over being the pointed-out foreigner in a crowd and I rather just be able to enjoy the event like the rest of the crowd. Anyways, at the dress fitting I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. I had told them specifically "NO bright colours" and what colour did they make my dress... pink.
Correction, it's not pink.... it's in-your-face, hotter-than-hot pink.
I don't like big crowds, I try to avoid them actually, and I don't like loads of added attention, hence why a while back I dyed my hair black and continually darken my hair. So throwing me, a foreigner, in a pink hambok, a dress that's got more material in it than my bedspread and makes me feeling nothing less than a walking-talking bulls eye among a flood of Korean-only, screams "look at me!".
And they're arranging to get my hair done in Korean style to go with the dress, same goes for my make-up that they'll be doing too. I was even told to get my hair colour touched up.
This Sunday I'll be Foreign Barbie.
I'm being forced to wear a Korean hambok at my sister-in-law's wedding and though I realize that yes this is Korea and yes my in-laws are Korean, I am not Korean. I've never heard of in-laws having to wear the traditional dress at a wedding. I've only really seen the mothers and older ladies wear them. I thought it was a matter of preference on behalf of those wearing it. However, I've been told I have to wear one. No ifs, ands, or buts. I'm not impressed.
Being forced to wear one has turned me into a sour puss, I know, but I really don't feel comfortable being turned into what feels like a trophie. I'm so over being the pointed-out foreigner in a crowd and I rather just be able to enjoy the event like the rest of the crowd. Anyways, at the dress fitting I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. I had told them specifically "NO bright colours" and what colour did they make my dress... pink.
Correction, it's not pink.... it's in-your-face, hotter-than-hot pink.
I don't like big crowds, I try to avoid them actually, and I don't like loads of added attention, hence why a while back I dyed my hair black and continually darken my hair. So throwing me, a foreigner, in a pink hambok, a dress that's got more material in it than my bedspread and makes me feeling nothing less than a walking-talking bulls eye among a flood of Korean-only, screams "look at me!".
And they're arranging to get my hair done in Korean style to go with the dress, same goes for my make-up that they'll be doing too. I was even told to get my hair colour touched up.
This Sunday I'll be Foreign Barbie.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The evolution of Pyen Chi, the Pee Master Beast of Fur.
She went from being this overly-annoying ball of fur that bit everything and everyone and freely peed, to this massive, beautiful gal that I simply can't kiss enough.
Snickers thinks I'm silly cause I talk to Pyen Chi but sometimes I seriously think she's trying to digest and make sense of what I'm saying. She told me today that she too misses Mi Nam every single damn day!
Almost Smuthered by Love... Wednesday, December 14
Had a near-death experience today when I woke up to what felt like someone trying to snuff me out with a pillow. My instant reaction was to try to grab whatever was pushing down so incredibly hard on my head, only to realize that it was Pyen Chi. Pyen Chi had flopped herself down on my head. It was actually quite scary because my arms were crossed behind my head so both my arms were pinned by the weight of her massive body. I was home alone too, to make matters even worse, so screaming for help was pointless and there was no Snickers to help me. I had no choice but to bite her. Yup, I bit her. At first she didn’t react. I had a mouthful of fur and skin but not of air and freedom, so I bit harder. Finally she reacted. She got up, swung her head into my face and bit my nose. Served me right I guess but my options were definitely limited.
This isn’t the first time Pyen Chi’s flopped down on me but this was definitely the first time she’s flopped down on my head. Every morning, usually around 5 or 6am, she does this. She tries to lay her whole body down on mine. It was fine when she was a pup, quite adorable actually, but now’s she is 37kgs and it’s just down-right scary at times. I have to do the whole tap-out like in UFC, banging on the floor to get Snickers attention and to get him to help get her off me.
Snickers shows Pyen Chi tough love whereas I bombard her with kisses, hugs and always cuddle with her. She’s become this massive walking-talking teddy bear and yes, I said talking. Trust me, if you don’t feed her in the morning when she’s hungry or if she needs to go outside for a bathroom break, she’s gets very verbal – no barking, just a lot of moaning and groaning. We try to initiate it a lot but we end up looking like fools and laughing at each other. I’m sure she thinks we’re a bit nuts but that’s ok by me.
This isn’t the first time Pyen Chi’s flopped down on me but this was definitely the first time she’s flopped down on my head. Every morning, usually around 5 or 6am, she does this. She tries to lay her whole body down on mine. It was fine when she was a pup, quite adorable actually, but now’s she is 37kgs and it’s just down-right scary at times. I have to do the whole tap-out like in UFC, banging on the floor to get Snickers attention and to get him to help get her off me.
Snickers shows Pyen Chi tough love whereas I bombard her with kisses, hugs and always cuddle with her. She’s become this massive walking-talking teddy bear and yes, I said talking. Trust me, if you don’t feed her in the morning when she’s hungry or if she needs to go outside for a bathroom break, she’s gets very verbal – no barking, just a lot of moaning and groaning. We try to initiate it a lot but we end up looking like fools and laughing at each other. I’m sure she thinks we’re a bit nuts but that’s ok by me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
You're Not Invisible... Tuesday, December 13
You think I don’t know but I know and now that you know that I know, I hope you know better… calling yourself “Anonymous” is the understatement of the year.
What does it mean to be anonymous anyways? I mean random people sign comments on my homepage using this name, most of them I must note use it when they have a mean comment to spit on my page. So does calling yourself Anonymous mean you’re identity is secret. You do realize we live in a techno-world where everyone everywhere and everything is linked via the World Wide Web?! It’s called IP addresses. I think the label “Ignorant” would be a more appropriate for such anonymous commenters that think they’re protected by such a misused label. Maybe I should respond to such “Anonymous” commenters by calling them out by their home address – “Dear Mr. ## Hopkins Street” -- which is so easy to get considering my homepage keeps record of commenters’ IP addresses and Goggle maps them.
The other day an “Anonymous” commenter claimed I “am not a professional boxer”, to which I question, what then defines someone as being a professional boxer vs. an amateur boxer or even someone who does it simply for leisure? I suppose me being a registered license boxer who puts more time in the gym and training than anything else, who constantly has to report to sponsors – both domestic and international organizations and companies who annually support me financially and with products. Would this same “Anonymous” commenter be more up for calling me a professional boxer if I was fighting more often and sporting punch-drunkness?!
Moreover, I’m always curious as to why such negative “Anonymous” commenters continually read and critic my homepage if they supposedly don’t care for me. Sounds rather silly if you ask me. I don’t care for peas and carrots so I don’t eat peas and carrots. Ok, so I’m not exactly peas and carrots but if you don’t like something or someone than why would you continually come back to visit that person even if it is a simple click onto their homepage?! Do too people simply have nothing better to do? I say, get a hobby.
Since when was it ok for people to pee on other’s parade? If someone’s happy, why try to pull them down to your level. With so much crap already consuming the news and our reality why would you want to help foster such negativity? Why can’t people just be happy for someone who is happy?
What does it mean to be anonymous anyways? I mean random people sign comments on my homepage using this name, most of them I must note use it when they have a mean comment to spit on my page. So does calling yourself Anonymous mean you’re identity is secret. You do realize we live in a techno-world where everyone everywhere and everything is linked via the World Wide Web?! It’s called IP addresses. I think the label “Ignorant” would be a more appropriate for such anonymous commenters that think they’re protected by such a misused label. Maybe I should respond to such “Anonymous” commenters by calling them out by their home address – “Dear Mr. ## Hopkins Street” -- which is so easy to get considering my homepage keeps record of commenters’ IP addresses and Goggle maps them.
The other day an “Anonymous” commenter claimed I “am not a professional boxer”, to which I question, what then defines someone as being a professional boxer vs. an amateur boxer or even someone who does it simply for leisure? I suppose me being a registered license boxer who puts more time in the gym and training than anything else, who constantly has to report to sponsors – both domestic and international organizations and companies who annually support me financially and with products. Would this same “Anonymous” commenter be more up for calling me a professional boxer if I was fighting more often and sporting punch-drunkness?!
Moreover, I’m always curious as to why such negative “Anonymous” commenters continually read and critic my homepage if they supposedly don’t care for me. Sounds rather silly if you ask me. I don’t care for peas and carrots so I don’t eat peas and carrots. Ok, so I’m not exactly peas and carrots but if you don’t like something or someone than why would you continually come back to visit that person even if it is a simple click onto their homepage?! Do too people simply have nothing better to do? I say, get a hobby.
Since when was it ok for people to pee on other’s parade? If someone’s happy, why try to pull them down to your level. With so much crap already consuming the news and our reality why would you want to help foster such negativity? Why can’t people just be happy for someone who is happy?
Monday, December 12, 2011
A Battle for the Buck... Monday, December 12
Boxing, boxing... and more boxing. This is exactly what's been consuming me lately and I am definitely not complaining but it's leaving me quite exhausted. After a long day of boxercise classes, meeting personal training clients and then doing my own boxing training, I then come home to watch past fight highlights or UFC on the TV before I call it a night.
Not too sure if you clicked on the above pic of my schedule to enlarge it (or if you can for that matter), but this week I'm throwing in two 6am boxercise classes... ya, ouch. It'd be one thing if it were early morning tutoring like when I tutored at the crack of dawn at Samsung. The scooter ride over woke me up but the job wasn't physically demanding on me. I could simply sit back and chat the hour away. Not so with boxercise though.
I have my sister-in-law's wedding to go to this Sunday so boo to that in that I won't be able to host my regular boxercise classes. Sunday tends to be my busiest day with yesterday being a prime example -- Fat to Phat Challenge kick-off, advanced boxercise class and then a beginner boxercise evening class.
I've been spending my afternoons lately working on my fitness book that I've been writing, revising and constantly adding to for the past couple of years. I still manage one of my friend's fan page but with her not having a bodybuilding competition till February, she's got extra time on her hands so she's been trying to handle it herself.
Flipside Fitness -- both my personal training and boxercise -- has been paying the bills somewhat but I'm seriously thinking about taking it to a much different level. I love hosting it at my boxing club here in Cheonan but I've been offered a guaranteed set monthly salary if I take it to Seoul where my cliental would most likely be married Korean housewives. It'd be very similar to the class I did about a month ago but I remember that class like it was yesterday. I was more or less on show and those in my class were more interested in watching me and socializing than actually putting forth the effort and focus. It was rather frustrating to me actually.
None the less, networking here in Cheonan is brutally hard and though I've been getting a good turn-out it's definitely not as good of a turn-out as I had anticipated or hoped for. The foreign crowd is a tough crowd here. I'm definitely putting in the time and effort, heck even if only one person shows up for a boxercise session I'll do the session, meaning I'll train someone for an hour and a half for only 15,000won. That's a huge bonus for them considering I charge my personal training clients more than double that price for only a hour. But I'm not complaining. I'm super thankful for those who have been showing up and I consider myself extremely blessed to be doing something I love so. Having said this though, picking up random jobs to cover the bills isn't what I want to be doing in addition to running my own company. Afterall, one (of many reasons) why I created my own company so that I wouldn't have to lean on someone else to give me work and hand me a paycheck. I wanted to earn an honest dollar my way.
I know for a fact my life would be so much easier if I just gave in and signed up for the next available English teacher position but I also know for a fact I wouldn't be happy. I had the great teaching job; I worked at Dankook. Four day weeks, 20 hour work weeks, many months off for summer and winter, and a paycheck that easily kept Snickers and I fed, clothed, plus so much more.
Do I regret quiting Dankook? No, but I can't help but wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew or if there's even enough here to chew on and maintain.
Not too sure if you clicked on the above pic of my schedule to enlarge it (or if you can for that matter), but this week I'm throwing in two 6am boxercise classes... ya, ouch. It'd be one thing if it were early morning tutoring like when I tutored at the crack of dawn at Samsung. The scooter ride over woke me up but the job wasn't physically demanding on me. I could simply sit back and chat the hour away. Not so with boxercise though.
I have my sister-in-law's wedding to go to this Sunday so boo to that in that I won't be able to host my regular boxercise classes. Sunday tends to be my busiest day with yesterday being a prime example -- Fat to Phat Challenge kick-off, advanced boxercise class and then a beginner boxercise evening class.
I've been spending my afternoons lately working on my fitness book that I've been writing, revising and constantly adding to for the past couple of years. I still manage one of my friend's fan page but with her not having a bodybuilding competition till February, she's got extra time on her hands so she's been trying to handle it herself.
Flipside Fitness -- both my personal training and boxercise -- has been paying the bills somewhat but I'm seriously thinking about taking it to a much different level. I love hosting it at my boxing club here in Cheonan but I've been offered a guaranteed set monthly salary if I take it to Seoul where my cliental would most likely be married Korean housewives. It'd be very similar to the class I did about a month ago but I remember that class like it was yesterday. I was more or less on show and those in my class were more interested in watching me and socializing than actually putting forth the effort and focus. It was rather frustrating to me actually.
None the less, networking here in Cheonan is brutally hard and though I've been getting a good turn-out it's definitely not as good of a turn-out as I had anticipated or hoped for. The foreign crowd is a tough crowd here. I'm definitely putting in the time and effort, heck even if only one person shows up for a boxercise session I'll do the session, meaning I'll train someone for an hour and a half for only 15,000won. That's a huge bonus for them considering I charge my personal training clients more than double that price for only a hour. But I'm not complaining. I'm super thankful for those who have been showing up and I consider myself extremely blessed to be doing something I love so. Having said this though, picking up random jobs to cover the bills isn't what I want to be doing in addition to running my own company. Afterall, one (of many reasons) why I created my own company so that I wouldn't have to lean on someone else to give me work and hand me a paycheck. I wanted to earn an honest dollar my way.
I know for a fact my life would be so much easier if I just gave in and signed up for the next available English teacher position but I also know for a fact I wouldn't be happy. I had the great teaching job; I worked at Dankook. Four day weeks, 20 hour work weeks, many months off for summer and winter, and a paycheck that easily kept Snickers and I fed, clothed, plus so much more.
Do I regret quiting Dankook? No, but I can't help but wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew or if there's even enough here to chew on and maintain.
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