As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Canada is Coming for Thanksgiving!!!... Saturday, September 14

With a beautiful clear sky and warm weather outside waiting for us today, we kind of kicked the day off on a lazy note by sleeping in till 1pm and then finally heading out to enjoy it.  So be it, it's my one day off.  A day off is never really a day off nor was today.  I have a business meeting out in Mokcheon to attend -- a meeting regarding the Thanksgiving dinner I am trying eagerly to plan for Hulk's.  

Originally we were going to get a catering company to prepare the meal and then serve it at our club but then we ran into one too many difficulties.  For starters, cooked turkeys are way overpriced and then there's the fact that we have no oven to reheat it in or even keep it warm.  Other complications and set backs presented themselves over the span of this week's worth of planning, or lack of being able to plan that is.  

Then I came up with an idea -- host it at La Cubo. 

The manager of La Cubo is a close friend of mine and I am very familiar with the chefs there too, actually with all their staff.  Today I presented the idea to Five Star (the manager) and no sooner had I gone off rambling about it and how it was important to me, he turned and said, "sure".  Just like that, a one word answer.  He then called in his chefs and we brainstormed ideas about the menu and the setup.  Unlike La Cubo's usual 5-6 course meal style where each course is individually brought out, we're going to place all the food on the table at once.  Of course tea, coffee and dessert would follow the main course too.  The idea is that it'd have a kind of western home style feel to it by laying all the dishes of food out on the table for members to pass around.  My brain is already buzzing with possible minor decorations I could incorporate and what party favor I could create.  I'm so excited.  

My menu ideas are totally new to the chefs so I know they're really going out on a limb for me, I'm so grateful for this, for them.  I was so pleased to hear that the manager and chefs at La Cubo were excited to host this with me, another reminder of just how I love Korea.  This Thanksgiving dinner is going to be very special and I definitely have high expectations for it.  The event will be only open to 20 people and for now we're only allowing current members to sign-up and participate.  I know we have a huge following of foreign members on our Facebook page that would love to come but the fact of the matter is what really matters to me most are those who make us matter to them on a daily bases -- our current members -- because we really wouldn't be the great boxing club we are without them.  I really want to share this holiday with them because it's my most favourite holiday of them all and I love my Hulk members.  I consider myself extremely blessed to be living my dream and I count each of my members as an individual blessing.  This event is for them, it's about my favourite holiday but it's also very much about them -- sharing something special with those I've labeled as special to me.  

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