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.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Free Train Friday Turns into a Free Night Off for Me... Friday, December 12

It's been snowing almost every single day here in Cheonan for the past two weeks and, low and behold, the one night I take a few off of work, it snows again.  Hulk's was hosting a Sparring Day from 7-9pm which meant Snickers had to be at the club, so I thought I'd slip away to meet up with a friend for coffee.  It was a Friday night and I had a few hours off.  It felt so strange, to tell you the truth.  I can't remember the last time I had a Friday night off.  A couple of weeks ago I took a few hours off on during a Thursday afternoon but that was to run work-related errands -- I went shopping for the club's Advent calendar.  But to have part of a Friday evening off, the freedom of picking whatever I wanted to do and an evening to myself, it felt as strange as it did great.  Members who saw me dolled up before I left commented and questioned me about my attire.  Some greeted me with confused looks over me wearing make-up, and some even giggled.  "I thought you only wear your sexy boots on Saturday?" one teased me.  It's true, I usually only get dressed up on Saturdays and by "dress up" I mean wear make-up and something other than tight Adidas training clothes and a sports bra. 

Walking out into tonight's snow flurries meant popping open an umbrella to shield myself against the wet snow. Snow in Korea isn't like snow in Canada.  It's usually not soft and fluffy; it's clumpy and wet.  You get wet in a Korean snow flurry, hence the need for an umbrella.  I've come to believe that an umbrella is the all time much-needed accessory here in Korea.  It shields you from spring's itchy-eye yellow sand that sweeps over the country from China, helps you brave through the summer's super harsh sun and the monsoon flooding rain, and then it keeps you dry during the winter's wet flurries.  Perhaps fall is the only time you can do without an umbrella.

Anyways...

I met up with a friend for coffee today.  He had taken the liberty of ordering for me before I showed up so I arrived to what looked like a whole coffee pot worth of a serving -- a sweet tasting cappuccino.  It was nice to get out of the club and feel like a "normal" person for once because that's how I felt and that's how I normally don't feel like.  I am very much married to both my husband and boxing -- our boxing careers, the sport, and our boxing club.  Life is really great, it truly is, but it has been very stressful this past 2 weeks with having to hand over my plane ticket for the heaters and now trying to save up for a new ring.  Consequently, I have been all work, 24/7, with basically everything I do and think being very much club-focused.

Taking a break from it all and meeting up with a friend for coffee was a reminder for me to make sure I get out every once in awhile, if not to maintain friendships with those I cherish in my life but also to give myself a break. 

It felt strange to be away from the club and not have to rush back but it also felt good.  Sometimes I feel like I miss out on so much of life because I am so focused on my boxing and the club.  I've given up a lot to get to where I am and I'm continually giving up more to try to push myself to the next level.  Success doesn't come without a price and no one is an exception to this idea.  Consequently, because I am so focused, I don't get invited out to many social outings, meeting new people is basically limited to whomever comes into our club, and regular things like grocery shopping and whatnot are always done at strange hours so my outside social interactions is limited or are done online. 

I need to get out more, seriously...end of my babbling.

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