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.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Birthday Shout-Outs to Balboa... Sunday, January 10

Today is tomorrow in Korea.  I laid myself to sleep on this Sunday evening I knew friends in Korea were already well into Monday.  And as I got all cozy in my bed I realized something -- in Korea, it is Balboa's birthday.

Balboa turned 3 years old. 

I haven't seen Balboa in 162 days, since August 5th when I left Korea.  

After much hassling, Snickers finally messaged me some pictures of our dogs.  They were taken up on the rooftop where they have their own living corridors but Balboa lives inside the club and he never sent me a picture of him.  

It's hard being away from Korea and everything and everyone that that includes, my life of eleven years there.  I don't talk about it much here on my homepage because I don't want to and I can't.  It's heartbreaking.

It was Balboa's birthday -- the birthday of an annoying little Chihauhau who has such small-dog syndrome.  I cried at the realization that absolutely nothing would be done to recognize this moment, this day, because I'm not there and Snickers never saw any kind of importance in holidays.  Of course Balboa wouldn't even know it's his birthday, he is after all a dog, but I knew it was and it meant something to me.  

I miss my four-legged friends every single day but today was extra hard because of it.

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