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, March 19, 2017

Country Bound... Sunday, March 19

Headed out of town for yet another birthday -- Grandpa No turned 92.  The Filipinos have it right, apparently.  The secret to living a long life is living in the Philippines.  It's a land of short people but of super friendly, ultra hardworking people.  Everyone works in this country, even many of the little kids.  Ok, so some of those little kids are running into traffic and begging at car windows, a sad fact I wish they didn't have to do.  Despite this though, I feel like the Philippines is a poor country but a happy one, perhaps the secret to their long life is appreciating that which they have, and they're a country of people who don't expect easy handouts.  

The poor and homeless here definitely contrast with those in Toronto, Canada... Wow.   

Even the street cats don't beg here.  But the seagulls and squirrels in Canada... Oh gosh.

But anyways... Am getting off topic here.

I was taken to Angeles City today, a city that to me felt like a corner of the Philippines where no other foreigner has yet to venture.  It was super rural but I loved it.  Grandpa No's house is set on a property that's pretty big, big enough for three houses... and SEVEN dogs!!!  

Seven dogs and a whack of family, that's what my day consisted of.

I anticipated a lot of meat, noodles and cola being served up but I didn't expect the seven dogs, that was great, nor did I expect to meet probably the tallest Filipino I'll ever meet, that was pretty cool too.  He's a volleyball player with a beautiful dog named Blue.  I think the guy was something like 6ft 6".  

I didn't eat much of the meat nor the noddles but I did pretty much hoard the watermelon and eat my weight in it and the fresh mini bananas.  We had stopped at Starbucks beforehand, I thought I'd grab some food there to hold me over and a coffee.  Starbucks in Canada and Starbucks in the Philippines, it was the same thing until I went to this particular Starbucks and was left choking on what tasted like powder milk and a cappuccino that was missing caffeine.   

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