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.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

A Whole Whack of Feelings... Wednesday, January 17

There was a moment today, when I was in my Uber coming home from my business meeting, where it hit me. I'm really doing this. I'm making my business, I'm changing lives and it's changing my life.  I got emotional in the back of my Uber and the driver kept glancing at me in the rear view mirror. 

"Are you happy or sad?", he asked. 

I was both. 

I had just come from my business meeting at the Bicutan DOH Treatment Rehabilitation Centre, a drug rehab live-in facility. It was my second meeting with them. The first meeting was discus how Empowered could collaborate with them. Since then, I've devised a detail program proposal and sent it to them. Today they asked me to come in to discuss it. They loved it and even agreed to my requests in it.  Today the 8 of us -- their chief, 7 of their staff and me -- sat down to talk and discuss the next steps needed. It was at this meeting that I met two of my Trainers-in-Training that will be under my guidance and I met the nutritionist that will be assisting.  I didn't know they had gone an asked for some of their staff to step up for the positions I proposed in my program so meeting them was such an awesome and unexpected surprise.  It made me so happy, so proud.

Earlier on though today, as I rushed to leave for my meeting, I got an email. It was from my dad. I haven't talked to him since Christmas when he made it clear he didn't understand or approve of me being in the Philippines. The conversation ended with me hanging up on him, something I can't even believe happened.  The whole conversation was too much for me. I was in tears. I've been debating how to talk to him since but today he reached out to me via an email. It talked nothing about our argument but instead ended with him telling me to come home. 

I am home. 

I got emotional in the back of the Uber today because I wanted to tell my father the awesome news of today's meeting but I know I can't and I won't. He won't be happy for me. My happiness today will bring him more sadness because it will only emphasis how much I love living here and how much I honestly feel my calling is here.  

Add today to the list of stories I can't tell my dad.  I can't tell him about the condo mishap but I also can tell him about landing my proposed deal with Bicutan.  I can't even tell him my good stories.  Today's story is a fabulous one.

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