Highlights of my Day... Friday, March 13

1. Spent a good chunk of my morning working on a 3-minute speech for the Cheonan Trump in which he’ll be giving in The Philippines at the end of this month when he makes a special guest appearance at a conference.

2. Today was a very windy, very rainy day and, laugh as may, but it felt romantic. I love rainy days, they always feel so cozy and so much slower than usual days. Today being a rainy day and my day off meant I got to enjoy it minus getting soaked in it.

3. Headed over to the hospital to pick up my completed medical check and the guy made a crack at my weight. The nurse had me stand on the scale but I hadn’t taken my jacket off and so I asked if she could recheck it. She said it was OK but Q giggled, knowing full well how sensitive Junior Mint and his intense monitoring of my weight has made me sensitive about it. She wrote me down for 55kgs, which isn’t much really but when you’re a boxer boxing professionally and you have your coach breathing down your neck about your weight, it’s a lot. “Since when have I ever been 55kgs?!” I asked Q. Q and the male attendant thought the whole situation was rather amusing so, when I returned today alone to pick it up, the male attendant thought he’d tease me. “You look 54 today” he told me. 54?!... I’m 53 thanks.

4. I stood there rather flushed with embarrassment, knowing full well that I was the only one who cared. The male attendant sat back down but continued to giggle at me and so, without even thinking, I turned around and blurted out “My chest is 89cm… nice!” Instantly his smirk left his face and jumped on to mine… hahaha. I really don’t know why I said it but I burst into laughter upon reaching the hospital exit doors.

5. Training tonight turned into quite the intense and extended training when a student from Sun Moon University in Asan (neighboring city) showed up with a loaded camera. He had called Junior Mint earlier, asking if he could come and take my picture and so Junior Mint told him the time I usually come in to train. I, on the other hand, was approached about it all when I arrived at training.

6. From what I understand of my interview conversation with him, he’s doing a project for school and had searched me out for it. And so, for my training tonight, my shadow consisted of him and his camera. Junior Mint and I trained together on pad work, trying our hardest to avoid and ignore the camera but I couldn’t help but yell out “delete photo” a couple of times after I knew full well that he had just scored a shot of Junior Mint hitting me hard with the pad because of something I had done wrong.

7. Next Friday is day two of the photo shoot. Note to self: slap on some makeup, even if it’s waterproof mascara, for training for the sake of a nicer shot… hahaha.

8. With the weekend long gone and the Arnold Classic 2009 now over, thoughts and comments are still lingering and unfortunately a woman I greatly respect is getting the butt end of it all because of a dress.

(Note from Tosca Reno’s personal homepage)

What a kafuffle (how do you spell that?) over a dress! It was actually longer than anything anyone else was wearing and I spent a lot of time thinking what I would wear to that dinner. The dress is Dolce and Gabanna and I realize the bra is showing but that is part of the dress! It is sewn into the top and it SUPPOSED to show. Now the fact that the dress was slipping down was a clothing malfunction but not of the Janet Jackson kind! I even used double sided tape to stick the dress down on my bare skin. But I had lost about 5 pounds on the booth over the first two days so I
didn't quite fit the dress the way I was meant to. What to do?

However I would like to put this into perspective. Imagine how it feels for me to be swimming upstream against the current of all the young things. I will never dress my age - whatever that means! I will dress for the occasion and for how I feel. The youngsters at the dinner and the show were wearing far less clothing and showing it all. Remember we are at the Arnold. You don't wear your pyjamas to the show. It is all about skin and curves and muscle. If you dress to cover it all up what
is the point?

Let the Leopard Show her Spots!
Cheers,
Tosca

9. Tosca Reno: a mother, wife, friend, mentor, fitness beauty, role model, but by no means is she some cheap sideshow. “I went from frumpy, fat, 40-something housewife, to bestselling author, fitness model, and columnist all by Eating Clean!” writes Tosca on her homepage. What happened was the ever-so-beloved Tosca wore a leopard print dress to the Arnold Classic 2009 and got some bad reviews because of it. I take it those bashing her dress have never been to a fitness competition where skin is a main attraction cause of the months and years of hardcore self discipline, brutal training, and hair-pulling dieting it has taken them to get their bodies to where they are now. It’s a fitness show, fitness as in body… body as is something you should expect to see a lot of at such a show.

10. I for one will always stand by the notion that Tosca is an incredibly beautiful woman who continually inspires me. Honestly, I think it’s because she isn’t some 20-year-old that makes me respect her all that more. She’s close to 50 and is healthier than most people half her age… and looks better than them too. She’s stunning, so to hide all that hard-earned fantastically fit beauty under some over sized dress is just a shame. Good for her for wearing that dress. Good for you Tosca. You’re proof that beauty and fitness can be achieved at any age!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who makes these so-called "what's age-appropriate" rules?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own.
-- Harold Coffin