Warming up and representing Korea in Japan.

Thank you to all of you who supported me and continue to do so.

What went down in Japan...

Okay, so it’s about time I started to put some effort towards my homepage, or at least update you all with what went down in Japan.

Japan was fabulous!!!

“Just enjoy it” was Snickers’ advice so, on that note, I headed off to Japan with Milk Dud and my promoter, G-Man, to go represent Korea in Japan. After a month of intense dieting, I felt like I had vacuum-wrapped my body because I had definitely limited my intake of liquids. Before I was able to satisfy my overly-loud milk cravings, I had to weigh-in in Japan. I arrived in Japan and was greeted by Mr. Seiki, the organizer of the tournament and my opponent’s coach. He was a 51-year-old Japanese man dressed from head-to-toe in hip-hop style and his favorite English saying was “Take it easy, man.” He was hilarious.

Had weigh-in before the official weigh-in, in addition to already being weighed-in twice already that day, but in Korea (meaning I stepped on the scale FOUR TIMES on Friday!!!). I weighed-in at 46.8kgs, the lightest I have ever been since probably grade eight. They were really professional about dealing with me as a female. They made all the guys, including my promoter and coach, leave the room so that I could weigh-in and have the doctor do a general check on me.

After weigh-in I was allowed to indulge and drink some much needed water. Loaded up on lots of veggies and chicken, and I must have drank about 3 liters of water that night!
Got a good night’s sleep and then woke up for game day.

Up until about ten minutes before my fight, I had stayed out of the public eye by staying in my personal changing room. When I entered the arena however, it felt as if all eyes and heads had been directed to turn to me. My blonde hair made me stand out like a sore thumb and many people took pictures of me. On the advertising game posters, they mentioned that I was from Korea and so I definitely confused them with my foreign looks, super blonde hair, and Korean writing on my game shorts. There were numerous Koreans in the crowd and some approached me before the game to give their support.

They the announcer called my name. I approached the ring, stepped in, and then some Japanese and Koreans in the crowd yelled out “hello!” in Korean. I turned and said hi back.
Then the bell rang and the fight began.

I always hate the first round. My legs never seem to be in sync with the rest of my body until the second round starts. I got her good with a hook though and it seemed like her reaction was forced into slow-motion. I watched as her head snapped back and her face contorted.

Then the second round started.

My opponent was a south paw out-fighter, the very opposite of my style. I stalked her in the ring as she bounced around. I figure I’d let her come to me, waste some of her energy while I take her punches, and then I’d square her with a good couple of hooks. Well, that was the plan but what ended up happening was the ref called the fight. At first I thought he was going to call me for having stepped on her foot but when he pulled me away and told me to go to my corner I knew something was wrong. He had called the fight, as it called it quits. He had hadn’t even so much had given me a fair count before calling the fight.

At the realization of this, my eyes instantly swelled up with tears. I put out my arms and yelled out “why?!”

I never did get an answer to my why but I knew that no matter how much of a stink I’d make over it, there was nothing I could do. They wouldn’t take back the call and let us fight again so I had no choice to accept it. Snickers’ words, “Just enjoy it”, came to mind again, so I sat down and tried to enjoy the rest of my stay in Japan.

And enjoy it was definitely what I did. That night (Saturday night), Mr. Seiki took all of us out for dinner and then a grand tour of Fukuoka. The manager at the restaurant where we ate was lovin’ me and so dinner was courtesy of him – sweet!!!

Despite the obvious disappointment with my fight, Japan was awesome. Sure, I got sick and tired of having to translate things for Junior Mint, and sure I was frustrated with the fact that he still hadn’t even so much had said sorry for mocking me and not believing me when I initially told him I had a fight in Japan, Japan was still awesome. Ya… no bitterness there. Anyways, I had taken Snickers’ words to heart and had enjoyed it.


Moreover, because of my trip to Japan, I was able to see my friend Satoshi again and I was able to spend time with my promoter, G-Man, both of which are awesome guys! It was so great to see Satoshi again and G-Man’s hug at the end of my fight was exactly what I needed.

As for Fukuoka, I will definitely be back. With it’s super clean streets, modern buildings, and super beautiful blue fresh skies, I’m convinced that if Snickers wasn’t back in Korea waiting for me than I wouldn’t have returned to Korea. Plan is to return for a summer holiday with Snickers.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why did they call my fight?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Just enjoy it.
-- Snickers

A Quick Update...

I'm so super busy, correction, I'm so super distracted with so many things, so here's a quick video I took to hold you over.

Yes, I am still here...

To say "I am busy" would be the understatement of the year by me.

I guess a more appropriate word would be "distracted". I have too many distractions going on. With the end of my school work year quickly approaching, my fight approaching even quicker, and then planning my wedding and honeymoon, ya... I've been definitely distracted.

Having said that, I will definitely update you this weekend. Am hoping to set up my web cam and do a little video for you all.

Thanks for hanging in there while I "undistract" myself... hahaha... is that even such a word?!

My new "second-skin" training outfit. I love it! It's kind of like thermal underwear that I wear under my Adidas training clothes. It keeps me super warm despite it being super thin.

My I'm-not-impressed look. Note how dark my hair is yet again?! Ya, I don't look impressed cause I definitely wasn't impressed, hence why I look like I'm trying to push down the wall!!!

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, November 29

1. So much for a nice morning run, it was pouring outside. Run got postponed till the rain stopped.

2. Snickers’ hair design friend, the so-called Miracle Worker, came to Guum Ggum today. I was all excited about him doing my hair. “I want light ash brown – sandy blond” I told him, “Like the color of beach sand.”

3. I take it I should have added “The color of clean beach sand, not Korean beach sand” because what I got was definitely not the sand of common beach sand. When he told me to go rinse my head of the hair color, I called Snickers into the bathroom to give him my I’m-definitely-not-happy look, and I think the exact words I mumbled to Snickers were “I wanted the color of beach sand, not the color of crap on the beach sand!”

4. The so-called Miracle Worker insisted that the color would fade and I waited till he left to continue my I’m-not-impressed look. Snickers sat their frowning while I must have washed my hair about half a dozen times.

5. I was ticked, to say the least. I wouldn’t have put my hair through hell and back with all the bleaching and then chopping off tons of it only so that I could return to dark brown hair!!! Now I’m back to the problem I was in the first place – dark hair with light roots that are sure to grow in soon. I don’t want dark hair again. Dang Skippy!!!

6. Was one step away from being able to breath fire because of being so ticked off and so I geared up and went running.

7. Snickers has been going on my runs with me lately and so he’s been such a great motivator to me. During our runs together he randomly gives me thumbs ups, throws out random words, and occasionally pats me on the bum like we’re in some kind of football locker room. He’s hilarious but I definitely appreciate his effort to help me out.

8. Got down to marking student writing assignments tonight, definitely not a fun thing to do but certainly a necessity. Marking kills me.

9. Marking also drives me bonkers but Snickers insisting I take breaks for random back massages and cat naps definitely helped to keep me sane.

10. Snickers ordered in call-food tonight and having to sit there and endure the smells and sight of all that delicious looking food was torture. I’m on a very limited, very tight diet that doesn’t even so much as let me drink excessive water or eat the foods and quantity of foods I am use to. He said he’d go out to the restaurant if I thought I couldn’t handle the temptation but I insisted that he order it, claiming that I needed to work on my mind control.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What is the color of your beach sand?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I'm not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.
-- Dolly Parton

Me sporting my new "training skin" outfit has scored me the new nickname of Ninja Girl by Snickers... hahaha. He bought it off the Internet for me, it cost less than $30, and it keeps me super warm while running outside.
What else keeps me warm are text messages like these from Snickers. We had promised to meet up around midnight to go running but he never showed up.
Translation: I know you have waited a long time. Me too. 25 years I waited for you. I love you Amy.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, November 28

1. Well, if I had a fan crap would have definitely hit it this morning… ya, change the subject there.

2. Plans to head out to the Korean Bulldog’s fight went up in the air, along with the other poop…. again, change the subject there.

3. It’s been a hard week of training and I was hoping to have a relaxing and entertaining day out at my teammate’s fight but, as things turned out, I did in fact see a fight, just not my teammate’s fight. Actually, it was me in a fight that went down today, hence why I was a no-show for my teammate.

4. Congrats to the Korean Bulldog who won his fight by TKO in the third round – nice!!!

5. Word of the wise to my now-officially-labeled personal stalker, I love to fight not fight to love, so picking a fight with me might turn the tables and interest me to come after you!

6. I now officially have a stalker in Korea, great. I thought I’d go M.I.A. for a bit but it’s all quite amusing. I’m not really sure on how to deal with him but if “punch stalker in the crotch” becomes a daily thing on my list of things-to-do, I’m going to pass him over to Snickers to deal with.

7. Spent my afternoon at the boxing club training by myself. I had weighed myself at Hongik in the morning. I didn’t train at Hongik but simply went there to borrow their scale. Weighed-in at 49.70kgs. For my fight however, I have to be in between 46.36kgs and 47.1kgs. I still have a way to go.

8. My evening basically consisted of me trying not to die from the boredom that plagues my brain when I mark student papers. I’m just not focused on doing school work these days. I’ll be done it all in less than a month and I know I’ll miss it when it’s gone, but for now it’s splattered all on my family room floor and haunts me in my sleep.

9. Did my long run today – I was on fire!

10. Apparently my stalker ran my long run, too, or at least tried to. Not too sure if I should be scared that a young guy is following me at midnight, flattered that he’s helping me to run faster, or motivated that I’m helping someone get in shape. Whatever I feel, I definitely don’t feel intimidated, after all, he can’t run to save his life.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are you working it?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.
-- Ann Landers

Korea Fighting!!!

Am off to Sang Jo to cheer on my teammate, the Korean Bulldog, as he fights today. Be sure to tune into MBC EPSN Sports to cheer on Cheonan. Show starts at 12noon. Today Snickers and I will be announcing out engagement to KBC so lets see how much TV coverage and camera action that gets us.

My FIANCE is going to kick your a$$ if you continue to try to pee on my parade, thank you very much. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, November 27

1. Despite having a full day, packed with training, work, and then more training, I decided to do something different for today's post. I'm always incredibly thankful and appreciative of the comments and kind words left by people on my homepage but I always question why certain "Anonymous" people continually try to pee on my parade. I've never been one to really care what others think. Trust me, me being a female boxer and sporting more muscle than many of my Korean male friends in a country than is so not down with my boxer-girl image has definitely made me develop tough skin. So, for today's posting, I thought I'd address several of the nasty comments that have been filling up my inbox.


With reference to my boxing and work:

“Why should your university approve your boxing? You are here to TEACH, not box. If you want to box, then quit your job and marry whichever Korean guy you’re with at the time and get an F2.“

Well, I figure if they support others showing up for work smelling like soju and they support others who are clearly doing tutoring on the side, then they’d support my boxing. After all, my boxing has brought a huge amount of free publicity to the school with the six TV shows that I did, not to mention the numerous TV, magazine and newspaper interviews and whatnot. Anyways, that’s what I am doing – quitting my job, getting married and getting an F2. As for the “whatever Korean guy you’re with at the time”, just how many guys do you think I’ve dated?! In the five years that I have lived in Korea, I’ve dated six guys, three of which I’d consider a boyfriend. Six guys is hardly a huge group of guys, thanks.

"Relax with the training. Women are meant to be soft, have curves,
and have breasts."

With a fight less than a month away why would I relax with my training and focus on my breasts? I am a boxer and I will, sooner or later, get my 6-pack, so soft is definitely not the look I am going for. Moreover, my fiance is definitely not complaining about my body, nor have you really seen my body, so I wonder who's comments have more weight here?! Exactly.

"It's good you live in Korea -- home of the chestless women."

It's good YOU don't live in Korea -- home of the soon-to-be faceless so-called Anonymous... that was my initial response. But honestly, your comment was just low. Just because I'm not the in-your-face double-d woman I use to be doesn't mean that I am any less beautiful, nor are my Korean female counterparts. Breast size does not determine a woman's worth thanks. Moreover, have you ever been punched in the boob? I take it your haven't cause if you had than you too would wish them to disappear.

“It’s all about the TV coverage and exposure with you isn’t it. You must be the biggest attention whore.”

No, it’s not all about the TV coverage and exposure but it definitely helps. Do you think the Cheonan Trump and Adidas spotted me because I was sitting at home – no. I am my own self-promoter and using mediums like the Internet, newspaper, and TV have definitely helped me make a name for myself in Korea. And when you have someone like Jose Sulaiman (World Boxing Commission President) knowing your name before you even tell it to them, it only helps to prove my point.


With reference to me posting wedding dress pictures:

“How about you ask your boyfriend what he thinks? You know, the guy you’re getting married to!! This relationship sounds like it’s all about AMY. Does this guy have an opinion on anything? Can’t say I’m surprised.”

How about the fact that the groom isn’t suppose to see the dress till I show up at the end of the isle?! Ya, thanks. And thanks for reminding me that my boyfriend is in fact the guy I am marrying. For a minute there I thought I was marrying someone else… hahaha. As for this relationship being all about me, or so you claim, maybe you’re just tuning into my homepage or have been totally blind to the fact that my homepage mentions Snickers on a daily bases and for awhile there some complained that it was too Snickers-focused. Can’t say I’m surprised about your comment though. Ignorance may be bliss for you but it’s annoying for me.


With reference to me storming out of boxing the other week:

“You’re such a child.”

I take it you’ve never experienced living in another country that doesn’t speak your language. The only place I really speak my own language is at school, and even there I am repeatedly talked to in Korean by students. Moreover, not being able to improve upon my skills because of the language barrier is incredibly difficult, discouraging and frustrating. Consider yourself lucky for not having to be in my shoes. Most couldn’t handle it.


With regards to Snickers:

“Engaged, WOW! Didn’t you just meet this guy? Seems like not too long ago you were talking about a ring from a different guy! Almost seems like you’re into collecting engagement rings, or toying with the guys and waiting for someone better to come along. How can you be sure, this guy is THE ONE you will REALLY marry? I hope you don’t get bored now that you have the ring and start looking for someone new!”

Did you just tune into my homepage, like seriously. Maybe you should look back and re-read what it was exactly that I wrote about that other ring, cause it wasn’t good. Not too sure why the reference to engagement rings because my previous engagement was to a Portugese guy back when I was just arriving to Korea. And what guys?! Thanks for making it sound like I’m such a pimp-mama but I don’t exactly have guys banging down my door, thanks. And in response to your question about how I can be sure this guy (Snickers) is the one, that’s a
simple question with an even more simple answer. I know because I just know, and there’s no questioning it. You just know when you know, and unless you’ve experienced this in your life than you really won’t know what I am talking about. Snickers is an amazingly beautiful person, throw in the fact that he’s got self-induced A.D.D. and I doubt I’ll ever get bored… hahaha. No, but in all honestly, Snickers is the one and I don’t doubt it for a minute but sometimes find myself getting a bit scared at the realization at just how happy I am with him. I don’t think everyone gets everything they wish for but I definitely got more than I could ever wish for
with him!!!


With reference to my engagement photo:

“Is that your best ‘fake smile’? It really does look staged! You knew he was going to ask so how can you really be that surprised? Or was this just for SHOW! Seems like you’re all about getting reactions! But, it was nice to see your boyfriend actually wearing clothes!”

Yes, it was my best fake smile. We actually returned to the engagement spot about an hour and a half later to take pictures. Gotta take a picture with the ring! And yes, I knew he was going to ask me but I didn’t really know how. Just because I knew he would didn’t mean that it was an less exciting. Asking someone to marry you and spend the rest of their life with you is a huge thing and so it felt awesome to experience him reaching this decision in his life and asking me. An engagement is an engagement, it’ll always be a big step and an important marker in one’s life. As for that smart-a$$ comment about my boyfriend wearing clothes, he’s not my boyfriend, he’s my fiancé. When have I ever posted naked pictures of him? Never. He's always wearing clothes in pictures, maybe not so many pieces of clothing but he does have clothes on. Furthermore, why would I really want to clothe him anyway?! You've seen his pictures. He’s hot. Don’t be such a hater. Don’t hate him because he’s beautiful, hate him because your girlfriend thinks he is... hahaha.


With reference to me going to my teammate’s fight:

“Sounds like the only reason you are going there is to announce your engagement! Shouldn’t the attention be on your teammate not your personal life??”

No, of course that’s not the only reason. Give me more credit than that, thanks. However, given the plan Snickers and I have next year with regards to our boxing, we really need to work the media and up our connections and contacts within the boxing community. Boxing matches are the perfect hot spots to do exactly that.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
If someone's happy, why can't you just be happy that they're happy?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.
-- Arthur Miller

Walking in a winter wonderland -- Korean style.

And what better way to welcome winter than to get all cozy with your own Korean hottie.

Am curious if snow will ever show up though.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, November 26

1. Today marked the last day of weight training until after my upcoming fight. I love weight training and don’t even mind waking up at the crack of dawn for it, but it makes me slower in the ring. Moreover, with the weight requirement hovering over me 24-7, it’s much more productive for me to drop my weight training and substitute it with my running.

2. Snoozing between weight training and working was quite the harsh tease and I wanted nothing more to stay all curled up on my heated floor.

3. It’s official, my contract with Japan arrived in the mail, I signed it, got Junior Mint to sign it too, and then off I sent it back to Japan.

4. Got told to go running before I showed up for boxing which meant I had a 40 minute run before I then had about an hour of boxing. Needless to say, although I finished boxing at 9pm, I had already had a very exhausting day of training – weight training from 6 – 7:30am, running from 7:00 – 7:40pm, and boxing from 8 – 9pm.

5. Snickers doesn’t want to go to Japan with me on account that watching me fight makes him, and I quote, “feel crazy sick”. Apparently my promoter will be traveling with me to Japan, that’s cool.

6. Heard the funniest thing I've heard all week in my class today. This week in class we're talking about super hero powers. I told my students that I wish I had the power to freeze time. It'd allow me to sleep longer, train more, and have more time to just relax or meet with friends. Well, apparently one of my students wished he could "be a transgender". What he really meant was he wished he could change back and forth between the genders. He thought it was the perfect idea and noted that it'd mean he could become a girl on dates and make his date pick up the tab. "But that'd mean you'd be on a date with a guy" I noted. "Oh... I'm NOT gay!" he blurted out, and with that I laughed so hard. Moral of the story, be careful what you wish for... hahaha.

Although there's no such thing as the perfect man, I wished for a perfect-for-me man and boy did God ever hit the nail on the head with that wish of mine!!!

7. Had promised to take Snickers to go see that new movie starring the Korean singer Rain. I had even bought tickets earlier on in the day for them, too. So with limited time to scoot home from boxing, shower and get dolled up for the movie, I was so rushed for time, not to mention limited with my energy.

8. Must admit that Rain’s fighting scenes were impressive but he killed it when he opened his mouth to speak. And what was with the brutal parting of his hair in the middle?!

9. No sooner did the movie start but then it was lights out for me. I was exhausted from today’s training and Rain was really doing nothing for me but killing my time. Sleeping through the movie was definitely better than trying to watch it.

10. Just think, in two months from today I will be heading off to my honeymoon… how sweet is that?!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What do you wish for?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Whatever you are be a good one.
-- Abraham Lincoln

Bikini number one...

and bikini number two for my honeymoon.

Am hoping that these knock-out bikinis also come fully-equipped with "chest material", aka the chest that I am apparently losing because of my game dieting and training... hahaha.

Highlights of my Day... Friday, November 25

1. Woke up and headed out the door to measure my run. Running, for me, is the fastest way to drop my weight, and with about 3 weeks left to go, I still have about 3kgs to drop. One of my coworkers leant me a watch that not only times your runs but it also tells you how many calories you’ve burned, your running pace, and how far you have ran. Actually, it does much more than that though. It’s got it’s own GPS software that lets you track the actual exact route of your run and then look it up on Goggle Earth… how cool is that?! Anyways, I measured my running route and it came out to being 6.48kms.

2. Junior Mint wants me to up my route distance and so we agreed that starting this Friday I will be running a route. I measured it out today and it is 8.83kms. Weight training, although it’s been helping to build up muscle, is leaving me sore and weak for boxing. The plan is to drop weight training from here on out and replace it with early morning runs. Then, of course, I have my boxing training every evening.

3. I knew the stress of me testing out Snickers’ game diet was getting to me when I snapped at Snickers failing to help me in the morning like how he had promised he would. Snickers has me on this wickedly-hard diet that’s all about quantity of food verses my quality of food (clean eating). Today his diet royally kicked my butt and sent me into super-spaze-owski mood.

4. I knew I had to get out Snickers’ diet when I found myself hiding the TV remote and then taking it a step further and hiding the remote batteries. “What’s wrong with me?” I asked myself. “I definitely need my protein and veggies back” was my answer.

5. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another, this was definitely the lesson of the day for me! And on that note, I jumped off Snickers’ crazy game diet and tried to make an adaption diet that incorporated both Snickers’ game diet and mine.

6. Tried to snap out of my spaz-owski rut by doing some online shopping. Picked out some of the things on my Victoria Secret wish list and exercised the plastic.

7. Despite the numbers on the scale not exactly impressing me, my body feels so different and it’s getting harder and harder to figure out what to wear because my pants are now too big, my shirts fit different, bra shopping was a must, skirts don’t hug my hips like before, and leggings are quick to creep off my waistline. Moreover, I don’t really like how my face looks anymore. I use to think I had a cute face cause of my pudgy cheeks but now the pudge in my cheeks isn’t exactly there. And to tell you the truth, I’m kind of nervous of what I will feel like and look like after I get down past the 47kgs mark. It’s not going to be a pretty sight.

8. All week I’ve been struggling with following Snickers’ crazy-man game diet and tonight I definitely snapped. After putting in a grueling effort at boxing, what should I do but stomp into Lotte Super and buy a massive bag of Snickers snack-size chocolate bars.

9. I’m not a particular fan of chocolate. I usually chop up chocolate and store it in my freezer for the rare occasions when I want a treat or when I come in from an exceptionally hard workout or run. I’m not a diabetic but consider somewhat on the borderline because I get the shakes sometimes if I train too hard. My blood-sugar level after training sometimes leaves me dizzy feeling, especially morning weight training when I train on an empty stomach. I use get the shakes back when I was a high school student and so I use to have to snack on a couple of cinnamon heart candies after track and field or field hockey practice.

10. However, my blood-sugar level had nothing to do with tonight’s buying of chocolate. I wanted to trash the diet and gain my strength back. Mind ya, eating a handful of snack-size chocolate bars and then downing almost a liter of milk left me feeling nothing less than bloated and unable to move… but it felt GREAT!!! After, I laid on the floor and enjoyed the feeling of being full and the feeling of not being a slave anymore Snickers’ crazy game diet.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why do we willing put ourselves through repeated torture?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If Heaven made him - earth can find some use for him.
-- Chinese Proverb

Adidas Korea!!!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, November 24

1. Woke up to early morning weight training and worked on back and chest.

2. Back to sleep for another couple of hours after weight training and then it was a full day of scheduled plans for the rest of the day.

3. First on my list of things-to-do today was traveling out to the outskirts of Cheonan to a Adidas store Snickers discovered was having a 40-60% discount sale. Snickers bought me Adidas runners the other day but I thought the size was a bit off.

4. Jumped on the city bus and arrived at Adidas. Man, it was like sensory overload for me and I just couldn’t keep my hands off the stuff… hahaha. A sweater that I bought last week for $60 was now on sale for $20, so I picked up an extra two. Got my runners switched and then picked up a pair of training pants.

5. And if I hadn’t enough Adidas for the day, today Snickers and I headed out to Seoul for a special meeting at the Adidas headquarters.

6. Adidas Boxing will be starting up in January and so I was asked by Adidas Boxing in France to pay Adidas Korea a visit. When we arrived at their office, we were taken into a room which had three of its’ four walls lined with Adidas apparel, equipment and whatnot.

7. We talked about pretty much everything, from suggestions about their equipment, sponsors, and boxing in Korea, to Snickers and I wedding plans, and learning Korean. Three and a half hours later, we left Adidas with plans to further our relationship with them and visiting again.

8. Returning back to Cheonan meant I had to race off to boxing where I was then drilled about my meeting with Adidas, and quite frankly I’m a little bit sick of Junior Mint’s questions about other ties I have with my boxing. As a coach, Junior Mint is awesome, there’s no denying it, but as a business man, he’s lacking in skill. I say this because of what went down with the Cheonan Trump in the summer. For two years the Cheonan Trump totally supported my boxing but he grew inpatient when Junior Mint continually refused to print the his name on my game uniform. Instead however, I was forced into buying my own game uniform with someone else’s name on it, so basically I paid to advertise for someone else – how does that work?! It doesn’t. Needless to say, how Junior Mint dealt with the whole Cheonan Trump situation has left a sour taste in my mouth and so I am no longer interested in telling him about other ties I have with my boxing.

9. And on that note, I kept my mouth shut and trained. Sometimes I wish things were back to the way they use to be, back when I was an amateur boxer and nothing was really expected from me. I guess the lesson I’ve learned here is to be careful what you wish for. I don’t regret turning pro with my boxing but there’s definitely a lot more to it than most people are aware of.

10. Am definitely looking forward to January, when I can just focus solely on my boxing.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who do you surround yourself with?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Surrounded by people who love life, you love it too; surrounded by people who don't, you don't.
-- Mignon McLaughlin

Porridge soap -- I'm a firm believer in it... hahaha.

Why I never ventured to Lush before is beyond me, so do your body good and check it out!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, November 23

1. One phone call to the pension office meant our February wedding date was returned back to it’s original January wedding date. Good stuff. Anticipated date of marriage, January 25th. Anticipated start date of honeymoon, January 26th. Anticipated start date of wedding giddiness – it’s all ready started!!!

2. My new favorite word: fiancé. The thought of getting married fascinates me so much, knowing that I so never expected to meet someone like Snickers. I always thought I’d have to settle, and for awhile I did, but absolutely adore Snickers. Like they say, “You’ll know when you know” and it’s so true. I know he’s the one for me because I just know, and for those who continually ask me “how do you know for sure though?”, it’s obvious that they’ve never experienced that whole “You’ll know when you know” concept. It’s awesome – simply, purely and incredibly awesome!!!

3. Students continue to flood my email box and ears with words of congrats as news of my recent engagement works its way through the student body grapevine.

4. Having a mid-afternoon date with Snickers was a nice way to start off my work week. I sat at what we now refer to as “Proposal Park” waiting for him and what should he be doing while I wait but make the loudest of loud donkey impersonations as he approached me. I had told him the other day that we usually refer to stubborn people as donkeys and he threw in a reference to someone as being so stubborn that instead of being the donkey, they are the inside of the donkey’s butt. It was quite a graphic and “colourful” reference, I do recall, but it was hilarious. Now however, he thinks making spontaneous donkey noises is the funniest thing. I guess on the plus note here, it’s distracted him from doing his usual “dry hump”, or as he says, “dry pump”, gestures… hahaha.

5. Snickers was sporting a particularly extra dose of A.D.D. behavior today and so the very loud, very public donkey noises were just the start of it. He tried to get me to run up a going-down elevator, gave me a huge “Hollywood kiss” while waiting in line, and then he insisted I piggy-back him in the grocery store. Yup, my fiancé is definitely not normal. Mind ya, that’s the pure beauty of him; he’s different.

6. Turns out Snickers over-the-top A.D.D. behavior all stemmed from the fact that he had a whack of surprise gifts waiting for me back at Guum Ggum. I opened the door and there before my feet sat a couple of Adidas bags. He had bought me an Adidas winter training jacket and pants, and a new pair of Adidas runners. I love Adidas but have always been a devoted fan to the Nike Shox shoes. Today I got my first pair of Adidas runners.

7. He looked so proud watching me open up my gifts, though I have no idea why the impromptu shopping spree on me, but I felt caught between being happy for the generous gifts and feeling bad that he had spent too much money on me. Unlike me, Snickers pay is only as frequent as his games and because he had just dished out mad money on my engagement ring and the necklace before that, I knew his bank account was dwindling down.

8. I accepted the gifts, showered him with loads of kisses and hugs, but was sure to throw in many “You shouldn’t have” lines.

9. Dished out $12 for a bar of soap, but it’s not just any bar of soap. It’s a handmade soap by Lush called “Porridge Soap” and it has porridge in it that works wonders with exfoliating your skin. I’ve only used it once but I’m hooked!

10. Got my butt kicked at boxing – literally, and my teammate (the Korean Bulldog) got his royally kicked – if only that was literally. Instead however, Junior Mint took a stick to the back of my teammate’s legs. The Korean Bulldog has a fight coming up on the 28th and apparently he was a no-show for Saturday training. Am sure he won’t miss training again, mind ya, I questioned whether or not he could effectively train tonight. He couldn’t even stand for a bit.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who do you love?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that.
-- Michael Leunig

Proudly Polish!!!
And royally served... ouch!

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, November 22

1. So much for today being my last day off from training. Snickers bribed me, saying that if I went running he’d clean Guum Ggum, so I went running and yes, he did clean the house.

2. Running today will hopefully erase the two steps back I took with yesterday’s late night dinner.

3. Watched the Tito UFC fight on TV today – boy, that fight got pretty bloody pretty fast!

4. The UFC fights were followed by the World’s Strong Man Competitions on another channel. Actually, it’s on a lot these days and both Snickers and I love it. I’m always curious as to how one trains for competitions that consist of pulling trains, throwing beer kegs, and squatting cars.

5. Watching sports at Guum Ggum is always accompanied by loud cheering, clapping, and banging on the floor. Today we cheered extra loud for Polish’s very own Marius Pudzianowski.

6. Cheering for our boy Marius turned into Snickers and I some how getting into a wrestling fight after Snickers almost dropped me when he tried to do squats with me on his shoulders… hahaha.

7. I once told my students that best friends means willingly standing in front of a car to save them. Ok, so it’s not the best definition of a best friend but they got my point. Well, today I proved to be Mi Nam’s best friend when I literally stood in front of a car and let it hit me. It was more like a tap, not a hit, but I was left with the dirt from the front of the car on my pants.

8. Mi Nam ran out into the street and down the hill. I called out for him but by the time he started to come back I feared the car would hit him. The car came to a halting stop, Snickers yelled out to me from the park, and Mi Nam ran past my feet. Snickers called me crazy for doing that but Mi Nam wagged his tail to say thank you.

9. Called up my parents in Canada to tell them the news of my engagement. I felt rather awkward telling them that there will be no real wedding but considering the circumstances and whatnot, I think it’s for the best. I rather throw money down for a beautiful honeymoon than a ceremony that will impress our quests but leave us broke. Moreover, the fact that my family and closest friends are on the other side of the globe only reinstates the fact that a wedding ceremony would only be for show and would lack meaning. But anyways, enough about that… time to plan the honeymoon!!!

10. Am definitely looking forward to this time next month. I will have finished my work at Dankook, will have started my holidays, will be closer to my wedding and honeymoon date, and will have Japan under my belt. Life is good – real good—and it’s days like this that I seriously feel it’s TOO good!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do they have the World's Strongest Women competitions?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Yes, you're strong, but smell's not everything.
-- my father, Papa Bere

How cool is that?! Palm trees IN the middle of the pool!!!

Thought I'd put a shot of the room in here but with all the water sports activities available to us, we really could careless about where we'll be sleeping.

One of the numerous restaurants on the resort.

Hghlights of my Day... Saturday, November 21

1. Weighted in at 50.4kgs and then trained my arms and shoulders like a mad woman.

2. Got a business proposition offered to me today. The proposition was regarding me helping manage a boxing club with Snickers. I would do stuff like coach the beginners and run several box-ercise classes. The way we look at it, however, is that given all the reasons why Snickers’ club is going belly up, his coach is seriously in a desperate position. I knew this would eventually come, the belly-up part that is, and so I responded with saying “I’ll think about it.” So yes, I’ll think about it. There’s a lot to think about here with regards to my own boxing: my loyalty to my current club, my teammates, my coach; how this would effect my license and game schedule… etc., etc.

3. Snickers is super stoked about the thought of running his own boxing club but I’m hesitant because competition in Korea with businesses is fierce.

4. Did a couple of hours of honeymoon planning and figure I have pretty much made my mind up with where we’ll be staying in Bali. We plan on doing a lot of outdoor sport activities, like renting mountain bikes, learning how to snorkle, swimming (of course), playing tennis, and so on. Snickers is totally letting me plan the trip, which only is adding to my excitement because I want to shock the socks off him when he arrives at the beautiful resort I’ve picked out!!! The actual wedding date, however, is continually being played with on a daily bases. I think it's safe to say though that it will be at the end of February.

5. And what’s a honeymoon on the beach without a sexy bikini to keep the temperature rising?! Exactly. I figure I’ll be living in basically a bikini and skirt for the whole vacation and so I picked out a couple of bikinis online. I showed one of them to Snickers and he responded with bulging eyes, “You want die?” He’s not for me being revealing on any level. I definitely learned that when we went to Busan and he literally walked into the ocean with the towel to cover me up when I wanted to go back to shore.

6. Made my Victoria Secret honeymoon wish list... press HERE to check it out.

7. In addition to “A.D.D. Boy” and “Snickers”, Snickers has acquired another nickname. Lately, he’s been referred to as “The-Little-Boy-Who-Cried-Wolf”, in fact, he just about had me pulling his hair out and me punching his teeth out with his “wolf crying” -- fake proposal acts. Whether it was him purposely bending on one knee but doing so to tie his shoe or look at something on the ground, he’s been crying wolf a lot. Even when he proposed to me this past Wednesday and promised me he wasn’t crying wolf, I opened the ring box only to find a tree leaf in it. I yelled out and then he pulled me back with his hand when I tried to walk away. Tears filled my eyes and I hid my face. When he wouldn’t let go, I turned around and there he was on one knee with eyes looking all glossy. That’s when he gave his honest proposal, accompanied by a couple of English sentences he had learned and memorized.

8. Our anticipated evening date on the town turned into Snickers running off to rent some DVDs while I cooked up some chicken and whatnot for us. My game diet has been super tight lately but the cravings definitely kicked in today and so I allowed myself an extra share of chicken, a glass of wine, and some rice. I know, I know – it doesn’t really sound so bad but considering I’ve been religiously following Snickers gram-count game diet plan, eating lately has been all about quantity.

9. The other week I had a glass of hot German wine at a local wine bar and so tonight I thought I’d be creative and try to make a similar delish drink at home. You’ll never believe what happened though. I put a glass into a pot of water, filled it with wine and then heated it up. When I thought the wine was hot enough, I reached for the glass and POP off the bottom of the glass separated from the rest of it and out poured all that wine into the pot. Snickers and I stood there, totally looking all dazed and confused. Turns out heating up wine in a kettle is much easier.

10. Down went the chicken, the wine, the rice, and a couple of picks at the side dishes, but no sooner did it all go down but then I had to fight with it not to come up. Sported a tummy ache for the rest of the night. I guess that will teach me to not sidetrack from my game diet.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where would you go or where did you go for your honeymoon?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
-- St. Augustine

Cheonan's newly-engaged couple!!!

Who needs all these lights behind me to light my path when I got this shiny rock on my finger to light the way... hahaha.

Highlights of my Day... Friday, November 20

1. Well, it’s been one crazy week, and a lot has gone down… A LOT!!! Here’s a quick recap:

a. Decided to resign from my position at Dankook.
b. Decided not to work the Dankook winter camp.
c. Decided to take half a year off work to focus solely on boxing.
d. GOT ENGAGED!!!
e. Scored hugs galore from students as a means of congratulating me on getting
engaged.
f. Exactly 10 hours after I change my Facebook status to “engaged”, I scored 54 messages of congrats.
g. Trained like an animal for Japan: morning weight train, evening boxing, extra
running.
h. Adidas Boxing Korea is starting up in January and so I got contacted for
that.
i. Started wedding planning: “paper wedding” followed by a possible dinner
party.
j. Honeymoon planning: trip to Bali.
k. Lost a little over 2kgs (4.4lbs) in one week.
l. Experienced the first snow fall in Korea for 2010.
m. Figured out how to cash in on my pension plan, meaning I’ve got about $10,000 coming my way!

2. Mid-morning jogging was a bust today. I just didn’t have any energy today to jog by whole route. I walked a bit of it and boy did that ever tick me right off!!!

3. Got a standing ovation today from my students for announcing that I am getting married. That was super sweet of them!

4. I figured the fact that I’m leaving Dankook and the fact that I’m being super tight with my game dieting would balance itself out but it’s not. Silly, little things are irritating me, which only serves to let me know that my body is hating me right now. I have nit-picked and fine-tuned my diet to the point that there is no extra treats allowed and not even so much water drinking allowed. I’ve tried to incorporate Snickers’ game diet mentality with my clean eating and so far it is definitely working in terms of number crunching on the scale but my energy levels, as well as my patience levels apparently, are also dwindling.

5. Snickers’ game diet mentality is based on scale numbering. If he burns off 0.6kgs at the gym training (water weight), than he only allows himself to eat up 0.6kgs worth of food, hence why he can get away with eating ice cream. Ice cream is relatively light. So as long as he is putting in less kgs worth of food than the weight he’s burning off, his body weight will continually spiral down. This, of course, goes against my idea of clean eating but I do see the method to his madness. His game dieting however is exactly just that, a game diet. It’s definitely not a healthy way to lose weight but instead is a crash diet used by many boxers, apparently of which is now me.

6. According to Snickers crash game diet, it’s better to drink a small double-shot of sugar-filled coffee than my black, sugarless regular sized coffee. His coffee has about 210 calories, whereas mine has a measly 4 calories but because mine has twice the amount of water as his, his high-calorie double-shot coffee will not only give me more energy but will show a better number when I step on the scale. How twisted is that?! Anyways, it seems to be working. I guess the point of his diet is that it’s not in what you eat but how much of what it is you’re eating. The point of my diet, however, is in what you eat that counts.

7. So, on that note, I enjoyed a double-shot, sugar-filled coffee at Coffee Bean tonight with Kitty Cat.

I take it he's never heard of a dust cloth?! Here's Milk Dud hosing down the trophies.

Snickers and I share a lot of things but because he's bigger than me, in terms of clothing, we only share socks and belts. This belt, of course, being his one belt I proudly tell others it's his.

8. Arrived for late evening boxing and was told to go home on account that they were doing a full-fledged clean of the boxing club. Well, it was because of that and the fact that my coach is concerned that I’ve lost too much weight in such a short period of time and have been pushing myself too hard with training twice a day. I still have four weeks till Japan and I know I should be pacing myself but I guess the thought of having to jump down to under 47kgs kind of freaked me out.

9. Weighted-in today at 50.6kgs!

10. Being told I had the night off training was like an early Christmas present because with four weeks left till Japan, I know it’ll only get tougher from here on out. Today and I went running and tomorrow I have early morning weight training, and possibly boxing, but I anticipate Sunday being my very last full day off training for the next four weeks.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can it get any better?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

A Quick Update...

I'm engaged!!!

Nothing else in this week really matters right now and so I'll update you on things later, like tomorrow, but until then, it's time to celebrate.

Pretty on the outside but tough in the middle.

Thanks to my friend Beth for these boxing pics she sent me a while back.

Highlights of my Day... Friday, November 13

1. Waking up sporting a massive ringing in my head meant I was a no-go for weight training.

2. I was also a no-go for first class too – and that was a first.

3. Laying on the floor and trying to stop my brain from spinning in my head was all I did for the first half of the day.

4. Showed up at my last period class, all swollen-eyed and beaten-up looking. They took one look at me and said, “boxing?” “Yup” I replied. “Oh the pains that go with pleasure!” Students continually think it’s funny when I show up for class sporting various boxing or training-related injuries. Whether it’s sore muscles from pushing it too hard at weight-training, or bruised and bloody knuckles from pounding away at boxing, students always given me the look-over for weekly injuries.

5. Continually waiting for Snickers to pop the BIG question is somewhat getting to me now as it has become a daily question asked to me by others. Everyone knows I’m waiting – Snickers knows I’m waiting.

6. Maybe I should just propose to Snickers myself. It’d sure make life easier, though I’m not too sure on how that’d work exactly. Would I have to give him an engagement ring, but don’t guys only wear the one band, the wedding band?! Hmmm… definitely something to look into.

7. Look out Molly Maid – Snickers and I just kicked your butt in our own super-duper, ultra-speedy, totally last minute clean sweep of Guum Ggum when K-Gere called us up and said he was heading over. We literally had but just a handful of minutes to work with and not only did we clean the joint up but I also cooked biscuits!

8. K-Gere walked into a bakery-smelling, beautiful-looking, clean Guum Ggum and was definitely impressed. We were sure to hide our rapidly beating hearts though… hahaha.

9. I like K-Gere, I really do. And despite the strange stalker-like behavior, as I often refer to it as, Snickers’ family often shows, I do like Snickers’ father a lot. I don’t really understand him or his ways often but nonetheless, he is very sweet to me. When I asked him tonight why he had bussed it all the way over to Guum Ggum, he replied with “Because I missed you.” So much for going boxing tonight, that’s okay. It was nice to have an unexpected visit from K-Gere and I’m sure I scored mad brownie points when he opened my fridge and showed a pleased smile at the sight of the packed-with-grade-A-goodies… hahaha.

10. No sooner did K-Gere leave but then we heard this massive explosion sound coming from outside. Snickers and I ran up to the rooftop and there before us was a massive show of fireworks on display. The Building Tool Husband and his son came up to join us watch the beautiful spectacle but Mi Nam was definitely not liking the added company. He continually barked at the two neighbors and I was so thrown off gaurd. Mi Nam never barks at anyone. It's no secret in my building that the Building Tool Husband abuses his dog. Often I hear him literally banging the mutt's head against the wall and I cringe with fear of saying anything on account that I don't want to put Mi Nam in jeopardy. But as the fireworks show came to an end and the four of us headed towards the stairwell, I let Snickers go first and then closed the door, blocking them from continuing down. "You touch my dog and I'll touch you!" I blurted out. I couldn't believe I had just said that, let alone whipped up my fist to make sure they got my point. I tell ya though, if they ever dare to even so much breath on my dog, they're going to have to round up quite the crew of people to pry me off them!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can you explain your own family?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
-- Bertrand Russell

Check out the old skool machine behind me... hahaha.

And check out the retro-80's poster... hahaha.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, November 12

1. Woke up to a message from the Adidas rep telling me that Adidas boxing will be launching in Korea in January and so he’s told his partner to message me…. Wicked!!!

2. Kitty Cat was M.I.A. for weight training this morning and so I geared up and kicked my own butt, training back and chest.

3. Work was work but work is always great on Thursdays! My Thursday classes are awesome, actually, all but two of my weekly classes are awesome. One class is hair-pulling-terrible and the other is definitely questionable. But my Thursday classes… ahhhh, my Thursday classes, too cool to describe.

4. Snickers has been trying to encourage me to drastically drop my weight down to 47kgs as fast as I can by following his very restricted, highly stressful and seriously limited diet. I tried it for two days and then started having cravings like a pregnant woman on the verge of popping out a porker at any minute. I agreed to follow his diet for one more day but tomorrow I definitely plan on going back to my game diet schedule of mixing up low carb days with no carb days and high carb days.

5. $#it hit the fan majorly at boxing tonight after Junior Mint pushed me to my patience limit in the ring and gave me one too many shots to the head with his hand pad. He was getting on my case majorly tonight about my upcoming opponent being a south paw (left handed fighter).

6. I know it’s going to be a hard fight but I’m not so much interested in a victory as I am the total package, the notion of taking my boxing to this higher level and fighting in another country. Anyways, he got frustrated and when he continually asked other boxers in the club if they spoke English, I blurted out, “I speak Korean. I’ve been coming here for almost two years and have always spoken Korean to me. Just speak Korean!” I wasn’t rude in my tone or whatnot but when he mumbled something under his breath I gave him a bit of a dirty look.

7. Not too sure how it escalated to the extent that it did but it ended with me saying that I missed Canada and him yelling at me, “If you miss Canada, then go there!”

8. With my blood quickly reaching its’ boiling point and me being all flustered and ticked off, I stepped into the ring to do match-boxing with the Korean Bulldog. Junior Mint was doing pad work with someone else in the ring and neither of us were watching the other so when I stepped back and accidentally stepped on his foot, he yelled out. Crash I went and bang went my head on one of the ring corner metal poles. Ya, that is definitely going to leave a good week-long bump on my head!!!

9. It had been a rough night at boxing and so after I picked myself off the ring floor, I ripped off my gear and stomped out of the club. Junior Mint called out to me, asked me where I was going and so I peeked my head in. Everyone stood there watching and so I blurted out, “I’m going to Canada.”

10. God bless Snickers. My continual sanity saver and rescuer who always throws out extra kisses to save me when I feel like I’m drowning!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Does counting to ten really work for you?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Patience is also a form of action.
-- Auguste Rodin

I want this pink bike! It's super cute.

And I want this necklace, oh wait, I do have it ;)

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, November 11

1. Happy Peppero Day to all you out here in the land of kimchi – Korea!!! As for those of you in the Great White North (Canada), my respects to you as you celebrate Remembrance Day.

2. Put in my time at work with my two classes, office hour and then student meetings.

3. Today Grandpa-K’s ceremony was held and so I was really in no mood today to be all cheery at school. I really regretted not ditching my job responsibilities and heading off to be with my soon-to-be in-laws.

4. Lately I’ve been seriously struggling with focusing on my job. I still can’t get over Dankook’s unjustifiable stance they’re taking and I am feeling more and more bitter towards Dankook as a whole by the day. I really wish I didn't have this bitterness in my mouth. It never used to be there and things at school used to be so different. Lately, however, there are some days when I seriously wish I could just quit. I won’t quit though, nor can I. My responsibility is no longer directed towards the school but instead is towards my students. I could never, nor would I ever step away on such a sour note and halfway through the semester. My disappointment with Dankook has nothing to do with my students and, if anything, it’s them who have kept me there for so long.

5. Apparently drinking on weeknights and showing up at work stinking like soju and beer is acceptable but me boxing isn’t… or so I have learned. Cheers to my mates at work who continually get away with it but boo to me who apparently is now the good professor gone bad (because of me being a boxer, apparently).

6. Labeling my homepage “Living on the Flipside” was definitely more appropriate than I ever imagined!!! I love Korea but some things here are just too twisted for my liking.

7. Thankfully, returning to Guum Ggum is like a mini adventure all in itself. I open the door and all the stress of Dankook and whatnot just stops at the door. The name “Guum Ggum” is so incredibly fitting for where I live.

8. I went boxing super late tonight and so it was just Junior Mint, some other dude, and myself training. I’m not too sure what the scoop is on this other dude but he’s always doing errands for Junior Mint and he usually ends up cleaning the place, too. I really need to come up with a nickname for him.

9. Junior Mint is out of commission for the next couple of days on account that he got into some kind of street fight and smashed his knuckle... ouch!

10. Snickers showed up unexpectedly at the club tonight to walk me home. I thought he would be out of town for the next couple of days but I guess not.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How "flipside" is that?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.
-- Author Unknown

Yes, I "crazy" love him. While other couples tell each other "I love you", Snickers and I say "I crazy love you", and by that we're really saying "I love you so incredibly much."

Not too sure if he likes the ppeppero but no sooner did I take this picture but he then went and ate half his chocolate love letter.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, November 10

1. Had anticipated waking up at 5am and heading out to Grandpa-K’s house at 6am but around 4am Snickers called me to tell me that plans had yet again changed. Grandpa-K lives way out in the sticks where the number of buses that travel to it are definitely limited. Snickers called to tell me that his cousin would be too busy to pick me up and that the 9am bus would make me arrive too late. So going to Grandpa-K’s house was a no-go today. My last chance to say goodbye to him was no longer an option, and I felt terrible.

2. Today was my day off work which always means it’s my day of most work. Tuesdays are for planning my writing level one and writing level two Power Points, which is always so much “fun”. It took me quite some time to get down to work though. My mind was so distracted with thoughts of Grandpa-K and the ceremony I’d be missing out on. I really wanted this to be my big chance to be involved with the family.

3. Snickers has definitely had a rough couple of days, what with his grandfather passing away and then him helping to bury him up on a mountain, and so I thought I’d cheer him up by giving him my homemade chocolate treats.

4. My chocolates were a success. Mind ya, as soon as I opened the door he was all smiles and so my chocolates didn’t really bring about a smile like I had anticipated but instead they kept him smiling.

5. I was supposed to attend a dinner party being hosted by the foreigner’s dinner club but with Snickers returning earlier than anticipated, I decided it best that I treat him to dinner and just have it be the two of us.

6. And what better dinner to offer him than the feast I bought for him at Mainz.

7. Feasting out at Mainz was then followed by ice cream from Baskin Robins.

8. I had gone boxing earlier on in the afternoon and so my evening was free. Mind ya, I really wanted to go run off the food and ice cream I had indulged in. I didn’t eat a lot, definitely not as much as I would have liked, but with my game diet now in full effect and both Junior Mint and Snickers getting on my case to monitor my weight, my days of sinfully delicious foods are over.

9. Tomorrow Snickers will be heading out yet again to Grandpa-K’s house and so it felt good time with him. I know all his stress and heartache will return with tomorrow’s sun and so I really tried to let him relax tonight.

10. Evening running was a no-go on account that I feel asleep during tonight’s movie.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What am I suppose to say next time I see his family?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Sometimes our grandmas and grandpas are like grand-angels.
-- Lexie Saige

Stage one, which evidently enough, was the only stage that was relatively messy-free.

I made a love letter out of chocolate letters but in doing so I also made quite the mess in the kitchen.

And of course what Peppero Day celebration is without ppeppero. Mine were rather ugly but it's the thought that counts... right?!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, November 9

1. My pile of training clothes that I wore today and that needs washing consisted of the following:

- 3 pairs of Adidas training pants
- 3 pairs of socks
- 3 tank tops
- 3 sports bras
- 2 long sleeve shirts
- 2 sweaters
- 2 pairs of leggings
- 1 baseball cap
- 1 pair of hand wraps

2. Today’s training consisted of weight training in the morning, running in the early evening and then boxing in the late evening. I’m switching up my training soon to ditch my leg workouts at Hongik and take on more running but today Junior Mint insisted I load up on training today.

3. Ah my one Monday class. God bless there cute-as-a-button little faces and generosity with bombarding me constantly with smiles. This class IS the perfect way to start a work week.

4. An even more perfect way to start a work week would have been to come home and find my gorgeous man all smiley on the couch. However, he’s still off at his grandfather’s house dealing with that whole situation.

5. Today Snickers called me and told me he cried. He cried in the arms of his father and I couldn’t help but kick myself for not being able to be there for him and his family – our family.

6. In hopes of cheering up Snickers once he would return to Cheonan later on this week, I made him some homemade chocolates. Wednesday we’ll be celebrating Ppeppero Day here in Korea. It’s totally a commercial-made holiday centered around chocolate and Snickers already voiced his refusal to participate in such a money-maker holiday, but I thought a homemade gift would put a smile back on his face.

7. So for the next hour or so I made chocolate ppepperos and then I made chocolate letters for a love letter I later spelled out on a plate for him.

8. Guum Ggum smelt like chocolate and although I must admit I don’t eat much sweets these days, I did indulge in a bit of chocolate. Mind ya, when I went running I seriously thought I was going crazy because all I could smell was chocolate! Turns out I had accidentally smeared a bit of chocolate on the lower part of my nose… hahaha.

9. Took a break in between my intensive training schedule today to chat with Kitty Cat and another coworker of ours at Coffee Bean… and to breath.

10. No sooner did I catch my breath and get comfortable with relaxing but then it was off to more training, this time it was boxing. I showed up just shortly before 10pm. Junior Mint wasn’t impressed with my late arrival so I got stuck on laundry duty after training.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
When did Ppeppero Day first start in Korea?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I love hugging. I wish I was an octopus, so I could hug ten people at a time.
-- Drew Barrymore

Option one of where I thought it would be a beautiful place for us to get married is in Bali.

And option two. Both are stunning and breathtaking!

My first choice for my gown, the only exception being that I would get it minus the burgandy accent/belt.

And the two runner up gowns. All three beautiful gowns are designd by Maggie Sottero.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, November 8

1. Woke up to a collage of thunder and lightening mixed with a lot of rain. I love rainy days but I like it more when I’ve got Snickers beside me.

2. Rainy days are meant for lovers… hahaha. I love it how Koreans use that word. “He’s my lover.” As if saying “he’s my boyfriend” doesn’t do him enough justice.

3. I waited till the rain stopped to get loaded down with layers and go running. The rain may have stopped by the puddles on the ground definitely interfered with my running by latching on to my pant legs and weighing them down. Still had a good run though, despite the overly sloppy and floppy stretched wet pant legs.

4. Around 3pm today Grandpa-K, in his country home and in the presence of his loving wife, passed away.

5. When Snickers called me to tell me the sad news about Grandpa-K my heart sank. I felt terrible. I felt terrible not because he died but because if only I had gone with Snickers to his mother’s house last night I would have been there to comfort him and to go to Grandpa-K’s house with him. Instead, Snickers made the trip to Grandpa-K’s house without me.

6. I once had a Baba, that’s Polish for grandmother. She lived in downtown Toronto on Bathurst Street in a house that smelt like moth balls. With her frail aging hands she used to make use her traditional Polish cabbage rolls for holiday celebrations, a recipe she passed down to my mother, and I remember she use to laugh at the fact that I liked to chew on the fake rubber grapes that she had as her dining room center piece. I never thought much of what she really wore until she passed away and then I all of a sudden insisted on wearing her clothes. I still wear some of her sweaters. Baba was the only grandparent I had. Correction, she was the only blood-related grandparent I had. An elderly lady at my church once adopted me as her grandchild, Grandma Burrage. I don’t even think that’s how you correctly spell her last name but that’s okay. I loved her dearly but she too passed on.

7. I was quick to adopt Grandpa-K as my first and only grandfather. It was at Snicker’s boxing fight that I first met him and with every fight Snickers had after that, Grandpa-K always showed up. He didn’t talk much but I you could tell by how intensely he’d watch Snickers’ fights that he was just so incredibly proud of Snickers. When Grandpa-K started to count down his remaining days, I was then introduced to Granny-K, a quirky little lady who was instantly very affectionate with me the first time we met. I knelt beside her as she cried over Grandpa-K and she sat squeezing my hand. At night she slept beside me smiling, with her legs crossed and one heel up in the air. She slept exactly like Grandpa-K and it was no wonder either because the two of them have been married for around 60 years. But now Grandpa-K is gone and so while I know he is off in a better place, a place away from pain and sorrow, I worry about Granny-K. Who’s going to look after her now after the very person who looked after her for over 60 years is now gone?!

8. Thank you God for video calling. It’s way of making it possible to be in two places at once… and I love it!!!

9. With Snickers off at his grandparents house, I was left home alone with my thoughts and so an interesting thought creep into my mind late tonight. How about a destination wedding for just the two of us?! I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this sooner!!! I thought of so many reasons why it seemed so perfect and so I searched more about in on the web. A destination wedding in Bali… perfect.

Why so perfect?
- it costs less
- avoids the whole guest list problem of who and how many to invite
- having the wedding at the honeymoon location hits two birds with one stone
- getting married in the winter weather wouldn’t be an issue
- I don’t belong to a church in Korea and I can’t stand Korean wedding halls, so
something beyond the expected ceremony locations would be great
- what better way to start a new life together and our marriage than having a little
wedding ceremony adventure in an exotic place?!

10. The downfall to my destination wedding idea is that time is limited. My work visa ends in March and Snickers agrees that if we’re already going to get married then why not do it when it could really help me, at the end of my visa. So if my visa dies out in March and today is already the second week of November, this means that we’d have to get married in January, leaving us but oh so little time to plan this. No worries, I already found my dress.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did Snickers cry?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.
-- Author Unknown