The Loss and the Surprise

Anxiety had been dogging me about tonight's fight at the Loyola Park Boxing Show for most of the week. Alan called me in the middle of the afternoon to say he had fights ready for Jacob and Kenny, but hadn't heard about one for me.  I couldn't get upset about the possibility of not having a fight because it's happened too many times before. It's also part of the game.  My anxiety eased up a bit.  But when I arrived at the field house, Alan informed me, "You're fighting Meg."

Oh, snap, I thought to myself.  I had already lost to Meg twice in 2009.  Before my bout, Alan told me, "Sometimes we get complacent while sparring and training in the gym.  But you have to want to win."  I didn't want to lose a third time to Meg.  But I could not deny that she throws very good and quick punches, and she never lets up. 

Miriam, my stepmom, Alex, a friend from church, and Lorie, a neighbor from up the street were in the audience.  Mike L. also was in attendance, as was Kevin.  Miriam taped my fight, and Colonel was also taping.  He was perched on top of a ladder in the basketball gym where the ring was set up.  Professor, Willie, Tony, and Nate Sr. helped Alan and Barry with the warmups and in the corners.  Melissa also saw the fights.

I met a woman whose name I should have gotten. . .she was a fighter, too.  She came in the gym with Sean, one of the boxing officials (who's also an author of several books about Chicago boxing).  She told me about an all female boxing gym opening up in Westmont soon.  They're going to have an open house.  I would love to go to check it out.  Her and I bemoaned the fact that it's so hard to get fights because of the lack of other female opponents.  Just like me, she also spars with guys when she's at her gym.

I sang the National Anthem, and then the program began.  My bout with Meg was number six.  Jacob and Kenny fought later in the evening.  My anxiety had died down for the most part once I stepped through the ropes onto the canvas.  But once the bell rang, it was all Meg.  I took a good four to five straight shots to my face, and a couple of rough uppercuts.  One of the uppercuts, which I took in the second round, nearly knocked me down.  I stumbled, and cursed to myself, because I know the judges did not miss that.  My hands were down too often, and I caught some hooks, too.  I grabbed Meg's arms in a vain effort to slow her down, but as soon as the referee called, "Break!" she was back to full speed.

The headgear I had on kept slipping.  I wish boxers could wear their own headgear during the matches, but it's against the rules.  I stopped to adjust it after Meg had knocked it sideways on my head in the middle of the third round.  She took advantage of my foolishness and popped me again with a jab.

In between rounds, Alan kept telling me I was doing good, but that I had to go get Meg.  "You want to win, don't you?" he asked.  "Yes," I gasped, but as slow as I was moving, I already knew I was fighting a losing battle.  Tony told me to cut the ring off on Meg, and I really tried, but she was too fast.  The one time I nearly had her, she immediately threw a barrage of punches, and I had to back out or get knocked out.  I lost the match.  The referee told me, "You just ran out of gas at the end."  "You're very good," I told Meg as we hugged.  "You're good, too, lady," she said.

Later, I met her three very polite and very cute kids -- two girls and a boy.  The boy was bearing a box of cookies.  "They always give me cookies after my matches," Meg smiled.  Her son shoved the box at me and said, "Have a cookie!"  It was so funny, and so thoughtful of them.

Bill, Meg's coach, came up to me and asked if I would fight in Hamlin's boxing show in October.  "It's so hard to find fights for Meg," he said.  Meg told me that she was over forty.  Believe me, she doesn't look it.  Another guy who complimented Meg and I on our fight thought her and I were kids; he didn't believe either of us were over forty.  I told Bill how old I will be on my next birthday, and he said, "That's why I said you were an amazing woman."  He told me that when I shook his hand after the match was over. "You're on the computer, you train here, you fight -- you're amazing!" he continued.  I told Bill that I would be happy to come fight at Hamlin.

The guys had better luck than I.  Jacob faced a big guy for his opponent.  By the third round, Jacob was tired out.  But he got some solid body shots in.  I was worried because Jacob seemed to be taking a lot of full on shots to the face from the other guy.  Jacob backed off a bit, but he came right back and hung in there.  The photo below shows Jacob -- with his winner's trophy -- and his girlfriend talking with Alan.

I was busy talking to a lot of people, including my stepmom, Alex, and others, so I missed seeing most of the boys' matches.  But Willie's grandson, who's also named Willie, and Gus both won their matches.

During Kenny's match, there was a very vocal woman who was cheering for his opponent.  "Beat him!  Get him now!" she kept yelling.  A man next to her was cheering for Kenny.  I heard her say in an annoyed tone to that guy, "You can cheer for the red corner (Kenny) if you want, but I'm cheering for the blue corner!"  Alan kept telling Kenny, "Don't wait on him!" as Kenny measured his moves against the guy.  Kenny was popping the guy with jabs all over the place, and was given the winner's trophy. 

Eric fought another young man who's also in the Loyola Park youth boxing program.  Their fight was classified as an exhibition match, so neither of them were given trophies afterwards.  I believe that Eric won.  Willie, seen in the photo below, was in Eric's corner.  Their match was the last one of the evening.

Special awards for sportsmanship and most improved boxer are always given after the last match.  They are usually given to a couple of the kids.  I was distracted, playing around with my camera and looking out for other photo opportunities.  Suddenly, I heard my name being called.  Barry presented me with the sportsmanship award.  I was very surprised.  "You deserve it.  You've been helping out here for so long," Barry smiled.  The award, which is in the shape of a boxing glove, now sits prominently on my desk at home.

My back hurts a little right now.  I'm not sure if it's because Meg hit me there, or because I was twisting and turning earlier moving stuff around my apartment.  Miriam asked me after my match when I was going to stop fighting.  I got a chance to see a playback of what she taped.  Meg beat me because she's in much better shape.  She's a fire fighter, you know.  I'm always struggling to lose weight, plus trying to fight off signs of aging.  "I'll probably do a few more this year, then stop competing, and just stick to coaching and working out," I told her.  I told Alan the same thing.  "You could still do it as long as you're able.  You train regularly," he said. Boxing is addictive.  I know I'll never give it up completely, but I wonder how easily I'll be able to give up the part where I actually mix it up with others in the ring.

Two Days Before Fight Time

Colonel walked into the gym, clean as the Board of Health.  He was wearing a suit jacket and pants with a turtleneck.  "Why are you so sharp today?" I asked him.  "What are you talking about?  I'm sharp every day!" he laughed. 

Baia returned; I forgot that she's in school, and she can only make it to the gym once a week.  She brought a friend with her, Lynestra (I'll get the name right soon), who will sign up.  Ray brought a professional boxer with him named Chuck, who just signed a two year contract to fight.  Alan did not come in Wednesday.  Rosh Hashannah began that night.  He'll come in later on Friday evening for the rest of the boxing show. 

As usual, there was no sparring because Alan was out.  There was still a lot of activity, however.  I spent most of the evening training Baia and Lynestra.  Professor gave them tips, as well.  Kenny and Chuck worked with Ray and Jacob on pads.  Kenny told me that I should raise my hooks to the body to catch opponents in the liver and in the ribs.  He told Ray and Chuck, "Hillari caught me with one of her body shots once, and my pride kept me from doubling over and yelling @#$&!  I wasn't going to let it be known that a female had gotten the best of me."  All of us fell out laughing.  I thanked Kenny for the tip and made a mental note to remember it for Friday night.

Beginning of a Fight Week

Alan made a list of those in the gym who plan to fight in Loyola Park's Annual Boxing Explosion show this Friday.  My name was at the top of the list, followed by Kenny, Jacob, Tony and Ray.  "I would say add Oscar, too, but he hasn't been in for awhile," I told Alan.  "No, I'm not going to put him in," Alan said.  He also decided that Tony shouldn't fight either.  Tony sparred with Kenny and Benjamin.  He was huffing and puffing badly.  It happened too many times before, so Alan told Tony that he couldn't put him in the boxing show mostly for safety reasons.  I understand that Tony smokes, which contributes to him not having the wind power while in the ring. 

Benjamin sparred with Kenny twice.  Kenny was the man of the night as he sparred several rounds with Benjamin and Tony, including three rounds with me.  "That overhand right you gave rang my bell!  You've got to use that and come over the other person's right when you fight," Kenny told me afterwards.  Alan added, "Wait until they get closer to throw punches, then dig into them.  Hillari, you throw too many punches when they are far away.  That's just wasting energy."  I guess I think that's a way to keep them from getting in on me.  In reality, I'm often leaving myself open so the other person can do some real damage. I've got a few days to get it right before I meet Meg or whomever I will have a fight with on Friday.

Of the women, only Melissa and Amy came in.  Sarah was preparing for her daughter's third birthday tomorrow, so she could not make it in tonight.  Alan helped Melissa with her form in regards to throwing left and right hooks. 

Kevin, a bearded guy who rode up to the gym on his bike, also came in.  Tony watched him on the heavy bag and asked did he come in regularly.  "No, Kevin comes in on and off," I answered.  I was trying to remember the last time I saw Kevin, and it might have been sometime back in July.  I don't remember seeing Kevin's name on the class roster, but surprisingly, Igor's name was there.  But Igor comes in even less than Kevin does.  Alan remembered that I told him that Igor did not spar when Steve was the coach.  "Igor sparred with Victor the the last time he was here, but Victor wasn't hitting him hard," Alan said. I didn't notice Igor and Victor sparring; they must have been moving around out on the floor, as I don't remember seeing them in the ring. 

I practiced "The Star Spangled Banner" a little bit today, promising myself that I would sing it quieter, slower and lower than I have in the past at the boxing shows.  Too many times, I want to go into Barbra Streisand mode and belt it out.  But every song doesn't have to be -- or can be -- belted out. 

Alan told me to do an extra workout tomorrow.  I was just thinking that I have to get on the stick about adding extra exercise during the week, especially after watching Olympic boxing hopeful Marlen Esparza's intense workouts on a CNN documentary yesterday.  I need to something purely aerobic, but I also need to focus on getting my overhand rights and uppercuts in order, too.

In The Woman's Corner

I watched a very good documentary which was part of CNN's "Latino In America" series of reports.  It followed a young woman, Marlen Esparza, and her quest to get on the women's Olympic boxing team for 2012.  She had the number spot at the Olympic trials until other challenged sued to have a shot.  Esparza had to go to Colorado to face the other contenders in the ring. 

She looked very good in training and during the fights the documentary highlighted.  Esparza has some dangerous hooks, and she's a pressure fighter.  I was rooting for her to go all the way.  Then she lost to Christina Cruz, another Latina.  It was the first time Esparza had ever lost a fight, and she had been involved with boxing ever since she was eleven years old.  She's now twenty-two years old.  She was crying, and I felt bad for her, too.  But what can you do after a loss and/or missing out on a fight?  I remember Ivy, a fellow member at my church asking me what I was going to do after I was denied an opportunity to have a bout a few years ago.  "Go back to the gym and train," I answered.  Esparza did the same thing.

I was impressed at the way she got up early in the morning to do roadwork, then hit the gym to do drills, spar, and lift weights.  She also watched what she ate very carefully.  "Wow, I feel like a lazy bum," I thought, comparing her every day training to my twice-a-week efforts and my half-assed attempts at adding a day or two more of exercise outside of the gym.  But then, she's going for Olympic gold, and she has to be on top of the game.  Esparza had to face Cruz again to get another shot at the Olympic team.  "This is a lifestyle for me, but it's a hobby for her", she commented. 

Esparza is a national amateur champion (six times), and she did beat Cruz the second time they met.  I clapped and hopped in my seat.  It warms my heart to see women advance in this sport.  Gloria Peek, a prominent US Olympic boxing coach who was also in the documentary, commented, "Women have entered the last male stronghold." 

More On Wednesday

Two more new people showed up on Wednesday, and Colonel (the guy in the middle of the above photo) gave them some pointers.  Colonel used to train fighters, as well.  The woman in the black top is Melissa, and the woman in the blue top is Maggie.  I also worked with them on drills that involved catching and countering punches. 

A few guys who knew Alan from Clarendon came in including Anthony, who went hard on Ray while they were sparring.  I was busy coaching Melissa and Maggie, so I didn't see the action.  I turned around at the end to see Anthony laying on his back on the canvas.  "Anthony was tired.  Plus, he smokes," Alan explained.  Ray was not expecting Anthony to rush at him, but when he did, he responded in kind.  "I thought he was going to take it easy, but when he started banging, I was like 'okay'!  Come on, I don't mind getting hit," Ray said.  Ray told us about a bad kidney shot he took a long time ago.  "I went down on my knee, and took an eight count.  When the bell rang to start the next round, I really felt the pain.  When I used the washroom later, the stream was like the Red Sea!"

I learned the name of another new guy who had been there on Monday: Seth.  Seth sparred with Kenny, who loves to use the ropes to rebound off of and explode on an opponent.  Seth handled himself well, however, for someone who had not boxed before.

Jacob came in, and he was disappointed to learn that the fight on the 23rd had been canceled.  He's hoping for something on the 30th, when the Loyola Park show takes place.

I sparred with Ralphie.  Like Kenny, Ralphie dances around the ring.  As usual, I made up my mind not to chase him, mainly because I'm not that fast or quick anymore.  I did back him up against the ropes and in the corners a few times.  I'm getting a little better at cutting off the ring for an opponent, but it's still not an easy task when someone is good at being a moving target. 

"Wow, those two really tower over me," I thought after I got a good look at the photo above.  Amy is to the left of me, and her sister Sarah is to the right.  I look like a munchkin, don't I?

Fall Newcomers

Kenny was looking forward to the show fight on the 23rd of this month, but Alan got word that show was canceled.  Sam told Alan that someone died -- not sure who if the person in question was a promoter or part of the staff of the church where the fight was going to be held -- so the show will not go on.  Next up is our annual boxing show, which is next Friday.  Alan was concerned that Jacob that did not come in to train since there is a big possibility that Jacob may have a fight at the Loyola Park show.

Several newcomers were in the gym, as today was the start of the fall session.  Patty and Baia (I'll get the spelling straight) are friends.  Patty also knows Jamil, whom I haven't seen in months.  Both women stated what is a common chant among most women who come to the gym: "I don't want to spar."  Right on cue, I later overheard Alan trying to sweet talk them into trying it.   He might not be successful this time.  Baia was very adamant about not getting into a situation where she could be knocked out.  Patty couldn't wrap her mind around how people can take getting hit during sparring and bouts.  Colonel told her that after the first time, people aren't as apprehensive about that because they know it's coming, which is true.  Henry and Benjamin were two other new persons.

I was surprised to see Igor -- who used to drive Steve nuts back in the day -- waiting outside the gym door.  He had a buddy with him named Victor.  Alan knew Victor from 15 years ago when Victor used to train under him.  Victor is in his late 50s, and he looked to be in great shape.  He claimed that he goes back and forth to the Ukraine to box professionally, and that he's won the Ringside championship a few times.  Victor walked around with a video camera, catching Igor's workout on tape.

Benjamin surprised me by jumping into the ring to spar with Kenny.  "Might as well since I'm here", was his response when I asked if he was going to spar.  It is rare for newcomers to spar the first night they are in the gym.  "He doesn't have a mouthpiece", I told Alan.  "That's his choice", Alan replied before telling Benjamin to keep his mouth closed while sparring.  Henry also sparred with Kenny, so that was a first to see two newcomers take on the challenge of sparring on the first day of a new session. 

Sarah and I participated in another ring war, but she clearly had the upper hand.  She hit me with an uppercut, and I had my mouth open.  It stunned me.  I backed up in a vain attempt to get some distance and clear my head, but Sarah continued to come forward.  A right hook clocked me in the head and got me off balance, as did a few other head shots.  "Come on, Hillari!  She's just as tired as you!" Alan barked as I started to falter quickly.  Every time it got near the end of a round, Alan did a countdown.  Maybe it was the hits I took, but I could have sworn I heard him say the number two twice at the end of the third round.

Ralphie made a surprise appearance.  He's been working and busy with his one-year-old son, which is why he hasn't been in for awhile.  "I'm on vacation this week, so maybe I'll come in on Wednesday, too," he said. 

The mess pictured above is some of what I had to clean up this past weekend after the exterminators decided they didn't like how I originally moved my things around for them.  Fortunately, I was able to get rid of a lot of stuff I didn't need anymore.  Unfortunately, there was some damage caused by the exterminators that I didn't catch before.  Three of the storage bins I owned had to be tossed due to damage from the heat treatment, and the external speakers I had for my computer are not working.  Maybe I shouldn't complain. . .I've only seen a few bed bugs since the treatment, and I zapped them all.  Haven't seen any since (crossing my fingers). 

Distraction and Long Arms

On my way to the gym on Monday, I ran into African Paul.  I met him earlier in the summer, and he told me he practices martial arts.  When he learned that I box, he said he would be interested in learning some moves.  I immediately put him in the acquaintance zone and gave him my number.  Too late I realized that he was looking for a girlfriend.  I got busy, and didn't have time to return his incessant phone calls.  African Paul followed me to the field house, claiming that he wanted to observe what goes on in the gym. 

I sparred with Kenny, who told me beforehand, "I'ma go hard on your ass, Hillari, because you have a fight coming up."  I took some hard side and belly shots from him.  I mustered up energy during our last round to answer his punches as powerfully as I could. 

A tall, very dark complexioned young man walked in the gym and asked Alan, "Do you remember me?"  "So many guys come in here, I don't know," Alan said, trying to place his face.  "I got my eye hurt in here. . .remember?" the young man said.  "I remember you," I said.  It was Deo, whose eye socket was cracked by Leon a few years ago during sparring.  Deo informed us that he had also had a detached retina from that ordeal, but thankfully, doctors were able to correct it. 

Against my gut feelings, I let African Paul walk me home instead of taking a ride from Alan.  I grew annoyed as he was a bit too touchy-feely for my taste.  Then he ran into a bunch of sketchy looking guys whom he called friends, and gave the impression that he and I were an item.  "Why haven't you dated in awhile?" he asked.  "Because I'm busy," I answered, which is honestly part of the truth.  African Paul droned on about his being a recent business school grad and his trying to get an internship.  He talked about his male roommates, who also sounded like they participate in some bogus activities.  African Paul claimed that he was "saved" and did not do what they do.  Then he said something that never fails to raise a red flag for me.

He asked me if I had been married before and I answered, "Marriage is not a priority to me these days," which has been true for some time.  "When we get married, we'll move into a bigger place," he smiled.  We ain't gone on one date, and we never will.  I hate when guys won't take hints there's no chance for a relationship, and think they're going to be the exception in some woman's life.  The fact that he broke up with an ex-girlfriend only a few months before, and admitted that he's still in touch with her was also a factor in my decision.  He angled to get invited up to my apartment, but I left him on the other side of the security gate. 

"So what happened to the African guy?" Alan asked me yesterday when we were back in the gym.  I told about the guy being thirsty -- that is, seemingly desperate to get into another relationship before recovering from the last one, and the marriage thing.  "Wow, that guy was moving fast!" Kenny commented. 

Amy sparred one round with her sister Sarah, then it was my turn in the ring.  Amazingly, I finally got around Sarah's long arms.  I got in a lot of hooks and dead-on lefts and rights.  But Sarah did not back down.  She had me against the ropes with flurries and cracks to my eyes and mid-section.  Alan was off-sides saying, "Beautiful!  Nice!" and giving out loads of instructions.  Sarah and I participated in three rounds of a good-natured war, engaging in one intense exchange of punches after another.  I'm still trying to figure out where my energy came from.

Jacob said, "That was the fight of the night," after it was over.  Sarah and I both had to sit down for awhile to catch our breaths.  "See?  You thought you couldn't do three rounds today, and you did," Alan said to me.  He told both Sarah and I, "That's the best I've ever seen you two spar."

My Off Night

My energy has been low all week.  I've been running back and forth between my apartment and the house of a couple at my church.  The couple is out of town on vacation, and I'm house sitting and taking care of their pet.  I also had to prepare my apartment for exterminators who came in yesterday to eliminate the bed bugs.  More about that later.

Not many of us were in the gym last night:  Tommy, Sarah, her sister Amy, Nathaniel, Renee, and Jacob.  Nathaniel and Jacob sparred, and once again, Nathaniel's nose became bloody.  "I have to learn to keep my hands up," he said afterwards.  "Always keep your hands in front of your face, because the first thing most boxers will do is try and throw straight punches to the middle of your face.  Bring them back a little by your cheeks to ward off the hooks," I told him. 

Alan decided to get a piece of Jacob next.

Of the women present, only Sarah was willing to spar.  I felt off because of my low energy.  Perhaps I could have just gone ahead anyway (most likely going in the ring with Sarah).  However, the times that I ignored that "off" feeling, and I went ahead and sparred anyway, I ended up paying for it.  Sarah sparred with Alan instead.

I didn't do much of a workout last night.  But I was suddenly animated while Sarah sparred with the coach.  "Watch out for that sneaky left!" I told Sarah, when I saw Alan throw his patented underhanded jab a few times.  It looked like she was giving him some soft punches at one point.  "Hit him harder.  He can take it!" I said to her.  Alan popped her with more than a few jabs, rights, and hooks.  But Sarah hung in there with him, backing the coach up a few times against the ropes. 

Alan talked to Mary about changing the date of the upcoming boxing show.  He can't be there because the date of the show falls during Rosh Hashanah.  "I never change the date of the show," Mary said, and she explained that was because of other Park District and Loyola Park field house activities that go on around and immediately after the boxing show.  Alan joked, "You've never had two Jews coaching at one time," referring not only to himself, but Barry as well.   Mary said Barry doesn't have a problem with being there during the show, so Alan said that he'll take off that evening.  "If you had told me four months ago, we might have been able to reschedule, but. . . next time, tell me in advance," Mary smiled. 

When Alan dropped me off at my apartment, he told me to be careful walking back over to the house of my friends who are out of town.  "I'll carry my brass knuckles," I joked, but I've been keeping them at home.  I'm still irritated about having the last pair taken from me at the Daley Center.  Yeah, I admit it was stupid of me to take an illegal weapon down to the courthouse (I had forgot to take them out of my purse).  But that was a good pair.  Luckily, I was able to get another set.  Alan showed me a baton that he carries around.  "I thought those were illegal in Illinois like brass knuckles are," I said.  "No, they're not.  You can get them online," Alan said.  I made a note to surf the 'Net to find some.

I get inside my apartment, and the first thing I notice is that my TV was gone.  I've had a TV stolen from me before, twenty-one years ago, during a break-in that happened when I was out of town.  I took "after" pictures of how the exterminators had moved things around, while trying not to explode in anger.  I called the management company and the maintenance guy and left angry, but controlled voice messages.  In other words, I used no curse words, and I didn't yell.  Further proof that I must be getting old.  I was two seconds off of calling the police when the maintenance guy called back to say, "We moved your TV and a box containing albums and 45's to an empty apartment so they wouldn't get damaged by the heat treatment."  Okay, that solved that.  But, come on. . .they couldn't have left me a note to that effect?

Hot at Eckhart

I had been running all day long. . .trying to figure out how to move stuff around my apartment so the exterminators who are coming next week can do their job (the task is a headache), taking the contents of my piggy bank to deposit in the bank (it is worth it to save your change), picking up my notary public commission (after having waited since May for it to be processed). Then it was off to Eckhart Park for another Chicago Park District boxing show.

I packed my gear, but I figured I'd come up empty-handed when it came to being matched up.  I was right.  Oscar came in a little after the weigh-in was over, but there were people his weight for him to fight.  But I think the official verdict was that they were too young for Oscar to fight.  Kenny was more fortunate, as he did get a fight.  Arturo, one of the coaches, gave Alan passbooks created by the Park District for Kenny and I to fill out.  This is something new that has been introduced.  I understand the coaches and officials are concerned about people fabricating the amount of fights they've had.  I know I fought Meg from Hamlin twice, but I could not remember in which field houses those fights took place.  I'll have to scroll back through the entries in this blog to figure it out.  

Sarah and Amy arrived a little before the first bout began, and they were happy to learn that Kenny had gotten a fight.  I helped Alan in the corner.  Kenny's opponent was a somewhat muscular guy in his early twenties.  The windows were open in the gym, but no air was stirring.  One large floor fan, off on the other side of the room, was working, but it wasn't enough to cool the room down.  "I don't want to sound like I'm continually complaining, but it's hot in here.   I wouldn't want to fight in this heat," Alan said.

Here is a portion of the last round.  I thought I had gotten Alan talking to Kenny immediately afterwards, as well as Kenny's arm being raised in victory.  As you can see, the camera goes out of focus -- I was helping to take Kenny's gloves off as that happened -- and it cuts off after that.  Kenny's opponent won the first round, but then Kenny got the best of him by out-punching the guy.  Sarah commented, "He used the uppercut on the guy that he showed us in the gym last night!" 

Bill told Alan and I that he would bring Meg over to the Loyola show later this month as an opponent for me.  He mentioned that she hasn't been training much at Hamlin.  I remembered seeing a news report months ago about her showing she also trains at the firehouse where she works, so she's probably getting workouts in there. 

Eckhart's boxing show was one of the shortest ones I've attended.  It was over in an hour.  Just as well, considering how hot and dry it was.  Today's temperature was in the 90s, but it felt good when we all got back outside.  Sarah and Amy gave me a ride home.