The feedback #2

The Germans.

So particular. So process driven. So detail orientated.

So, that's why it was lovely and rewarding to receive this email this morning from the GM of Marketing in Deustchland....


"Hi Lady Grey



It really was a pleasure working with you. Indeed we did not have too much of that but what I have seen there was a dedication to communication – even in the field is that very rare.



On top of that and that is the most important, you have an outstanding expertise and was a lot of fun working with you.



I wish you all the best and a good start for your new job.



- T "

Set the world on fire

image by Alexander Kent

"If you are what you should be, then you'll set the world on fire."

- St Catherine of Siena

Idea. It's Free.

It occurred to me the other day that I am probably going through my second adolescence in Amsterdam.

Getting things out of my system that I never got to do, in order to be a (hopefully) more balanced, more stable adult who will have no regrets and then one day be with another well balanced, stable adult.

Together, there may be a chance we could create, rear, guide and nourish well balanced and stable children.

Getting things out of my system is one thing that could happen, or the other thing that could happen is that it becomes a way of life...

Anyway why would I think that I'm living the life of a pubescent teenager straight out of a Judy Blume novel, you may ask?

Well because I spend my free time gladly making things like this:

Not exactly what the kids in Judy Blume books were getting up to, but a little juvenile nonetheless, non?

This kind of activity is not something people with white-collar corporate jobs do, at this age.

People in normal corporate white collar corporate jobs go to the gym, learn how to bake, watch a leisurely game of tennis or perhaps play squash after hours.

They don't make stencil art.

In case you haven't been keeping up to speed, what you see above is the result of a thought I had one day at the office which I wrote in this post.

But I don't care.

Adolescence number #2 is proving to be an interesting time indeed.

Come so far

Buurvrouw, Sunday 7 August 2011, 3:34am

I think I'm in a good place. A really good place.

I just need to tweak some things to make it better.

I am really fortunate.

Fantastic home.

Great flatmate.

Lovely, genuine friends.

A respectable job.

Youth on my side.

It was a very different situation two years ago and I'm thankful I've come so far.

Finally

PostSecret: 1st August 2011

Twee

It's my two year anniversary of living in Amsterdam on Sunday.

You know you live in Europe when...

You know you live in Europe when you have to edit an interview that was originally conducted in french, then translated in english, and then write an article about it in computer software that is entirely in dutch.

Challenging but so worth it!

Now if only, it was full time, and it paid enough to let me be truly free....

Gogh Crazy

sneaky picture taken by me inside the Van Gogh museum

After two years in Amsterdam, I finally made it to the Van Gogh Museum last Friday.

Initially I wanted to go because I had heard they have this special Friday night programme where bands and DJs play in the foyer.

I went with BFF Laura who who is an aspiring photographer and another friend, M, who is an animator. M has lived here all his life, and never been.

When I turned up a bit later than the others, I noticed the line was much shorter than I thought, but I got to skip it anyway because I have a Museum card (which gets me free entrance for any museum worth going to in the country for a one off purchase.)

We met inside at a one off exhibition they had created which was about Van Gogh's time in Antwerp and Paris. Then we went to get a drink, see the band, and then we went to the first floor where the normal gallery starts.

And we parted ways to explore...

An hour or so later, we met each other again downstairs and we were all visibly excited.

Each of us had never been because we all thought it was this over rated space that only tourists go to, but we all had the same eye-opening experience, on the same heightened level.

It was unanimous between us that Vincent Van Gogh was a genius.

We all had our favourite pieces, and favourite eras, but I was surprised to see that we all enjoyed it, and had the same sense of... enlightenment!

I only got to see the first floor and the basement, but I really need to go back and make an effort to see more of it next time.

Here we go again

I live for the nights that I can’t remember,

with the people I won’t forget

spending all the money I just work my ass off

for doing things that I won't regret

"Show me a good time" - Drake

(Don't like the song, but the sentiment is spot on.)

The jig is up...

Needless to say, I really enjoyed my time at home.

I thought that all the self-confronting time I had spent in the Netherlands was going to provide me with all the answers - or at least a large proportion of the answers - that I was looking for.

It turns out that coming full circle and being home gave me the perspective to join more than a few dot dots together, and so far the picture is looking good. Hopeful. Inspired.

Going home gave me a new vigour for continuing on the path of "doing whatever the hell it is I feel like doing, because there is only one of me to execute what needs to be done."

Here are some myths that were blasted while I was at home:

- I don't have a true home.

Not true. At the moment, I have two.

- My friends in my hometown have all moved on and forgotten about me.

My friends at home have some of the strongest senses of who I am, and what drives me as a person and vice versa of me for them. Their lives have changed, but they haven't forgotten me, in fact their support for me has only grown stronger and more vocal.





- I'm too big for my home town and can never go back.

My home town has changed but so have I, and I saw that city with new eyes, and a fresh attraction for the beauty of the sky, beach, and people. I might have seen more things in the world, have more grand ideas about who I can become and what is possible, but that town holds opportunities that are there for the taking. It just wasn't where I needed to be a couple of years ago, and maybe not in the near future.




- I need to stay overseas because I'll be labelled a failure/won't be "anyone" if I can't hang tight there for a significant amount of time, after all the years that I talked about going over there.


How long is a piece of string? Who defines what is a significant time period? I make the rules, and so I can break the rules.


An nobody has ever said to me that I shouldn't come home until I can prove myself worthy. Worthy of what? Who knows.... something I created in my own mind.

In the end, all that matters to is that I shape my own life with decisions that I am happy about and believe in 100%. And having the courage and wisdom to own each and every decision I make is a process, but I have people on both hemispheres that can help me with that.

Badge of honour

The eve of my 29th birthday.

I'm arranging my catchups, accomodations, flights, and goodbyes on facebook.

Whilst I am perusing the profiles of other people, I think: "I have no boyfriend - I seem to be an emotional retard."

Then I think,: "I have a job with the United Nations - I seem to be pretty freaking awesome."

So I updated my employer information. Just so when I do turn 29, I have something to smile about, and remember how far I have come. (And maybe, just maybe, remind anyone who wishes to know, about how freaking cool I am.)

Because why should your relationship status become the sole something so freaking special to gloat about on the online self publicity machine?

Corporations: where creativity goes to die.

I told a good friend/colleague today about an idea I had for a stencil I wanted to make for some guerilla street art. It just came to me as I sat down to my computer today.

When I showed it to her, she said "I don't get."

I asked her what's not to get.

And she said " What is it supposed to do? Are YOU going to paint these somewhere? And if so, where?"

"On the side of this office building." I retorted.

Her mouth gaped open in shock.

"I'm kidding." I sighed. And I walked back to my desk and kept typing.

Fucking corporate types.

I am adding the United Nations to my resume today.

Coincidentally, so is the ex-ceo of the company I work for.

As the company has split into two seperate companies (as opposed to the old structure of the two branches), he announced he will be working for 6 months with the head of the United Nations.

I am frightened, surprised and pleased at the same time at my new appointment. Even though it's on an ad-hoc basis for a week at a time, it's still a really big deal.

This is an opportunity I have always wanted to do, and it makes complete sense for me to be doing it. It really rolls all the things that I've ever wanted to do into one huge opportunity.

When I was younger I wanted to be a journalist, and now, in a way, I am about to become one.

When I first concocted the idea of travelling, I was thinking that volunteering for AUSAID would be pretty cool.

I never ever thought I would ever be able to go of the front line of anything by myself, except for maybe, a concert.

I don't think I really know what I've got myself into, but I guess it's one of those time will tell situations.

I was told yesterday that the interview was just a formality, but I had the role from my internal application and they wanted me from my first round application.

Even if I don't go anywhere, it's nice to know that I was the first choice for the role.

Read more about the organisation I am volunteering for below:

WFP - Fighting hunger worldwide

www.wfp.org

The World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.

In emergencies, we get food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After the cause of an emergency has passed, we use food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives.

WFP is part of the United Nations system and is voluntarily funded.

Born in 1961, WFP pursues a vision of the world in which every man, woman and child has access at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. We work towards that vision with our sister UN agencies in Rome -- the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) -- as well as other government, UN and NGO partners.

In 2011 we aim to reach more than 90 million people with food assistance in more than 70 countries. Around 10,000 people work for the organization, most of them in remote areas, directly serving the hungry poor.

WFP's five objectives:

• Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies
• Prepare for emergencies
• Restore and rebuild lives after emergencies
• Reduce chronic hunger and undernutrition everywhere
• Strengthen the capacity of countries to reduce hunger

The Lengths

The coals are hot,
To walk across,
Without your shoes,
But in the end,
Know that you've got nothing to lose.

Nothing to lose.

Push the button.

I push buttons all day, everyday.

Keyboards for a start.

Phone keypads.

Light switches.

Elevator buttons.

Train doors buttons to open them. ( God forbid anything happened here out of courtesy, even the train doors aren't chivalrous.)

I push metaphorical buttons too: my boss, my colleagues, my friends, my suppliers. I may not like/mean to cause a stir, but the drama sometimes follows me.

I'm going to Madrid tomorrow to celebrate pushing buttons.

I've pushed enough buttons now to be happy about where these jabs and clicks and index finger driven actions have taken me.

Tapped enough keyboards to create enough of the right words to have the damn good life that I lead.

Dialled enough wrong numbers to learn some lessons and punched a few right ones to get a few good answers.

Turned out some lights on some good and memorable nights, and flicked them on again to wake up to a new chance everyday.

Pissed off enough bosses to get me where I am today.

It takes a split second to push a button and those buttons, no matter how trivial at the time, will definitely shape your life.

"Send"

"Open"

"Delete"

"Buy"

"Confirm"

"Apply"

"Call"

"End call"

Cheers to the buttons, the fingers that pushed them, and the hearts that tell them "Just do it".

Regal and royal

I may have moved here about 20 months ago, but more than ever, I have been more intune with milestones that have popped out of nowhere. I thought nothing of waking up,a year ago, to days whereby I thought I was merely getting on with things.

The milestones of the day I first landed, the day I got my first apartment, the day I met my BFF Laura, my first snowfall.... they are all important.

But the ones that creep up are equally a personal triumph, a little less memorable, but I appreciate them none the less.

Over a year ago, I had no idea what I was creating, no idea what would come of what I would do on a day to day basis.

For example; Last weekend with a sunny, hot easter, hanging in the park with a group of fantastic people I am lucky to call my friends, was a true joy. Compare that to a year ago, where I was hanging out with friends visiting from London, with no idea of where to really take them, and no locals to really introduce them to either, because.... I didn't really know anyone.

Almost a year ago, it was the eve before Queen's day.

I remember getting off the tram from work, with no idea of what I was going to do, who I was going to meet up with (if anyone), where the night would take me.

Tonight, as I was searching for something to wear (because I hate the colour orange, I have nothing in my wardrobe of that hue) I fielded calls from friends as I shopped, reminiscing about what we were all doing this time last year, and it crossed my mind, I knew none of them this time last year and thoughts passed through my mind of what kind of life I had created in a year... and what I could possibly create in more coming years here.

I thought last Queen's day could of possibly been my one and only, and here I am about to experience my second with lessons learnt such as:

- buy beer early
- bring beer with you throughout the day
- bring cash to buy random second hand things
- get out of the house early
- try to find something classy but orange to wear (even though it's hard) because it's bad form to not wear anything orange at all
- bring a camera with plenty of battery
- wear sensible walking shoes

Last year, at the traditional unveiling of a giant Queen Beatrix related artwork on a the facade of a pub called "The Blaffing Vis" ( The Barking Fish), there was Queen Beatrix in a 5 storey high characiture, dressed as super girl, with the speech bubble, "Be a Hero!"

She's so cool, she's kind of my hero. For no other reason than she's just more hip than Queen Liz of England.


This year, we're going to do it all again for the Queen B of the Netherlands.

Here's to new friends, new adventures... and possibly, being able to treat this Queen's day like it might not be my last one ever.

Creative Crusader?

I’ve just been put through to the final round for a work sponsored based assignment on a project called the World Food programme. It’s run by a little organisation, perhaps you’ve heard of it? They’re called the United Nations.

I will know in May if I will be able to

- make a difference
- add experience to my resume that not a lot of people get the say they’ve ever come close to
- follow my dream of working in multimedia communications, in another country

Changing of the guard

What makes me an authority on the city I have lived in the for the last year and a half?

The internet does.

There are millions of people sharing their thoughts online about restaurants, bars, hotels and about every other service imagineable, be it on forums, blogs, online communities, micro blogging platforms, and they get heard.

Why shouldn't I?

I can write whatever the hell I want to, because I have access to a blogging platform, and I paid for hosting and a domain name.

Read the below: via The Pop Up city

Trend 2: Bloggers Are The New City-Branders

By Jeroen Beekmans | Published: Friday January 7, 2011

Most bloggers with an international audience write a lot about what happens in their home town — the place were they live and know about all the good stuff happening there. Doing so, they are great ambassadors of their city (most of the times unconsciously), and do a great job when it comes to promoting local excellence among a large group of influentials around the world. With their work, bloggers like Nalden (culture/lifestyle, Amsterdam), the Amsterdam Ad Blog (creativity/advertising, Amsterdam), Wooster Collective (street art, New York City), The Sartorialist (fashion, New York City) and Rebel Art (street art, Berlin) have established loyal crowds on an international scale and gained a solid position next to official marketing campaigns when it comes to setting the image of a city.

Official city-marketing campaigns initiated and controlled by local governments mostly try to tell the same story since they all want to attract the same kind of people to their towns — ‘international knowledge workers’. Bloggers, on the other hand, have a huge worldwide online audience and report about specific themes, styles and subcultures that more specifically characterize the city. In Copenhagen both elements come together. While the Danish capital officially tries to brand itself as world’s bike capital, blogs such as Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic independently report about innovative and inspiring bike culture in the city.

In the years to come, city-marketing could increasingly develop itself into an open source activity, thanks to technological innovation. Predict the people of Amsterdam-based cultural innovation office Non-Fiction, “we think the future of the city will be shaped by all of us together, via the technologies and tools we’ll have”. Although initiated by the ‘I Amsterdam’ city-marketing people, this approach could already be a signal for a more autonomous and open approach to city-marketing. The campaign asks tourists to explain (in video or writing) how they would spend € 1,000 in the Dutch capital. The most creative submission was rewarded with € 1,000 pocket money. Also interesting are the home-made parody city-marketing videos, for instance the one made by the Canadian comedian Mike Polk for the city of Cleveland. His happy video about the sad side of Cleveland was a hype on the Internet and encouraged the urban authorities to organize a contest for a more “positive” approach to tourism videos. Obviously, they did not get the point: “they might have been positive but they were not funny”, was stated on GOOD. Why should it only be governments to decide which identity about the city will be spread?

This article belongs to the Top 10 Trends For 2011. Over the last year we have been writing articles about urban culture and innovations in cities on a daily basis. Reflecting on 2010 and looking into 2011 we have put together a list with ten of the most remarkable trends that we spotted. We would like to deepen them out a little in a series of articles published this week on The Pop-Up City.

I'm so excited, and i just can't hide it!

My life recently? Late nights, 18 hour working days, Repetitive Strain Injury on the cards for the not too distant future...

And I'm still excited!

Why?

One of the things I mentioned in this post is about to come to fruition....

Countdown!!!

Brussels = Salmon + Pickles

I went to Brussels last weekend. (aka. The town of salmon and pickles - coined by me because French culture and dutch culture don't seem to be the most blendable of things. Funnily enough this is also how the Belgians see it, having been without a properly formed government for the past 7.5 months because of the reality that...surprise, surprise, french culture and dutch culture are VASTLY different.)

Fun and weird at the same time. Met lots of nice, intellectual and funny individuals. They study important things like International human rights law and Conflict and Security, and I am pretty damn sure that all of them will change or shape the world for the better. I'm going to turn on the news one night and see these people ratifying treaties for the disarment of nuclear situations or bringing North and South Korea together as one. Mark my words.

Some of these heresaid people came with me to see a bit of my world in their city ( ie. less about articles, books and treaty documents and more about arts, culture and theatre) We ended up seeing one of the best performance art pieces I am likely to see in my entire life.


When we rolled up to the theatre, a lady led us outside of the theatre and took us to a metro stop. We had no idea what we were doing there, until some guy on the opposite platform starts harassing one of the people I was with about taking photos of him (with my camera.)

It wasn't until he turned his boom box on that the penny dropped and I suddenly realise the performance had already begun. We were watching street theatre and breakdancing where it was born and bred - on the streets.

Then we went to see some guy eat yogurt at an intersection, and he was talking in dutch and I lost the point of it all. Too avante gard for me. I was exceptionally confused when he ran away from us. Then we were led back into the theatre and the show in the theatre was amazing, and powerful.

Just a casual game between friends... infront of a palace. BSIS lads get into a game of football - infront of the grand palace Leopold built after colonising Congo.

A couple of pensive characters @ Le Montmartre bar

Another pensive one: this time at a beautiful little secret called L'Atelier bar


The gi-normous Belgian Beer selection at L'Atelier


The entrance of L'Atelier. We were almost going to give it a miss because it was closed when we got there but the owners turned up at the same time, chased after us and let us in as they opened. Magical.

Hip Hop(e) @ KVS ( Royal Flemish Theatre)

Being led down the Rabbit Hole.


"Take my picture dude!"

Bad Ass.

Man eating yoghurt. At an intersection.