What I stand for

Libby in Copenhagen

Over the years I've realized that the older you get the faster time passes.  The summer lasted forever when I was 10 because that was only the 40th season I'd experienced in my life - and if you want to get technical, I'd likely only been conscious for 24 seasons of my life at that point.  Depending on how you're counting, that summer was either a large percentage of my life or a larger percentage of my life.....and now it represents much less and time is flying by.

Perhaps time is flying as a byproduct of getting older but no doubt it also has to do with all my traveling and rushing around.  To put things into perspective, as of November 1, per Google's expense system, I have taken 60 flights so far in 2014.

I feel my winter white party was so recent but that was March and now I'm starting to plan my second annual white party.  Then Kathy and Tatyana came on rotation to Google Copenhagen from Google NYC from April to the end of June which meant that when I was in town we were hanging out.  Most of April and May I was traveling to two cities per week for work but there was also plenty of personal travel - an Easter trip to Madrid to see my parents, a weekend trip to Prague with Anders in May and a girls' weekend to Paris and Berlin in May and June.  In June Anders also came to Copenhagen for a week as did a gaggle of Google NYC girlfriends.  Then on top of all my work travel when I thought things would calm down in July, my cousin Andre came to visit and we went to Noma and Norway.  In the same month I went to Switzerland to see my dear college friend Mary Caton, then Kira visited me in Copenhagen.  In August I traveled to London three times for work, to Oslo twice and my twin sister Libby and her husband Rupert came to visit.  Then in September I was in London for one week, NYC for one week and Vietnam for vacation for two weeks.  Now it's a week into November and I've traveled all but one week for work since returning from Vietnam 5 weeks ago.  The trend will continue until the end of December including a 22 day stint without returning to Copenhagen once due to work trips on either side of a trip home for Thanksgiving and weekending with Anders in London.

What a blur!

This can't be normal.

Well, it can't be my normal.  I love traveling as much as the next person but I also love my apartment in Christianshaven.  I'd like to see more of it.

A big benefit of all this travel is that meeting so many different people across so many different cities and making so many choices in the process has firmed up what I stand for.  At work I'm always telling brands to talk about what they stand for.  I'm going to take my own medicine.  I don't do all of these to the degree that I'd like to but it's what I shoot for:

Getting out in the world. For me, the opportunity to travel to other countries and cultures is a huge priority, so much that I consider it a personal value (and moved to Europe).

Valuing experiences more than stuff. In short, I appreciate things I do more than things I buy (all though I have plenty of those too).

Health: To live with movement, full vitality and energy every day.

Truth.  Some people are skilled liars that are practiced at placating others in the moment. I am not. I function best when people are direct and honest. Being nice just to be nice doesn't benefit anyone.  I aim to always make it clear in conversation and in writing that truth is necessary in my world, no matter how painful. 

Accommodating to others.  In two ways.  First, if I disagree on a topic of little personal interest or experience I tend to keep quiet about my opinion. I accommodate others ideas unless they're in opposition to a subject of importance to me.  Second, I like acting as a social facilitator whether organizing a party or linking people whose interests are similar, I genuinely enjoy introducing my friends to each other.

Reputation.  I value and want to be recognized for hard work, poise, kindness and insight.

Gratitude.  Feeling and showing gratitude is often underestimated.  Much of my discontentment comes from focusing too much on what I'm trying to achieve but is still out of reach.  Especially on days when the world seems to be conspiring against me, I try to focus on how damn lucky I am to live in an amazing place, have incredible people in my life and a job that gives me a sense of worth. Right now is worth cherishing.

Girls weekend in Berlin in June

Thong and Dion's wedding in Vietnam with Anders
More photos from Vietnam