Bang!

Yes, we did it. 

Selected for the Best Marketing Award.  

I feel such an honour and privilege as this is a huge achievement. Because my personal story is used as the red line through the entire campaign. Yes, the Cote d’Azur project where I stayed with my camper and cat this spring. 

Being nominated means that I will fly to Bangkok to present the project on stage. Wow! 

This was my cherry on the cake, something I always dreamed of! 

That moment has come…

Bangkok, Asia is a part of the world with a profound meaning, layers of emotions come up as I’m writing this.

Christophe and I wanted to live and work in Asia, that was our dream. After spending a year in Houston our final destination was actually Asia, but we never got there. You can imagine now flying alone for the first time to a long haul destination and then Asia, after 3 years, pfff. And moreover for a project done in a time where I struggled a lot with myself, my ups and downs, my intense emotions, well in summary said where the grieving process touched me the most. 

I’m afraid if I will be on stage, all emotions will come out. 

And what if… it makes it authentic right?

Now I am so determined to get the award, the recognition for my hard work (together with a fantastic team Lucie and Laetitia you are my heroes!!). Team work makes the dream work.

As I heard the news I was so thrilled, going through the roof of positive emotions. In the evening came the sadness. If Christophe would be here, he would be so extremely proud! And he would give a big strong hug, and what I do miss is his arms around me.

He would pack his suitcase straight away and join me during my presentation.

Bangkok, here I come!

Slowing down…

I decided to slow down… ha ha… well it remains a challenge…. It’s not in my DNA I think. But on the work level, it did me well. It opened new doors, and had inspiring and in depth conversations with many people, friends, neighbours on the camping and others . The fact of not waking up with an alarm was a gift. Taking control over my own body and life. 

In October I did a tour through my own country, visiting friends and family. Of course with my camper and companion Loekie. She has diabetes, which is not easy. As she pissed outside her toilet in the camper, I was far from amused!!! OMG. Taking extra precautions. But, despite that she’s doing well, she’s still here. I am used to being a caregiver, first for Christophe and now for her. That was one of the reasons to stay in the Netherlands. Short distances, not too far for my old lady on board. 

Evolving further in my career I’m overthinking my future, something which is important. I’m proud of where I’m standing today. If you stand still and look back on all what occurred in the past years, it was a lot, way too much to handle. Now I slowly realised how tough it was, and could I possibly imagine going through the process. 

With all the experiences on a personal and professional level, putting this is my ever growing backpack, I’m going to switch careers. I miss the deeper meaning, the real purpose and this is what I will proceed to do. Not sure what, how and when, but writing this down is a huge relief and it will bring me somewhere, someday.

Sorry guys

The downside of going to Bangkok was not being able to support the association ZindividU with their major event on 11th of November. They understood and rescheduled the tasks to the other board members, thank you very much guys!

On 18th October I attended an evening for people with a brain tumour in Isala hospital in Zwolle, the Netherlands. An evening full of information for patients and their loved ones, no word about food!! Incredible. It triggered me, and now I am even more determined that we need more information about the role of food in our lives. I’m not saying that we can avoid brain tumours just with food but we can take control of this element in our lives. Having a brain tumour takes all your security in life away, but food is something you can control! 

If you’re eager to receive more information about health, join the Inspiration Day in Hengelo (in Dutch only).

Next edition of the grieving walks

Yes, I doubted. I was not sure if I wanted to continue with the grieving walks, but as Lianne called me, I thought why not. We have done 7 successful editions in the Netherlands during the winter time and why should we stop? Let’s continue. We keep it small this year and we have two editions, one in December and one in January. If you’re interested, let me know. Or in case you know someone, that would be great, thank you.

This year, if someone prefers, we are open for individual walks. Some people don’t feel comfortable being in a group.

Floortje

Suddenly I saw an update coming by, to see the first new edition with Floortje live and a Q&A in Arnhem, I thought I wanted to be there. For those who don’t know who Floortje is, she’s a TV presenter travelling around the world to remote places interviewing people about their life, their choices and the country.

It’s so inspiring, these stories from people who literally throw all their securities away and to live a sustainable, simple life which is intriguing for me. I’m not sure if I could do this, but I do admire the people who do, and we need these role models.

This was a perfect moment to meet up with Maaike, going to Floortje and to buy a new outfit for my presentation in Bangkok, thank you for your advice. I have everything now for Bangkok, and just need to practise my presentation.. Thank you for your last-time support Sara.

I will be on stage on Monday 13th November between 2:15 and 3 pm, local time in Bangkok. For the Europeans, if you get up on Monday, or leave for work, keep your fingers crossed. I can use some support!

Thank you! Stay tuned for updates from Bangkok & Thailand

PS Yes I will stay after the conference in the country for a short holiday :-)