A New Venture

When I went travelling I tried to keep a diary, with notes, pictures, ticket stubs, drawings, musings etc. I remember one entry I wrote, really near the end which just reads: "Lost time living too hard."

I remember that whirlwind feeling, of cramming so much in; going, doing, meeting, seeing...

My life today feels like that - like some kind of beautiful chaos.

But as a result, I hardly have time to go for a wee let alone sit at my computer and blog.

Also, being back at work has lessened my need for a creative lifeline.

I'm going to try and keep this up, but in the meantime check out my Editor's Letter for some daily rambilings.

So last night I got to thinking…

Ha, you know you wish you were Carrie Bradshaw too. But here's how it went:

This time 10 years ago I took my first journalism job in Shanghai. I went to China with the idea of doing a follow up on the Dying Rooms. It was unsuccessful - the orphanage had been moved to an Island off mainland China and it was heavily guarded. My computers got shut down and I had to check in with the police for a while. KO.

These days I edit content about Victoria Beckham's style choices and Lady Gaga flashing her butt cheeks. I often wonder how I got here.

I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason but also that we choose our paths based on circumstances at the time of decision making. Back in the Big Smoke I was offered two highly incongruous jobs on the same day - one in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and one at a dance organization.

I sometimes wonder if in a parallel life, I'm now some kind of diplomat wearing power suits and dealing with foreign policy. But those days at The Place hold a very special place in my heart, and I'm glad I chose to be immersed within such a creative world.

And again, the day the I was offered my role at Sky I was also offered the position of Editor of an art magazine based in Chelsea, right around the corner from Christie's and which also housed a newsroom for a yachting mag. In another universe, am I working with painters and art dealers and going to gallery openings every night?