Saturday, March 29, 2014

Nordic Startup Conference

Yesterday was the Nordic Startup Conference (http://startupconference.org) and this full day event attracted the best and brightest from the Nordic startup ecosystem- It was really nice to meet new faces and also catchup with the people I haven't seen in a while :)

So it was a kewl venue, great people, interesting presentations and an overall awesome time! Great to see CPH startup community growing and coming together. What an exciting time to be living in this city!


VC panel discussions

Birdseye view of pitching battle!

Beer + pizza = best idea ever!

Speaking about failure- very inspiring!

Conference Selfies :P

A big thank you to conference staff! - Job well done!

Pictionaire- startup style! :p

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

When things get tough, the tough get going!


Bam! Whack! Kapow! Boom!

Do you hear that?! That's me waking up today and Kicking A$$!!




The point of a blog is to be honest right? So there is no sugarcoating here- this week officially sucks. The moment I solve one problem, another unexpected one pops up. My life in Copenhagen is a perpetual cycle of putting out one fire after another >:O

BUT- you know what? I chose to move to Copenhagen, I chose to live this life, so now I have to take all these challenges in stride. I mean- what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger right?

When you move abroad to a new country where you don't know anyone and have no family or friends, it can be tough to feel like you belong. Of course it is easy to have "drinking buddies"- and I have more than my fair share of those, but it is when things go wrong that you see who your true friends are. The ones that got your back, NO MATTER WHAT. And when you are having a hard time- you don't even have to ask- bc they are already on the way with backup. Those people are true friends and I am lucky to have some steadfast ones in my life -I don't think I would have lasted this long in CPH without them.

Therefore, on days like today when I feel like the world is screwing me over - I still have hope. I know I can find my way because I am not in this alone :) anddddd I have been through worse haven't I?

So I tell myself: Get up, Ran! There is work to be done! You gave up everything to move this new place to do something. To MAKE SOMETHING! So GET UP! and get GOING!



And yes, dem haterz gonna hate :p -Ran



I'm grooving to:
Milky Chance - "Stolen Dance"

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

A Morning Text

GUESS FREAKING WHAT? Im homeless AGAIN?

Woke up to a text from my landlord that his job offer didn't work out and I need to move out by May 1. Are you kidding me?? I am so busy right now with work and I have several conference trips already prebooked for April and May. How can I manage this?? and finding an apartment in CPH is near to impossible in one month :(

Its really been such a struggle with apartment hunting here. So much time and money spent moving, packing, unpacking and searching.

Ive been living out of boxes and suitcases since I arrived here because I was never sure when I had to move again. You know I am as much a nomad as nomads come, but right now for the next three months- while we are working on our campaign- a bit of stability couldn't hurt. And guess what the irony is, I was just planning to go to IKEA this upcoming weekend to finally get some "real" furniture so I could officially finish unpacking and make my apartment feel like a HOME...

Damn, I really, really liked my current place (but I guess it was never really mine was it?) I was finally starting to feel like I belonged in Copenhagen. And now- yet again- everything is up in the air and I have to start over again.

Yes. I think might cry a bit today. Just a little bit.

Man this sucks.

-Ran

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Stockholm Weekend Trip :)

So great to see my friends and old haunts again. I was surprised with a mini excursion to Malmö, Sweden a couple weeks back and a wave of nostalgia for all things Swedish washed over me. I missed Fika, Semlas and the "singsong" language- I knew I just had to go back to Stockholm for a bit - so I did!

What can you do with 48 hours in Stockholm? Apparently plenty! :p It was lovely to walk around the streets that first made me fall in love with Scandinavia a year a ago. Even though I eventually choose to settle down in Copenhagen for the time being, Stockholm will always have a special place in my heart- as my first Scandinavian love <3




















C'est la vie

Being 27 years old now, I look back at all the "confusing" times of my life.

Of course no one can be happy all the time- at least no humans that I know of. It is of course natural to have periods of highs and lows. Everyone gets sad, insecure or lonely once in a while. And even the best of us can become confused and feel trapped. Many of us unwittingly get stuck in these lows because its easy being stuck. It requires far less effort and we somehow feel safer to stay in the known,  because the UNknown is a scary place...

The brave are the ones that stop and think- WHY am I unhappy? WHY am I not living my life to the fullest? AM I doing the things to actively become the person I want to be? When we can stop and ask these questions, as painful as the answers may be- we start the first step in finding our purpose in life.

There have been many times in my life- where I thought I was doing the things that make me happy. I went to school, and went to more school. Built a stable relationship, moved in together, got a dog(or two). I studied for exams and finished applications, but something was always not right. I knew I wasn't quite doing what I was supposed to be doing with my yet...

I have had many beautiful, wonderful, joyful people in my life, but even with all that love, I realized that I can never be happy with anyone- unless I am happy with myself first :)

So I have taken the path less taken, and everyday I fail at 99 out of the 100 things I do, but that's a risk I have chosen to take. And I am constantly challenged to make choices that I never thought I would have to make. It seems once you take the first step in a different direction, more and more you veer off your old path and there is no going back. It is scary. So freaking scary sometimes. I watch my friends, family and peers living the life I "should" have had. And sometimes I feel like they no longer understand me and my choices- they think I have given up all the great things I have worked so hard for in my life to hedge a bet on unpredictable, unstable and unknown risks in a far-flung corner of the world. Sometimes I too, question if I made the right choice, and I am filled with doubt. My friends update me on their important life milestones and I congratulate them on their success. Sometimes I wonder, perhaps I could have been happy living that life too...?

Mmm. but when I stop and really think hard about it, I know in my heart- there is no other life I would rather live. I am still trying to find me- but in the meantime- I am free.

"C'est la vie" my friends! It's almost time for Nice, France- XOXO- Ran




Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Great Change

Before each great change- is a period of uncertainty, of apprehension, of fear.

Remember when life was simple?

When you had but one right certain choice?

But now in today's complex and rapidly changing world- we are constantly being bombarded with choices day in, day out.

How do you know you are making the right choice? Its not like we have a crystal ball.


Sometimes I very much wish I could see down each path and know what the end result of each choice is
....but then what would be the fun in the journey then.. ?



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