From the strictest COVID lockdown in the world, in Shanghai, to the mysterious underground ramen restaurants in Tokyo, last year has been a great adventure! I’ve experienced different countries, food, apps, and even a career change from product management to product marketing. So, please take some time off your phone, read this story slowly, and join me for a few laughs! March 2022 – Shanghai Down A few weeks after the Year of the Tiger started (February 1st ’22), hubby and I found ourselves locked down in our apartment in Shanghai. We had to undergo two self-tests per day and…
My product life in Shanghai, China (2022)
It’s been a bit more than a year since we moved to Shanghai in China, and life comparing to Spain, Greece and the Netherlands where I had been living in the past, is for the most part different. And while the culture, the language and the people might for some be the big differences to handle, what has dramatically changed for me is the way I interact with products and technology on a daily basis. Once you have Alipay and WeChat payment accounts, life in China becomes smooth like butter. The words “I have to go and buy…” are removed…
The beast of Envy
“Lost in the dark wilderness of the world, Dante seeks by his own power to climb a mountain robed with the rays of the rising sun, “the origin and cause of every joy” (Inferno 1.77-78). But his path uphill has been blocked by 3 beasts: a lynx, associated with lust and other sins of the flesh; a lion, associated with violence and pride; and, worst of all, a she-wolf, the beast of avarice”. To be precise envy, a wicked beast of hatred, cousin of pride. A sin to rule them all “For in truth, all other sins are at times…
To be born again
The Phoenix is the ancient history of many civilizations was a unique mythological bird with the ability to reborn from its ashes. When Phoenix’s end approached its whole body would be set on fire, and consumed by the flames it would turn into ashes. From the ashes something magical would happen, a new Phoenix would miraculously reborn, younger, stronger and prouder. New life No matter how bad things have been, no matter how dark your life might seemed or still seems, you always have a chance to start over. Sorry, my mistake: You always have a choice to start over.…
About ego
I have already talked about that little voice in our heads that always warns us before our actions and let us know deep inside what is right and what is wrong. Let’s call that little voice, Mr Po, a brave loving warrior representing all the good of this world inside you. Mr Po carries the kindness and the innocence of a little angel warrior you have inside you since you were a child. Ego, you little… But there is another voice inside you too. In cartoons it is often represented as a little devil. In real life is nothing but…
I can’t…
How many times have you heard in life the phrase I can’t, both, from people in your environment and yourself? I may say too many. Moreover, we “clever” humans tend to use language in such a way, that the responsibility of our actions falls on someone or something else. The bus was late, there was traffic, the server was old, the glass broke, it’s the battery of my car’s fault, the weather is awful, my boss is bad, my ex was stupid… and so on. I couldn’t, I can’t, I won’t be able to… You either lazy or you don’t…
What love is not
What better day to talk about what is not love, but the 14th of February. Love can make us do things we never believed we could without knowing why. So addictions. But, an addiction is not love. Same as love, addictions affect the way we see life and ourselves. However, an addiction, aka a repetitive behaviour we cannot stop to perform by will, in most cases is the reaction of our bodies and minds to avoid situations that make us feel sad, stressed, lonely or bored. There are various addictions: exercise, gambling, drugs, social media and more… All of them…
To new beginnings
When you are at the bottom, the only way is to go up! And, the experience of losing everything, or something, can transform the way you see life and the realities it throws at you. And maybe, next time you don’t have to lose something to realise how important it is to you. Maybe, you can appreciate it for being in your life, embrace it, follow it to waters you’ve never swam in before and to mountains you would never climb alone. Cause maybe, there is a better world out there for you, and someone is there waiting patiently to…