Summer Launch Party
June is off to quite a start: travel, work, reunions, architecture, the usual etc. Haha
What a month it has turned out to be and it's not even over.
Basel, Koblenz, Cologne, Stockholm, Leysin, Vals, Basel, Zurich, Stockholm.
It's caught me off guard in a way, but that's been the month so far and we still haven't even reached Canada Day on July 1.
Birthday for a good friend. Onsite work with a client. A reunion with over a 1000 people. Some days off at my favourite Alpine thermal bath. Friends visiting Stockholm from Canada x 2. And more.
It all just sort of happened and for as bad as airports, line ups and flights have been reported on it's somewhat been more than ok. So there ya go.
Below, are a couple reflections on some experiences this month and of course some summer vibe photos to wrap up this June.
Thanks for reading.
J
"Are you an Architect?"
Omg. What do I do. She asked me and I froze - do I tell her about how its been a fantasy/long held day dream of mine to still become one? Or how I have worked with architecture in the past but am not a liscensed practitioner? Or how a book inspired me to go back grad school to become one but then went another direction with brand and copywriting? Or maybe she just thought it was my glasses or my advanced technical streetwear hikers? Or where I told her I was travelling to?
Anyway, this was a fun little exchange with the staff at the Bündner Kunstmuseum in Chur. I'd passed through this city in the east of Switzerland 4-5 times now but never prioritized the time to go and take photos of the musuem (something I’d long wanted to do). So this time, I got my photos and checked out the exhibition too.
By the way, what I answered with when she asked if I was an architect...I said..."I just really like buildings."
Lol
But on a serious note, it is something I come back to time to time and think, well is it ever technically too late? My chiropractor in Stockholm was a professional fiddle player from 18-35, then went back to school for his license and now is 65 and has been practicing for almost 30 years, plus the fiddle for about 50!
And I think it's ok to have day dreams, and ideas. And not everything always gets acted on. And it doesn't mean they need to be held as regrets that you have kept until your final breaths either. There’s a middle ground here, but it's a fine balance between talking non-sense and making contributions in the real world and acting on what you truly really want to do.
Reunion Vibes
As some of you know, I used to work at a boarding school in the Alps. It was my first place of work after I finished university and it's had a tremendous impact on me - both personally and professionally. Timing, people and place come together in life at different moments to create something special and I feel fortunate to have spent the time I did there.
I've never been to a reunion and this one was on the cards for a couple years but put on hold until last weekend. And my goodness, what a time. Over 1000 people in a village of only a few thousand population. And while I didn't know all 1000, I figure a rough estimate of at least 300 of them! A mix of former students and colleagues - but more than that over time. Friends, mentors, mentees, role models, leaders, athletes, and most other personas we interact with in life.
One of the reasons why you're able to connect with so many people in such a context is that you just quite simply do a lot of stuff together - eating, working, living, travelling, coaching, socializing, learning, and also the act of being with one another in difficult times as well.
And of course with breaks and pauses and continuously changing contexts and people - some pass through and others stick around; some come back to visit and keep in touch and others move on and go off-grid. It was an event I looked forward to and one that surpassed my expectations.
As I have wrote in the past year quite regularly about chance occurrences, serendipity, synchronicity, and bumping into people from your past at random moments in life, I find very exciting.
And then to have all that energy show up this past weekend was something. To reconnect with some people not seen or even spoken to in 15 years to those ambiently in touch with, to the ones I worked with, coached in soccer or lead on a service trip to rural Bosnia, or had even seen earlier in the month - it was something unique, that’s for sure.
It was like memory lane on overdrive but remarkably present. Does that make sense?
Some of you reading this have been able to visit me there, others we actually met there, and others continually hear me talk about this place or at least see it featured in photos usually 2-3x a year! haha :)
So now you know a little bit more about this place that shaped me. Thank you Leysin, Leysin American School and everyone I’ve crossed paths with there along the way so far.
Reportage
Cheers! Till next time.
Jamie
"I just really like buildings" the best answer! No ego, no motive, just passion and good energy.