Recently I went on a date with a management consultant. He suggested we meet on a Thursday, a day he usually gets off early. Apparently, we have very different definitions of early. To me, early means 5pm. 5:30pm if I'm generous. He meant 8pm. Which made me
Ever heard that your olfactory memory is one of the strongest? Scents, smells and flavors are stored in our memories in a way that can feel like you can transport yourself back to a time and place in the past. That's why you'll come across "
I remember a time when Starbucks wasn't omnipresent on every corner. At the time, celebrities were pictured holding Starbucks to-go cups. It was a status symbol. Running around with a cup of overpriced coffee seemed like the thing to do. I envied that lifestyle. A quote from
Miley Cyrus sang these lyrics in her hit single from her album Endless Summer Vacation in 2023. At the time, it seemed to hit quite a nerve in pop culture. Initially, I thought it was strange to make such a big deal about buying yourself flowers... Flowers feel like an
"Last night a DJ saved my life with a song." This is part of the lyrics of a track I remember from my phase as an 18-year-old going out to clubs. Obviously, I'm most familiar with its remix, as the original was released in
A couple of months ago, on a sunny Friday evening I was on my way home after a lousy after-work workout, that a friend had talked me into before cancelling on me. I wanted a pick-me-up and when I rode my bike across a lively square, I
Recently, I looked out of the train window and noticed something odd. An office building, nine or ten floors high. Through almost every window I could see plants. How strange that we build artificial structures to keep nature out, only to fill them with a tamer version of it. A
"How are you feeling? Did you have someone to have lunch with today? OMG have you met XYZ? He's a true OG here." After sending this message to my new hire along with an appropriate GIF I paused. Was I ... being a Jessica? It had never
Three years ago, on a fall evening, after a long day at work and a 1 hour and 10 minute commute, I bought an apricot fruit tart at a convenience store at the train station, sat down, opened the plastic box, had a bite and started crying. I had a
Pedal, pedal, pedal all the way home. Growing up, my family lived in a small village. It had about 3,500 inhabitants at the time, four bus stops, a small mom-and-pop store, a bakery, and a post office. As kids we walked to kindergarten, and later to elementary
As a teenager, I struggled a lot with my body perception and weight. I've learned in the years of therapy that followed that, for starters, eating disorders are contagious. Well, I happened to be a 15-year-old who just wanted to fit in with a bunch of
If your Instagram is anything like mine, you will have seen pictures of Seoul by night and day—the neon signs, the convenience stores, the gacha stores, and not to forget all the pop-ups and skincare boutiques. Korea does capitalism on another level. The special editions, urging you to