Give it a try

I made it this morning! Against the odds. I made an egg stand.

February 16, 2017October 20, 2021 by mairiko Categories: TodayTags: against the odds, balance, inspiration, photo challenge, photography, playfulness, the realm of possible 6 Comments

Stay in Love

Love is like a good soil. It may be muddy sometimes, but it’s the thing that makes you grow. If it doesn’t than it’s not love.

February 14, 2017July 21, 2017 by mairiko Categories: TodayTags: Alice in Wonderland, art of living, graffiti, happy valenitne, healing, London, love, One Hundered Years of Solitude, photography, playfulness 2 Comments

Sudden landing to London

Well, well, well. For all of you who know about Alice, it will not be surprising that something like this could have happened.

February 12, 2017July 21, 2017 by mairiko Categories: Design yourself, The big escapeTags: Alice in Wonderland, burnout, career hurdles, Europe, freedom, inspiration, job hunts, London, photography, playfulness, recovery, sabbaticals, travel 3 Comments

A portfolio of an extraordinary year

This post was triggered by a conversation I recently had. Somebody asked me: “Well it’s great you had a good time and you feel well now, but how are you going to explain a year long gap in your CV?”. I felt for a second I might be in trouble. But then, a new girl in me stood up against the looming fear:

September 11, 2016November 16, 2021 by mairiko Categories: The big escapeTags: art of living, big escape, burnout, Crete, CV, dance, freedom, Greece, healing, homeless, homeopathy, life-saving strategies, love, Marmajita beach, Mazunte, meditation, Mexico, new life, nomads, Oaxaca, personal development, photography, playfulness, Puerto Escondido, recovery, Rumi, runaway, sabbaticals, San Augustinillo, sea, seaside, Sfakia, silent meditation, singing, South, sunrise, sunset, sunshine, travel, yoga 5 Comments

Celebrating 40.338 km of freedom

Last week I celebrated one of the major achievements in my life. I survived a whole year without having a job or even trying to get one! And not that I just survived – I met the world, and myself, in a very new and truly invigorating way. I haven’t experienced this kind of freedom since I was five, a freedom to simply be myself and playfully roam for days and days through the space that I perceive as The World. But this was not a matter of luxury.

August 23, 2016July 21, 2017 by mairiko Categories: The big escapeTags: art of living, burnout, career hurdles, Crete, freedom, Fromm, healing, life-saving strategies, Mexico, Oaxaca, personal development, playfulness, recovery, sabbaticals, travel, yoga 4 Comments

DE-sign yourself

I know hardly anything about design except that I am a designer. I have made a few things in my life, and now I am trying to remake the very life of mine – of who I am and what I do. This personal re-creation project is to some extent inspired by the maker culture in its critical mode (if these terms are new to you and you wish to learn more, you can check this out and then hear this podcast). In other words, I am trying to DIY myself against the odds, and I hope that rambling about it may help me, and perhaps may inspire some of you out there.

By the way, ‘DE-sign’ in the title of this post is not a typo.

August 14, 2016July 21, 2017 by mairiko Categories: Design yourselfTags: academia, big escape, burnout, career hurdles, career shifts, design, design thinking, diving, freedom, healing, life-saving strategies, lifelong learning, personal development, photography, playfulness, recovery, sabbaticals, travelling, yoga 2 Comments