The Summer is upon us & the invasion of selfie sticks has come to our city. My husband & I did a simple walk today & at our destination there was almost all selfie sticks & down jackets because you need that in 20C weather. I found it almost comical the way people where walking around with them.

I think the whole proof of purchase mentality when it comes to vacations is a bit much. The need to constantly prove that you have been somewhere & done something. I remember being in high school & going back to Europe that Summer & I had to show the pictures to my classmates when I got back. Now, you simple upload to instagram or FB for the whole world to see.

Everything has become this instant gratification need, worse than Pavlov’s dog. We have to have our wifi working & our cellphones otherwise our world is over. Our dog doesn’t have an instagram account & we are going to keep it that way. This DEMAND for everything NOW is becoming a bit much. It’s also giving people with anxiety more to be anxious about.

I remember the years Before technology, how simple things seemed back then. Now, there’s nowhere you can’t look & see that there isn’t a demand for it. I like the saying in a juice bar I frequent, a juicer is a NOT a machine. Exactly, because we still need people to do things that technology can’t. I go to sleep without my cellphone next to me & it feels great. I also sleep better because of it.

So, next time you want something INSTANTLY ask yourself what it took for you to get it instantly. A person or a computer?

Spring is finally here!! There’s rain falling from the sky instead of snow & all the water fountains in the city have been turned on. A huge sign that Summer is on it’s way. I just got delivered some Kona & am relieved that I got it after the volcano errupted on Hawai’i.

I went to a marketing seminar yesterday that was really interesting & I learned more than I thought I would. Being unique with your business model really pays off as long as you provide good customer service. Something that isn’t always happening in Norway.

People expect you to tip Before you get your food, something I am starting to have issues with. I want to tip a place Because they do a good job not because they are greedy & asked for it up front. In the US I would always tip in the places they did a good job. Always. But here in Norway more & more companies are asking for tip when you pay up front. Like yesterday I went to a cafe & ordered coffee & they asked for tip up front. The coffee was nothing to brag about it, watered down mess hence, I am glad I didn’t tip.

I understand that Norway is becoming a cashless society but tipping should be earned NOT expected. That’s where I differ. A company should earn me as a client but when they ask for a tip up front & then do a crap job of course I am not going to go back. Like he said at the seminar yesterday that’s bad customer service.

So next time I go somewhere & they expect me to tip up front I expect stellar service from them. Period. Enough said.

So, I am starting with me, & being true to myself, something I think most women in relationships forget. If it wasn’t for my husband inspiring me I would never would have looked through over 10 years of poetry for my book. I am proud of Greylight & the poems I picked out for it.

It took me a long time to find out who I was & who I wanted to be. I thought I knew it in my 30’s but I didn’t until the end of my 30’s. I think everyone discovers who they are at different times of their lives. For me I think recognizing oneself with flaws & all is a good start. Because no one is perfect not even people that want you to believe that they are.

Stay true to who you are & out of that you will find good people to be around & true friends.