A new direction on Fork It Over comes in parallel with a new milestone in my life. 

I have tuned 30. 

I’ve stepped into a subsequent decade and officially bid farewell to my adolescent years. 

Most greet this transition with a sense of uneasiness. 

The moment my alarm sung off on the 26th of January, with one eye open, I tapped my phone to silence and smiled. 

My early 20s were characterized as going through the motions, a mere dragon boat paddler. Graduate, secure first job and complete MBA, check, check and check.

During my mid 20s, I jumped off that boat and floated as the ocean’s tides pleased. Along the coast, into the deep blue sea and a handful of times pounded to the ocean’s floor.

Oh you poundings how agonizing but necessary you are.

Through you, with every pull of the ocean I pushed for no other sake then the sake of pushing.

When I reached 28, from one extreme of being at the will of the ocean, I became unwavering to any of its actions - a constant effort.

It was only at 29 where we became friends and at my blessing, I would let it float me from one experience to the next. 

In September, I secured a spot to join a story telling course in Vermont (post to follow soon). With a previously scheduled trip to London in August, too much I asked myself? During an evening in on a farm in Vermont, I sit on a stool while snapping peas. I combine the snapped peas, diced tomatoes and onion, when a vision of my future business comes to me.

In November I traveled to Sweden and Denmark (post to follow soon). Sipping my first cup of coffee in Denmark, plans suddenly change and I am scheduled to fly home early. While placing my favorite burgundy sweater into my suitcases, I received a text from an acquaintance, “A rendezvous in Paris?” I hold my phone for a moment while leaning against the wall. A breeze floats into my room, I unfold my sweater and find myself on a flight to Paris. Along the streets of Paris, I gain a friendship that will be with me forever. 

In January, on the week of my Birthday, I receive a meeting request from the Park Hyatt, my constant tranquil escape. Always up for a chat, I sip my espresso as I wait for the meeting to begin.  What followed was an invitation for a weekend stay. Because of my stubborn ethics to remain independent, in my 4 years of blogging I’ve accepted perhaps less than a handful of complimentary invitations.

Driving home from the meeting, I adjust my rearview mirror and ask, what are the odds on the week of my 30th.

I wander through the hidden alleyways of the Park Hyatt. Those areas left unexposed on websites, that white corner that I find myself gazing at, that chair which I fall on so perfectly or that railing which I trail my fingers along, it’s those details I love.  

My baby, Fork It Over is all grown up akin to how I feel. Do I know where I’m going, probably not, but I have a general idea of where I want to be, how to fill my sails and maneuver those waves and that’s something to smile about.

Location: Park Hyatt