Mariella Mejia Whatever It Takes Project

Mariella Mejia

60 years – A Diamond Jubilee

I’ve been following with interest the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and opinions on twitter this weekend. Not all are positive, in fact, most aren’t.

But regardless of how you feel about the monarchy, history is happening at this very moment.

It’s Tuesday and I’m sitting on my couch after a weekend of partying… for the Queen of course. And while I’ve been enjoying the two days off Her Royal Majesty has given us, it’s hard not to get stuck in the hype of the Diamond Jubilee.

And I’ve been thinking about the last 60 years and how long that time really is. The Queen has been on the throne for 60 years and has seen more things from her throne than I have in the lifetime of my Mum and I combined.

It makes me realise how much change happens, in an instant, in a moment and over 60 years. How lucky are we, currently here today, that we will continue to see the world change and have seen so much change so far.

The introduction of the internet, social media, the fall of oppresive empires, the death of John Paul II, the death of Princess Diana, financial crashes, terrorist acts, death of many high flying celebrities at their peaks and some not so much, the election to the Papacy of Pope Benedict and one day we will also see the change of the throne from Queen Elizabeth to her successor – whoever that might be.

There’s a lot for us to be grateful for, I think.
Most importantly, I’m looking forward to one day sharing this moment in history (because this is history in the making) with another generation, very much like my parents shared their moments of history with me.

However you feel about the Monarchy it’s undeniable that 60 years is an enormous feat and that this weekend was worth celebrating – even if it is just for all the history.

aside 1 May

A day of firsts

Today is the first of May 2012 and I’m in London.

And I awoke, saw the calendar and thought “wow, that’s odd” for no other reason than when I prepared for my trip, I never thought further than my leaving date. So this is something new, unexpected even.

And it oddly was a day of firsts.

My first pay cheque.

My first day of May in London.

The first day I couldn’t get on more than three trains because they were packed.

The first day that this situation actually annoyed me, a lot.

The first day that I realised that maybe the tourist is rubbing off and this is starting to become home.

The first day that 3 minutes waiting for the tube felt like a LONG time and a 10 minute delay was DEADLY.

The first day that I felt annoyed at my 9-5 routine – stupid grass and being greener bla bla bla.

First day that I took my grouchiness on the pavement instead of on a family-sized-block of chocolate.

First day that I heard my mum say “I’m so glad you taught me that” and I agreed. It’s funny, usually it’s the other way around and that’s also a first.

First time that I realised that Mum and I are chums and I should support her like I would support my chum. No more finger wagging her like she was my daughter. She is my daughter and she’s naughty.

First day that I ran around the park and recognised a few people… that weren’t Australian.

First day that didn’t feel grateful and turned it around.

Firs time I’ve done that.

And firsts are better than nevers, right?

Victoria Park, London - 1 May 2012

aside 16 Apr

I changed my mind…

I’ve been meaning to write this post for the longest time and have managed to wimp out at every opportunity.

It was mostly the shame of what people would think when I told them the truth.

That I changed my mind.

That what I thought I wanted as my “dream” turned out not to be the case?

People will think I’m flaky, that I led them on or worse that I lied.

And I can assure you that I didn’t lie… things just changed.

I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in events, it was that thrill of the pressure and the act of creating that interested me the most. It was in those five minutes before your show went live that I really felt alive – the point of no return. Every thing I had spent months working on was about to come to fruition within minutes, I was about to find out whether I had missed dotting an i or crossing a t somewhere. Sometimes things went wrong that were out of my control and other times I kicked myself that I should have known better.

It was all part of the journey, part of the job.

A year ago I decided that if events really were for me, I should aim high and apply for one of the largest events known to the world – The Olympics.

And why not?

Why settle for small town events when you can go for an international mammoth of an event. If I’m destined for this as a career why settle for small.
And that was the plan, it was to make it happen.

And then something changed.

2012 Recommendations

I’ve always been interested in social media, marketing and I love convincing people to attend my events through different means. I really started to get more involved in marketing and bridging that potential between marketing and events – in new media and traditional media. I even jumped into copywriting and always passed it through my manager (aka editor) and we created some killer content.

And I loved it.
I loved it more than I loved organising the event.

Don’t get me wrong, I love events and always will but I felt I needed to explore that passion for social media and marketing that I had developed.

So I changed my mind about the Olympics.

I don’t want to be a part of an event where I can’t get my teeth stuck into a full project. I want to be part of creating not just following. I want to get my hands dirty and involved in strategies, brainstorming and then executing.

And I want to explore that bridge between digital marketing and events – particularly because I think that event organisers are still doing it badly.
I want to use digital marketing to drive attendees to events and I want to drive events to build digital channels.

I think they’re a perfect marriage – like garlic and potatoes.

But I changed my mind and to any that this may disappoint, I’m sorry.
I always aim to follow things that I love and I would be betraying myself if I didn’t follow this.

For all who left me some amazing comments on my 2012 Project, I can’t thank you enough. Some of your messages gave me shivers, others make me laugh and there were some that made me cry.

I really value them and value your time, efforts and your belief that I could do it.

I hope to still make you proud but maybe not working in the Olympics… at least not this year.

aside 28 Mar

Madrid, I love you.

Prior to leaving Melbourne most people (not including my brother in law who is madly in love with Madrid) mentioned that Madrid “…was a lovely Spanish city but it really is just a major city” and because of that I had no major expectations.

And they’re wrong.

After a 13 hour overnight plane (I was fed 3 times, happiness) we arrived in the land that makes it on everybody’s bucket list - España.

It’s 5am in Madrid and while we battled through Korean tour groups and fought to put our packs on, the city was still sleeping (and would be for the next 5 hours at least).

Welcome to Spain!

After a set of serious conversations with travel partner to talk about expectations it was early (or late) enough to catch the Metro. Note to self: 6am is ridiculously early for Madrileños unless they’re returning home.

Hey, it’s Spain after all.

You know what’s a godsend for weary travellers?
A direct train from the Airport to the city.
Particularly this metro that was efficient, fast, clean, easy to navigate and CHEAP.

Sorry to have a dig at you Melbourne, but you’re so far behind.

6am, empty Metro at the airport.

It’s 8am and Spain still tossed and turned in their beds.
Which made finding breakfast and coffee practically impossible… unless you find a Starbucks

Now don’t hate me, everything really was shut. And apparently the Spanish have breakfast on their way home from partying at hours that I find ungodly.

Once Madrid woke up, it had a certain je ne sais quoi that draws you in.
It could be all the different pockets within the city – you have your grungy area, tourist area, locals corner, gay corner and something for everyone all within walking distance.

The building were majestic, white and grand with such a Spanish flavour that would be hard to replicate anywhere else. The food was simple, delicious, affordable and there was always something to discover just around the corner.

I regret thinking I only needed two days to explore this city, I needed far more time than that. Te dejo Madrid but I have a feeling we will see each other again soon.

Even the buildings were beautiful

Stay

I stayed at Hostal Muralla where Maria and her elderly parents looked after us with smiles and the occasional hand signal (no English here). It’s a hostal so it was home-style accommodation and it really did feel like staying in someone’s home – no common areas.
The beds were comfy, the place was clean and they made your beds every day (bet you don’t get THAT at home). Despite feeling like you were staying in Maria’s home, she did ensure us that we were welcomed to come and go as we pleased and at any time of day/night. Heavily jet lagged, I never tested the theory but she was wonderfully welcoming. I’d stay there again in an instant.

Eat

Everywhere by how my jeans felt.

Mercado San Anton (thanks for the hot tip David) which is a swish market that has bar styled food court on the third floor and free wifi (traveller’s dream).
Try the Jamon Museum for jamon bocadillos and caña for 2 euros, it’s a bargain lunch.
Mercado San Miguel, unfortunately we had already had lunch by then so it just means we’ll have to come back.

Visit

Palacio Real de Madrid – 10 euro entry.
A majestic palace that’s was so significantly different from the palaces in Korea. Spanish kings were encouraged to live lavishly while the Korean emperor lived in almost empty room to show his frugality and be at one with his people. Interestingly, each palace had a feature of the other cultures. Palacio Madrid had an Asian room and the Korean palace had a Western building – grass is always greener, right?
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía – free on some days, make sure you double check with the museum as the visitor office was useless and we had to pay for our entry. Most famous for being home to Picasso’s Guernica amongst many others, including Picasso’s studies for Guernica. And while there were many other cool bits and bobs, let’s have a moment for Guernica. What a painting. I was so certain that the security guard was going to kick me out for standing there and gawking for half an hour. Gawk. Gawk.
Just as a side note it was so interesting to see so many studies prior to Guernica, I never thought there would be so many. Practice, practice.
If you’re planning on being in Madrid in the next six months there’s a current exhibition that is actually a room full of computers where you can take a survey on your thoughts of the economic conditions of Spain. The results are then projected on the wall. Fascinating answers.
The musem’s downfall is the lack of flow and it was here that I reached my museum quota. No more museums.
Visit the plazas. Plaza del Sol is hustle and bustle as is Plaza Real. My favourite was Plaza Opera because it was arty, quiet and sunny.

: Even the buildings were beautiful

Quirks

More shoe stores than you can poke a stick at. Hundreds of them all heavily discounted. Serial shoe-a-holics you need to make your way to Madrid.
Visitor information booths are useless. Use the internet.

Hot Tips

Stay more than two days, you won’t regret it.
Forget the Metro, walk everywhere.
If you’re a night owl, the party is happening in Chueca.

Getting there

We flew Air Korea.
Metro from the airport to Madrid city was 2,50 euros.

Click here for more pictures posted on Facebook.

aside 18 Jan

Hot tips, places to visit, stay, do, watch and how not to get arrested

So last time it was all about teary meltdowns (I feel my liver lining blushing as I remember) but this time it’s all about the fun part of travel. The bits where I book all the awesome places that I will visit before plonking myself in London and shamelessly promoting myself to get a job.

So far on the trip:

Madrid (twice – long story, tell you later)
Granada
Barcelona
Madrid (I told you it was twice)
Vitoria (still to be decided but I might just complain until my travel partner gives in)
San Sebastian
Bordeaux (because red wine rocks)
Paris (because I want to make you jealous with photos of me in front of the pointy tower)
London (the scary bit)

So, if you have any hot tips on places to visit, stay, do, watch, see, avoid and tips on how not to get arrested (for my travel partner not me, I promise) send them my way. You will get a bucket full of good karma and I promise to sprinkle some fairy dust on your future.

Now to find some fairy dust…

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