Author Archives: jollenl

While waiting for my flight, I began my usual gate-area treasure hunt: finding a good seat that wasn’t already claimed by… luggage. Apparently, blocking open seats with bags — once a COVID-era social distancing hack — has now become the unofficial sport of post-pandemic travel. I maneuvered through this obstacle course of Samsonites and suspiciousContinue reading “Toronto”

This morning I woke up early in Washington, D.C., where I’m attending the 2025 AVMA Convention. After a stretch of back-to-back meetings and what feels like months away from home, I needed a little time to breathe. So I took a sunrise stroll down the National Mall—from the Capitol to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial—soakingContinue reading “Coachella can wait!”

He has to drag himself out of bed at 3:30 am every morning to get to the Navy base on Coronado Island—right around the same time I’m power-walking along the beach at 6 am, pretending it’s for exercise and not just an excuse to procrastinate before my company’s week-long meeting. The sun is just wakingContinue reading “San Diego”

Meet Mehmet. Turkish by birth, Uber driver by day, math wizard by night, and apparently, a part-time traffic rule rebel. He picked me up from my Antwerp hotel at the ungodly hour of 7:30 AM on a Sunday. According to him, he’s technically not allowed to pick anyone up there because of road construction, butContinue reading “Antwerp blues”

I’m not entirely sure how the topic came up during my half-day whirlwind tour of Jakarta (thank you, TripAdvisor!), but there I was—sweating through my eltaMD sunscreen—when my delightful guide Stella was trying to explain a lively celebration happening in a port neighborhood. After much thoughtful vocabulary searching, she landed on a rather unexpected word:Continue reading “Jakarta”