Next Stop Washington, DC

I've been quiet for a few days as you can see following the flurry of posts this weekend. Many changes going on for me. In particular I am returning to the States on May 3rd, concluding my 18 months living in London.

This next step in my life I can live anywhere and do anything - I think I've been here before. This time I've decided to settle into Washington, DC. Like London, DC is a national capital with strong international connections. Living in London has sparked my interest in working across the US and the world. I want to continue on that ride.

I am going to return to consulting (did I ever really leave?) and am in the process of setting up a business called Leading-Together. The website will launch soon http://www.leading-together.com/ (you'll see tidbits appear in a few days). The business focus will be building sustainable community partnerships and developing leaders. Still perfecting the pitch.

My sibs live in the DC area and I am eager to be near to them.

Victoria Beckham and Cultural Literacy

If you head over to my other blog Career Goals: Take the Lead you can read updates about the leadership think tank in which I am participating. Yesterday we had an extended conversation about Cultural Literacy which is a new term to me and seems quite buzzy. I couldn't fully embrace the conversation.

Later in the evening I was able to catch the show Victoria Beckham Coming to America. Now I get it. Over in the UK she is considered fascinating but trashy. She never smiles, has three children but is skinny as a pencil and is married to the world's hottest man (second to Stephen) David Beckham. Her move to the US is considered a desperate publicity move.

However, watching her show I can see that she does smile, seems to have a great sense of British humour and is struggling to understand America. In return, Americans are embracing her and I'm sure that the UK is none to happy about that.

Her first month in LA is highlighted on the show. Despite her ample plastic surgery, outrageous clothes and heals so high that she can't actually walk, she is NOTHING in comparison to the wives of LA. She seems downright subtle compared to them. She doesn't take herself too seriously as illustrated by her continuous side-comments. Even after the show ended I continued to giggle out loud about her comment after throwing the first pitch at a Dodgers game, "I thought my silicon would come out my armpit."

Curious (Be)Longing

Tonight I made a foray into the alternative arts scene with San Francisco International Arts Festival's Andrew Wood who is in London for a visit. He took me to a placed called artsadmin in East London explaining that the performance would speak to me. And so it did.

Leslie Hill and Helen Paris, a performing duo called Curious, presented (Be)Longing. Essentially there were two monologues and each touched on something that is happening in my life.

Leslie (pictured with neon sign that cleverly changes from Lodging to Longing during the show) presented her portion while doing yoga poses in an effort to keep her mind off "that other thing." How much clutter have I also created to keep myself distracted from those voices of the inner Amy - sometimes doubt or fear and other times the inner creative eager to express herself.

Helen (pictured with guitar) is an American in London. She's lived her 20 years and last summer, when she turned 40, Helen decided to learn to play the guitar and also go back to the US Southwest to find her routes. But unlike the yuka plant she sees in the dessert her roots no longer run deep in the US. Where is her home? Where does she belong? The longer I'm in the UK the harder this question becomes.

I loved that these two women have found their voice, taken a risk and ask the hard questions of themselves and their audience. My interest is midcareer leadership development but at the same time I think it is a pre-midlife personal development question?

I am becoming more curious about my (be)longing.

Transcitizens of UK and US

Stephen handed me today's Financial Times and said "read this its about us." Transcitizens of the world unite is a commentary piece by professor John Sutherland who lives his life between the US and UK. "Not quire resident, not quite alien - Sutherland describes the peculiar state of living between two countries."

Like Sutherland and ironically Posh and David Beckham, Stephen and I live between two worlds. Currently we are residents of the UK but we are just as comfortable in the US. It reminds me of when I first met Stephen and was amazed by how much we had in common despite his being from Scotland and me from the US. Perfect candidates for a reality tv show?

But there are challenges to being transcitizens notes Sutherland. Green cards are not forever and neither are work visas. At some point we have to decide if we live in the US or the UK as we can not easily split our time between both countries because of the tax implications. This "choice" is much on our minds these days as we think about next steps in our careers. We've both proven that we can be successful over here (UK) or there (US) but in which do we land...next?