Beyond the Work
Outside of work, I am usually curled up with a book, rewatching a show I have already seen a million times, or spending time with my dog, family and friends. I genuinely believe that if consulting had not found me first, I would have ended up a full-time dancer or someone living on a boat studying whales.
I've been increasingly curious about AI and where it's all heading, curious enough to keep reading about it even when much of it goes over my head. I still try, and I'll keep trying.
This page is for everything that does not quite belong in a CV, but still belongs somewhere.
Books
My Brilliant Friend
Ferrante writes female friendship with an honesty that feels almost startling. I found myself recognising things in this book I had never seen written down before.
Heidi
This was the first book I remember truly loving. It made me into the kind of person who always has a book nearby, and I have never quite stopped being grateful for that.
Newcomer
Higashino has a way of observing people that makes you feel like you are learning something true about human nature on every page. I find myself slowing down when I read his works.
The Kite Runner
I picked this up not knowing what I was walking into. By the end I was completely still. It is one of those rare books that makes you want to be a better person without ever saying so directly.
You can see what I am currently reading on Goodreads.
I have set myself a small goal of reading fifteen books this year and I am trying my best to stay consistent with it.
Podcasts
The Marie Forleo Podcast
Marie has a gift for making big ideas feel within reach. I often come away from an episode with a new way of looking at something I thought I had already figured out.
Lenny's Podcast
Thoughtful, practical conversations about how great products and teams are built. I always come away with at least one idea I want to think more about.
Heavyweight
Jonathan Goldstein is the kind of storyteller I genuinely aspire to be. Each episode sits with me long after it ends, funny and awkward and unexpectedly moving all at once.
Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain
I listen to this one when I need to feel less alone in my own head. Emma talks about life with a kind of casual honesty that is genuinely hard to find. It feels less like a podcast and more like a voice note from a friend.
Writing
I have a small poetry corner on the internet called Chardonnay and Poetry. It started as a private place to put things I did not know what else to do with, and it has stayed that way. The writing is personal, sometimes raw, and entirely unedited for professionalism. It is not trying to be anything other than honest.
Bharatanatyam
I have practiced Bharatanatyam for over twenty years. It is the longest relationship I have maintained with anything in my life, and one of the most meaningful. Classical Indian dance is precise, demanding, and deeply expressive all at once. It has given me a relationship with discipline, presence, and storytelling that I could not have found anywhere else. No matter how much changes around it, it remains one of the most grounding parts of who I am.
Art
I have always made things. Lately that has moved to Procreate, where I make digital art. I find it meditative in the way that most creative work is when you stop worrying about whether the outcome is good and just let yourself be in it.
How I move through the world
I try to move through life with curiosity and self awareness. Understanding my own mind, my patterns, my reactions, and the ways I grow over time feels just as important to me as anything happening in the outside world.
I am drawn to ideas, books, conversations, and experiences that make me reflect a little more deeply. I think life becomes richer when you slow down enough to notice things, question your assumptions, and stay genuinely open to learning.
I value sincerity, thoughtful people, and small moments of meaning. I do not think you need to have everything figured out. I think you just need to keep going, stay curious, and try to live with some sense of intention. That is what I am working on.