Going back in time.

Over the last few years, I've done a regular interiors update - the next one is due soon but this time it will encompass my life in Ibiza, not just my work. The last one I did was back in June 2007, just after I'd decided to move to Ibiza. I thought I'd drop it in here as it gives some insight into my thinking when I made this crazy decision!

From my Myspace blog : I do an interiors update every few months - here's the latest one, with the latest news - I'm moving myself and my lovely little interiors business to Ibiza!

There's been lots going on since my last update a few months ago. The latest news (and possibly the most exciting) is that I decided last week to move myself and my interiors business to Ibiza. Next year. Possibly for good!

More about that later - here's what else I've been up to. We've just finished our first bespoke kitchen - it's gorgeous and I can't wait to do more! I've also been juggling two jobs - my interiors projects and working as a freelance consultant for the British Ukrainian Society (well I run the Society). It's a return to my former world - and juggling the two seems to work for me. When I've done just one, I miss the other (although they're vastly different) - there's something very exciting about being right in the centre of international/political projects. But I would never give up interiors, having worked so hard to build up the business.

I was approached to run the Society last December. A consultant I used to work with was involved with the project and recommended me to the other Directors. I got a call completely out of the blue, quickly put a CV together and following a meeting with the Chairman, accepted the position. It's a funny world that I find myself in - normal recruitment procedures don't apply and I get to negotiate things on my terms. Just as well, I've always hated doing job interviews, nearly as much as I hate going on dates. I prefer it when things just happen, doing away with normal procedures!

I was slightly bemused when I started the day job as the work involves running a series of events over the year and getting members to join the Society. One look at my CV will show you that I've never actually done either of these things before. But I've become quite adept at diving into new things and learning (making things up) as I go along. Frankly I love the challenge - I get bored very easily and the thought of days spent doing stuff I was good at a year ago fills me with dread. The other thing I love about the day job is that I get to meet and work with lots of new people and organisations. I've always been pretty good at socialising (apart from when I was a kid and took ages to make any friends) and I like the fact that my personality helps the Society. If I was super-efficient but grumpy and unapproachable, it would spell disaster for the organisation!

On a more practical note, knowing I have a regular income has taken a massive weight off me. I didn't realise quite how much the pressure of having to constantly find new projects and generate an income (and not a small amount either) was worrying me until it was lifted. I've been fortunate that work has always come my way. But there have been moments when I've not been sure where that next job is coming from and this has often induced a sense of panic.

I'd never change the choices I've made in the last few years. I'd never give up interiors to go back to the safety and security of being employed. In fact, with the day job I was offered proper employment but I turned it down, preferring to be a freelance consultant and therefore still being my own boss. However, the pressure of the last few years took its toll healthwise. My insides got all messed up with stress and totally threw my hormones out of balance. And having been there, off-kilter hormones can ruin you, if you let them. I was in and out of the GP's for about a year and a half but they were absolutely rubbish, wanting to treat the symptoms but not trying to find out what was really going on inside. In the end, I went to see a kinesiologist, found out was was going on and got it treated properly.

Kinesiology is amazing - it's like having a total internal check-up to see that everything's working as it should be. After the first round of treatment, I still wasn't feeling great. During my second appointment, the kinesiologist found that something was still causing problems inside. It turned out that a fairly aggressive stomach bug I'd picked up the last time I was in Pakistan hadn't been completely eradicated by antibiotics. The bacteria had spent the last 4 years moving into all my internal organs and putting quite a bit of stress on my body - and I had no idea about any of this! It's amazing I've managed to achieve anything these last few years as my insides have been falling apart. Irony is that I haven't actually been physically ill in all that time.

Anyway, things are back on track healthwise and I'm nearly at the end of my course of treatment. It's made a huge difference - at one point I was taking so many supplements and vitamins that I had to take them in two shifts, unable to swallow so many pills in one go. It's been a real wake-up call and I know that I have to look after myself and be quite gentle. And it's no bad thing to briefly visit the darkest recesses of your mind, although I'd like to never go there again.

I timed a yoga holiday in Ibiza with the Iast few weeks of treatment to help recharge batteries. And that's where I was last week when I made the decision to move myself and the business out to the island. I first went to Ibiza in 2002 and immediately fell in love with the island - there's something about the vibe that really suits me. I started thinking of ways to move out there but a few weeks after that first trip I was made redundant and my world turned upside down. I've been back every year since and always had that feeling "I want to live here" but never thought any more of it. I love London and the life I have here but I want a better quality of life, something simpler and less stressful.

I also know I'd love to have children. It may happen, it may not - but as I lay on Benirras beach I started questioning whether I'd want to raise children in London. I love the city but I think my time here is coming to an end. And I think when the time's right, things happen. On this visit to the island, I made some great contacts through the yoga retreat. I may even have my first kitchen commission - I haven't spoken to my builders about this yet but I figured that if we can have bespoke kitchens made in Poland and brought to London, we can just as easily have them taken to Ibiza. There's a lot of money on the island and people are moving away from the traditional Spanish rustic style towards a more sleek, modern look - perfect for the work that I do.

Another plus is that my best friend from my late teens, early twenties has been a resident of the island for about 5 years now (he's the yoga teacher) - it makes a difference knowing that I'm about to move my life to somewhere new but there are already old friends there to help me once I arrive!

Exciting times ahead! I won't be leaving London til next year, February at the earliest. It gives me time to wrap things up here, get my flat rented out and finish the contract for the day job. And if I get out there and need to do a bit of tiling or decorating in the beginning to tide me over, well that's not a problem - I'm pretty good at those things! As always, a massive thank you to everyone who's believed in me, encouraged me, supported me, given me leads and business or checked I'm okay when I've gone quiet for a while - it's my little journey but it feels quite special that it's been shared with so many!

See you all in Ibiza, if not before!

Much love

Azra xx