Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in hennalounge's LiveJournal:

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Monday, February 23rd, 2009
2:26 pm	Vrooom I have been threatening for a while, but I finally decided to get a new car. With the help of Christiaan, I narrowed down my choices, then went to go sit in some cars and test drive them. I fell in love the with almost retro styling of the Volvo, which was a surprise, as I've always thought of them as sort boxy soccer-mom cars. The car handles like it's an extension of my thoughts and is very zippy. Inside, it feels roomy, and can accommodate even a tall person (Christiaan's head hit the ceiling inside the Hondas). It also feels extremely solid, especially in comparison to the kind of flimsy feel of some of the other choices. Pricewise, it was less expensive than most of the other European cars, so the price seemed reasonable. I managed to get a used one with only 11,000 miles on it, and still under factory warranty, so that made it even more reasonable. Well, I am just loving it. It's small and easy to park, and I can throw all my henna stuff in the back, which has a little cover over it, so now one can see. It was already fitted with roof racks, so a few accessories and it's ready to cart my bike around, or go to the snow. Oh, and last but not least, the stereo is awesome. :) Well, here are a couple pics taken with my phone... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
9:07 pm	Blue period the stairs that go to the window are now blue!, originally uploaded by darcitananda. Taking advantage of a slow January and continuing to work on my space. The mermaid's perch is now blue. Blue is really making me happy these days. It's peaceful and looks like sky, or water, two things that make me feel good. Sometimes I think about if I had to look at one color for the rest of my life, which one would it be. I can honestly say that shades of blue would have to be my choice. After all, I am already accustomed to seeing huge swaths of blue nearly every day of my life, taking up half my field of vision (or more) if I'm outside. My favorite place, in the water with a big sky. So it seems a natural choice, maybe for all humans. It doesn't have to be my favorite color; I think my favorite color may be orange, but it is certainly a color which should be tolerable by nearly everyone. What if someone hated the color blue? How tragic to not be able to enjoy the sun and sea, and to be accosted by blue-ness every day. I guess that is what the rose-colored glasses would be for... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
8:48 pm	Remover of Obstacles Remover of Obstacles, originally uploaded by darcitananda. It was high time to update my chalkboard (had been receiving complaints, jeez!) so I decided on a portly Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. He is also the god of abundance, and is known to like snacks and sweets, so what better place than the kitchen.  Want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year, and may you be blessed with an easy path, and of course all manner of abundance and prosperity. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
3:08 pm	Sample Kitter, originally uploaded by darcitananda. Kitter modeling. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
1:33 pm	Merry Christmas musings Hey all, it's Christmas Eve. I wouldn't say I've been Grinchy this year, but I  hardly know what to do with myself around Christmas. Last year I was in Mexico. The festivities leading up to Christmas are a big deal. In particular, I recall the Dia de La Virgin de Guadelupe. It was an odd day. I was feeling a bit lonely that day. Many people had the day off and the ladies were dressed in fancy clothes that looked like a combination of indigenous Huipil (blouse) and Spanish senorita shawls, truly their own unique creation. The little girls were dressed up in frocks as well with bright rouge on their cheeks. The little boys wore all white with red neck kerchiefs, like little cowboys. Everyone was going to the cathedrals for a mass or something, and there was also a feeling of the ancient world, all those Mayan faces shining. That morning the fireworks had begun before dawn. These are not fireworks like we have in the States. These are the big, nasty, illegal ones. Every time one would go off it sounded like a bomb going off, reverberations shaking through even the most hardened of us. So my sleep having been disrupted repeatedly, even with earplugs, and then by the time the sun came up, 3 neighbors were blasting their competing music. Merengue from one house, Mana (Mexican popular band)  from another, and the house with the paper maiche mummy had some radio romantica.  Once I arose and decided to venture out, I realized the source of at least some of the bomb blasts was coming from a couple of neighborhood boys perched on our stoop. Our house was on the corner of a popular "callejon" (small path, not accessible to cars) and the stoop was a perfect spot to take a rest from going up the endless stairs, which seemed particularly brutal at 6000 feet elevation.  So, I figured what better day to search out the only Indian food in the city than the Day of the Virgin. I'm not sure what had possessed me. Maybe I was homesick because everyone had somewhere to go and something to do, except me. My estranged husband was back in the States, resenting me for my hobbies and independence. Maybe I even missed him a bit. So, based on a series of confusing instructions from a friend based mainly on landmarks in the labyrinth of Guanajuato, I finally found the Indian restaurant. It was a bit dusty and I wasn't even sure if it was open. I walked in. I was the only customer. I was greeted by a small boy who graciously seated me. As it turned out, there was no menu, you simply get what they have made that day. The interior was covered with faded posters of Hindu deities and dingy Indian textiles, but had been decorated for Christmas with plastic poinsettia print tablecloths, garish tinsel garlands, and lights. Cheesy Sarah Brightman Christmas carols in English played over the tinny loudspeakers, punctuated every so often by the continuing bomb-blasts outside.  Eventually I was served a series of rather disgusting creations which did not resemble Indian food in the least, although the service from the 8 year old boy was top notch. I never saw who prepared my food, and the only other customer was a well-to-do Mexican man from out of town. We wished each other a buen provecho, and I think we both were aware of each other's loneliness on that day. Perhaps dining at the same table would have been the natural thing to do, but maybe we both wanted to wallow in that feeling of emptiness and awful food.  Next time I will invite the lonely traveler to join me. Now this year, my husband has served me with divorce papers which arrived just days before Christmas. I'm still doing my best not to be Grinchy, but I haven't exactly been in the Christmas spirit. I look at the papers and they look like gibberish to me. It's all cold, legal, and implied restraining orders. My husband is now the Petitioner (which sounds an awful lot like Executioner to me) and I am now the Respondent (which sounds an awful lot like Despondent). After Christmas I will visit the Family Law Self Help Center to see what I really need to do. I am anxious to get the process moving, and hopefully in an amicable manner, but the legal system has set things up to be adversarial, like we are two countries warring against each other.  When I was a child, Christmas was also a huge deal. Our family would drive out to the tree-farm, in a Volkswagen bug. I remember they used to give free candycanes there. We'd all hunt for the most symmetrical tree with good sturdy branches for hanging ornaments on. Eventually, my father would cut it down with a saw, and we'd tie it onto the roof of the bug and sputter our way home. Then decorating was a very exciting task. There was a whole array of ornaments from homemade play-doh ornaments to "antiques". My favorites were bulbs that were clear on one side with little plastic flowers inside them, kind of tacky, but for some reason I loved them.  We also hung tinsel on the branches, and I was instructed to hang only one strand per branch. It was forbidden to hang a big clump. Some years the cat would attack a low-hangingin ornament and bring down the whole tree. The presents beneath were the source of hours of amusement before Christmas. Jules and I would handle and shake and weigh every single item. Short of peeling back the tape, we did everything we could to try to guess what was inside. I will save the Cabbage Patch story for another blog entry, because I'm still getting to my main point here... Today, I live alone in a huge loft. I haven't worked in several days and have been pretty much in solitary confinement, except for a gracious visit from Kimberly yesterday. At about noon, I received an email from a neighbor on my floor, saying that he thinks he is allergic to his Christmas Tree (maybe it's just to Christmas) and that it is in the hall, decorated with tinsel and lights, waiting to be claimed. Of course, I jump on the opportunity. Living here for only a few short months, I have already been the recipient of a turquoise colored steamer trunk, some bad Ikea furniture (which is still quite useful), beautiful crystal Reidel stemware, and now, a decorated tree.   I had to do a little re-do on the tinsel, which had been put on in clumps, and so in the tradition of my family, I painstakingly separated the clumps and adorned each branch with just a strand or two. I actually had 20 blue ornaments which I recently bought for another project, so now the tree also has blue ornaments, which makes it look a bit more like a Chanukah tree, but it has made my place more festive. And it smells great. Maybe it's not too late for me to be in the Christmas spirit? Well, Merry Christmas everyone! (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, December 20th, 2008
11:07 am	update more progress, it's taking forever!, originally uploaded by darcitananda. sorry for being incommunicado everyone. i was able to procure a ladder and so i'm hoping to finish up the painting soon. busy weekend and week ahead though so it might have to wait until january. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
7:57 pm	Too much fun killing my lobster, originally uploaded by darcitananda. Ok, I've already been accused of having too much fun with my new chalkboard kitchen. Why I didn't do this sooner, I have no idea. And with all my free time this winter, this is a perfect rainy day activity for me. I really am tempted to cover some more surfaces with chalkboard paint, but I think moderation is key here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my latest creation... (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
11:01 am	Blackboard my kitchen with black chalkboard paint on the backsplash, originally uploaded by darcitananda. Well because my countertops are essentially vomit colored with black and grey specks, I was having trouble deciding what color to paint my kitchen. Not a lot goes with vomit. I also wanted a color that makes food look appetizing. So as I went through the rainbow, I realized that black seemed to be the only color that would go. Which of course means blackboard paint! So I just painted it yesterday and I already love it. It makes the kitchen look so much sleeker. And once it's all cured I can start writing on the walls. Notes, poems, menus... What could be better than that? (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, December 6th, 2008
5:49 pm	Painting time turquoise test section, originally uploaded by darcitananda. Finally decided to paint my wall since I'm not working much this month. I tested a section of wall with my turquoise paint. I think it turned out well. Was concerned about it looking too cool, but I think it looks kind of like tropical waters. More pictures to follow... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
6:19 pm	Randonee I have this friend who makes these great weekly blog posts full of art,  green technology, inspiring  and heart wrenching stories about her Japanese immigrant parents, and random bursts of beautiful things. It's always chock full of videos, photos, poetry, and other goodies. When I read her blog I think that is how I want my blog to be. You can almost taste and smell her blog. Maybe one day when I'm older and wiser it will be that way.  In the mean time...this is all you get. I'm getting excited for Yelapa. Yelapa is 45 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta by boat. There is nothing to do there but to exist. So I'm going with Carolyn and Lisa for Carolyn's 40th birthday to just exist for a week. Sun, sea, sand, scorpions... Of course this comes at a time when I am just about to go into serious nesting mode. I'm currently obsessed with my home and making it as comfortable and aesthetically pleasing as possible. It's weird not having someone here to bounce ideas off of, so it's harder than ever to make  decision about what colors to paint, etc..  Anyway, once I get back, a friend is going to come over and help me narrow down and focus my ideas. She's also an expert organizer, so hopefully we'll come up with some solutions for keeping everything under control.  Aside from that, we've had unseasonably warm weather, and I've been enjoying walks by the Bay. The migratory birds of winter are already here though and I've seen Snowy Egret (the smaller ones with they little tufts on their head), Buffle Head (my favorite), Black Necked Stilts, and then all the usual shorebirds. It's pretty awesome. There is also a hilarious colony of ground squirrels that live by the beach and they are the fattest little guys I've ever seen. And of course henna is still going, this time of year seems to be lots of Bat Mitzvahs, baby showers, and lots of Library Workshops. The bridal season has wound down, which is a nice break. Have some corporate holiday parties coming up for December too, which is always fun. And ever present is the tango and salsa, although now that I'm in Oaktown I've been staying on this side of the Bay more... Well just to give you something to look at, here is a little vignette of a corner of my loft. Since I no longer have a deck, the mermaid is now inside. :) My roommate the mermaid. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
9:50 pm	Thank the good lord jesus hahaha, but really, jesus would be proud. jesus was probably mixed race like obama. let's hope obama can survive the crazies though. anyway, i was surprised by my emotions after hearing the news. it's pretty big stuff. more on that later. i think maybe we have reached a turning point. age of aquarius? not sure, but i know if can only start to get better. good night! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
12:02 pm	Obama stain results obama 08 henna, originally uploaded by darcitananda. This is my Obama henna this morning. The color is already super intense, so that's a good sign! heading to the city later this afternoon to put my vote in. Hope it counts... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, November 3rd, 2008
11:25 pm	henna for obama henna for obama, originally uploaded by darcitananda. need i say more! (Comment on this)
Friday, October 31st, 2008
11:46 am	08bama Ok, so I rarely post about things of a political nature, but this year's elections have been a total joke (and not a funny one). While politics has always been the subject of satire, this year really took the cake. On the other hand, it brought out some real classics. Glossary: Crumping (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
1:24 pm	Traffic This morning a sleepy driver hit a fuel tanker on the freeway. Luckily no one was injured before the tanker went up in flames, and melted the asphalt, but here is the scene courtesy of SF Gate, and you can see my place in the background on the left. imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/10/22/ba-tanker_0499336104.jpg (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
2:44 pm	green house Okay, well, if I don't update my journal or email my folks once a week they start to get a little worried and call. ;) Rumor has it my sister is much better about communication. Sooo, for those of you who didn't get a first hand account of last week, it was not a good week. I fell on the sidewalk. I won't go into details about that, but suffice it to say that the Oakland PD could harvest a significant amount of my DNA from the sidewalk if they wanted. And to add insult to injury, some body honked at me when I peeled myself up off the ground. Not good. And furthermore, I moved my fish tanks and one of my fish, the beloved Astropop, didn't make it. :( RIP Astropop. Moving the tank is a trauma for humans and aquatic species. It took 12 hours. Big shout out to Lynneequa who was a lifesaver during this process. Moral support, gas, the works... Okay, so self-righteous eco-friendly post of the day. Since the "separation", I've been a little short on kitchen supplies, particularly those pertaining to caffeine. So yesterday I got a classic device for making coffee/espresso. Luckily it doesn't weigh half a ton, cost thousands of dollars, or require a "barrista" to operate. In fact, it doesn't even require an outlet, and has no moving parts. Also, given the fact that they can last 10-15+ years with daily use, it's landfill friendly. And of course, it actually makes a very high-quality cup of espresso. This is the real deal, and eco-friendly to boot! For your enjoyment I post a somewhat cheesy video so you can see how it works. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 5th, 2008
4:01 pm	moving Sorry for the long delay in updates. I had a fantastic trip in Spain, and then moved to Oakland. So, life has been interesting as always. Moving my business has been a little stressful, but ultimately, I have a lot of space here, which is great news for inventory! And now Henna Lounge is happy to carry Jagua, the fruit of a Central/South American tree which leaves a temporary blueish purple stain on the skin. Yay! (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 7th, 2008
12:47 pm	Barcelona ok well I made it! Crazy woman in the seat behind me didn't want me to tip my seat back in case she had to get out. WTF? Second leg Frankfurt to barcelona was easy. There was a bUs outside the airport that took me to city center. Then my hotel is in a sort of maze of pedestrian alleys and I pretty much found it by instinct. Very cute, glad I splurged on the bigger room too. Great typical European balcony overlooks a sort of plaza. Someone is playing Accordian . I think I'll look for food and maybe do some henna since I'm alone tonight. Lovely weather... (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 6th, 2008
4:55 pm	the rain in Spain falls mostly on the plane? because it is actually supposed to be raining in Barcelona when I arrive... Hopefully most of it will happen while I'm on the plane. This has been a rough few weeks with all the stuff going down so fast with Anand . I almost didn't feel like traveling but now I'm feeling excited. Had to buy a smaller suitcase though due to stupid airline regulations. Europe is much stricter than Latin America when it comes to that stuff. Ok Hasta pronto... (Comment on this)
Friday, August 29th, 2008
12:12 pm	Union square photo.jpg, originally uploaded by darcitananda. it's a hot one! I'm waiting in he shadow if the monument for my customer playing with iPhone. Getting ready for Spain. The huge news is I got a loft! (1 Comment |Comment on this)