LA Story
Day OneCry on the way to the airport because that's just what I do. Arrive in short sleeves to a cold, grey LA. Note to self: look at the weather report before packing. After an hour and a half of transit time, I find myself at the doorstep of Yoga West. They send me down the street for dinner. A charming guy named Peter keeps me company for awhile. Run into Siri Gian and we head to Siri Ved Kaur's birthday party and healing meditation. Meet a lot of the women from the LA Sangat, which was fun. They told stories of the Siri Singh Sahib, read poetry, told stories from their own lives--Seva Kaur told the funniest story I've ever heard--and we did a healing meditation for a woman who recently discovered she had breast cancer. Meanwhile I contract either food poisoning or the stomach flu and beg a ride to where I'm staying.
Day Two
Today is White Tantric Day. I didn't sleep through the night at all and finally got rid of whatever was in my system, but feel like a truck has rolled over me. We get into the car of my perfectly nice host family and what had been a charming, funny guy turns into Mr. Hyde. This guy drives like a f------- maniac! And people tease me for having 'good driver' as my number one quality I look for in a man. This experience is EXACTLY why. Make it to UCLA alive and I get out of the car and practically kiss the ground, meanwhile silently swearing to never get in a vehicle with this person again--ever. It's a beautiful, lush, Southern California Day. UCLA is an amazing place. I'm sick. Sick as a dog. Shakti Parwha offers me a ride home--and she thankfully drives VERY slowly. We both take naps and say we'll call each other later for a movie, which we do. We saw Dan in Real Life and thank goodness she'd seen it before; because in my usual fashion, I laughed pretty raucously. She described it as 'outstanding'. ha! They have assigned seating now in theatres. The woman on the plane behind me said, "yup, Southern California is making every effort to eliminate any human contact whatsoever." I come back home and sleep some more before I have to perform. Still can't hold any food down.
Abinashi picks me up for the show. It's a scene. You definitely know you're in LA. I perform fairly early and open the show with a couple of Didgeridoo players--very nice. I think if I ever form a band I'm definitely going to have a didge in it. I made it through--schwitzing the entire time--and then got an amazing sound healing treatment from the Didgeridoo player, Evan. Very healing, but not in the way my body needed it--ha!
Oh--and only sold a handful of CDs. Definitely not a money making trip.
Day Three
Walk up to gurdwara and Shakti Parwha is playing with a guy who's doing Mere Man Loche on an accordian--I took a picture! Very cool. The paintings on the ceiling in the gurdwara were done by the woman I'm staying with, Siri Kartar Kaur, and they're amazing! She's a wonderful painter. In fact, she has a show coming up soon. Go to www.sirikartar.com for more information. She has an amazing painting of Durga that is way out of my price range, but very alive. Durga's my archetype as you know....anyway. Someday I'll be able to afford to buy art again.
Ran into Ram Rattan and Amrit; it's her birthday so she's dressed like a princess, literally. Very sweet.
Meet my friend Siri Gopal Singh and we're off to Murakami. I would describe the show to you but it would be too pornographic--at least the opening sculptures. Much of the painting and other mediums (film, etc.) were very interesting and overall I enjoyed the entire show. He has an interesting take on pop culture. He infuses the silly, the charming, the entirely-too-happy with a little bit of the sinister and he infuses the dark and the grim with the silly. I found it to be a compelling statement on contemporary culture. All these shiny, happy people (as Michael Stipe would say) and inside is only death. And in turn, all this death, and still this innate, ever arising joy.
Almost get sick in the Geffen bathroom, but don't! It's a good day so far.
Finally on to meet an old friend from college and her new baby, Henri. Great fun to see her again--she looks exactly the same! Also good to touch base with someone who's had a baby late in life and lives on to tell the tale. She seems very happy. And very tired. I really appreciate a friend like Regan, because even in the middle of her own life, she can step outside of it and say, well, it's a challenge, without criticizing anything but just being honest. She's not steeped in that 'motherhood is soooooo great you just haaaaaaave to do it' thing that happens to alot of women. She's honest about the experience. It's hard but it's worth it. Very pragmatic--a lot like me.
Make it back to where I'm staying and crash. I am soooo sick.
Day Four
Wake up and the stomach flu has migrated down. Definitely not something to have on a traveling day. sigh. Cry on the way home from the airport because that's just what I do.
Made it home but missed my friends' birthday that I'd been looking forward to and that's the end of my LA story.
posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 9:28 AM
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