Expecting Summer

Well, I have one more final exam left, but this semester is finally over. I'm really proud of myself; all my hard work has paid off with straight As. I'm looking forward to the fall, but for now I just want to take a break and spend time with my friends and family. I have a few sewing project ideas lined up, so stick around to see them. I'll post my travels, ideas, projects, and realizations here more frequently during summer.
Recently, I noticed more matajis wearing the Bengali style sari, and while I am somewhat flattered (I can only take credit, since, I'm the only one around here who wears it), but I'm also a little worried. Some matajis still don't have very good fashion sense, or lack a sense of appropriate colors. I blame viewing too many Bollywood films with over-saturated colors, or color shock. For example, I observed a Westerner who colored her hair jet black (I guess to appear more ethnic), but instead she looks old, unhealthy, and strange. On top of that, she wore dark or rich colors, which would be appropriate for a warm complexioned person, but simply exaggerated her unnatural hair color and darkened circles around her eyes. Of course, I am not sure if she is just tired, but darkening the hair will only worsen the appearance of wrinkles, dark circles, and pale skin. If you dye your hair, please make sure you dye it to your natural hair color (to cover gray), or stay within two shades of your natural shade. If you are not sure, visit a professional hair colorist. Similarly, when lightening the hair color, it is important to stay as close to the natural shade, or one will risk looking 'washed out'.
Honestly, the temple is not the appropriate venue for something like this, however, it is obvious to me that these women need serious help. I wish there was a place where these matajis could receive personalized styling and fashion advice from an expert. A visit with a professional stylist, colorist, or hairdresser could have easily averted such a horrible mistake from ever happening. On wearing appropriate color combinations, shades, and hues, a person will appear healthier, beautiful, and natural. Everyone has different combinations of hair, eyes, and skin, therefore, everyone has a different color palette combination. On another occasion, I saw a mataji wearing heavy makeup, combined with a shockingly unnatural hair color that was too red for her skin tone, and a poor choice of apparel for her figure. This made her look older, sickly, and frumpy. Whereas, if she had chosen more appropriate make up and apparel, she would have appeared more vibrant and attractive.
Naturally, all women want to look beautiful, and they go to great extents to look and feel more attractive. Unfortunately, due to ignorance, some matajis are enticed to mimic the unrefined and gaudy styles they see in trashy Hindi movies. I forewarn anyone from copying these styles, as they are mostly unchaste and inappropriate, and will typically not suit many complexions. Matajis that combine these poorly will end up looking older, unhealthy, strange, and in some cases, extremely unchaste. Sometimes I feel like saying something, especially if others are criticizing or mocking them. However, I'm just not sure how to tactfully mention something like this without hurting anyone's feelings. Truly, these women need help. Most of the time, I see them trying colors which are not suitable to their complexion but  I have seen less obvious mistakes like combining apparel which is not suitable to the body type, personality, or appropriate for temple festivals, as well.

Tritiya-Kumbha Rasi

Today is astrologically significant  because the Sun enters Aquarius and it is tritiya tithi, meaning it is the third day of the new or full moon. Tritiya is a good day to do your beauty treatments or tonsuring, so you you are in need or a trim or manicure, today would be a good day to ensure your hair and nails will grow in stronger. I wanted to decorate my hands or feet with alta today but since it is really rainy and cold over here, I decided to wait until next tritiya. It should be pretty warm by then so I can really go nuts. I oiled and braided my hair with hair decorations and was even considering putting it up into a crown. However, humidity usually makes my hair look frizzy and unkempt so I'll leave it alone. I really need get my feet pedicured in preparation for spring. I've been really neglecting my skin and nails lately because I'm too busy with school and assignments. 

On that note, I'd like to say I am doing pretty good in my classes with 'A's and a high 'B', I'm going to refrain from beating myself up over that 'B' and instead reward my hard work with a relaxing spa day. :)

Color Me

Well, last night I started doodling on the back of my hand with mehendi and I have photos to prove it. It's not as fancy because I wasn't sure if this cone was still any good but I did my best.

I've been thinking a lot about color, complexions and so on these past few days so I looked up color seasons and how to find your season online. All you need to know is your natural hair color, eye color and skin tone. After you've analyzed your features, you'll know what season and type you fit into and can get an idea of what colors suit your coloring best. This is especially handy if you're not fashion savvy like some people out there and need a little more guidance on what colors to wear. I know I do.

Today I dyed my hair blue-black after feeling nostalgic and realizing that, though I've stopped applying mehendi to my hair, it still has a reddish, copper-glow and highlights on the ends. Don't worry, my natural color is raven black with blue so I just want to go back to my basics. I want to create a bolder version of myself with vivid, bold and daring hues to match my 'dark' coloring. I hope this darker me helps reflect that aspect of my personality as well. I have to say, I'm kind of digging this Victorian glam/opium-den-madam look. It works. It totally works.

Out With the Old

Today Chandaneswar prabhu and I went to the old place to give it one final go. We had some paintings and random odds and ends sitting in the living room to pick up plus we wanted the place squeaky clean for the next tenant. We went out of our way mopping and scrubbing the floors, appliances and bathroom.. the place was a filthy mess when we moved into it! Anyway, I'm glad we did it and got that part out of the way. Now I just have to pick up Krishna Chandra's jogging stroller tomorrow morning and we're out-- finally. Not that I enjoy scrubbing a filthy house for someone else but it did some good, I got some kind of physical exercise and worked up a sweat moving the stove, refrigerator and dryer (it was super gross under there)

When we got home, I took a good long shower and washed my hair out. My scalp was really itchy and full of yucky dandruff flakes. I know... too much info; but let me warn you about sweating when you have a serious case of dandruff. It's a shame really, I have such gorgeous long hair only to be plagued with flakes! :(

I made sure to use plenty of baking soda to exfoliate my scalp and skin especially after using an entire bottle of 409 and something called "Greased Lightning" to clean that filthy house. The fumes were horrible but I had no choice. It would have taken an eternity to do it otherwise. On the bright side, this new place is a breeze to clean, there are no maintenance problems and the kitchen and bathrooms are well ventilated. I won't be touching any harsh solvents anymore, promise. Besides, there is nothing my baking soda can't tackle. I use that stuff for everything, teeth, hair, skin, bathrooms, dishes, laundry... refrigerator! Really... it works.

Braids, Braids, Braids

Lately, my hair has been really bothering me. It's much too heavy to keep in a bun all day, too long to keep loose and much too short to to use as a whip like an awesome Shaolin master.
Jet Li's sikha braid has unlimited martial capabilities, I'm sure you all know.

I wanted to put my hair into a crown braid, it's lightweight, doesn't tangle with my Tulasi necklace and most importantly, it stays the hell out of my way. I like crown braids, I used to wear them a lot but now my hair is super long and annoying! Frida is the best example of a beautifully braided crown.

How in the hell did she manage it everyday?

The time and tedium involved with braiding one's hair into a nice, neat dutch crown braid is obnoxious. It made me think about the body and how tedious it is to manage. You don't really think about it but once you do the facts are overwhelming. You take a lot of time into caring for the body-- eating, sleeping, brushing, bathing, clothing, etc. It made me realise that I'm the the type of person that puts very little effort into caring for her body and outward appearance. I always want to look nice, I think about it but I'm altogether I'm too apathetic to the idea and totally lazy to devote myself to bodily maintenance. If I could have one thing for the rest of my life I would choose to have a personal assistant or servant; someone who would help pick out my outfits, do my hair and remind me other "frivilous" crap. I'm also indecisive and forgetful so I would probably get someone to plan the weekly menu for me, chores, errands... and probably my entire week altogether. Haha... too bad I'm not swimming in cash or some kind of an Indian princess.

Awesomeness.

Errands

Today I got to the mall and checked out a couple of shops for new glasses. The experience was disappointing, to say the least. I didn't find anything in my price range or that I really liked, and the ones I did like turned out to be reading glasses. What a drag... At least Krishna Chandra was able to have some fun. As it turns out, there is a nice little playground inside the mall which is open to children who are 42" tall and less, but a lot of of older kids managed to get in(there's no enforcement). There was one girl that was a little annoying.. she kept climbing on the fake bridge and jumping off the side. I wonder if she is suicidal or will be in the future..? Anyway, she almost landed on a one-year-old baby and that nearly gave me a heart attack. I saw this totally stupid commercial just now for Dunkin' Donuts. There are three zombied-out kids being sucked into their television set by its' super powered teleportation rays. Just as the children are almost sucked into the set, the father comes home with a box of Dunkin' Donuts and the kids are magically released by the television's maya rays and go running to the dining area. Is Dunkin' Donuts telling America that donuts are better than television? Or that donuts are the couch potato anti-dote? In the late afternoon, Krishna Chandra fell asleep on the sofabed upstairs and I took advantage of his nap to take time for myself. I was long overdue for a haircut and decided to go to the salon down the street. (The trim turned out fine though I still think it feels too short.) The lady kept commenting to her friend about how long my hair was and I started to snicker a little. "Largo, largo, largo!" I went to the counter to pay for my visit only to very quickly realise how retarded I was. I asked her if she accepted debit/credit cards, and she quickly said, "No, cash only" I checked my wallet as I looked around to see an ATM, but alas, there was none. What kind of establishment doesn't accept plastic? I was totally pissed off. I called up my hubby to hit him up for some cash, as I had only three bucks on hand, but he was like, "You know I don't carry cash!" I was in a wee bit of a pickle but we managed to hatch a last-minute plan. I would stay at the salon (as a hostage) while Maria went home to look after Krishna Chandra, meanwhile, my dearest prabhu would pick up some cash and swing by the salon on the way back to release me from my captors. I sat patiently in the salon, flipping through a magazine as my husband "rushed to my rescue". He joked on the whole way home about how I was being held hostage. He used words like "danger" and "hostage situation", which would paint an image of a mad hairdresser holding scissors to a lock of my hair and shouting, "Gimme the money, mister, or the lady gets it!" LOL. I liked the intensity of his words though, he exaggerates a lot which would make him a great story-teller if he could ever get over his shyness. Another dramatic day....