Tag Archives: Dina Orenbach

O. Goller. At the MUSEUM again

(previous part)

Once I had made a decision to write my travel notes for LA, I shall continue…

Today my daughter and I were at the Pacific Design Center. However, all museums are closed these days.

An amazing structure made up of three huge colorful buildings. From the outside, it looks like a Rubik’s Cube.

We walked around the showrooms  and the feeling was as if we were visiting a museum of contemporary art and design.

Rubik’s Cube

The whole complex was built at different parts, at different times and by different architects.

The Blue one was Built in 1975 by Argentinian architect Cesar Pelli. It is very long and deep blue, therefore it received the nick name BLUE WHALE.

Blue Whale

The green building was created in 1988 by the architect Norma Merrock Skarel.

And the most outstanding of the three buildings, the red one, completed the whole story in 2013.

Red Block – Red Building

The total surface of ​​the Design Center is 160,000 sq meters.

It holds congress halls, classrooms, a huge fitness club and two restaurants.

Lobby

One hundred showrooms, where the best furniture and decorative designers from around the world present their art. Interior designers come here to choose the best for their customers’ home space.

Showrooms

Passersby usually do not just walk in this place; you probably need a specific reason for coming here. But since we live in such a complicated time when everything is a big mass, it just happens to be that then my daughter and I found ourselves in these interesting buildings.

Just the day before, we were driving to a completely different meeting.  It was with my artist friends, we went to a small gallery. Life goes on and we decided to go there despite everything, of course we registered in advance. It was a very interesting visit to this wonderful, small, but very special gallery.

On the way there, I saw from a distance a huge Blue Whale building made of glass. My son in law immediately checked in the map what it was. We read that it was a place called the Pacific Design Center and I decided I would go visit there later.

Being back at these huge showrooms, we were fascinated by the variety of painting styles, sculptures, executed with different techniques and materials as wood, fabric, metal, stone and glass. All kinds of lamps and lightening facilities completed the atmosphere. All this is was presented here for a variety of likes and tastes.

Map of LA City

Design

A part of the Center is also dedicated to the Contemporary Art Museum space and it is a branch of the MOCA Museum.

Quite unsuspectedly I was surprised of a striking trend in the objects presented in decorative sculptures reflecting appearance of the Corona Virus, which became the villain of 2020. I guess artists could not pass this character from our era …

Virus

My attention, however, was riveted to the heart sculpture made from the green malachite stone.

Malachite heart

 At the entrance to each showroom, masks and gloves were carefully prepared for visitors.

Masks

In a period of general sadness and limitations, experienced such an unexpected and inspiring day.

Finally it turns out that our whole life is a one big journey. I read in Vadim Zeland’s book “Reality Transurfing” that we come to visit this world, like a very attractive museum. This museum has its own Observer, who accompanies us and helps us realize the location of the halls and the essence of the exhibitions. It depends on us which hall to go to, what to see and what to learn.

Chair for the giants of thought

Israelites on the main chair of the aircraft

My poodle

We are back in the Museum

Olga Goller

Original in Russien here

Published 14/01/2021 21:49

O. Goller. We started 2021!

(previous part)

The new year has begun!

2020 IS OVER!

The days are passing by like screen shots of a new cartoon …Harry Bardeen, Walt Disney, Yuri Norstein, Eduard Uspensky – genius animators, could not imagine that the reality and the fast pace that time is going by in the twenty first century would swallow us in the stream of an era of the entire Corona planet.

In the news and elsewhere, there are alarming headlines about Los Angeles, catastrophe of the year.

We are aware but we continue to live. The sun shines during the day, the sky is bluer than our Israeli one and this is not an exaggeration or belittling of the winter beauty of our small country. If you go out during the day without sunglasses, your eyes will hurt from the sunlight, which is very strange to me. After all, I have been living in a similar climate for 30 years.

Large shopping centres are open, but there are very few people – it brings you to tears. Parking spaces are empty and people wander around with sad eyes. Even the friendly, and so unusual for the Israelis, smile of just about everyone passing by you, does not warm you up with its positivity.

Cafe chains are all open, but despite the fact that everything is delicious, the lack of people deprives you of appetite. Just two weeks ago we were sitting in a cafe at carefully spaced tables, and we could more or less have a snack or drink coffee, –  today not a single chair or table was open. My daughter and I just sat on the floor, on a tiled floor (fortunately it’s very clean here) and laid out cardboard boxes from sushi like gypsies. However, a polite mall officer came up to us and nicely explained that it is not allowed to eat in any place within the building. Once again, our sense of humor saved us.

Sushi on the floor

Madness of a new trend – masks from all brands of the world have created a new strain of fashion. Who of the great couturiers could have thought of such a fashion a year ago?!

a Mask

Where are we walking with big steps in fuchsia boots, which came straight out of the dancers of Moulin Rouge? Whether we will ever get to participate in our ball in these funny jackboots – it’s not easy to lose those, running away in a hurry from the clock strike at midnight, like Cinderella! I’d like to believe that we shall be at our ball, yes. To believe that our fairies will not let us down, as they surrounded Cinderella with love.

Pink boot

Or will we keep smiles on our half-faces and paint our life with new colors, cheerful patches of jeans from our youth?!

Jeans patches

Let’s close the past year with gratitude. We will open new and magical doors, step through them boldly, and continue our journey along the orbit of life. No matter how strange it sounds and with ironic pathos, we all, gentlemen, are passing through the change of eras. Between them, there are special doors that invite us into unrealizable dreams.

A mosaic door

As in the treatises on alchemists, childhood fairy tales will come to life, filled with love and turn from lead into gold, from huts to blue houses, from a crystal shoe to freedom with faith and fearlessness.

Blue house

Happy New Year 2021!

Olga Goller

Original in Russien here

Published 14/01/2021  20:45

O. Goller. In these days of great trouble, we can still find beauty!

(previous part)

Beverly Hills

Yesterday, we went to see the New Years celebration lights and decorations in Beverly Hills, on the same street where Julia Roberts walked in the famous movie, “Pretty Woman”.

Street of Julia Roberts

We were all immersed in a fabulous sensation of miracles. This feeling lives in each of us. And it is not just from our childhood, but in my opinion from something else before

My little grandson threw balloons in the water, and then, enchanted, fell silent with adorable solemnity…

Boy and a water balls

I wandered along that one street like a little princess between tin soldiers from the magical stories of Hans Christian Andersen.

Red doll

Soldier

There were not many people, which created an atmosphere with its own charm. The golden stores of high fashion of these days – the mask, seems to have stuck to our faces.

All my life I dealt with tissue transplants and now it seems to me as if someone designed this new fabric tissue to become an integral part of who we are. But for what?

For how long? When will we deserve to remove it?

I didn’t want to think about it…

The happy eyes of adults and children were reflecting in the silver ornaments on the still-standing Christmas tree.

Eitan and silver ball

Christmas Tree

Cars from “American Cinema” were driving along the street.

Yellow car

Lines of plastic-looking girls stood for the bags of Louis Vuitton, Prada and other glistening fluff. But it was me, it was my younger self who I was judging, staring at those unspeakably gorgeous girls.

Will their Richard Gere climb those emergency stairs for them? Where is the border between cinema and reality? But maybe that’s what it is, maybe we make our own world in the image of our favorite stories.

The fine Staircase

My children and I walked in a stream of this tinsel and the world was beautiful.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!

All the family

Olga Goller

Original in Russian here

Published 13/01/2021  16:55

Updated 14/01/2021 19:33

O. Goller. A Ray of light from Los Angeles

Shalom: a short report from Los Angeles on the third day:

Yesterday I decided to take the Corona test.

Not so much for my own safety as much as for the sake of my daughter’s peace of mind. She has two little boys and there is a very tough bureaucracy in kindergartens here.  Every day the parents are asked, “Do you have visitors from other states or other countries?” My grandkids are 8 months and 2.5 years old and they go to two different kindergartens. One of those kindergartens is a real five-star hotel, with a full meal prep and an exclusive number of kids that counts no more than 6 per class; all overseen by two teachers. The other kindergarten is just slightly less luxurious, but both cost about three times more than kindergartens in Israel. What I did find strange is that non of those expenses is paid by the government to my daughter; who is here on a diplomatic contract as the head of operations for the Israeli Ministry for Tourism. But I digress.

We found a free test site 40 km from their home, which is considered relatively close for America. Just like everything in America, there were a lot of options. We found a few tests that cost about $200, but then we saw some that were free. It wasn’t very clear what the real difference is.

I think the paid ones were just “results in one day”, which didn’t make that much difference to us, so we picked the free test, and set up an appointment for the following Tuesday.

Tuesday comes around and we arrive to the test site; a large parking next to a giant community pool. I could feel the brisk wind of LA’s winter, but the weather here is still clear and sunny, and the site of the flower dancing in the gentle wind made me smile.

We walked along the sidewalk of the blue water, taken a back by such a beautiful community center without a single soul to enjoy it, I thought to myself there was something sad about this image. It hit me then that we really do live in a very unique and strange time.

Test Station

Swim pool

My kids like my bodyguards walking next to me; my D and D. They were both born in Moscow. My son Danny lived in Israel for 17 years before moving to America, and my daughter Dina lived in Israel for 30 years before now also finding herself here in California – the land of the endless sun. The feeling of success has filled my sails as a proud mom. Life is good and I really succeeded!

Right in front of us, a long but fast flowing line of people opened up. A short video was sent to everyone in the application for the Corona-test, which included all the steps from A-Z of how to complete the test. After exactly five minutes I’ve approached the guy at the end of the long line, was handed a test tube, got a quick refresher of what to do, and was shown to a little tent to do my test. It took me less than a minute to finish the steps of the oral-swab-test, I’ve dropped my sealed bag in the container next to the exit, and we were on our way. It took exactly fifteen minutes from the car to the exit. Impeccable organized, I thought to myself. People follow all the rules, while being respectfully quiet and smiling. I’m always amazed how easy things can be when people don’t think only about themselves.

I want to share with you one more thought.

When we got back to the car my son asked if we wanted to stop for some coffee, it was a unanimous “yes”. I was a little confused for a moment, since I thought that most places are closed because of Corona. We drove into a parking lot on our way back home. My son got out of the car and signaled me and Dina to follow. We walked up to a small and – as I suspected – closed, coffee shop. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, opened the door and said, “Let’s go!”. We followed him inside. Apparently his business partner also owns a coffee shop that was closing early every day because of Corona, but he always had access to it. I found the place to be super interesting. It was a red-brick, New York style, retro coffee place, with art works on the walls, and that small mom-and-pop shop vibe that you can only get in an east coast Brooklyn joint. But what got my attention more than anything was a hundred years old piano that was standing in the corner. When I was a child I used to play “Für Elise” by Beethoven, on a very similar piano we used to have. I quit playing at a young age, but the memory of being able to produce such beauty has never left me. I knew then that this vacation with my kids will be a big success. We raced home between the brown mountains of LA, listening to Beethoven, enjoying the drive, our lives, and each other.

Yes, my dear friends, I we should not give up, LIFE IS A GOOD AND A WONDERFUL THING.

Graffiti

Olga Goller

Original in Russian here

Published 13/01/2021  13:00 

Updated 14/01/2021 19:14

О. Голлер. И в дни больших бед можно увидеть красоту!

Вчера мы поехали посмотреть на Рождественские  огни и украшения на Беверли Хилс.

Как-то смешно писать по-русски это название…

Улица, по которой гуляла Джулия Робертс в знаменитом фильме…

street of Julia Roberts.

Мы сами оказались во власти сказочного ощущения чудес. Это чувство живёт в каждом из нас. И живёт не из детства, а по-моему, из еще чего-то ДО ТОГО…

Маленький внук кидал шары в воде, а потом зачарованно затих от торжественности…

Boy and water balls

Я бродила по этой одной улице, как маленькая принцесса среди оловянных солдатиков.

Red Doll

Soljier

Людей было не очень много, и в этом тоже своя прелесть. Новая атрибутика высокой моды в наши дни – маска, кажется прижилась к нашим лицам…

Я всю жизнь работала с пересадками тканей и подумалось, что люди и кто-то другой произвели из непонятно чего этот новый вид ткани…

Надолго ли?! Чем заслужим его снять!!! Не хотелось думать об этом…

В серебряных шарах на парадной ёлке отражались счастливые глаза взрослых и детей.

 Eitan and silver ball

Green tree

По улице ехали машины из “американского кино”.

Yellow car

Очереди искусственных девушек стояли за сумками Луи Виттон, Прады и прочей никчёмности…

Ричард Гир поднимался по лестнице за своим счастьем. Где граница между кино и реальностью…

Мои дети и я шли в потоке этой мишуры и мир был прекрасен.

Всех с наступающим Новым годом!

 All the family Orenbach in two pictures

Above Ran, Eitan & Olga Goller. Below Dina, Amit & Olga

Полностью фотоальбом здесь

Ольга Голлер

Опубликовано 26.12.2020  23:06

 

О. Голлер. Луч света из Лос-Анджелеса

Начало здесь

Короткий репортаж из Лос-Анджелеса на третий день пребывания.

Вчера я сама решила сделать тест на Корону. Скажу, по какой причине.

Нет, я ничего не опасаюсь. Но…. здесь очень жёсткая бюрократия в детских садиках. Каждый день просят родителей ответить на один и тот же вопрос: не приехал ли кто в семью из другого штата и тем паче, из другой страны.

А у дочки два малыша в двух разных садиках. Один сад, кстати, это просто пятизвёздочный отель с кетерингом и пр.  Две воспитательницы на 6 детишек. И стоит соответственно 2500 $ в месяц.

Второй садик более демократичный – 2200 $.

Причем, это сотрудникам посольства Израиля, коим является Дина, моя дочка, не оплачивается…

Как я знаю, моя дочка с мужем супер послушные граждане, и я решила сама сделать этот анализ. Хотя мне они не сказали ни слова.

Надо бы отметить, что ни в Израиле перед отлётом, ни в самом Лос-Анджелесе проходить тест не требуется. Что поделаешь, стану на месяц такой же послушной…

Вернусь к тесту на Корону: мы нашли пункт бесплатного теста в 40 км от дома, что считается очень близко для Америки.

Gроверили сначала, что есть масса вариантов на тест: от бесплатных до 200 $. Но разницы никакой, ни по качеству, ни по релевантности их  предъявителю.

Приехали мы к указанному месту: большая бесплатная стоянка, длинная, но быстро текущая цепочка людей, в приложении на мобильном выслан каждому код и краткое видео, как самому делать себе тест. Через 5 минут, именно пять минут, я подошла к служителю этого мероприятия; получила в руки пробирку, обьяснили еще раз, что делать. Зашла в отдельную палатку, за 20, именно за 20 секунд сделала себе мазок в ротовой полости и  вернула пробирку работнику этого пункта. И …. поехали пить кофе (take away, конечно).

Всего дел было на 15 минут – от машины до выхода…

Организовано безукоризненно, люди соблюдают  все правила, при этом невероятно тихие и улыбчивые. Хотя это не самый шикарный район города…

Рядом находится большой бассейн: чистейший, огромнейший, и…. совсем безлюдный.

И вот это очень грустно…

Погода в ЛА ясная и  солнечная, зима еще “за горами”…

Цветы бесподобные…

Я шла по тротуару вдоль голубой воды бассейна без единого посетителя, по бокам шли мои Д и Д  – Дина и Дани. Дети, которые родились в Москве, прожили от 15 до 30 (каждый по-разному) лет в Израиле.

Жизнь удалась! Хоть мы все с вами и находимся  в её самом нелёгком и смутном повороте, господа…

Все в одной лодке, все на одной Планете…

Позволю себе поделиться еще одним моментом:

после всего этого мероприятия мы, как я и сказала ранее, поехали пить кофе. Просто Дани кинул: “Kофе едем пить”? Кто же откажется…

Хотя я ещё подумала: “это он о чем? Все же закрыто”.

Однако, когда мальчику 38, вопросов лучше лишних не задавать…

Мы подъезжаем на бензоколонку, выходим, Дани открывает своим ключом некое маленькое кафе, заходим, он делаем нам с Диной в кофемашинке кофе по заказу.

В тёмном лобби кафе стоит безмолвное пианино, на стенах портреты артистов. Некий ретро-стиль посреди этого, скажу честно, хаоса: Короны – ЛА –  моего далекого Израиля….

Я вспомнила детство, изобразила на клавишах родную  “Für Elise” Бетховена, дети мои в этот миг стихли…

Мы  мчались по трассе  меж коричневых гор ЛА домой, летели низко, как водит мой сын, и слушали  Бетховена…

Да,  once and once more – не откажусь от этого прекрасного чувства: “ЖИЗНЬ УДАЛАСЬ”, господа…

 

Ольга Голлер

Опубликовано 23.12.2020  23:23