Ori Ye Ye O!

Speaking of the water and the Lake...

Barry and I were SURE we were going to put our business on College Ave or Solano Ave in Berkeley- after all, our previous office was on College, prime retail location, yadda yadda yadda. But each and every time we went to find the perfect store on either of these streets, the doors were SOLIDLY slammed in our faces.

"This just doesn't seem like a good fit for the building."
"The owner of the building does not think this would be an appropriate match for the location."
"We want to put a restaurant there."

And my personal favorite:

Barry: "My name is Barry Perlman. And what's your name?"
Nameless kooky landlord on the phone: "I don't think that's relevant at this time." (hangs up)

Huh?

We started to get bummed. Here we were, so excited to get going, everything in place, extensive business plan in hand with all the "Muggle" data on financials and market research and demographic analysis that anyone could ever possibly want to read. And no one was biting.

So we put Ricky on the job. Ricky, that blessed Capricorn. He presented very well to business people, having occupied that world before. We agreed it was better to not have me be the first point of contact for these kinds of business dealings. I mean, I don't really look like I belong in the world of landlords and finance and banks and contracts, with my long flowing patchwork skirts and multiple tattoos and purple hair. (Though I DO belong wherever I want to, thank you very much!) But Ricky fit the bill way better: clean-cut, mild-mannered, always had a little folder in hand - and folders just make everyone look more official.

He forwarded Barry and I this ad for a store on Grand Ave- the ad said, "The store has wonderful energy." Barry and I perked up. We decided to go visit...and we fell in love with it. The landlord is fabu, the space does indeed have fantastic energy, and it meets an astonishing number of the criteria we had in the business plan. As for the magic...

I was scanning, scanning the space for "signs" and it started to add up. You see, Oshun is one of the goddesses I admire most: beautiful, successful, generous, wealthy, sensuous- she's got it all and she isn't afraid to use it. Her sacred number is 5 (numerologically I am also a 5), two of her colors are gold and copper, she is a goddess of lakes and rivers, and one of her sacred symbols is a heart with curly-q's all around it. I actually have a tattoo on my back with one of those curly-q hearts in it in honor of her mythology. Her day is Thursday or Friday, (not universally - that part seems to change from tradition to tradition.)

So it was a Thursday, and we were standing in front of Lake Merritt, looking at this beautiful store, and the address (536) added up to a 5 numerologically and was rendered in copper numbers. The store was painted in a rich yellowy-gold, and on the door was a curly-q heart wrought in iron. Signs, signs, everywhere...

That night, I went home and to bed. My mind was filled with thoughts, questions and ideas. I had a dream. In the dream Oshun came to me in a long yellow dress, bangled, perfumed, and dancing. And she said, "You'd better GO GET THAT SPACE!"

I woke up the next morning, Friday, called Barry, and said, "I think this is it!" And Oshun smiled.