7 Dec 2009
Matthieu Ricard actually lives on the Himalayas and shows us very easily our every day habits in which we treat happiness as it visits us, sometimes even on a daily basis, without us noticing it. Watch this talk by the person who is called “the happiest person in the world” here, a following smile is guaranteed 
5 Aug 2009
Almost 30. What a strange thing of me to say. Or write. Or even think of. Hey, but it’s true. I can’t help it and look back at the last 10 years of my life. If only I had known what a crucial part they have in shaping my identity, personality, health, education, love, and everything else actually, everything else that really matters, that is.
I spent 7 years at the university. That’s a long time. I know for sure that those years are not over. My time at the world of academy (yes, it’s a different and a separate world from the one we know, it’s on a different planet and even the air is kind of thicker there than here) is not done, and one day I will go straight back. In a lot of ways, it’s where I came from, and in many ways, it’s where I feel at home. I guess I will always feel like I’m growing up there.
The many years of studying gave me skills to stand where I am standing today – at a turning point, with no directions or signs. I am almost choosing, I almost know what I want. I know for sure that I have learned a lot. I have learned the study of people – I know what they’re like, I know how to be one of them all when I need to, and I also know how to learn from them. Therefore, I have learned to recognize a true intellectual and to admire wisdom, to look up to people who know more about me and to share the joy of knowledge at the right surrounding, and most importantly in my opinion is to research into the depths of my curiosity, and then to write about it.
I owe the academy many of my shapes and angles, of my opinions and thoughts, ideas and goals.
I do.
And I will forever be thankful for all that.
I hope that now, at the crossroad of Growing-Up street with Deciding What I Want To Do street, I will find my way easy, remembering all that I have learned, facing all that I can’t wait to learn, and step forward unhesitatingly towards that oh so scary place called ‘my future’.
Hilla.
31 Jul 2009
While I was interviewing Stuart weitzman last week, there was a reporter there who writes a column about the way people dress up to social events. She liked what I wore, which was a white dress that one of my closest friends, Aviva Zilberman, designed on her last collection, so she asked me about it and took a picture of it.
You can see it here: http://www.mouse.co.il/CM.articles_item,1044,209,38675,.aspx
Also, I’m very excited to cover a very interesting exhibition next Sunday. It’s of one of Israel’s top stylists who photographed all of Israel’s top fashion photographers. Sounds interesting, right? Stay tuned for that too!
Have a nice weekend everybody,
Hilla Ohayon
26 Jun 2009
It’s Friday morning, and I’m at the office. I have to work till noon 
Can’t wait to go back home, go down to the gym, spend 30 minutes on my treadmill, shower and get some beauty sleep before dinner.
Tomorrow is all about partying – two of my very close friends are having two separate birthday parties, at the same time. One of them involves pool and sun, the other one is all about clubbing. I have no idea what to wear for both events.
I also plan to do so much writing this weekend – I have 3 articles pending and one blog post for http://www.vetrinas.com waiting to be edited. I’m pretty sure I won’t manage to pull everything through but I sure hope that I get to finish at least some of it…
And now for my pending thoughts
I’ve decided to pay a little attention to what people have to say about me lately. Usually, I tend to let people talk and get it over with. Especially at the office. Every day when I walk in, I go through at least 5 people (women, of course) that simply must say something about the way I look. There has to be something about what I wear in general, the way my face look (makeup? that too) and my total look. Every day.
Last night I was sitting with the girls at the end of the day, and they were asking me questions about clothes, fashion and what I do outside of the office in general. For them, it all seems like a lot of work – dressing up every day, putting on a little makeup, and taking care of the way they look instead of pulling the first thing that falls on them when they open their closets and run out the door.
The truth is – it’s really not that hard. I can be ready to go out in less than 30 minutes, shower included. It’s all about knowing your closet and needs. I think about my closet when I shower, so I know what I’m going to wear when I’m done. My closet is very well organized so I know where every thing is, so that’s easy too. I get dressed in 5 minutes, put on some foundation, mascara and some blush, and I’m out. It can’t be That difficult…
And yes, I’m updated with it all. Fashion, trends, blogs, magazines, you name it. I can’t really say that I imply every thing that I read on the way that I dress and look. I’m in to keeping it simple, clean, classic and… mostly monochromatic. Of course, 90% of my closet is black and full of dresses. It’s who I am, I feel very comfortable in what I always wear, and I think it’s what is best for me. I think it’s the best advise I could give to anybody. Keeping myself updated and deciding what’s best for me gives best composition on my look.
I also keep reading other fashion blogs and it always makes me wonder. I can never see myself go out to a market and buy clothes that cost less than a good dinner. Just can’t. And I’m not even talking about second hand purchases. I’m just not that type of a girl.
The only “cheap” shopping I’m more than willing to do is on this one – http://www.net-a-porter.com/ Their Sale page is sooo fab, I hardly keep myself from adding it all to my imaginary cart! If only I was still naive to think that credit cards are magic cards and has nothing to do with money 
like the opening line of Confessions of a Shopaholic (don’t go to see that movie, it’s crappy, besides the fashion in it, of course).
I just much rather buy quality and little of it than tons of crap that would never survive my laundry machine…
Concluding with a winner’s summer dress by Sara Brown, sitting at my favorite NYC spot:
Have a great weekend everybody!
Hilla
12 Jun 2009
Oh, it’s a long one.
I started writing as I learned how to. I have always had a personal diary. Ever since I can remember myself. Always.
(The bad part is that I threw them all away)
That was me. The writing girl. When I didn’t have my diary with me, I wrote on everything I could: pieces of paper, school books, school notebooks, post-its, you name it. I used to save all the written pieces and save them till I get home, and then post them to my diary, so I won’t miss a single word.
As I got older, I started writing only when I was sad or having a bad time. Those were the times I wrote most. I sometimes couldn’t stop writing and did it for hours. I used to wake up at nights and hurry to get a piece of paper because some random thought or a sentence crossed my mind while I was asleep and woke me up.
Some people say I don’t talk enough. That I might be too quiet. I guess it’s true. If only they could hear how loud and clear the words are inside my mind, they would probably think differently. I talk to them all, all the time, inside my head. As far as I’m concerned, I’d write them all emails, letters, messages or whatever they’d like as a conversation tool, as long as I don’t have to actually use my voice. I’d much rather write instead.
And then came my thesis, which I made the main theme for it up myself, and it’s mine, and I’m creating it from scratch, and I love it. At the beginning it was surprising and so different. I wasn’t used to write despite my emotions. It’s research, it’s based on facts, it’s a big pile of notes, documents, tables, pictures, memoirs, and more that I have been collecting for two years now. I love writing it, yet it has nothing to do with my writing-out-of-emotions kind of writing.
Writing is endless. It’s another world, parallel to this one, and only those who write can grasp its wonder. I’m so happy I can understand the value of writing. I do feel privileged.
After all this came this brand new year with its world shaking changes. One of them was trying to write about favorite topics. As a career. So this is basically what I do here – I write here about anything I want.
So now I basically write in four different favorite places:
1. My thesis;
2. http://blog.vetrinas.com/ – My blog about http://www.vetrinas.com, which is such a lovely website that I love (oh, and work for );
3. http://www.bamoda.co.il/ – A fashion designers index in Hebrew I also just started writing for (in Hebrew);
4. And here. My home. Where I can lay my hat on
It took me a little more than 20 years to finally write freely without locking my diary and placing the key back in my key chain. Growing up can be sometimes nice. Writing about it is another topic I try to handle by writing about with
10 Jan 2009
אני לא מתכוונת להתנצל. אני חיה בתל אביב כי בחרתי בה ולא באף עיר אחרת, לעכשיו. אם הייתי בוחרת באחת מערי הדרום או מושביה, שם הייתי חיה, כיום.
המציאות העיסוקית שלי בימים אלו שואפת למקסימום כתיבה ולמקסימום הספק. גיליתי, שבבית יש לי המון הסחות דעת ואני מספיקה מעט מאוד.
לא כך קורה כשאני אורזת בתיק הגב שלי את הלפטופ, חומרי הקריאה, מחברת, עטים ומרקרים, ויוצאת לבית קפה לעבוד בו. ההספק שלי גדול פי עשרה. באמת.
אני נהנית מכל העניין כולו: מהקפה המשובח, מהעוגה או הכריך או הסלט שמונחים לצד הניירת שלי, מהשקט-לא-שקט הזה, מהאור הטבעי שמגיע מבחוץ, ובעיקר מהחיים בהם אני יכולה לצפות בכל רגע בו ארצה להרים את עיניי מהמסך ושוב ושוב לא ליטול בהם חלק. הם קרובים, ממש במרחק הושטת יד, ואני עדיין, בשלי.
מדי פעם אני לוקחת הפסקה קטנה, ומטיילת אל אתרי החדשות. הניתוק בבתי הקפה האלה הוא מוחלט, ולכן אני מרגישה צורך בהתאפסות על הנעשה גם שם, בדרום. אני כאן, הם שם. אם ארצה ואבחר בכך – לא אדע דבר. אבל אני רוצה לדעת, אני רוצה לדאוג. אלה הן ההפסקות שלי.
הדרך הביתה בסוף היום רצופה תענוג פרטי אף היא. אני ממקמת את האוזניות הכי עמוק שרק אפשר בתוך האוזן, ונכנסת אל תוך כל חנויות הספרים הקטנות שמאפיינות את אזור בית הקפה שלי. מדפדפת, עוברת בין המדפים, נעלמת. קסם רצוף. באמת.
אני כאן, הם שם. אני איתם, והם איתי. אנחנו עם. אחד. קטן. ואני כאן, והם שם.
28 Dec 2008
בת 28. אוטוטו 29. אוטוטו מתחילה את החיים. בנשימה האחרונה של המאסטר, בשנייה האחרונה לפני הדוקטוראט. תל-אביבית, אבל לא לתמיד. סינגלית, וורקוהוליקית. ממוקדת אך לעתים נסחפת בלהט הזמן. משתדלת לעצור בזמן. 1 כלבה, 0 בני זוג. מיליון מוניות בחודש, 0 רישיון נהיגה.
היסטוריונית. גרמניה, שואה, ניצולים. כל מה שמדכא את הנפש ממש. בעיקר רוע.
מספיק לבינתיים.
