Can You Make a Living Teaching Yoga?

Over on the Yoga with Nikki Chau blog, here. Really good thoughts for anyone contemplating a career teaching yoga or embarking on their own teaching career. It's pretty tough to imagine anyone getting rich teaching yoga unless one is nationally renowned. Linda's Yoga Journey has also blogged about it Price We Pay and How Much is a Yoga Teacher Worth. Some of my own thoughts:

Product Mix
I've been self-employed for 15 years now. I do a variety of jobs - ranging from engineering, production support for corporate meetings, production support for entertainment, websites, powerpoint design. And for the last year or so, teaching yoga. And I have come to look at every project, every gig as being part of a product mix. Stuff I relly love to do that I might not be able to bill all that much for. Stuff that is perhaps more lucrative but less fulfilling or interesting. And work that lies somewhere in the middle. And I am constantly tweaking that product mix, depending on my finances, my time and energy, the available work, and where my spirit leads me.

Even something as fulfilling as teaching yoga has its "product mix" aspects. Nikki says "An average class at a studio can get anywhere between 1-8 people..." and well, I teach some big classes (15 - 25, sometimes higher) but they are often the $5 Gentle classes, which do not pay so well. But pretty awesome experience to teach to that large a class. On the other hand, some of my smaller full price classes pay better - rewarding in different ways. So even within a yoga teaching career there is a spectrum of "feed your spirit or feed your checking account" choices.

In her post, Nikki writes:

Do I want more students in a class? Not necessarily (workshops are different). First, I don’t teach yoga to make money. It’s not my primary motivation. If it were, I’d need a lot of math help. Secondly, the small class size lets me pay more attention to each individual person and adapt to their specific body, and that’s important to me.

And there is a balancing act there as well. Most studios pay a minimum per class with a percentage or per student amount above the minimum. And the amount that students are willing to pay for yoga is all over the map - locally $17 walk-in, $10 or $12 with a class card, or $5 for some classes. So limiting to 8-10 students is really going to cut back on earnings potential.

As much as it's hard to focus on individual bodies and practices in a larger class, there is something pretty amazing about a large class (speaking both as a student and as a teacher) - resonating with the energy, working flow, conscious of the bodies and spirits in the same postures and same-but-separate life journey. Some of my more memorable classes (as a student) have been with 40-50 students where the class energy just soared - I look across the row of mats with my friends and peers in Vira II or working through a dancing warrior sequence - and fill with love, respect, awe. Strong, brave, beautiful, and amazing. Perhaps not very yogic to step outside of my own body and my own practice like that - but I'm a yoga rebel and when the divine intervenes, who am I to not take a moment to watch and appreciate. So a mix of big classes (make some money, work with collective bodies and spirits) and small class (work with individual bodies and spirits) can work.

Something Else on the Side
Pretty much every yoga teacher down at the studio has something else going, workwise. Body worker (several). Counselor or therapist. Nutritionist. Engineer (guilty). Corporate drone. Stay-at-home parent (presumably with a working partner). So it's pretty realistic to look at who is teaching yoga, and perhaps decide to teach yoga as an adjunct to something else that can bring in some income. Oftentimes, the yoga teaching can be a good conduit / outreach for clients and business for the other work you do.

Paying Your Dues
I always thing of doctors doing their internships and residencies (Grey's Anatomy comes to mind) when I think of my first year of teaching. Even docs with years of education (and a far higher investment in education than a few thousand dollars in formal yoga training) spend a few years getting paid peanuts and working their tails off.

I came to look at my first years of teaching in that light - I'm a first-year, I'm paying my dues. Basically, I'd take any yoga teaching gig I could - to hone my teaching chops, to get experience, to build a reputation. Yeah, I've taught some classes for a few bucks. Yeah I've had some long days and long weeks. But more and more I am able to be selective in how and when I teach and am able to start to control my own teaching product mix.

So I think there is a certain level of "patience, grasshopper" here - teachers fresh out of training are probably not going to hit their stride, earnings wise, for a few years, regardless of how strong their personal practice or inspired their teaching. So be prepared to spend some time in the trenches.

As a sidelight, it's interesting to take the long view of this stuff. I've been embedded down at my studio for years, and in that time I have watched a lot of really top-notch teachers come through. Oftentimes they promote themselves to the studio owner as great teachers, talk their way into a chance to sub in for one of the senior teachers in a prime-time slot, and get handed their collective head by the students who just don't deal well with change (and are plenty vocal with the studio management). I suspect if they had invested some time hanging out, coming to classes to get the studio vibe, becoming familiar to the students and perhaps starting a little lower on the roster (in terms of what classes they sub and how much they ask for) they could potentially build up a reputation and a following, and end up with one of the prime-time slots and large classes that they seek.

As Bill Morrissey writes in his song Birches:
Oak will burn as long and hot as a July afternoon,
And birch will burn itself out by the rising of the moon.
Neil Young might disagree, however. My my, hey hey.

Subsidizing Ones Addiction
Before I started teaching, I was spending a lot on yoga - for classes, for workshops, etc. Now that I'm teaching, I spend a lot less money on yoga (although I practice as much if not more). My studio policy lets teachers take classes for free; there is also work-study, trading hours staffing the studio for free classes or workshops. And since I make money teaching and file a Schedule C, a lot of my yoga expenses come right off the top line as business expenses.

So even though I'm not getting rich from teaching, I'd still be practicing and spending money even if I were not teaching, so the actual net benefit from teaching might be expressed as Income + Subsidized Practices and Workshops + Tax Benefit.

Become Management
As a self employed person, I'm keenly aware of my income limitations related to my time and energy. If every dollar I bring in is directly connected to my time, I have a limitation based on the hours in a day, week, month or year and the amount of money I can charge for any given activity. But if I start to subcontract work - hiring employees, having people "downstream" (in a coarse, multi-level marketing kind of way) then I can start to get some income based on other people's time.

The studio owner gets a cut (I hope, although sometimes I know she takes a hit for small classes) everytime I step into the studio to teach (she also has to pay for rent and heat and all that stuff). So if I can get people downstream of me, I'll start getting an incremental benefit. Opening a studio is a huge risk, a lot of work, and perhaps might take a few years to grow, but it's a way to transition from teacher income (100% dependent upon being in the room) to a potential for higher income (some percentage of one's income derived from getting a piece of other's work). And I suspect there are other business models, heretofore unexplored, that can insert one into the yoga economy in ways others than direct teaching.

But yeah, mostly we do it for love. And every so often, we pick up a check.....

Tias Little - Deep Work

11 Hours in studio with Tias Little this weekend. A workshop called "My Body is My Temple", with four module: The Sacred Feet, Sacred Sacrum, Sacred Sacrum, and Sacred Skull. Although really, we worked the entire body - the feet worked the legs, the sacrum and psoas worked the core, sides, shoulders, and spine, and the skull worked the entire upper body.

As usual, Tias' workshop was highly informative (practically teacher training) with lots of prep work, lots of props, lots of assists, and plenty of "pull up a block and watch me talk through a posture" opportunities. A very nice mix of practice, of lecture (an extended philosophy talk this morning),of technical information (anatomy via slides), and of technique for teaching and assisting.

Also as usual, during what seemed to be an almost minimalist practice (we spent hours on our backs, working very subtle parts of the body, and many hours of watching a posture and moving back to the mat, with almost zero vinyasa or flow) I am both wiped out and feel like crap - evidence of some pretty deep work and deep detoxing. We're pretty hooked on flow at the studio - plenty of sun salutations, plenty of heat, plenty of sweat. I barely cracked a sweat and had no need for my usual headband and mat cover. yet I am as wiped out tonight as if I had spent a weekend detoxing with Sean Corne rr pwoering through an Ana Forrest workshop.

Lot of good ideas. I'm not the type to keep a notebook as I practice - preferring to be fully present for the work and let the work seep into my body. I'm making some notes afterwards, sure I will forget some thing, but I'm going to bring this stuff into some of my classes.

Adult-in-Charge

I've been the adult in charge down at the yoga studio this weekend. Let me tell you, it's exhausting.

Friday was an 11 hour day - I taught two classes, from 10:45 - 1:15 and then hung out getting ready for a national workshop. I snuck out for lunch, and I got to take the workshop but I was pretty much there until 9 pm.

Saturday, another long one - went in at 9 am to clean up some of the registration mess, workshops from 10:45 - 1:45 and again from 3:30 - 6:30. Then clean up while students packed up and made their way out the door; I hit the lights and set the alarm at 8:00 pm.

Today, more of the same - with the final workshop this morning, and the teacher training starting up this afternoon. I turn the reins back to the studio manager (with any luck) tomorrow.

And my big client who has been out of the country for a week or so, is back - I noticed 10 emails with site data came in last night. So it's shoulder to the wheel tomorrow (might try to sneak over to the office a bit today and get a jump start on things....)

Stick a fork in me; I'm done. I need a vacation!

Tias Little - My Body is My Temple

I'm hitting the mat all weekend with Tias Little, as he presents My Body is My Temple down at the studio. 11 Hours of detailed study.

I worked with Tias a bit back in July 2007, and completed a 24 hour teacher training with him in October 2008. And although I'm not the type to adopt gurus, he's as close as I get in terms of national teachers (but only because I have not had a lot of opportunity to work with Heather Tiddens, who I adore)

Off to bed. Six hours of Tias tomorrow - Sacrum and Psoas. Yum.

Spreading It Around

One of the young yogis at Tias' workshop this evening was asking around regarding a place to shower. He's sleeping in his vehicle. Devoted to his practice.

And yanno, if I were in my new place, I'd have happily offered him an air mattress in the yoga room and a place to shower and hang. I just don't think it would go over so well with Zippy here, but once I get the condo, I'm so there. That's just who I am and how I roll.

My friend Nykki turned me on to this quote. "When you learn, teach. When you get, give." -Maya Angelou

True, that.

Condo Update

No big news. Sept 30 was my commitment date; my lawyer filed for an extension. FHA / mortgage company are backed up due to the last minute shoppers taking advantage of the $8K tax credit.

Looks like the Oct 9 closing date might be pushed back a week. Hopefully no more than that - I want to take some time to clean and do some minor work around the place before I move, I have a bunch of truck-loads of small stuff to take over, and at least two big moving projects (house-to-condo and office-to-condo) along with arranging for the pool table to find its new home.

Will keep you posted.....

Google Wave

Colin sent you here. I have no idea why. Well, maybe some idea. My left hand (at right) is perhaps, waving? I dunno. It's actually the apex of a trikonasana inside a hot air balloon.

Edit: Oh, I get it. Not completely obtuse. Crowd-Sourcing. Getting users (or in this case, blogs readers) to do your work for you. Duh. Like some of those silly captcha "type the word you see" things that websites use to confirm that a real person is filling in a form. Did you know you were actually working to digitize scanned documents (from the Internet Archive and NY Times archive) when filling out some of these?

Here's the Google Wave link on cnn.com or go to the Google Wave site. I have no more info - I plan to be listening to WNPR tomorrow from 1-2 to find out.....

Bonus, the wikipedia article on crowd-sourcing.

Off with ya. Bloody vikings.

Roaring Brook Nature Center Concerts

A note from Stan Sullivan - just spreading the word.....

***********************************************************************************

Welcome to the 30th season of Roaring Brook Concerts! We open with legendary Bluesman, Paul Geremia, this Saturday October 3rd. I guess it's time to dig the rakes out of the shed, the long sleeve shirts out of the closet and set up the sound system at Roaring Brook. All concerts are at 7:30PM on Saturdays with the exception of the two Monday Open Mikes and the October 11, 2009 Family Show at 2:00PM with Mustard's Retreat.

Tickets for all shows: 860-693-0263 and Information: www.roaringbrookconcerts.org

Roaring Brook Concerts
October 3, 2009 Paul Geremia $15.00 Advance and $17.00 door
October 10, 2009 Mustard's Retreat / Stan Sullivan Split bill $15.00 door and $18.00 door
October 17, 2009 Sloan Wainwright $16.00 Advance and $17.00 door
October 23, 2009 Cece Borjeson & Ruth George $12.00 advance and $15.00 door
October 30, 2009 Patrick Ball, Celtic Harpist $18.00 Advance and $20.00 door

November 7, 2009 Atwater-Donnelly $15.00 Advance and $17.00 door
November 14, 2009 Mark Erelli $16.00 Advance and $18.00 door
November 21, 2009 David Mallett $18.00 Advance and $20.00 door

December 5, 2009—Donna Martin $15.00 Advance and $17.00 door
December 12, 2009—Chris Smither $25.00

Open Mikes
Signup at 6:45 $5.00 Admission
Monday October 26, 2009 featuring Pete Prizzi
Monday November 30, 2009 featuring Trainwreck Jerry

Family Show
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mustard's Retreat 2:00-3:00PM Tickets $6.00 member, $7.00 nonmembers $8.00 door

It was great to run into so many of you during the summer at festivals, thanks for saying hello and for all your enthusiastic and kind words about Roaring Brook Concerts. We are always looking for concert volunteers, so if you've got the time to bake or park cars, set up chairs or write grants, give Jay Kaplan a call at 860-693-0263 or talk to one of us at a show.

Thanks,
Stan Sullivan and all the volunteers at Roaring Brook Concerts!

Hubris

"The Governor and I don't we win (isn't that amazing)" - Lisa Moody, in an email that details how Gov. Jodi Rell decided to ignore legal advice from her own council and that of OPM, and attempt to use her line item veto on a budget she refused to sign. Courant article here

The fact that this particular quote comes from an email originally withheld from an FOI request by the Courant, that it changes the dynamics from either an issue of comptenence (not understanding the law) or perhaps a more innocent misinterpretaton of the legal aspects of this to a willful "we can do anything we want, try to stop us" attitude.

I'm generally not a particularly vindictive voter, and while I generally vote left, I've been known to go center or even right on occasion for the right candidate. But stuff like this makes me actively root for the downfall of this particular regime.

John Muir

Watching the new Ken Burns series - National Parks: America's Best Idea

The first hour has an extended segment on John Muir. And as I watched the show and listened to stories of Muir's experience, and quotes of his writings, I recognized the language of enlightenment, the verbiage of the seeker. Some samples, sourced here:

We all flow from one fountain— Soul. All are expressions of one love. God does not appear, and flow out, only from narrow chinks and round bored wells here and there in favored races and places, but He flows in grand undivided currents, shoreless and boundless over creeds and forms and all kinds of civilizations and peoples and beasts, saturating all and fountainizing all.

I used to envy the father of our race, dwelling as he did in contact with the new-made fields and plants of Eden; but I do so no more, because I have discovered that I also live in "creation's dawn." The morning stars still sing together, and the world, not yet half made, becomes more beautiful every day.

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.

When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.

I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.

Might as well be Rumi - touching on Truth. I think I have found a place of exploration.....who knew?

I'll watch the rest of teh series as I can, but it has already proven itself worthy beyond measure!

Electronics Recycling - Saturday Sept 26

CRRA holds several electronics reycling collections each year. Bring your broken, unwanted or obsolete TVs, VCRs, computers, cell phones and other electronic devices to one of these collections and help keep electronics out of the waste stream. Best of all, there is no fee for this service.

When: Saturday, September 26, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Where: CRRA Trash Museum, 211 Murphy Road, Hartford

For Whom: Residents of Mid-Connecticut Project cities and towns

What: Home electronics, including: computers, monitors, cell phones, TVs, VCRs, copiers, fax machines, printers, radios, stereos. (Electronics from businesses and institutions are not acceptable.)

Sponsors: Participating municipalities and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority

More info Here

Jump Start: Jim and Ken Turn 40

Zippy cleaned out the CD rack (that I will be taking with me to the new place) and on it's shelves are a few of my CD's, filed with his. A Johnny Cash box set. Robert Johnson box set. Springsteens "Tracks".

And a handmade double disk, put together by my high school friend Jim (and his friend, Ken), celebrating four decadeds of them.

Disk One is labeled: Youthful Delusion and includes such gems as Runaway, Nancy Sinatra, Sweet, Cher, Led Zep, Lou Reed, Boston, The Knack, Blondie, and the Cars. The music of our collective youth.

Disk Two is labeled: Downward Spiral and here our paths diverge. Early punk / new wave (Sex Pistols, Smiths, Dead Kennedys, Gang of Four) give way to metal and grunge (Korn, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Tool)

Got both disks in the player right now. Just the jump start I need this morning!

Condo Update

Not a lot of news. Appraisal came in fine; I wrote a $375 check for that. I delivered a pile of recent back statement to my mortgage broker. No updates in terms or approval or closing, but also nothing bad.....

New Yorker: Pecking Order

I'm pretty sure I'll be photocopying the accompanying article for a certain suburban chicken seeking friend of mine...

Adult Science Fair

This particular corporate gig is amusing for its resemblence to that childhood trauma - the Science Fair.

Fifteen speakers got up and talked for 15 minutes about their products, industries, technologies (and how they contribute to the corporation and investor value), while a room full of judges (investor analysts) sat and listened.

Now we've moved on to show and tell, as these presenters are standing beside their displays (poster sessions, really, with a few bits of technology to see or touch) and the analysts are schmoozing.

Head to Toe Black Again

Day two for our intrepid powerpoint princess.

I'm opting for my head-to-toe black again today (rather than my more upscale duds) because (a) my job is to be invisible and (b) I'll be working the out and pushing crates and wrapping cables and stuff. No need to rip a pair of nice slacks or soil a blouse....there are some graphics ops and stuff who white glove it (when the show ends, closing the laptops and walking away, and letting the graphics house handle the out) but that's not me.....there are only 4 of us here (two guys from the graphics house, the director and me) so all hands on deck....

The rehearsal day went pretty well. The client showed up with 20 presentations (labeled A thru U) and I took it upon myself to merge them into two decks - one for the morning, one for the afternoon. No serious problems - PowerPoint sometimes does funky things when merging, but these all started from a common template / master file so the problems were minimal (a handful of rogue characters, some font size issues, and for one presentation, all the text lost it's BOLD) - so a few hours of work to carefully study the originals vs. the merged file to spot differences and consult with the client - all good. So now I mostly sit there and push the space bar.

We have a pretty nifty presentation timer at this gig (counts down to zero, flashes when one exceeds the time, signal light moves from green to yellow to red) so we spent the rehearsal jotting down the presenters times (they all get 15 minutes) - silently cheering on the speedsters who came in under 10 minutes and cursing those who pushed it to 14:30. Nobody exceeded 15 minutes - pretty typical for a corporation that prides itself on operational discipline.

It helps to be an engineering / former corporate hack kind of powerpoint operator _ I can sort of follow along with the presenters and figure out the slide changes myself - the presenters range from very comfortable with the slide clicker to completely unaware of it - so for some of the more awkward folks I anticipate the change for them.

Interestingly two women at the podium this year (last time I worked for this company, two days of presentations, 45 speakers, no women). Although amusingly when the VP of sales stood up and said "you may wonder why a sales person is presenting at a technical forum" I quipped to the crew "because we needed another woman up here and could not find any in the engineering management team". I don't really fault the company - the engineering this company does is decidely staid and old school, and all the women engineers (and there are many in much demand by companies seeking EEOC sanction and government contracts) get scooped up by companies offering more exciting work. "Operational discipline", whatever it's benefit to the bottom line, safety, and profitability, does not seem like the best catchphrase to woo recruits.

I'm eating poorly (or very well depending on your definition) here. Marriott Courtyard breakfast (eggs and such). Lunch (delayed until 3) was a selection from a grinder / sandwich shop (delivered) - I got a stir-friend veggie grinder (awesome, lots of brocolli, peppers, and carrots with provolone) but it's still a hunk of carbs. And dinners have been a baked whitefish (yum) and last night Italian (a pasta dish, with an arugala salad). Nothing horribly bad but just lots more food than I am used to and late lunches and dinners so I'm hungry....

I'd love to catch yoga up here but I have no car (next time, I drive) there is a local place that has a 6 pm vinyasa class, but its a bit of a hike and we've not been out in time - maybe next time.

Head to Toe Black

I'm out in Buffalo on a corporate gig - pushing the space bar for a raft of PowerPoint presentations. It's kind of a long trip (for this sort of thing) - traveled out Monday afternoon, we set up and rehearse today (Tuesday), the meeting is Wedneday, and travel back Thursday (unless I can sneak out Wed night). These things can be either extremely stressful or extremely boring (sometimes both) - I suspect I'll have some work to do this morning as my client called last night; the end client has "6 or 7 presentations and they are having problems merging them together".

Powerpoint tends to copy formats, backgrounds, and styles together - so the presentation needs to be carefully designed to avoid that (typical users have no clue what that means) so I'll either be doing some last minute recreating today or else working out the technical aspects of swapping presentations seamlessly on the fly. Either way, it's why they pay to have someone like me here.

Been a long time since I've done this sort of gig - my last was a flyout to San Diego in March '08 and that was a similarly minimal gig (me and a producer, the rest of the crew locals or gear house). Between teaching yoga, engineering, the economic slowdown (a lot of these clients are in the embattled financial sector), and corporate move to web based meetings - well, not so much demand for this kind of work. I can not remember the last "big meeting" of the sort I used to do 4x or more a year - a big powerpoint presentation to put together (with custom template, backgrounds, graphics and multiple presentations) and a trip to a far city with a full crew - sound, lights, cameras.

Things change. But I'm here; once more into the fray. Hope I still remember how PowerPoint works (or they do not have some crazy 2009 version of it I need to learn on the fly).

Jack Hardy in Watertown

Traveled out to Watertown CT last weekend to see Jack Hardy - my FRFF friend Barbara hosts occasional folk acts in her backyard (barn) as well as in her living room.



It's always wonderful to see talented musician's in intimate settings (sans microphones and sound systems), and Jack was especially wonderful - he has such a deep and long career, and is such a devotee of the songwriting process, that he can just create a set on the fly from his songbook that is diverse, entertaining, and top quality. I really enjoyed the evening.

Jack is one of those artists who I've been brushing up against for years - on compilations (most notably the Fast Folk samplers which I used to get), at concerts, at festivals. I saw him featured at Grassy Hill a few years back, and most recently, he's sat and chatted in the Falcon Ridge merch trailer as I checked in his merchandise. So it was nice to see him featured in a full set and nice to pick up his new CD (Rye Grass) - I'm usually swamped with music at FRFF (and have a limited music buying budget) and try to pick up the CDs of new (to me) artists, and often old friends slip past.

I'm in the process of sorting out stuff as I prepare to move, and just this weekend I packed away all my CDs (I have many; even though I do download music these days I'm still a collector of physical music) - and so I picked up Jack's CD with a little concern (oh no, more "stuff"). But for artists, buying a CD is an act of devotion, a vote of support for what is undoubtedly a difficult (from a financial perspective) life. Maybe we could toss an extra $10 into the pot when it comes to paying for a concert, but that maybe tips the balance into charity and besides, artists want their music shared, listened to, appreciated. So, one more CD for the "stuff" pile.

Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps

Went to see the performance art of Scott Turner Schofield this evening at Real Art Ways.

Pretty freaking awesome - from the opening (I won't spoil it, but I called it) to the concept of having 127 different stories to tell, chosen at random by the audience, so the piece is different every night. I'd go back again tomorrow (were I not heading down to see Jack Hardy at a house concert) just to see what other stories he has up his sleeve.



Wonderfully conceived - from the set piece of a childhood fort (did we all do that?) to the acrobatics on the draped fabric (I most certainly did not do that, but if I ever have a high ceilinged yoga studio I am damn sure gonna rig it up for that sort of aerial exploration). Scott (or is it Turner?) passed out his props before the show (and called them back from the audience as needed) adding another level of participation and intimacy.

Quibbles - the audio tracks (ripped from voice mail or an answering machine, seemingly) were often pretty fuzzy and hard to hear, similarly, the video backdrop was a little soft (focus as well as prominance).

But all in all, a definite "not to miss" performance. Tickets will go fast for tomorow night - so if you are planning to go, call and make arrangements ASAP!

Those Are People Who Died.....

RIP Jim Carroll...

Le Morte du Blog

Colin McEnroe is doing a show on CT Bloggers tomorrow (Monday). The preview bumper talk about local bloggers perhaps stepping back a bit - losing a step so to speak, and challenges us to step it up. In his words:

On Monday's show -- from 1 to 2 pm -- I want to look at the State of the Blog. Specifically, I want to look at where blogging and other online communication/journalism is -- especially here in CT -- roughly five years down the road from the first real ascendance of blogs. Old media seems shakier than ever. Do you bloggers feel ready to step up and fill the vacuum? Are there better models on the proving grounds of the internet right now?

And news consumers -- do you use online journalism and other forms of 'net info?
Our studio line. 860 275 7266.

Do call in! I'm trying not to book guests and to have spontaneous contact with callers.

Simon Owens from Bloggasm and Kevin from We The People are among the people I THINK will call.

I have some theories regarding the slowdown in the local blogosphere.

1) Twitter. And Facebook. Even though I'm only a sporadic tweeter, and I've linked my blog to both Twitter and Facebook, it's a dilution of online energy and time. I can post a quick Facebook update to a captive audience (my 157 Facebook friends) as opposed to a blog post that may or may not get looked at. So I see a certain stratification of updates - Twitter gets the short things, Facebook gets links and videos and stuff, and my blog gets longer posts, reviews, etc.

Evidence of this - the quote from Colin above came via Facebook - not via his blog.

2) Lack of a Big Enemy. Bush was a fine target for bloggishness. Lieberman was as well, especially in the Lamont era. Not sure that Eddie Perez' travails or Jodi Rell's languor are juicy enough. And stuff like Global Warming and Wall Street are a bit too diffuse and overwhelming to feel empowered to do something about it via blog.

3) The Economy. Blogging is for the most part an unpaid activity and a labor of love, and is a luxury for many. When times are tough and people are hustling to keep the money coming in or the rent paid (or perhaps are a little less keen to be caught messing around online at their day job) it's more difficult to spend the time blogging or justify the time / energy.

I'm sure there are other ideas out there. I'll tune in (and I think I committed to calling in) and you should too....

My September 11 Story

Not sure I've ever written this one down; I was not blogging at the time and my story is not all that interesting. But might as well spend a few minutes in between the purging, sorting, and tossing.

The week of Sept 11, 2001, I was headed out to Chicago for the annual power quality conference. Not sure if I flew that morning (if I did, it was a dawn Southwest hop into Midway) or the night before. But 8:00 am chicago time found me parked outside an office supply store waiting for them to open so I could get a cell phone charger. I was listening to public radio when I first got word; quickly buzzed over to AM. Then I called my friend Robert (balloon and private pilot) to tell him to turn on CNN because "some moron flew his cessna into the world trade center" - which is how it seemed to be reported, initially.

Robert, taking a look at the news, told me "that's a lot bigger than a cessna" and while we were on the phone, the 2nd plane hit the other tower. He got off the phone to call his brother in the city, and I headed to the conference, listening to the radio.

Needless to say there was not much of a conference. We hung out that morning kind of making a show of it but were drawn to the few televisions in the hall - by mid morning I packed it up and went to the hotel to keep vigil. For the rest of the week I holed up in the hotel, got online, and hung out a friendly gay bar near the conference center - sitting at the bar, siping a drink, watching the news, chatting with the other few folks just looking to be with others. I remember a flame war erupting in one group I was moderating (over something silly; people were on edge).

I recall being kind of broke at the time so as the reality of things hit and air travel was shut down, I started to fret about paying for the hotel for an extended period. About the 4th day, I decided to drive back - not even bothering to call my rental car company (better to ask forgiveness, than seek permission) and I made the long drive back from Chicago to Connecticut. Think I did an overnight in a small hotel in north central PA; taking a northerly route to avoid NYC.

I never did get billed for the rental car - I think the folks in Chicago handed me the wrong paperwork so I had a car and someone else's contract, and when I got to the outlet at the CT airport, there were scores of people lined up to check in cars, so I just left the keys and contract and figured they'd sort it out. I suspect they just gave up on a lot of stuff that week....

Cassette Tapes - Fini

I've gone from about 200 cassettes to 100. I initially started to just toss 'em all, but thought better of it. There is some local and difficult to recreate history there - Berlin Airlift? The Stompers? Go Van Gogh? early Dar Williams (pre Honesty Room)? early David Johanssen? the New York Dolls? And I am envisioning a different life once I move into my own place - with hopefully space and time for more conscious music listening. So I decided to hang on to some stuff.

I ended up tossing anything (purchased or dubbed) that I had access to in another format (CD or digital). Tapes that folks have given me over the years that I never really listened to (mostly folk artists). Exceptions were made for Springsteen and The Clash. And I probably chucked a few things that I did not have another copy of but was not really interested in.

I ended up going over to the CD rack quite a few times. Do I really have Marc Cohn? Freedy Johnston? Specific Indigo Girls or Suzanne Vega CDs? Most often, yes, I did have them.

I was struck by some unusual trends. I'd consider myself a big Warren Zevon fan - yet I only have two CDs - Greatest Hits and his penultimate Sentimental Journey. His debut and Excitable Boy - cassette only. Similarly, a lot of Neil Young on cassette only (although a lot of CDs as well) - because back in the day I'd find and buy his stuff in the cut-out bin. The Clash (as I mentioned) - all their stuff through Sandanista on cassette. I do not own any Talking Heads except on cassette. I think I own one John Hiatt CD (greatest hits) yet probably 3 or 4 dubbed cassettes (my ex, I recall, was a big fan). I own no Joni Mitchell, yet 4 of her early works made it into my dubbed cassette collection.

And a lot of the dubbed stuff that I copied from vinyl (long since sold) - I remember owning the albums. So a little bit of a trip down memory lane. And I still have a dozen or so cassettes of my usical history (a tape of a sophomore year in college jam session, an entire evening of music (180 minutes) at the Westboro KofC hall, a tape of studio recorded songs, and perhaps a 6-8 tapes of me solo - open mics recorded from the board or just hacking around with a small cassette recorder. need to go through those more carefully.

A more or less successful cleansing. Although later tonight I was in the basement working on another project in preparation for the move and found a showbox full of more cassettes. Doh! I went through those as well....

Cassette Tapes

I have close to 200 cassette tapes carefully stacked in those wooden wall racks I picked up at Strawberries (back when there was a Strawberries, and one's music choice was Vinyl or Cassette). The cassettes come in three flavors:

1) Cassettes I purchased (maybe 30%)
2) Cassettes I made (usually dubbed from vinyl, 2 albums to a tape, from either albums I used to own and got rid of or albums borrowed from friends). Yes MPAA, shoot me now. (maybe 65%)
3) Cassettes of myself or bands I have been in (maybe 5%)

Back in the day when I had a cassette player in my car (not all that long ago, my 96 Saturn had one until maybe the last year or two of its life, and I kept the car on the road until 07), I did listen to cassettes. But it should be said that I these racks were sealed with duct tape for 5-6 years; I think I pulled out one cassette to listen to it a few months back. And yes, I still have the means to play tapes - a nice Philips dual cassette deck in my stereo rack and a couple of small boom boxes with cassette players.

Because I am in a purging, detooxing, cleaning my life out kind of place in preparation for a move to a place with a bit less storage, I'm considering a wholesale tossing of cassette tapes. My options:

1) Toss 'em all
2) Sort through them and toss some dubbed cassettes (based on artists) but keep some, keep the purchased cassettes, and keep the ones of my music
3) Toss all the dubbed cassettes, keep the rest
4) Toss all the dubbed cassettes and purchased cassettes, keep the ones of my music
5) Toss 'em all.

Your thoughts?

For background, I'm a bit of a technological dinosaur - I still buy CD's, and although I've owned a few MP3 players and more recently an iPod touch (which has been MIA for a while now), and download music occasionally, I've never made MP3 my main music source. So if anyone were going to hang on to obsolete media, it's me.

Rock Band: The Beatles

Much ado about the release of The Beatles Rock Band. I think I've played once (at my sister's house) and got PWNED by my nephews and nieces. And while it's kind of cool to be jamming to familiar tunes rather than shooting at realistic human or stealing cars via video game, I did not catch the bug.

I guess I am one of those cranky musicians who hate rock band - because I've had some rock and roll salad days - a senior talent show where I got to play that slide lead to "Freebird" as people screamed in the audience. A nighttime graduation party where I led the band through Jonathon Richman's "Roadrunner" and Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" and there was much applause. Long hours spent in the studio laying down tracks on a 4-track reel to reel as we duplicated the Beatle's "Rain" (including the backwards guitar part and bakcwards vocals at the end). Innumerable nights on an acoustic open mic stage where people actually seemed to be listening.

So picking up a plastic guitar and pushing buttons in response to colored cues is kind of - meh. Maybe if they had a "real guitar" option where I could plug in a strat knock-off and play real notes...and maybe the full tracks of Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll Animal"

It's all a moot point. According to one fan, Rock Band and Guitar Hero are Doomed

If I Were a Good Blogger...

I would have had my camera at the ready as Mayor Eddie Perez came up behind Colin McEnroe for a handshake and a quick hello at last nights CARC (CT Aids Resource Coalition) Summer Camp event, at Sully's. Would have been good blog fodder....

Instead, I did capture a photo of Colin on stage with OPM, doing the Beastie Boys'
"You Gotta Fight"

Nice night, nice event. A little under-attended (come on folks, it's a great cause).

On the plus side, I did walk away with two lovely pottery pieces (little urns or pots with covers) by David Wilson and 8 tickets to the Thomaston Opera House (anyone wanna go see Mame?) via the various raffles....

Health Insurance

Inspired by my friend Helen's recent blog post Here's how it is for me.

I've been self employed since 1995. Before that I had nice corporate health insurance (that I rarely if ever used). At that time, I accepted a voluntary separation package (ironically, I was working for a medical imaging company, and the downsizing was driven by the health care industry freeze-up at the time of the Clinton health care initiatives). I took advantage of Cobra for 18 months (I guess) and then I was out on my own.

In the past 14 years I have had a variety of health insurance plans ranging from:

* Cobra corporate insurance
* Crappy self employment insurance through NASE
* No health insurance
* Full health insurance through Anthem BC/BS
* A high deductible policy with a Health Savings Account (HSA)

This last is my present insurance. I switched over a year or so ago as the regular self employed health insurance premiums rose past $500 / month - I pay less per month, I sock away $3K per year tax-free towards some future health crisis, I get no deductible preventative care, and preferred pricing on drugs and stuff. Win Win Win.

It helps that I have been in good health these past 15 years - I don't really use health insurance. I have an annual check-up with my endo / PCP, an annual gyno appointment. Some fairly low cost maintenance meds. An annual set of blood work. Knock wood - so far nothing chronic, nothing catastrophic. And though I carry around estra weight, I also hit the yoga mat for a vigorous practice 4-5 times a week, hike walk, or bike regularly, and remain more or less physically active.

I will say that my health insurance leanings do run a little right of center, in a couple of ways.

A) Competition. When I had corporate or full health insurance, I'd go down to my local CVS to fill my prescriptions. I'd chaff a bit, because there was often a line of folks at the pharmacy of my big city CVS - most (judging by overheard copays) on some form of medicaid / medicare / state insurance. I, and they, never thought about about the price of our prescriptions - we were happy to lay out the copay. But when I got my HSA, and started to pay for my own prescriptions, I started to price shop. Came to find out that the CVS price was incredibly high compared to where I go now (Target); that because I was not incented to price shop, my insurance company was paying a higher price. In one case, my copay at CVS was higher than the full price at Target! And the insurance company was paying $30-$40 bucks a month on top of that!

So I'm all in favor of driving a little consumer awareness and incented price shopping into health care; of making it a little more financially painful for folks with health insurance to opt for convenient, yet expensive, consumer choices.

In another case, back in the day when I had health corporate insurance, I twisted my ankle. Pretty sure it was not broken, but I went to the doctor who confirmed that. But he wrote out a form for an MRI. "Why are you doing that?" I asked. "Just to be on the safe side...." he said. I interpreted this to be "cover my butt so you won't sue me" medicine. "And what happens if there is something there?" I continued. "We wait a few days for the swelling to go down, then come back and we'll decide how to treat it"

"And if I don't get the MRI?" Well, in a few days if the ankle is not feeling better, you'll want to come back, we can do an MRI then. So basically, the MRI was not going to change the treatment at all, but it made the doctor (or more likely, his malpractice insurance company) feel better. I signed a form saying "no thanks, and Imn not goign to sue you", and the ankle healed fine. Hundreds of dollars of health care expense avoided. So I am also a big fan of tort reform in the health care field. There is clear malpractice and then there is the art of medicine (where sometimes doctors do all the right or prudent things and the patient does not recover optimally) - and I'm sick of this "if something bad happens, I get a big check" society (this extends to accidents and injury as well). When I see those "get the money you deserve" ads on TV I begin to think Shakespeare was right about lawyers..... Just because we own a big freaking MRI machine does not mean we need to use it for every scrape and bump.

And finally, I'm all for incenting healthy lifestyles - be it around weight, exercise, preventative care, sin taxes on junk food, etc. You want your double quarter pounder with cheese or your blooming onion? It'll cost you an extra buck or two, with the proceeds going into the health care kitty.

I'm actually kind of in favor of a two tier system. I have no problem with a no frills, public health option that is heavy on preventive / basic care, and perhaps not so generous when it comes to extraordinary treatments (thinking things like transplants and aggressive cancer treatment with little hope of recovery). You want that stuff, and are willing to pay for the white glove insurance (or have the bucks to pay out of pocket), by all means.

And I *do* like the idea of death panels - because nobody wants to accept or embrace what is, for all of us, pretty much a sure fact. And I think someone with a little distance (and no financial incentive in terms of payment for services or procedures) ought to be able to suggest "hey, we think it's time". If you've never put a dog or cat to sleep, you are not qualified to make end of life decisions....IMHO. And if there is no factoring in of cost for these extraordinary procedures to extend life few more hours or days, with little regard for the quality of life, well - no wonder we are spending so much.

I don't say much about stuff like this on the blog - because I'm kind of a cold hearted realist in some ways who is a less afraid of death than most (go to an enlightenment intensive - join me!). So I accept the inevitability of my own death and the death of others. I embrace the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. I look at a heart transplant and think "hm....how many 100's or 1000's of lives can we save if we spend that money on pre-natal care". And that sort of thinking is dangerous and heresy.

But now you know.....

Up to the Cape

Spent Friday - Sunday up in Mashpee, MA, at my sister's newish (purchased this year) beach house. First off, beach house does not do this place justice. To hear her talk about it when they bought it, I imagined this small 4 room, nonwinterized shack on a cramped street near the shore. In fact it's a lovely home, with plenty of room for her family (three kids, two adults) and guests (my mother and I stayed over). Smallish kitchen but a nice dining area, big living room with fireplace and cathedral ceiling. Loft sitting area with a fold out cot, a master bedroom for the parents, a side bedroom with a divider for kids / guests (and three beds), and a huge basement with more sleeping room.

Two decks outside (perfect for yoga, although there is also Yoga on the Beach in season), an outdoor shower (adding to two full baths inside), and a fully wooded lot (in fact, my brother is law is working to put in a lawn; the property had been mulched just because it's so shaded). They are talking about adding a pool during the off season. Plenty of privacy. It's, let's be honest, gorgeous!

A bit of a hike to the beach - although not too far with a wagon (walking) or bike. And though the ocean proper (with waves and stuff) is blocked by a little piece of land called Martha's Vineyard (so it's more like Long Island Sound beaches) it's still beautiful. We all went swimming on Saturday (gorgeous day, hot and sunny with end of season warm water) and I think it's the first time we've been at the beach together in 30 years.

In between, just hung around, relaxing. My nephew Sean and I took a bike ride to the candy store (his choice of destinations) where I picked up some candy necklaces (which look like Mala beads, there is an inside joke there) - then my niece Sara stole them (thinking they were Sean's, apparently fraternal theft is permissible) which was pretty funny. We played some games - Patriot's Uno (in which all the cards bear Tom Brady's likeness, and there is a new card called the "Passer" (he's a quarterback get it) wherein everyone passes their hand to the right. Definitely makes the game more chaotic.

We also played a homemade game I introduced called Categories which was fun (even if I was pretty unbeatable) - I remember playing this game 40 years ago with my Long Island relations. There was frisbee, tossing the football, croquet. A shopping trip to the little touristy shops nearby and a seafood lunch (some shared lobster roll, I opted for clam strips)

We had a big lobster dinner (for my brother Tom's birthday, his choice) although my brother and I opted for a rare tuna steak. Corn on the cob, cole slaw, tomotoes and cukes. Cheesecake factory dessert. Yummy.

It's been a 25 year or so since I've done a beach vacation. It was a fun couple of days. And Kathy and Tom have offered the place as an off season weekend getaway, which I just might take them up on...it's lovely there.

Yoga on the Beach

My holiday weekend Cape Cod trip was sweetened by Saturday and Sunday morning on the mat with Nancy and Don from Yoga on the Beach. They hold a morning practice at the New Seabury Beach Club (next to the Popponessett Inn), near my sister's summer home.

Saturday, Nancy led a more conventional yoga practice - perhaps a bit more Yin, centering on the hips. Not exactly hot / power as I'm used to it but quite lovely, and although I feared some lower back stuff (lot of forward folds) my concerns were unfounded. Sunday, Don led a Yoga Rhythm practice - not quite as bouncy as Kriplau Danskinetics but quite fun and flowy. Between the two practices - I had a lovely yoga weekend with my sister.

Labor Day Updates

The weekend plans, for those who care.

Today, I teach two classes: my 10:45 AM Power class (thankfully continuing into the fall, so do come!) and my popular 12:15 PM Gentle class. We're gonna move for the power class; not sure about the Gentle yet (I often play that one by ear depending upon who is in the class and what people are bringing into the studio in terms of energy, injury, and places they want to work).

Right after, I am ostensibly heading east towards Mashpee, MA, where my sister and hubby own a summer home; I have not yet been to visit but apparently it can sleep 14 (and room for a pony). Big birthday weekend - I blew off my nephew and niece this summer (they are getting cash) and my brother celebrates his this weekend. My sister assures me there is morning yoga on the beach, so I'm bringing my yoga duds and mat....(do you use a mat for beach yoga?)

In the meantime - work, a largish project to crank out before I leave, and plenty of smallish tasks as well. Although we've officially settled on a price for the condo I have yet to sign a contract or hand over additional deposit money; and I'm thinking that might have to happen between now and when I leave.

Last night I spent a few hours with little (4 pounds 9 oz, 18 days old) Andrew snuggled in my arms and on my belly as I hung out with his parents. It's the little things in life that matter; this time very literally. I drove home with baby smell on my hands and trust me; it's not something you want to let go off too quickly. What a sweetie.

With any luck I'll be heading home Sunday night (avoiding the Monday afternoon rush off the Cape) and hanging out on Monday - West Hartford Yoga has two Labor Day classes - Power I with Nykki @ 9:00 AM and Gentle with Shankara @ 9:15 AM.

Have a great holiday weekend, all!

Blogging The Colin McEnroe Show

Pre-show
Its "Animal Week" on Fresh Air (good). But Terry is talking to a vet about pet euthenasia and I'm crying.....

Bumper
First day back to school bit. Cute. Teacher Middleton "likes to talk about food". Heh.

Opening Bit
The Irish innkeeper keeps veering into an Indian dialect....a lot more Chion Wolf on air than I imagined. Cool.

Into the Real Show
Bouncy and upbeat. Better be, after than pet euthenasia stuff.

Opening Monologue
Nice, same old Colin. But no traffic and news afterwards.

Guest: Gayle Collins
Nice and conversational, like riding a bike. Colin's back.
Trivia #1 - Colin and I were both (independently) at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philly. I was there as audio assist for a dot com that was streaming the convention live, and had 360 degree webcams located on the floor. Mostly, I turned the knobs when the real audio engineer went to the bathroom. And gritted my teeth as various Republican operatives stopped by to be interviewed.

Wait - A Commercial?
What's up with that?

More Gayle Collins
I think Mohegan Sun is gonna be the go to "joke" of the show. Obama vacation. Vick apology. Plaxico Burris. Guns at presidential rallies. Alec Baldwin for Senate. Woodstock. Texting at Woodstock and Jumbotrons at concerts. Computer updates. This thing is pleasantly rambling and entertaining. Colin and Gayle at Real Art Ways coming up soon!

Back and Forth
Betty vs. Veronica. Old news to the bloggies, but fun to hear him vamp on this. Wondering why Reggie is not mentioned in this at all - it was sort of a four way tug of war - Betty and Veronica were also deciding between Archie and Reggie. If Archie and Veronica hook up, does this leave Betty and Reggie together?

The Last Word
Are you In or Out? I'm In (in terms of the show anyway). In other ways, I'm out.

Fini
Too soon! Too soon! But more tomorrow!

Bristol Adult Ed - Power Yoga

Tuesdays, from 5:30 - 6:30. A six week series starting Sept 15th, at Mountain View School in Bristol.

More information here, register here.

See you there!

House Financials

An addendum to my house huntng update - the financial end of things. My life has been on a 20 year financial slide. Starting with a foolhardy house purchase in 1989 (near the peak of another housing bubble, this has been my second) - the combination of an adjustable mortage, a separation / divorce, and falling real estate prices that made it impossible to sell or refinance slowly dragged me under, financially. When I finally did sell the place (2001 or thereabouts) I walked out with enough money to pay off the mortgage. 12 years and all that money paid out and I ended up losing about 30K on the place. Nice.

Since then I have been living with Zippy, and winding my way through some major life changes. But the past few years I have seen a bottoming out. I've got health insurance and a relatively healthy HSA. I've been socking away the max IRA contribution each year. I've been more or less on an upward slope in terms of financial health.

So this is a great time to get back into the real estate game - prices are low, mortgage rates as well, and there is an $8K tax credit for first time buyers (I qualify it's been well over 3 years). I can tap a bit of my IRA for the downpayment. And the mortgage payment + taxes will be quite a bit less than what I pay for my office rent and my rent to Zippy.

There are some tax ramifications - I'm pushing my office rent (fully deductible on schedule C) back onto my home (home office deduction, quite a bit less) but picking up the deduction for real estate taxes and mortgage costs. All in all I think it will be a win.

And though I am looking at a condo as simply a better alternative financially to paying rent, it would be nice if real estate does rebound a bit over the next few years.....

House Hunting Update Deux

I think I'm getting close on the house hunting.

I'm strongly leaning Condo - most of the single family houses in my price range need work - either interior, exterior, or both. Major stuff too - not just paint and rugs. And most are already at the edge of my price range - so not a lot of extra to invest in renovations and repairs.

On top of that, I'm closing in on 50, and not sure that I'm up for a handyman special. Between my engineering work, my yoga teaching, my yoga practice, and sundry friends and hobbies, I'm barely around much as it is. Even working out of the house (my plan, post relocation) I'm not sure I'm up for the normal upkeep (lawn, garden, etc.) forget a lot of home improvement projects.

I looked at a small cape in my neighborhood today - it was, by far, the best single family home I've looked at. But issues included:

* Roof shingles loose / missing
* Some exterior paint needed
* No kitchen appliances
* An ancient oil furmance (hot air) that seems to have been last serviced since 1987
* About 1/2 the window panes were cracked or broken
* Shower tiles missing / need replament
* Minimal and dated kitchen cabinets

Lot of work, no matter how you add it up. So I'm looking at a condo.

Of the condos I've seen, some really modern and gorgeous (inside) properties were just in fuky neghborhoods - the community was an enclave inside a neighborhood I'd worry about walking through. Too bad - great kitchens, all updated, stainless appliances. Others I've seen were pretty good - but either high taxes or high condo fees.

So I've found a place - an end unit of a fourplex (four units, one building) in New Britain. It's an end unit, and seems pretty quiet (I've been over there 1/2 dozen times in recent weeks - different days and times, to kind of get a feel for the neighborhood and complex).

It's a mixed bag that adds up to be positive. Lots of sq ft. A finished basement big enough for a pool table (would love to use this for my office, instead of the 2nd bedroom.) Big master bedroom, smallish 2nd bedroom that will do fine for (I hope) a yoga mat. Adequate closets (not overwhelming, but two big closets upstairs, a coat closet downstairs, and more storage in the basement. Big kitchen that is simply outfitted (fridge and stove, plenty of modern cabinets) with sliders to a very useable desk (room for a grill and a table, both which seem to be staying). Low condo fees. Relatively low taxes (for New Britain anyway)

On the down side: electric heat ($$$, but individually zoned, and I'm not really a big heat user). No dishwasher (not a biggie), no washer / dryer (hookups in the basement, I'm sure I'll buy these). Never enough storage, but it's way past time I did a massive purge both of my personal stuff and office stuff.

And if I go with this - well, I'm leaving Hartford. Not too far away, but being this close to Real Art Ways, Cinestudio, Theaterworks, etc., to friendly local restaurants (Tapas, Corner Pug, East West, Pho Boston, Spot Eatery, Mo's Midtown, Yanni's, Angellino's, etc.). I'll still be around (since I continue to live at the yoga studio) but it will be less like "my turf". From a blogging perspective - I feel like I'm losing something.

A bit of a drive to yoga, a bit of a drive from my friends.

Hopefully making an offer this weekend. We'll see.....

Yay! Colin is Back on the Radio!

Courant story here, a more durable link at The Laurel here

I've sort of known about this for a while (me and Malcolm are *tight*, and I've been reading the tea leaves for months) but it's nice to see it all announced.

One good sidebar, from the Courant article:

Chion Wolf will be an announcer and presence on the show.

I've been a fan of Chion's photography for a while now (blog Oct 07 and Jan 08) and it's been nice to hear her running the board and behind the WNPR mic on weekends. So I'm excited to see what she brings to Colin's show. At the very least, we'll have great photos of Colin's guests and occasional in-studio antics.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

This one has been popping up on Netflix Watch Instantly for a while, and I've been kind of avoiding it, thinking it's akin to one of those mindless Will Ferrell pics like Talladega Nights.

But Dan Bern contributed 14 songs to the film, and as a result I better watch it!

Random Music Posting

Picked up a bunch of CDs in the past month or two. I've got a sample of these in the CD shuffle right now - listening as I get my Sunday morning going. Overdue blogging about 'em.

Kenny White. He opened for (and accompanied) Cheryl Wheeler back in May at University of Hartford. A wonderful surprise. I was taken with a few of his songs, and so picked up two CDs - Symphony in 16 Bars, and Uninvited Guest. I'm a sucker for the guy at the piano....and In My Recurring Dream struck my fancy in a grand opus / stream of consciousness sort of way like Dan Bern's Jerusalem or Springsteen's Jungleland.

Karen Savoca. I think she played the Falcon Ridge showcase a decade ago. I picked up her (then cassette) On the River Road back then (must have been mid 90's) and promptly lost track of her (and once I migrated to CD in my car, pretty much put my cassettes away although I do maintain cassette capability at home). She was back at Falcon Ridge this year and I was so delighted that I picked up her new disk In the Dirt. Karen was a delight in person (as she checked in and out her merch) and somehow I ended up with a copy of 2002's All My Excuses as well.

Girlyman was back at Falcon Ridge this year, and like many at the fest, I picked up their new one Everything's Easy (was a big seller), supplementing Little Star and Joyful Sign in my library. Also a sucker for creative songwriting and delicious harmonies. Also, I think they have the queer.

I make a point of picking up some music from the FRFF showcase performers that tickle my fancy - and this year's haul included Have You Changed The Brilliant Inventions - the GA based duo was a little *too* unicorn obsessed on check-in but their harmonies are sharp and bright, their songwriting strong, and I expect they might be back next year based on CD sales and buzz.

John Elliott also impressed from the stage, and his sales and festival chatter matched his performance. I picked up his American in Love CD, although his showcase featured songs from the download only Too Many Ghosts.

Oklahoma based K.C. Clifford was just a hoot, when she came to check in merch she was so friendly, funny, and happy, and full of show tunes - she was the pre-showcase favorite based on her aura alone. Liked her music too. I picked up Pockets Full of Hope at the fest. Initially a little bummed (not typically a fan of live CDs for new artists) but as I listened en route home, I realized her live CD was full of her between song banter and stories (along with a generous 13 songs)- which made me smile and laugh. So - good choice!

And finally, showcase opener Colleen Kattau & Some Guys won me over with her celtic (to my ears anyway) inspired music and lilting voice, her newest Inhabited Woman has fallen into regular rotation. She hung out in the trailer afterwards and chatted. A down to earth and delightful woman, a dedicated activist and reformer - she gave me a couple of disks by the late (and talented) Jolie Christine Rickman (whose songs Colleen continues to keep alive)

Rounding out the Falcon Ridge haul - Mecca Bodega, whose 2005 percussion work Skin is firmly embedded in my yoga music portfoilo. And Ellis Paul - one of those artists that seem to have fallen through my listening crack (although my musician friend Victoria Bouffard is fan enough for two people) - his latest The Day After Everything Changed is as good an intro as any to his music.

Wish I could say I have listened and digested all this good music - but so far my life has been a bit too crazed. So I chew on it all one bite at a time....

House Hunting Update

Just as I'd pretty much gotten used to the idea of a condo (and started actually imagining myself in a particular place) a ton of single family homes have either come on the market, or places I've looked at / drive by have dropped their asking prices 10K - 15K.

Argh! Back to square one maybe.....

Guac Dropper

Coined by Julie, following a splotch of guacamole that hit the celery sticks at the 2nd annual Bloggie Picnic (thanks Amy!). We've decided this needs to be an obscenity alternative.

* What the Guac?
* Guac Dropper
* Guac You

Spread the word......

Departures

Nothing like waiting until the last minute; Departures was held over twice at Real Art Ways and I snuck in this evening for the very last performance. I was expecting to be delighted and charmed by this movie - but I guess I had no idea how moving, how beautiful, how delicately resonant this movie would be to my own life arc.

I'm not a film critic, but I'll touch on a few points that really moved me. Visit the film's website for a synopsis before going further, if you'd like.

* Daigo's quiet acceptance of his limitations as a musician was most poignant, and on some level, speaks to any of us who begin to confront our limitations, our aging, our mortality. At a certain point, the arc of one's life begins turning downward, and perhaps this is when living truly starts. The film did a nice job of communicating this.

* There is a fairly major (and heretofore not mentioned) trans character (the film hinges on this subplot) - and the portrayal is sensitive, sad and beautiful.

* So many of the characters relate to Daigo (and Mike) in parental ways. It's quite a wonderful study of elders, mentoring, and parenting.

* The individual deaths and bereavement scenes were so delicately portrayed and wonderfully diverse.

* The loving way that Daigo and his boss handle the dead bodies - resonates with my own work in the yoga studio - so precious to lay hands on the human form.

* The similarity of food (in this case, a freshly killed chicken) to the dead bodies (my surgeon friend is a vegetarian; no doubt she sees this similarity as she cuts into the human body). Later, as Daigo's boss lustily ("I hate myself for this", he says) consumes friend puffer roe, and later fried chicken - there is a certain lust for life that was funny and refreshing.

As Colin McEnroe blogged, I ended up in tears through most of the film. It was so beautiful, so sad, so true. I know it's too late to see it at RAW, but if you do get the chance in the theater, do go see it. Or once it hits DVD - definitely a worthwhile rental.

One Problem with the Hartford Courant

Go read Colin McEnroe's weekly column All The Wine That's Fit To Make Money Off. It's smart and funny and more than a little wise.

Then look at the little footer at the bottom of his piece:

On the Web
For daily commentary, read Colin McEnroe's blog at courant.com/colin.

I've reproduced the hyperlinks from the Courant site. "Colin McEnroe" goes to a consolidation / search, of all references to Colin. Mostly a list of his columns, with an occasional article thrown in.

One might think that the phrase Colin McEnroe's blog might be a good place to hyperlink to, I dunno, Colin McEnroe's blog. Adding insult to injury, instead of simply hyperlinking over, they add (no doubt, for the benefit of those reading in print, courant.com/colin, which is also, amusingly, not hyperlinked.

Owie....

A long practice with an infrequent teacher last night, subbing for Barb. I typically like her practices (energy, style) and last night was no exception - strong, not too hot (lots of sweat, but the windows were open and heat was off)

However, she did a lot of crescent lunges (back heel lifted, not Warrior foort positions) and then when we went into a longish pigeon series she had us curl toes under. A few other times as well, come to think of it. Not particularly stressful, just with all that toes curling under it was a lot more calf stretching than I am used to, exacerbated by a lower leg assault yesterday as I blocked my pal Aaron from rolling into the wall (in hindsite, should have let him take the hit, my inner yoga teacher kicked in and I positioned myself between him and the wall in question, and he plowed into me when he rolled).

Way too much stretching for my tight calves - my left calf specifically feels a bit shredded this morning. I even backed off a bit as we dove into the final stretches on that side - but too little / too late.

Count me among the walking wounded.....as I head into teaching two classes today.

House Hunting

So, I am house hunting. This is driven by a bunch of things.

On a personal level, Zippy and I have been discussing some sort of housing move for a while. I'm a bit of a clutter hound, which drives Zippy (a rather neat and organized lad) mad. So he'd love to get me (and my clutter) out of the house. I'm never around anyway - between my office and the yoga stduio, I spend no more than an hour or two at home each day. We're no longer coupled and have not been for years - yet neither of us is dating - the simple act of cohabitating I think provides a minimum level of companionship (and awkwardness) to inhibit connecting with another. And at 48 I'm not ready to completely turn off my desire for an intimate relationship.

Back in January I was looking at apartments; and Zippy (who is always frustrated by the neighborhood here, specifically noisy neighbors and parking issues, neither of which, truthfully, is all that bad IMHO) fantasizes about finding a duplex where we can each have a side (so we can remain close but not too close). But with the recent drop in housing prices, the drop in mortgage rates, and the incentives to buy ($8K tax credit for first time buyers, which I qualify for, I last owned property in 2001 or something like that) - its seems like the right time to purchase. So right now, I am looking at and for someplace on my own.

I'm not really flush, but I do have $10K I can pull out of my IRA for a down payment / closing costs. My credit is not great but I've been slowly raising my score in the past 3-4 years. And I'm presently paying Zippy rent plus rent at my office which adds up to 100's more than the expected monthly mortgage. (I would plan to close my office and work out of the house, which I did for years prior to moving in with Zippy)

I was initially looking at small ranches and capes; keeping an eye on distressed properties and foreclosures. But after looking at a bunch of these which needed much work and had a lot of serious issues (things like roofs, buried oil tanks, structural stuff, etc.), decided that, at this stage in my life (48 years old, with an overly busy work and social life and my peak "sweat equity" years in the rear view window) I needed to be more reasonable; that a condo might make more sense.

I've been looking at stuff over in New Britain - convenient enough (to the yoga studio, to my balloon chasing, to my Bristol teaching gig). And though NB taxes are high, places there remain affordable and available (not so many condos in Hartford / WH / Newington / Farmington / Plainville).

I have figured out that I prefer an older / less updated place in a more rural / quiet area - have seen some really spiffy places in less desireable areas (often the complex is kept up, but the neighborhood is funky) and I am looking closely at one place in particular in a tucked away corner of New Britain. Looking to make an offer soon....I'm not in love with the place, but I've come to look at a condo as more of a long term apartment with tax benefits - not a perfect space to fall in love with.

I am a little concerned about being further from what has become my social world - Hartford's arts and films and culture, my yoga peeps, my friends. I am a little concerned about isolating and being lonely (my house sitting was very informative about my tendency to isolate)

On the other hand, I think working out of my house will make me more productive; right now I spend a lot of time at home (mornings and evenings), not working or kind of 1/2 working - I think with an office in the house I could get a few more hours in each day without really changing my routine. And though I planned for a 2nd bedroom office, the place I am looking at has a finished basement (presently occupied by a pool table) that might make a nice office - freeing up the 2nd bedroom for a yoga / music / library sort of alcove. Which is kind of exciting.

Much as I hate the idea of leaving Hartford, just not finding affordable spaces here that (a) will not require a lot of time / money / sweat and (b) are in parts of the city that I feel OK as a single woman living in. If you know of any give a shout....

Catching Up

I have fallen out of the habit of blogging. Since the folk fest, I have been scrambling (mostly unsuccessfully) to catch up. Between then and now, life has been:

a) A trip to Terre Haute (fairly unsuccessful in terms of the work, and equally unsuccessful in my attempt to finish up a report so I can send an invoice)

b) Continued house / condo hunting. I think I could pretty much be in the "tire kicking" phase for months if not years, so I am putting some pressure on myself to find something. Right now I am looking at a condo in New Britain. Will blog more later.

c) A lot of yoga teaching. Several teachers have taken some time off (vacation and such) and I am high on the sub list these days. So (for example) I subbed hot yoga 4x in two weeks (Tues & Thurs at 4:30). I've taught every day this week (Mon - Fri) with two classes pending today. And I've put in a bunch of hours at the studio - filling in for the manager, and working on marketing stuff.

d) Five days of house/dog sitting for friends. Not particularly stressful, but just someplace else I needed to be, one additional responsibility or pulling me out of my routine.

e) A pile of engineering work I continue to struggle to cacth up with.

f) My website client started ticket sales for the North Pole Express, sold over 4000 online tickets in less than 3 hours, and (unfortunately) the website (or more specifically), the inability to reliably and expediently stop ticket sales was a big issue. My fault, really - I should have been right there with my finger on the keyboard, but I was teaching yoga :(

So.....life has been crazy. But I'm back (sort of). And will blog bout some other stuff as the days unfold.....

Circle in the Square Drummers

Falcon Ridge Folk Fest

So I'm off today for my annual vacations, retreat, homecoming, Brigadoon - the Falcon Ridge Folk Fest in Hillsdale, NY.

The fest is turning 21 this year, I go back to 1992 with the fest (maybe 1991, I forget) and I've only missed one in the ensuing years. That first year, I pulled my car into the volunteer camping area next to a woman from Long Island named Ellen - we've camped together every year since, and work the same crew. Along the way we've added members to our little enclave (which has a decidely feminist flavor of recent years) and lost some - and we have our hangers on. People come and people go, but it's always Falcon Ridge.....so many familiar ane beloved faces.

I'm borrowing Zippy's truck, the better to schlep up a tent, dining tarp, cooler, guitar, clothes, citronella candles, snacks, yoga mats and toys, computer, printers, etc. I'm there for 4 or 5 nights - it's a long campout. I'm planning to teach yoga there every morning (did so last year, big success) and I'm a crew chief in charge of performer merchandise (tracking 70+ artists, 100's of titles and 1000's of CD's) so it's not exactly an R&R week for me - yet nourishing and revitalizing.

Just learned from Facebook that my friend Mary is bringing a camper this year. We're all turning the corner around 50 these days and we've been joking that one of these days one of us will give up tenting. Guess it was her. I'm jealous - I've been secretly shopping campers on Craigs List all year! I'll bungee cord my tent to her camper in case of a maelstrom.

So I will be off the grid. I'l take lot's of photos, maybe tweet a few times or post FB status updates. See you next week.....

Bull's Eye Rash

So after my hike yesterday - I hit the shower this morning pre-yoga. And drying off, I notice a little light circle on my knee. A-ha, I'm thinking. Bull's Eye Rash. Lyme Disease. Not completely surprising - I'm hiking in Colchester, I'm the only person I know in the balloon world not to get it. I'm due.

So I google lyme bull's eye rash to get some pictures, and well this looks nothing like them. Hm.....

Then I notice that it's right under (and the same size) as the little round footpad on the bottom of my laptop. Ooops....

Still gonna keep an eye on it - if it's a laptop indention it will fade quickly (and differently) than a tick bite / lyme infection. No sense being too careful with Lyme.

Lazy Blogger - Summer Edition

I'm in a bit of malaise or something, just too much going on in my life and not a lot of time / energy to blog.

* Teaching a lot of yoga, between my 4 classes a week and subbing. Also, my girl NP is out of town so my Tues / Thurs guerilla yoga has been on hiatus, so my schedule is off.

* I'm backed up a bit at work - been stuck on a particularly irksome report for a few days, have a few in the queue, and a couple of longer term projects in need of attention.

* Falcon Ridge Folk Fest is coming - I head up for the day on Tuesday (to stake out some turf, get the lay of the land in terms of merchndise, and bring up supplies). Heading back Tuesday evening, teach my Wed morning class, then back up on Wed for good.....through Sunday or maybe Monday. I have a bunch of things to do between now and then (pick up supplies, print out and assemble merchandise tracking books, etc.)

* I'm house hunting, been looking at small capes in the New Britain area. (to all my rich WH friends who keep suggesting it, no I can not afford to live in your neighborhood, sorry). Nothing fabulous yet but I've got time.

Free Intro to Yoga: Saturday 7/18, 1 - 2 pm

In case you are bored this Saturday, please feel free to come down to West Hartford Yoga (WHY) for the Free Intro to Yoga class, 1:00 - 2:00 pm, and led by yours truly.

WHY also has a summer special going for new students - a special class card good for 10 classes, for $10. That's right, $1 a class if you get them all in (the class card is good for two weeks, but even if you are only able to hit 3-4 classes it's a good deal). New students only, and this offer good through Labor Day.

Come on down for some yoga!

The Universe Has a Strange (and Wise) Send of Humor

So I wrote this overly long and cranky post about the Shiva Rae / Kriplau workshop, which I deleted because, well, it was just me being cranky and stupid and attached to my stupid crankiness. And off I went to the studio to an all levels class to unwind the tight hammy's and tweaky lower back that two days of pretty intense workshop practice, sitting, etc. without a really long deep unwinding practice had wrought.

And feeling pretty mixed about the weekend / workshop, what do I find at the studio but an almost entirely Shiva inspired practice (thank's Linda) which was exactly what I imagined would be the worst thing ever.

However, in the course of the practice I (a) completely reconnected with all the things I find wonderful about that sort of practice, (b) got a chance to root a lot of what I learned in my body and (c) found surprisingly healing to my lower back and back of my legs. Much different to wrap all that stuff into a full practice (with lots of vinyasa, a warm up and cool down) as opposed to workshopping, where we focused on particular and often challenging asanas. I sealed the deal with a lower back healing savasana - legs up the wall, a blanket under my sacrum, and a beanbag balanced on my feet - reminding myself that I am a pretty good teacher and can take care of this body as well as those of my students. I lay there in savasana grinning like a fool (and also crying a little) in thankfulness and joy.

So if you heard cackling in the class, it was just me being conscious of the universe's ability to give me what I need (as opposed to what I want or what I think I need) - I walked away with a much less constricted body, a better appreciation for the weekend, and an appreciation for myself. Can't beat that in 75 minutes on the mat. Thanks Linda. Thanks, Shiva. Thanks, me.

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera

Been listening to Sunday Afternoon at the Opera on WWUH 91.3 all afternoon. Keith Brown really mixes is up, not yoru corporate NPR selection of mainstream opera. But rather a good solid set of show tunes this afternoon (turns out it's the new recording of Pajama Game) and now "Beautiful Dreamer:The Great American Songbook" featuring Marilyn Horne (I love those mezzos).

Officially "Selections from the Operatic repertory ranging from Baroque to Twentieth Century." Not really opera in the Mozart / Wagner / Verdi mode - and I'm totally enjoying it as I wind down from yoga weekend!

Air Line Rail Trail from East Hampton

Zippy, JDC, and I went biking yesterday - last minute kind of thing. JDC suggested a wonderful spot - the Air Line Rail Trail that runs from East Hampton over towards Colchester, Willimantic, etc.

A fairly typical rails-to-trails project, with a nice gravel path perfect for biking, this is a bit different from the Farmington Canal paths I normally because of the scenery. The old Air Line route was known for several tall viaducts (bridges) - specifically the Lyman Viaduct (1000 feet long / 137 feet high) and the Rapallo Viaduct (800 feet long / 60 feet high). Now filled with stone and cinder and encroached by vegetataion, these spots nonetheless are spectacular to bike across - elevated with a considerable drop and view on either side. Some pictures of the old structures here. And props to Martin M. Bartel for a very useful and interesting website about the trail.

In addition to the viaducts, there are plenty of cuts through the granite and brownstone, making for cool and interesting biking, and a few neat bridges - a stone arch over a small road, as well as an iron bridge over the Blackledge River.

We did about 6 miles each way - from the trail head at East Hampton to River Road in Colchester (the trail is nicely marked with mile markers). Then off to East Hampton for a bit of ice cream and window shopping - and bonus, we ran into Zippy's friends Bruce and Loucindy, who live nearby!

My crappy photos from the day here

On the Yogafront

Hit the mat last night with Ms. Barbara, who dug deep into her history to teach the Ashtanga primary series. Before class (a smattering of the 2008 and 2009 teacher trainees jumped at the opportunity) my friend Jane joked "at least there won't be any abs" and I thought that Barb wuld sneak some in there. I was right - she found time for one set of abs before we moved into a pretty standard issue Ashtanga class.

A tad bit slower than a class filled with Ashtanga diehards might be, I suspect. We moved through vinyasa between postures (not between sides) and Barb stopped to demo a few things as we moved deeper into the twists and binds part of practice, but in general it was a deep and rolling practice. I can see how Ashtanga fans love it - it really gets in deep; the body gets nice and warm and loose. So it was not surprising, really (although I was, in the moment, shocked) to find myself sitting in full lotus pose (twice, for a few seconds) near the end of practice. First time ever. And like all of my "edge" postures - handstand, wheel, forearm balance - it was both exhilerating and terrifying.

I can see how a regular Ashtanga practice might blow out the body - shoulders, wrists, back - which is why it's not a regular studio offering. But it was so delicious to work through a practice that was deep and strong and challenging. Barb might make one practice a month a regular Ashtanga practice (a treat, there are plenty of folks in the studio who would love it, and we always get calls from folks looking for this variety of yoga). "It's a hard practice to teach and assist" she said afterwards - and I encouraged her to make use of her teacher trainees - there are two classes of us - 70 yogi's - who would jump at the chance to step into the studio and assist her, take a little bit of the load off.

Afterwards, my teacher and friend Nykki who took the class (and in fact, was the instigator of this little experiment) was beaming. I practice with Nykki a few times a week, and I practice with her regularly, and it was sweet to see her really enjoy a practice at the studio. One thing I have seen is that teaching really impacts one's ability to get one's own practice in (less so for me, I do not teach all that much and my own practice has plenty of space for growth) but some of the senior teachers do not really get the chance to get deep into their bodies with the regular class schedule, they get kind of pot bound in a way and need to go outside of the studio for their yoga fix. So it's nice to see a friend and beloved teacher with that post-practice glow and buzz.....

Was pretty happy with my body last night - the usual kvetching about belly and flesh getting in the way of the deep twists and binds, of course. And the crankiness in my shoulder during vinyasa in the middle / end of the series. But my strained left calf muscle was pretty quiet - reverse triangle was really the only place I struggled and needed to modify - the warrior, triangle, pyramid, and forward fold postures (where I might expect some difficulty) were all fine. A little sensation and awareness, but no pain or strain. And it all feels good this morning....beyond the deeper, yummy ache of a strong practice.

I'm teaching a lot in the coming week:

* Friday 7/3 - WHY Power I @ 10:45 AM, $5 Gentle @ 12:15 PM
* Sunday 7/5 - Gentle @ 9:00 AM (sub for Sharon)
* Monday 7/6 - $5 Gentle @ 12:15 PM (sub for Sharon) and Core-Ab at 7:45 PM
* Tuesday 7/7 - Gentle @ 9:15 AM (sub for Sharon) and Hot @ 4:30 PM (sub for Carissa, maybe)
* Wednesday 7/8 - All Levels @ 9:00 AM, 7:00 PM class in Meriden (sub for Dennis)
* Friday 7/10 - WHY Power I @ 10:45 AM

Then off to Kripalu for a weekend workshop with Shiva Rae! Yeah!

20 Classes

Just summarizing June (cleaning up my work calendar, teaching calendar, and setting up July and August) and I note that I taught 20 yoga classes last month. That's not counting assisting (a few times) and of course all the classes I took. And looking ahead, I have 24 or so already scheduled for July and 20+ in August.

Pretty sweet - when I think that last year at this time I was just getting started...I am truly fortunate to be able to do what I love.

First of the Month Tasks

No particular reason, just kind of nice to write it all down once in a while. Always a busy day or two.....

* Download monthly ticket orders for EST, sort by type, and send report to client
* Pull Google, Yahoo, and Facebook advertisisng stats and expenses down for invoicing EST
* Put together EST online marketing spreadsheet and forward to contacts
* Pull WHY outgoing emails, craiglist ads, constant contact mailings and record in-studio hours from calendar(s)
* Capture outgoing emails from laptop for retainer clients (EST, SMS, TE)
* Capture outgoing emails from desktop for retainer clients (EST, SMS, TE)
* Export Site reports completed for SMS

* WHY invoice (email)
* EST Invoice (PDF and paper)
* SMS Invoice (PDF and Online Invoicing Site)
* TE Invoice (PDF and paper)
* TAMS Invoice (PDF and paper)

* Record monthly yoga classes - regular classes and subbing
* Erase Dry Erase calendar for present month
* Set up Dry Erase calendar for month after present one

* Export personal and business checking into spreadsheet for tax purposes, document checks recieved for subbing
* Clean up SMS sites (delete expanded files), periodically archive sites to CD ROM (copy to client) and delete aged sites from Hard Drive

Shiva Rae - The Mandala of Asanas

I'm headed up to Kripalu in a few weeks for a workshop with Shiva Rae - The Mandala of Asanas: Essential Tools for Teaching Flow

Looking forward to it on multiple fronts. I have never been to Kripalu for a workshop (just enlightement intensives and concerts). I've never worked with Shiva Rae, although two of favorite teachers have worked with her and I love what I perceive to be Shiva Rae textures in their teaching. And I frankly need a little time away from teaching - to eat good food, get away from the computer and the office, get some decent rest (she writes at 1:46 am), get some time for meditation, contemplation, and self.

Let you know how it is. Any local yogis who might be going, let me know. Maybe we can carpool.....

My Left Knee

I've been among the walking wounded the last week or so. I think I pulled or strained a muscle (gastrocnemius or soleus) in my left lower leg (inside calf muscle). A lot of walking / biking / hiking proceeding the strain. So I've been taking it easy. But I think working around the strain has also pulled my left knee out of alignment - I've had some torn cartiledge in the knee since my mid 20's that has never been acute enough to treat (surgery....no thanks) and it's all pretty benign as long as I do not stress the knee (no running), and the rest of the leg remains healthy so as to keep the knee in alignment. But I think this calf strain has upset the balance in the knee, so the knee has been cranky as well.


I noticed this big time doing a Supine abductor stretch with strap, although I'm also kind of cranky with forward folds and abs with straight legs. So I've been nursing my left leg through my practice and teaching - taking it easy.

It's actually been a really interesting anatomy / asana lesson working with this. Each posture becomes a mental checklist "not tight in my calf" or "tight in my calf" or "tight in my inner calf (ouch!)" or "tight in my outer calf (cool)" - I'm noticing that tightness (and the need to modify) in some unexpected postures. I commented to Brab tonight "if there were a way to simulate this sort of restriction in various muscles, one could really learn about postures". Now that I think about it, I think maybe Tias Little did something like that in his teacher training (maybe using a strap to restrict movement).....will have to review the material and my notes.

Practicing tonight - I cranked into a deep (for me) Hanumanasana (full splits) and Nykki kind of watched with that scared "should you really be doing that with your leg?" face - but it was fine (right leg forward) - on the other side I did a little Janu Sirsasana stretch instead.

Things are healing up, a little stronger and less pain each day, and I continue to practice consciously. A little roadbump, and an educational one at that.

House Hunting

I'm looking for a place to live.

I've been living with Zippy since 2001 or thereabouts - before that I owned a home in Waterbury for 12+ years. That homeowner experience was painful - bought the house for $111,500 (right near the late 80's peak) and sold it for $84,500 (right near the bottom; it sat on the market unoccupied, for a year). You do the math. To add insult to injury I had an ARM and was paying close to $1000/month through much of the life of the loan. And I never could refinance, so I just kind of hung on until I was finally able to get out. And in hindsight, if I had remained in Waterbury a few more years, I might have gotten out with some pretty nice $$$. But hindsight is 20/20; I was ready to leave Waterbury, moving to Hartford has been positively live changing.

So, Zippy and I have not been coupled for a few years now, and to be honest, we're kind of wearing on each other. There are two sides to it; but Zippy needs his space, needs less clutter and more calm, etc. My energy and focus is scattered - my teaching, my engineering, etc. engage me such that I do not spend much time or energy on the home front. I ned to make some pretty significant shifts in my life and that work is not getting done in my present living situation. So I'm thinking it's time to mosey along.

I'm a bit fearful of this move - I've been in a reasonably stable place financially for a while - my rent + 1/2 utilities to Zippy is peanuts, and as a result I've been able to maintain a small office (required, the house is too small for me to work out of), fund my IRA, pay my quarterly taxes, fund my HSA, have some expendable income, etc. If I add residence rent + office rent up, I have enough for a decent monthly rent or mortgage. So moving is certainly doable. Zippy and I have been discussing it for a while, and the inertia to stay put has come along two fronts - his ability to pay the bills and support himself without my assistance, and my concern about moving my personal life and my professional life in one fell swoop, and the decluttering and purging that will be required.

But it's getting to be that time. And after looking at apartment prices and options for the 2+ bedroom places I would need (to be able to work out of the house), and the required 2-3 months rent / security needed to get in, I'm seriously looking at buying something. I have a bunch of accessible money in my IRA that I can use fo ra doanpayment, and the time is certainly right (market conditions, mortgage rates, incentives) to buy something.

I'm a little fearful of a condo - between the mortgage, taxes and condo fees, I'm afraid of overextending myself and not sure how I would do with condo living (I've beein in single family homes for 20 years or so). Most single family homes on the conventional market are out of range. Been looking at foreclosures - and there are some deals out there. But I need to be cognizant of the fact that I am no longer a 30 year old with unlimited energy - I barely have enough time for life as it is so a fixer-upper is going to take some doing.

So my brain is churning (hence the 1:00 am blog posting here). I found, and went to look at a foreclosure in New Britain this afternoon - and while it looked reasonable outside (for a place that has been vacant 6 months) the inside was pretty funky (not stripped out or anything, but needing much work). Nevertheless, I am proceeding with a mortgage pre-approval and going to keep looking.....the lure of a place of my own. A room for quiet, meditation, yoga. A backyard where I can have a dog. An office in the house....all very tempting.

So, I'll throw it out to the universe. If you know of an available place (in the general axis of Plainville - New Britain - Hartford) keep me in mind. Entertaining rentals or buying something, and anything from an apartment complex, place in a multi-family, townhouse, or single family. 2 BR minimum, and I'd like to be safe with ~$800/month.