Charlotte Part 2 - Amazing
It was an easy drive to Be Yoga where I was to teach Amazing this morning.
I loaded River into the beautiful room. In the past, when I was at this studio, I was in the small studio. I guess, since then, Nia has been promoted and we were now in the "Om Shanti" studio, which is about three times the size.
There were three students brand new to Nia in today's class, who showed up because of the 'Special Event" nature of the class. I heard later from one of them, even though she was visibly resistant with crossed arms much of the time, that she loved the class and was planning to continue coming to Nia.
The routine was well received, and the group was noisy. They threw comments out about my cues and the music and the movements, and they broke into conversations anytime I had them FreeDance or in between songs. My routines move quickly, so they missed a lot of the cues because of their chattiness, but that was fine with me. "As long as they're having fun, I'm OK with it", is my philosophy.
It's funny, though that they were so vocal, because yesterday, at Woodstock, I had a heck of a time getting them to sound out and use their voices. And later, I was told that the culture here in North Carolina is still pretty entrenched in the belief that women should be quiet and not express themselves. I'm glad they're making efforts to change that.
We discovered some new movements today, and some variations on the choreography. Since it is a collaborative effort, I will be incorporating everything new that I can remember and can manage to fit in.
I don't think anyone took any pictures today, so you'll just have to trust me that we had a nice big group of enthusiastic dancers and that we were all sweaty and smiles by the end.
I had asked my producer if she wanted to pay me using PayPal, but she told to me that PayPal is "being sassy" with North Carolina customers because of the bathroom discrimination issue going on. At first I interpreted that to mean that they are boycotting giving service to people in the state, but later, while in Durham, I brought the subject up and found that that wasn't the case. It seems that my producer is the one boycotting PayPal for deciding not to move a new center to the state of North Carolina as they had originally intended. I applaud PayPal for standing up for what they believe in, and I hope that the citizens of North Carolina take the cue from PayPal and all the other entities that are boycotting the state, and write to their governor, telling him he's being a bigot and what he's doing by denying people access to public utilities because of their gender identity is unconstitutional and un-Christian.
After class, some of us met at a French cafe and Terese, my producer, bought me a chocolate croissant and a latte. She also got me a chocolate fleur-di-lis because of the Mardi Gras shorts I was wearing.
The rush hour traffic in Charlotte is interesting. It does get thick, but it thins out again very quickly. A long line of stopped cars seems like it's going to take a while and then suddenly a light changes and the lane is clear ahead so everyone flows again. I was going against the bulk of the real gridlock, so I was lucky in that respect, and I did hit some but it wasn't bad at all.
I had a headache today that wouldn't quit. I can't tell exactly why. I don't often get headaches. It could have been because I didn't eat enough yesterday. I only had one meal, and it was a single burger and a bowl of fruit. It could also be because I've been getting by on less than 8 hours of sleep for several nights in a row.
So today, I made sure to get a big fat, double patty burger and a side of fries and I even got a cookie for dessert. And I'll be going to bed early tonight.
River was a little angel today. He was perfectly still and quiet in class, and then he got excited when he was allowed to. During our walk from the studio to the cafe, he was bounding up and down and running around as much as he could on the end of a six foot leash. And then, when we got to the cafe, he lied quietly at my feet until it was time to go. Again, he relieved himself immediately after we left the cafe. I couldn't be more proud.
He also sat very calmly while I ate my burger. Read more about this THUMBS UP burger on my BBQ & Burger blog page.
I just went out to feed him on the lawn and as he was running to the grass, the 50 foot leash got wrapped around my ankle and before I could stop it, it had strangled my leg, leaving a nice painful nylon burn. I don't see any marks, but it hurts like the devil.
In general, air quality is a huge downside to Motel 6. Or rather the lack of it. This is why I'm so particular about pointing out when windows are permanently sealed shut and/or there are no screens. I'm sure that most of the rooms are filled with hidden mold and mildew, and I also suspect that the air conditioner filters aren't cleaned regularly. If I leave the door open, or a window without screens, I'm eaten alive my mosquitos, and if I turn the A/C on, I can feel it playing hell with my sinuses. So, I tend to sit in a hot, stuffy room, craving oxygen. It's criminal that they can get away with such conditions. I wonder if that's why I have a headache.
I loaded River into the beautiful room. In the past, when I was at this studio, I was in the small studio. I guess, since then, Nia has been promoted and we were now in the "Om Shanti" studio, which is about three times the size.
There were three students brand new to Nia in today's class, who showed up because of the 'Special Event" nature of the class. I heard later from one of them, even though she was visibly resistant with crossed arms much of the time, that she loved the class and was planning to continue coming to Nia.
The routine was well received, and the group was noisy. They threw comments out about my cues and the music and the movements, and they broke into conversations anytime I had them FreeDance or in between songs. My routines move quickly, so they missed a lot of the cues because of their chattiness, but that was fine with me. "As long as they're having fun, I'm OK with it", is my philosophy.
It's funny, though that they were so vocal, because yesterday, at Woodstock, I had a heck of a time getting them to sound out and use their voices. And later, I was told that the culture here in North Carolina is still pretty entrenched in the belief that women should be quiet and not express themselves. I'm glad they're making efforts to change that.
We discovered some new movements today, and some variations on the choreography. Since it is a collaborative effort, I will be incorporating everything new that I can remember and can manage to fit in.
I don't think anyone took any pictures today, so you'll just have to trust me that we had a nice big group of enthusiastic dancers and that we were all sweaty and smiles by the end.
I had asked my producer if she wanted to pay me using PayPal, but she told to me that PayPal is "being sassy" with North Carolina customers because of the bathroom discrimination issue going on. At first I interpreted that to mean that they are boycotting giving service to people in the state, but later, while in Durham, I brought the subject up and found that that wasn't the case. It seems that my producer is the one boycotting PayPal for deciding not to move a new center to the state of North Carolina as they had originally intended. I applaud PayPal for standing up for what they believe in, and I hope that the citizens of North Carolina take the cue from PayPal and all the other entities that are boycotting the state, and write to their governor, telling him he's being a bigot and what he's doing by denying people access to public utilities because of their gender identity is unconstitutional and un-Christian.
After class, some of us met at a French cafe and Terese, my producer, bought me a chocolate croissant and a latte. She also got me a chocolate fleur-di-lis because of the Mardi Gras shorts I was wearing.
The rush hour traffic in Charlotte is interesting. It does get thick, but it thins out again very quickly. A long line of stopped cars seems like it's going to take a while and then suddenly a light changes and the lane is clear ahead so everyone flows again. I was going against the bulk of the real gridlock, so I was lucky in that respect, and I did hit some but it wasn't bad at all.
I had a headache today that wouldn't quit. I can't tell exactly why. I don't often get headaches. It could have been because I didn't eat enough yesterday. I only had one meal, and it was a single burger and a bowl of fruit. It could also be because I've been getting by on less than 8 hours of sleep for several nights in a row.
So today, I made sure to get a big fat, double patty burger and a side of fries and I even got a cookie for dessert. And I'll be going to bed early tonight.
River was a little angel today. He was perfectly still and quiet in class, and then he got excited when he was allowed to. During our walk from the studio to the cafe, he was bounding up and down and running around as much as he could on the end of a six foot leash. And then, when we got to the cafe, he lied quietly at my feet until it was time to go. Again, he relieved himself immediately after we left the cafe. I couldn't be more proud.
He also sat very calmly while I ate my burger. Read more about this THUMBS UP burger on my BBQ & Burger blog page.
I just went out to feed him on the lawn and as he was running to the grass, the 50 foot leash got wrapped around my ankle and before I could stop it, it had strangled my leg, leaving a nice painful nylon burn. I don't see any marks, but it hurts like the devil.
In general, air quality is a huge downside to Motel 6. Or rather the lack of it. This is why I'm so particular about pointing out when windows are permanently sealed shut and/or there are no screens. I'm sure that most of the rooms are filled with hidden mold and mildew, and I also suspect that the air conditioner filters aren't cleaned regularly. If I leave the door open, or a window without screens, I'm eaten alive my mosquitos, and if I turn the A/C on, I can feel it playing hell with my sinuses. So, I tend to sit in a hot, stuffy room, craving oxygen. It's criminal that they can get away with such conditions. I wonder if that's why I have a headache.
Comments