I'm decided that teaching at the shit little studio around the block is crazy. It's stressful and a downer.
But when I taught at the far away studio yesterday, I found it to be a double downer. My commute is over an hour, which, by statistics, is 20 minutes too far for the average person. After that, people will trade in their housing situation for something closer. However, that stat is used for suburban car commuters going into the inner city. I have a feeling a lot of people below average incomes who take the bus or train or combination, are used to these types of long commutes.
The second downer was the clients. They did not want to chat, they didn't smile or say "good" when I asked how their Sunday was. It was like they wanted to say "Shut up and teach beyatch!" I felt insulted just by their demeanor, not included, not lovey dovey, just pure work. I'm guessing people teaching there are giving them such a hard workout that they get this egotistical shell going on, ready for this sweaty, hot yoga workout. Well, I gave them a tender loving yoga class. I planned it so much that I didn't sleep the night before (well, add in some nasty veggie ground round and this is why I didn't sleep). I went over it so many times, a combination of upper body strength and lower body flexibility. Upon leaving, most of the students thanked me for the easy class. So it confirmed my suspicions, as the class wasn't particularly "easy", it was just a well-rounded class for all levels. This wasn't an advanced class by name! One client told me it was "restorative" which was a shocker and I'm guessing he was using relative comparisons.
So along with a bountiful gift from J's mom of skiis (!!!), I find it hard to justify NOT having a car at the moment if I want to continue teaching these hard ass hot yoga clients. The question is "do I?" And I have trouble answering that one at all. I need money, I love my yoga, and I appreciate the studio being a little retreat amongst an industrial setting (yup, McD's is a stone's throw away, along with a hotel, timmy's, and 2 huge freeway type roads). I am appreciative of the absence of yuppies in this area, being composed more of the actual demographic of Canada's changing face : health-obsessed baby boomers and the children of immigrants. I rarely see any young white girls with huge rocks on their fingers here, while at the nearby hot studio in my yupppie area, it's nearly blinding looking at both their engagement rings and new highlights while in downdog!
True, I represent a demographic that is neither of these things, content to have a latte and time off from work to write about them, but also enjoying being the daugher of a healthy boomer and missing the diversity in people that my neighbourhood can offer. Honestly, I haven't had a friend who isn't white since I moved to calgary, and it wasn't for lack of trying. There is not only a geographical barrier here, there seems to be so many mental barriers between groups. I want to teach at this studio to feel a part of the larger community that is really Calgary, not the whitewash of sunnyside and hillhurst (sorry, it's true).
So would a car solve my problems? Would spending up to 20% of our earnings on a car be worth it? How often would we use it in the summer to go hiking? And skiing in the winter? And potential teaching jobs for me? When you analyze these questions, I accept that we would be essentially spending our money on entertainment, not transportation. Would I drive home, park it, then walk to groceries? Or would I become another driver in this city, justifying going further and further because I was "out anyway?" There would need to be clear rules about this car, to slow us down from the craziness. Do I want to be a part of the car culture again? When I know there are a million people, and potentially a million cars in Calgary, it feels awful to consider joining those ranks, to contribute one more ugly machine to a driveway, a road, a parking lot.
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