Classes are going so well; I am SO appreciated here in Baltimore by students and studio owners, alike. I'm glad that I'm here. My friend in NYC, who graduated from training with me, has one class per week. Since I've been here, I've been teaching 6-9 classes per week. There's just a lot more work here for me than there would be in New York...just too many teachers up there. I'll only have about 4-5 classes per week as a regular schedule but the past few weeks have been great while I've been filling in during people's vacation schedules. So, I think I am doing truly well. I miss New York so much. Hopefully I'll be able to move back in the winter. I am frantically applying for low-income housing so that I can go back soon. I just applied for my dream building on Houston Street and sort of fudged some of the info on the application. I indicated that I had a job at Whole Foods, thinking that I would definitely be able to actually get a job a Whole Foods by the time the application was due. After several great interviews at two locations, I still don't have a job. It tuns out that nobody wants to hire part-time employees. Screw!! Well, I might have blown it for that housing application, but who knows...maybe something better will come along. Perhaps the timing simply wasn't right. I also applied to two Starbucks...s...sss...s on Wednesday, but I'd really prefer Whole Foods for so many reasons. It's been absolute hell trying to find supplementary income. I had to complete the Whole Foods application three separate times...and it's a pretty long application complete with an "In Depth" section. I want health insurance and I want something that will be transferable to New York when the time comes.

Teaching is going really well for me. People compliment me all the time; I really appreciate it. I'm just hoping that things continue on this path and I continue to grow and develop. I think the students really like me, although it is sometimes difficult to tell. It's funny: they ask me when I'll be teaching next but I never know if they're anxious to take my class or if they want to avoid it. I had a stressful first class in Baltimore because the owner of the studio (who lives in New York and owns several studios there as well,) came all the way down just to take my class. It went well though and I've been teaching lots over the course of the past three weeks. I generally feel really good about my classes. I mean, sometimes I'll have some major right hand/left hand issues, but I don't think that's a big deal. Sometimes it's difficult to keep some of the left's and right's straight. Listen to this:

Turn around and face the left side of the room.
Bend your left knee on the floor, left knee facing the left side mirror.
Put your right foot exactly over the left knee corner.
Hip touching the left heel
Point your left toes.

Bring your left arm over the right knee, elbow exactly against the knee.
Push your knee back with the help of your left elbow.
Turn your wrist and grab the left knee with your left hand.

Look back behind you, look over the right shoulder, way, way, way back, chin over the shoulder.
Twist your body right side, all the way.

It was interesting teaching hot yoga while Baltimore was under a heat advisory. I swear, the studio was cooler than the cab of my truck. Oh yeah, I drive a bright red pick-up truck to and from work. The other day, I dropped off a load of aluminum siding that my brother and I peeled from the house last weekend. This morning, he and I had to haul 1,200 pounds of asbestos to the waste management facility. I've been occupied with chores from mowing the lawn, to dishes, to folding baby bibs. The actual babysitting is my favorite part though. I'm just glad to be able to allow my brother and sister-in-law the opportunity to go out every once in a while.