First Day Back

Somewhere, cast adrift in the ever changing tides of time, there is a yogi enjoying a cup of tea. Har har. Really, its just me, being a little bummy-bummed.

It's sunny and a little warm, but not a lot of either. Certainly not the proud, oppressive heat that early August brings. The bulbous garlic clove of clouds lull in and the half-hearted sun lazes out; sort of how I feel today. The weather isn't bitterly cold, no, but it's quite bittersweet for this yogi. I'm sitting indoors today at the coffee house.

I'm quite fond of Summer (as those who follow this site can attest). Not unlike the sun and cloud's gentle dance, I'm reminded to be glad that the slide towards the inevitable equinox means more time to spend with all of you. Less time spent outside at the pool inherently means (for me, at least) more time clicking and clacking away here.

I'm so glad to be back! I learned a lot this summer... I'm sure you'll hear all about it!

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Vacation kicks ass, but its nice to be home.

Lets see if I can bulletpoint the whole trip for you:

Tennessee & Bonnaroo:

Awesome. The Smokey Mountains are as beautiful as Dolly makes 'em out to be. When the dawnbreak cracked through the fog, and as the treeline seemed smaller, my breath was yanked from my chest in disbelief at the beauty. I saw the "smoke" for which this amazing piece of earth was named. Amazeballs.

Little Rock: Lame-o. I got to see some junior-senator-somethingerother campaign speech down on the waterfront. Unlike getting to see the Tennessee mountain's namesake at full majesty, if this is what the good people of Little Rock think grandstanding is supposed to look like, well, they're certainly mistaken. More like sham-standing. Har Har.

Shawnee: Awful. Went to a diner and wasn't approached until heterosexual best friend Chris joined me. "Tolerance" in action. They "tolerated" me sitting there, without service. Hate reaches far. Also: their Super 8 made me want to die inside. I'd have rather stayed in a tent (I tried!)

Oklahoma City: Gettin' better. Sometimes I love the ridiculousness of these United States. Shawnee may have left me feeling terrible, Oklahoma perked me right back up. Why? They had a Pepsi billboard that read "Howdy." A few bus stops down 14th Street in DC we have one that reads "Yo!" As y'all know, I sure do love me a colloquialism! OK City was definitely A-Okay.

Amarillo: Cute little town, with some great food. I may have finished a delicious Dos Equis Michelada and a savory-spicy Shrimp Enchilada. And by "may", I mean I did. And, fine, it wasn't one michelada and enchilada, it was two. Yum!

Albuquerque: Neat as all get out. We saw a snippet of a ghost tour, had some delicious locally roasted coffee, and hunted for an armadillo.

Vegas: Heart! Heart Heart! Chris and I successfully snuck into the Flamingo's pool and had a margarita in the sun.

Finally, LA and Santa Monica: Great! I did tons of yoga with Bryan Kest and his teachers, as well as with Vinnie Marino at Yoga Works. A class every day, as well as a few runs to Marina Del Rey via Venice Beach, as well as a couple down to the Santa Monica pier. I only went out on the pier once, towards the end of my trip, but at least I saw it a few times. I was far more interested in the other side of the town, clearly. It was a little tourist-trappy for my liking down on the pier, but they had a New York Trapeze School and deligthful margartias, so it most def gets a passing score.

The air quality and the fact that you have to drive everywhere? Not so much. Give me DC any day. But, thats all Santa Monica stuff. I also did two evening in West Hollywood (aptly nicknamed WeHo), enjoying the city in the company of an old friend and making some new ones, as well.

One of those new friends managed to get us into a taping of the Price is Right, and I managed to make it onto the stage (but only maybe onto the show). In what was, without question the most surreal portion of my trip, I taught Drew a few Down Dogs. This is no easy title to earn, considering I had run ins with teletubbies at one point (seriously).

And now I'm home. And feeling feeling a little rusty. The jetlagged whooped my tail somethin' fierce.

Unlike Regis & Kelly, getting up bright and early is freakin' hard for me. I've been trying to learn to wake up at 7 or 8 am for the past three months or so, and vay-kay thew that right out the darn window. I'd gotten pretty good at it there for a minute, but throw in some cocktails and a three hour time difference, and I had (until today) only managed to get up by 10. I woke up at 10 yesterday, and was in bed by 11. Did I mention I only taught on class and napped for most of the afternoon?

Today I think I've gotten it mostly beat. I was up at 5:30 am for a nice six miler, and taught my class over at the SEC at 7:30 sharp. I missed my students! I also managed to get a lift in. What does all this mean? Back to the routine and maintenance that is required for Mid City Mike the person, Mid City Mike the blog, and his company, Mid City Yoga. Lets get sexy and successful together, shall we?

Weclome

Well, howdy.

My name's Michael and I'm a yoga teacher and cocktail slinger by trade. I've been inebriating people professionally for as long as I've been working and I've been working to enlighten others (har har) for about a tenth of that time. I'd rather spend the rest of my life doing some semblance of the latter but have no doubts I'll be drenched in the former for years to come.

Speaing of years, I've been living in the thick of Logan Circle for years now. Long enough to remember the friendly prostitutes, a time before the Whole Foods was finished, and when Halo was a porn & poppers type video rental.  I've been sneaking around this nowadays dazzling corner since before I was legally allowed to be driving.

I love it here. 

I occasionally feel like Belle from the opening scene of Beauty & the Beast when walking through my hood... you know, "Good Day! Bonjour!" to every check out person and compatriot dog walker. Anyway, its that sort of insight that I'll be bringing to 14th and P Street's newest chunk of cyberspace.

(When did we stop using the term cyberspace? I guess asking someone if they want to "cyber" is about as anachronistic as my old BBS screen name CompuKid)

Anyway, welcome. You'll see lots and lots of yoga stuff, local sales, silly celebrity musings, and whatever else tickles my pickle. 

Enjoy.