I bought myself a monthly MetroCard… and since then I am going everywhere! Booking classes and officially I must be one of those annoying trial subscribers of ClassPass 😍😍😍👏👏👏 and taking advantage of the trial month!
1/28/2023 I took a Heated vinyasa flow at Yoga Spa Lounge 1881 for 2 credits.
It was not heated to 95F for sure but the class was legit and I was glad I made it. I Google mapped the direction but missed the connection E train. I almost missed the class but I made it… I hate rushing to a yoga class…
Being economically conscious my a**… I forgot to bring my water bottle…Ka-Ching $3 gone.. grrr I am so mad at myself.
It is something about taking a yoga class… it gives me such a sense of accomplishment and self-improvement… I always forget how I try to resist the desire to be just laying on my couch prior to getting to the class and how many creative excuses for not being able to take the class I came up with prior to the class… After taking the class, I feel motivated and wanting to take more classes.
I have 46 credits left… Am I able to use all the credits??
I did not know how commitment shy I became… Especially kinda losing a regular job and freelancing for the last few years… and working from home most of the time. Just having to be somewhere physically by a specific time feels like a tremendous commitment.
ClassPass penalizes you for making a no-show. I mean. It is only fair. We must commit to canceling our spot 12 hours before class time if we cannot make it. 12 hours. I know it is very reasonable.
I KNOW…
still, I feel hesitant to commit to something 13 hours before. I could be changing my mind by then. What if the weather is not great? Anyway, I gave in and bought myself a monthly MetroCard yesterday. I am determined to take a hot yoga class! I was aiming for 12 pm Y7 yoga in the east village.
I left my apartment around 11 am. Thinking I have enough time… yet… On my way to the station, google Maps told me I would arrive at the studio at 11:58 or 12:04 …
em…
that’s…
TOO. LATE.
Ok, I have not been outing in Manhattan, I thought with the metro system we have in NYC, 1 hour to get anywhere is reasonable. BUT not today… I was encouraged by the monthly MetroCard and got on the subway anyway. AND my frantic search for a ClassPass schedule began.
Too far, too soon, too late, grrrrrr
I found Open Flow 60 at Sonic Yoga. This was a studio I always wanted to try… According to Google Maps, I would get there by 11:40sh… em… that’s too early… but I did not find any other classes I wanted to take so I was heading to the studio… STILL not signing up. Why? What am I thinking? I was already laughing at myself at a thought of me just taking a ride on the NY subway just because I have a monthly MetroCard.
I got off a stop before because I had time. And for the first time in a long time, I walked by Central Park. Oh, how I missed thee.
A few blocks away from the studio, I finally signed up for the class. Confirmed! for Jan/27th/2023 12:30 pm Open Level 60. at Sonic Yoga! I took a class. It was a nice class and was a perfect choice for someone who is getting back to yoga.
I am so proud of Sonic Yoga for surviving the pandemic… So many studios closed but this one survived.
It is located near central park south… pretty wealthy area. But the studio has an earthy and small boutique studio vibe of NOT VERY manhattan in a good way. I could see many participants have a strong practice. Also, the male-female ratio is almost 50-50. Guys (males)! you are not a super minority anymore at this yoga studio! Rock your yoga pants and hit the mat there without feeling too special!
I would like to go back. Though with my 8 credits, I am not sure if I could afford to. I would still recommend it to those who are interested in taking a yoga class there!
I stopped by Whole Foods after the class at Columbus circle…
I felt a bit out of place walking on Central Park south… It is a really posh area of NYC, where doormen’s costumes (uniforms) make you feel like you are in an amusement park in a castle setting… carrying my groceries MYSELF omg… On this street, I passed by somethings that do not usually exist in my daily life… doormen, chauffeurs, horse carriages… for me Uber is already feeling a super luxury. Never mind a horse carriage.
Ok. This is my 2nd week of class pass trial. You know what… I am sorry I made it look like I am a super motivated athletic type of girl who could take advantage of this great ClassPass deal…
No. I don’t feel like doing anything… I do enjoy browsing through the app to see which class I could take… I make a reservation and then cancel 13 hours before. Repeat…
I am just a lazy person who wants to lay on my couch and snack pop corners. (The best chips by the way).
But you know what I still did the Intro HIIT on demand 3 times so far. (20min work out video, and still, I cut 3rd time short. )
One of my biggest excuses of not going out to take a class is the pay per ride subway payment.
Is it really a reason? Yes I am on budget but my health should be important… Maybe I should give myself a chance and buy myself a monthly metro card..
I used to be a Groupon queen… I have taken many different types of fitness classes on Groupon prior to the pandemic.
The fun of Grouponing was literally diminished during the pandemic as most in person classes in NYC were cancelled. Many of my favorite studios even closed permanently.
So I lost my habit of looking at the Groupon deals as I am not really interested in buying a cheap dress from an oversea company that takes 1-2 months to arrive and often looking very different from the pictures.
But my coupon angel told me to check the Groupon. I love hot yoga… but wow, the price went up so much and a lot of studios were closed… and on the ClassPass I could only visit each studio only once during my trial period.
I have been eyeing Spirit Lab yoga studio in midtown Manhattan. It seemed to be my future go-to hot yoga place because I could take the class for 4 credits if I am careful with the timing. (so if I go into 8 credits plan, I could take 2 classes there.)
BUT I saw the studio being listed on Groupon!! Wow, it feels like a Groupon Renaissance.
AND since I was not shopping for a while on the site, they gave me a $20 off coupon.
So the promo code made my price for $41 for 2 weeks! and I can take hot yoga classes every day for 14 days!
I wanted to buy it.. but something told me to wait …
A few days later… just before my extra $20 off coupon expires…
the price went down!!
so now, with my coupon 2 weeks is $28 and a full whole month is $58.40!
I went ahead and bought the Groupon by logging in from my airline-affiliated shopping site (so I also got miles) just before midnight! I was so sure I got the best deal in the world!!
… a few hours later in the morning…
I was checking my ClassPass app to plan my move for the week… then casually checked the Groupon deal again.
and they had another coupon for me… Extra 30% off. That means the deal would have been $23.52 less.
I hate it when this happens… the best deal I thought I had was not the best.
I missed to save $3.52…
That is a subway ride in NYC! That would buy me an extra credit in ClassPass! or a yoga mat rental.
Anyway… I could not get my money back, but I exchanged to Groupon Bucks and then get the deal again. So I have this random $3.52 credit on my Groupon floating around… still I feel better this way.
My point is, I could go to take unlimited hot yoga classes for 1month for less than $55.
But I have to be careful not to go to the studio with my ClassPass trial, as they only honor Groupon for the 1st timer in 365 days.
So now, it is one less studio I could go during the ClassPass trial period…
and doing all this, and on a rainy Monday… I missed using ClassPass. lol
… Fast-forward to the next day 1/24/2023…
The Groupon is giving me another bigger promotion. 50% off… Are you serious?
Now the same deal is $49.50… that is $8.90 less than I originally believed it was the lowest price.
I had to repeat the trade-in steps again…
$8.90 less than the price I originally agreed to pay!? That is now like 3 subway rides!!
We cannot relax with Groupon… Let me know if you scored this deal better than this!
Speaking of the subway rides… I should have remembered the subway cost if I want to take the class… $127 for a 3o day pass.
It’s a steep expense… but still, I am tired of being out of shape.
For me, couponing is like a sport… and I did a lot of couponing activities today… but you might have already noticed… I did not actually use my ClassPass to take an actual class. omg…
I feel creativity is like a natural spring water… it must come out naturally… you can not force the water to spring out… or can you?
It feels too depressing to say you cannot learn to be creative… because it just is too sad if that is true…
I am remembering those Japanese kids who I used to teach English in Japan. They were 3-5 years old kindergarten students… and they were SOOOOOO amazingly CREATIVE!! every single one of them.
So didn’t everyone start life as a super creative being?? What happened to those super UNcreative people??
Uncreative people must have been creative to start and learnt to be uncreative at one point in their lives… maybe because they learnt to listen to others and stopped listening to oneself…? mmm maybe… ?
If that is how to make uncreative people, then if one learn to stop listening to others and start to listen to oneself… can one be creative again?? mmmm maybe…?
… let’s close eyes… and feel who we are… and start listening to ourselves… to be creative again!!
VOILA! YES!! we can learn to be creative!!
and again, really really the world needs more creativity… to be happier, to be more harmonious,… simply to be better!!
So, I have been one of those who are really really really … like REALLY bad at what Marie Kondo does; throwing things away.
YES Gift boxes, ribbons, old clothes, wrapping papers, and so on they spark joy in me. and Yes I do want to keep them…
I had been wondering why I am like this… then I realized there is a pattern in my thought process when I decide to keep things….
“wow! this is great to make ( ) !”
I most always want to make something out of those unwanted things.
Hooray! the time is now finally accepting this “reuse and remake” concept.
Remake and reuse, such as “upcycling” and “eco-fashion” are not just eco friendly hobbies anymore, they are mandatory life challenges for the world to survive…
I had worked as a fashion designer for a long time, so naturally I love fashion!! yet nowadays I hardly buy new clothes as I find so many interesting old clothes everywhere. With a bit of creativity those unwanted clothes are somethings so wanted again. I find joy of making my own fashion and clothes and love being creative about it… Some people call that sustainable.. wow so trendy… lol.
This morning I got a phone call from a friend who works for a big cooperation in the US, and she was telling me how big companies are now try to learn sustainability from small businesses. I was not sure what they are trying to learn … are there anything to learn actually… ? and if there are, how can you learn how to be creative?
sustainability is strongly connected to creativity…
So if you are creative, being sustainable is not only easy but also so much fun!!!
Just an idea could save this planet.
and this thought made me sooooo powerful and motivated today!! to be who I am and enjoy being who I am.
Maybe I am not Marie Kondo who I admire so much… but I decided to embrace who I am today and see what I could offer through me.
Being B•hū•UR 