I took a day trip to Pinehurst, NC to attend a 90-minute stretch and sip with one of my former instructors who’d taught chair, pole and stretch/flex classes. I’d brought one of my favorite chocolate candy bars to share. Turns out, the instructor had arranged a surprise birthday party for another instructor with plenty of chocolate choices.
This studio was less than a year old, shiny and new, and full of inspirational sayings, but none better than the aphorism that hung above the toilet.
Earlier, I’d attended a Beginner’s Spanish conversation lunch at an El Salvadoran restaurant. The host of that event joined me for this event. At one point, the instructor led us in a butterfly pose, where my friend burst out laughing and said, “¡Mariposa!”
I started laughing too because at a previous Beginner’s Spanish conversation lunch, she kept mistakenly saying “mariposa” for “seafood.” I told her to stop repeating the wrong word so I could say the correct word, “mariscos.”
At one point, the instructor gave the verbal cues to get into cow pose. Those of us who’d taken her stretch/flex class before mooed. The first timers laughed. Then, during the cat pose, the longtime students meowed.
Another fun moment was when Bell Biv DeVoe’s song, “Poison,” came on. The instructor and I hopped up from our mats to do the running man. As usual, no one else joined us. After half a minute, we returned to our mats as if nothing happened.
No day trip would be complete without a proper meal before hitting the road again. The instructor and a friend who I’d carpooled with went to a Thai restaurant. I didn’t realize how hungry I was, especially after eating a cupcake after class, but everything on the menu looked delicious.
Although my friend and I had gone out to eat many times before I’d never witness her ask so many questions prior to ordering food. Not as bad as Meg Ryan’s character in “When Harry Met Sally,” but a close second.
At one point during dinner, I had a sneezing fit. My instructor friend, leaned over and asked me in a low tone, “Are you allergic to white people?”
Doubly funny because she’s white herself.
Unlike going to the event, I was wide awake on the nearly hourlong drive back to Fayetteville. That energizing daytrip is how I want to live my happily ever after, which is how I now view my life since the richest people in the world have predicted AI is going to kill us all.