Isn't it ironic?

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

When you think everything's okay and everything's going right

And life has a funny way of helping you out when

You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up In your face

Alanis Morrisette: "Ironic"

The other day I wrote about a free yoga and pilates class being offered by this company (don't go to the Westside Studio!)

Well, I wound up going to meet up with my friend and a former co-worker of hers that we had lunch with the previous weekend. When I arrived, my friend had already gone into the studio for the meditation class. Right behind me came her former co-worker and right behind her was someone she had invited. Since we had all arrived too late for the meditation class and too early for the yoga classes, we sat and chatted. The co-worker,*Jayda, and her church friend *Choirboy mostly talked amongst themselves while I tried to settle my mind and spirit in the nice relaxing waiting area they had created. There were candles burning and a table with floor pillows placed around it...it was very tranquil. While we waited the studio began to get very crowded and the noise level increased. Jayna and Choirboy exchanged pictures and talked loudly. Keep in mind, this was a yoga studio in midtown Manhattan so there were only a handful of "us". I guess Jayna forgot where she was and let out this loud squawk of a laugh. The room quieted down immediately and she had to remind herself that "we're in public." Keep in mind it wasn't a large space. So of course if everyone wasn't already looking at the brown people in the room, they were after that little incident.

Finally the studios opened for the classes and Jayna and Choirboy went into the beginner's yoga studio and I went to beginner's pilates. I kept looking for our mutual friend but she was nowhere to be found. I saw that she was there because she had signed in on the list. Apparently my instructor didn't get the memo that the class was for beginners because she kept using unfamilar terminology to describe what she wanted us to do. Like who knows where the C7 vertebrae is anyway? So, I managed to get through the class but I wasn't happy with it. I had done pilates at home using tapes before and I rather enjoyed it but I was not pleased with the class I took so I decided that I would try the beginner's yoga class that started after the class I'd just finished. While I was waiting for the class to start my friend comes out of her studio. It turned out that she inadvertently wound up in the level 2/3 (advanced) class instead of beginners. Instead of being relaxed and unwound she was mad that she was in that hard arse class. A few minutes later the beginner's class that the other two were in dismissed and we all shared our experiences with one another. They talked me into leaving with them instead of staying for the next class so the four of us walked towards Lincoln Center to catch the 1/9 train heading uptown. Jayna and Choirboy swiped their metrocards and entered the platform as the train was pulling in. My friend and I were a little slower and my friend wound up digging through her purse on the floor of the station looking for her card. A lady offered her card to swipe her in but she realized that her wallet was missing!

I walked with my friend back to the yoga studio because she was under the assumption that she might have dropped it so she looked around, checked all the trash can and finally realized that she'd gotten swiped! She reported it missing to the staff and the General Manager came out looking nonchalant and said something to the effect of "what a bummer!" As it turns out this is a regular occurrence there. Humph, go figure considering there is NO SECURITY!!! The rest of the staff just looked nonplussed and said, "wow, I feel so bad that this happened." The set up at this yoga location sent up a red flag as soon as I saw the facilities. I had thought ahead to bring a lock to secure my belongings, falsely assuming that they would have lockers. WRONG!!! There was a large open changing area in the bathroom with hooks and you were advised to hang up your belongs but warned to take your wallet into the studio with you. Apparently my friend either didn't get that message or she ignored it. She noticed other bags hanging unattended and felt confident that hers would be okay, especially since there were so many *Cindy's and *Mindy's around. WRONG again!!!

We left the yoga studio and went outside to report her check card missing to her bank and to find the nearest police station. The closet station house was almost twenty blocks away so we started walking uptown. We reached 72nd Street and decided to stop at BBQ to calm her nerves with a cocktail. After we ate wings and had a frozen appletini we walked the last ten blocks to the police station. She filed a report and then her man came to pick us up and drive us home.

The whole irony of the situation is that we were supposed to be doing something relaxing and we wound up in a stressful situation. While she was finding her center in meditation and yoga, someone was finding her wallet in the changing room. The whole situation is just so wrong!!!

*Not their real names