time crunch

It's impossible to have too much time on your hands in Chicago, because everything takes so darn long. I spent the entire morning doing nothing but attending one yoga class, and I wasn't dawdling, either. I woke up, drank some coffee, read the news on the internet, got ready, and left the house at 8:30 a.m. Mike has the car today, so I proceeded to the Fullerton Ave. bus stop and caught a bus at 8:45. I rode the bus two miles east, which took 15 more minutes. I then walked to the yoga studio, 10 more minutes. I could have left a few minutes later, because class didn't start until 9:30. But on the other hand, I've attended classes at this studio so crowded that arriving less than 15 minutes before class would mean you didn't get a spot, or would have to ask other people to jam together and make room for you. Also, the Fullerton bus isn't always as fleet and efficient as it was this morning.

The class, scheduled to end at 11, lasted 'til 11:10, so I got my money's worth there. I then walked to the bus stop, waited 15 minutes, and reached my stop by 11:50 or so. Fortunately, there's a grocery store right there, so I popped in and bought parsley, flour tortillas, and roma tomatoes. I was home by 12:10.

I sort of feel like I spent 3 hours and 40 minutes attending a 1-1/2 hour class. This isn't technically true because I got the groceries too, but still.