I managed to get done with work early today so I motored up to Encinitas for evening practice. I was too late to have enough time to go home, shower and then get to the studio and still have enough time to stretch out a bit, so I decided just to go straight to the studio. One problem though, today there was no traffic. I got there almost an hour before class was to start. After changing in the car (I'm gonna get arrested doing that some day. At least this time I wasn't driving while I was changing. I only do that if I'm running out of time before class), I kind of stood around the locked door pondering my options (none) and decided to just stretch out on the sidewalk for a while. Fortunately, one of the folks who has a key to the studio pulled up to drop off some supplies, so I was able to get in. I had the place to myself for about 40 minutes. I put Wah! on the CD player, her "Savasana" cd, and had a nice gradual stretch out.

Since I was standing in the OR all day, I didn't expect this practice to have any particularly memorable moments. And it didn't. Even with the chance to stretch out pre-class, there's just so much looseness I can pick up in one day. Each forward bend had to be entered gradually. I was able to get out there but I had to take the time to work the hamstrings and to try and withdraw the psoas muscle up and in. The twists were probably my least good thing today. Not a big issue, it's always going to be something. At least this wasn't a regressive practice, the kind where I can tell I've lost a week or so of progress due to stiffness or even the kind where I can feel myself getting stiff as the practice goes along, so that I am worse at forward bending by the end of class than I was in the suryas. This was a 'staying even' class, setting the stage, hopefully, for an even better evening class tomorrow. After that, moon day. Sux. Friday..., teacher leaves town. Sux.

In some of the evening classes, like this one tonight, the teacher will have us do handstands after navasana. This is a posture for me that's in the category of "I know I can do it, but I just can't do it". I can get up ok. If I don't have to hold it, I can even do a reasonably graceful exit down to chaturanga. It's the maintaining of the balance point that I fail at. I'm gradually getting a better sense of how the shoulder, ab and back muscles affect the movement around that spot. But, I come to that knowledge usually by overdoing one aspect or another, which causes me to come down. If I do enough trial and error, I'll gradually accrue some kinesthetic awareness and be able to do it better. Or so I keep telling myself after falling out of 5 handstands in a row. Again.

Had a day of flux today. My first two OR cases went very quickly. We were almost an hour and a half ahead. I even had visions of being done by 2 pm, being able to pick up the kids at school, earning valuable spousal brownie points, etc. Then I realized I couldn't find my keys. I went up to my office, rifled thru my desk and my carry around bag several times, went out to my car, retraced everywhere I had been that day, but no luck. so here I was, potentially going to be done by 2 or 3 o'clock and locked out of my car with no way home. I didn't want to do it, but after my third search of my office I had to call my wife to have her bring me a set of keys. She had finished her morning practice at a little after 11:00 and had to get the kids at school at 2:30, so she wasn't real pleased to find out she had to drive 40 minutes each way just to bring me a key. No free time after class, no lunch, no shower, no errands run that needed running. She already thinks I'm scatterbrained, so this didn't help. Then, while she's on the way, my third case was tougher than I wanted it to be. We still got done well ahead of schedule but my energy for the day had taken a complete 180 turn. I slowly went upstairs to pick up my spare key from my desk where my wife had said she'd leave it. Instead of the spare key, there was a note from my wife saying I owed her big time and..., my keys! Slack jawed with confusion, I called her. "Where did you find them?" I asked. "Dangling from the lock in your office door, where you left them, you ****ing idiot!" was the reply. Or something along those lines. While I'm on the phone trying to apologize, my nurse walks in and she is just rolling with laughter at the unadulterated airheadedness. I hate it when that happens. Up, then down, then up again, then down, my mood for the day was feeling a little bipolar. But, there were a couple of bright spots. I did get to practice on time. And my wife gets a new FI story to tell her friends about me.

Tomorrow's practice is not a sure thing. I'm the sick call coverage person, so if someone calls in, I have to cover their call, meaning no practice. Any bets on the health of my dept mates?