I once spent a summer at a yoga ashram in the French countryside trying to learn how to obtain a higher state of consciousness. (In spite of the absurdity of that statement, it is 100% true.)
To be clear, this was not Yoga ™
It was Yoga.
While I was there, my fellow yogis and I spent our days doing yoga exercises, helping with chores around the ashram (they called it “karma yoga” psh!), dining on bland vegetarian cuisine, participating in Hindu pujas, studying the Bhagavad Gita, and meditating. There was a lot of talk about “detachment.” That is, freeing oneself from the material world, possessions, stuff, etc.
I’m soooooo not into all that rubbish anymore.
In fact, for two or three weeks now, I’ve been waiting on a paycheck for the three Sundays I spent singing in a church whose teachings I found to be pretty offensive, and as one does while waiting for a windfall of money, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it. I expect I’m not the only person who goes, I really want/need this thing, but I can’t have it. But maybe when I get that money I’m waiting for, then I’ll buy it. But, then you find yourself saying that about so many things, that it would take five times the money you’re expecting to get to buy it all.
These are some of the things I want:
- A massage. No really.
- A haircut. Seriously, look at this mess.
- Some new clothes. I hate all my clothes. I hate my work clothes. I hate my regular clothes. I hate my fancy dress-up clothes. I hate my underwear. I hate my shoes.
- A bicycle. I’ve been thinking about this for, like, three years.
- A new iphone. They make those things so that they will break as easily as possible. The cracked screen on mine is not a good look.
- Books. But then again, conversely . . .
- A flat screen TV. Just a little one. Just because I’m the last person on earth who has a big, clunky television. It’s ugly and old and I want it gone.
Here are some things that I actually need:
- Voice coaching. For the uninitiated, this is a little different than my usual voice lessons. Coaching focuses on music and language, rather than vocal technique.
- A renewed YAP Tracker subscription. This is a service that provides audition listings for opera companies and Young Artist Programs. It will be more important toward the end of the summer and the fall, but it’s good to be on top of it.
- To record some of my arias.
- To pay down my student loan. Ugh.
- To pay down my credit card. Ugh. Ugh.
Here are some of the things I am most likely to spend money on now that I have it:
Wine.