The Happiness Institute!

We recorded our Kickstarter video at the Happiness Institute. Great studio space, awesome green screen to film against, nice people running the place, and good prices. Definitely recommended.

I looked at a few co-​working spaces and The Happiness Institute! by far had the best work environment. A quick run-​down:
— Open layout and lots of «elbow» room. I don’t care how cool your furniture looks if I can’t work comfortably there. This is an office, not a night club.
— Surrounded by great start-​ups. I got a chance to meet my neighbors and they range from the traditional (social gaming, ad networks, etc.) to the unusual (wine and vodka startups). Also noticed lot’s of woman here that were in startup mode, which I really appreciate.
— Great perks. The fridge is stocked with stuff you need to work (soda) along with a never-​ending cup of coffee/​tea (thanks Avary!). Also it appears they have mixers once a month for all the members, great way to meet people!
— Awesome location! Right on Market, 2 blocks from BART, near the financial district, Valencia Street (and all of it’s amazing food are always at my disposal, which is great for meetings).
They seem to have varying levels of memberships available. Mine is $ 25 a month and for what I get, I think it’s a great deal.
I highly recommend The Happiness Institute.

Well designed studio, unfortunately occupied by new-​age «spiritual» folks. Managed by a young, faux-​spiritual, spiritual hipster. If you’re looking for a hipster spot this is it. If you’re looking for classes and community learning, this is not the place for you!
So why one star?
Well, I’ve long wanted to create a community based school for intermediate to advanced rock guitar. I’ve been playing for over 20 years, have studied at Berklee and completed the GIT program at Musicians’ Institute. I love this stuff and I have a lot to offer. (Article, with example from my book:
)
I found about Free School and went to Warren, who pre-​approved this («It would be great having you as a teacher of electric guitar at the free school — thank you so much for offering to do so!» (sic)). I then spent around 40 hours preparing for a course to cover fundamentals, considering a range of skills and backgrounds, not excluding people who cannot sight read, focusing on creating a foundation, and challenging all.
I met Warren, took his course on teaching for Free School, and he discussed about scheduling for the studio room at HI. He followed up with this, too.
Then Warren told me that he’d turned facilitator duties of HI over to a young man who goes by «Mylo –gan». I contacted Mylo by email. From there, everything went downhill.
Mylo replied only to one of my emails — the one in where I asked him about parking my computer there for shared use. He wanted this (my computer). But he didn’t reply to my any emails where I’d asked about teaching my course. I got an uneasy suspicion that maybe Mylo didn’t want me to teach the course there.
Since Mylo was ignoring email and since I had no phone number to call, I went there in person. I went in to use my computer but primarily talk to Mylo.
Mylo was busy talking to somebody when I arrived, so I told him I’d wait. I went to use my computer while I waited. But I accidentally banged my head on a plant that had been hung in front of and above my computer, just above eye-​level (couldn’t see it). I moved the plant out of the way. Then their «decorator» came back and saw it and got emotional, spilling his plant and dirt all over my computer. I left his disturbing emotional outburst and found Joergan, who teaches campfire guitar.
Mylo came to me usher me away from Joergan right away to «have a word» about the complaint he’d received. Then he told me that nobody had complained. I was astonished at Mylo’s unflinching contradiction (lie) and told him so. I returned to Joergan, but Mylo followed, asking and waiting for me to leave. Essentially ushering me out of HI.
I’d pretty much gotten that the course would not happen at HI. I waited a few weeks and filled out their form to teach a class
linked from their site. Unsurprisingly I got what I expected: no reply.
Several weeks later, I returned to talk to others there regarding time banking (look it up). Mylo was there and when I mentioned that I might have found another place, he said I could teach the course there. I asked if he was sure about that and he confirmed. I told him that I’d pretty much figured he didn’t want the course to happen but he denied that. I asked again if he was sure of himself and mentioned that I’d received no reply after completing their web form. He confirmed that I could teach the class there and denied knowledge of the form.
Two weeks after that, and months after Warren had approved my course, I went back to HI to get in-​person confirmation (so as to avoid confusion with my such emails being skipped). Mylo eventually opened the door but just stood in the doorway, blocking it. I had to ask if I could come in. And after I’d gotten in, I asked about booking the room for teaching my course. Mylo folded again and said that I might be able to teach «somewhere else» but «I might be able to work with Joergan» (same guy he’d previously ushered me away from). I asked if Joergan was there. He wasn’t. This new story reaffirmed my initial suspicion that Mylo simply did not want me to teach the course there.
I wonder how they pay the rent, though I suspect someone decided to grant these people money. Such great community potential here, squandered. A pity. Well, unless you’re only looking new age stuff and don’t mind loose moral values (e.g. lying, fraud).
If you like to be «spiritual» by sitting in circles with angelic smiles, full of fake compassion and gossip over tea, this might be a good place for you.
Me, I’m looking for a community learning center in SoMa where I can teach the class that I designed.

This place is amazing! the space itself, the philosophy and the people working there are beautiful. We’ve had and attended several events there, always feeling cozy, welcome and taken care of.
Check out their monthly Ecstatic Dance nights, every first Friday of the month!

I visited the Happiness Institute last night for the first time. After moving to the neighborhood recently, I was looking for a yoga class nearby. I stopped by David Schlussel’s yoga class and was very pleasantly surprised. Not only is it free (though I believe donations to the institute are encouraged; however, I was never asked to donate) — David is an excellent teacher! There were only 3 students, so I got a lot of personalized attention. David asked what each of our goals were at the beginning of the class and made sure to address those throughout the class. One of my favorite parts of his teaching style is that he actually helps you into the positions that don’t come as easily.
I’m definitely going to be back as often as my busy schedule allows, and am stoked to check out the other classes that they offer.