Fact #364: Fingernails vs my bank balance

Usually I just have to look at my fingernails to know how much money I have.

I've been doing massage therapy as a support job for almost five years now. As a therapist, I have to keep my fingernails pretty short so I don't end up incorporating accidental acupuncture into my massage sessions. So I generally trim them or file them down every couple of days, or even every other day if I'm working a lot.

That also means I have a built in warning system when my funds are about to dip. If I notice my fingernails getting a little long, it means I haven't worked much lately and I haven't had that built-in reminder to trim them.

But now that I'm about to start school, it just occurred to me that I can do whatever I want with my fingernails! I could grow them or paint them or... well, I guess those are the two main things I could do. They're just fingernails after all. But still!

And I might. I might try growing them out to a nice girly length and painting them a nice girly color.

I guess I'll also have to start checking my bank balance at the ATM like a normal person.


Til tomorrow!

Fact #299: It's fun being good at stuff

The difficult should become habitual, the habitual, easy, the easy, beautiful. -- S.M. Volonski (from Stanislavski)

It always cracks me up when a massage client says with surprise, "Wow, you found all my knots!" Um, of course I did. I'm a trained professional. 

But when I think about it, that actually means a lot.

I remember a moment early on in my MT training program when the instructor was teaching us how to feel imbalances in the body. I was working on one of my fellow students and he asked me which side of their back was more restricted. I moved my hands around in circles (very much like the Karate Kid practicing his wax on/wax off) then I randomly guessed it was the left side. Honestly, I had no idea.

Well, I do now. After massaging hundreds of people, after working on thousands of muscles, my hands feel things totally differently. I don't even have to think about it consciously, it's second nature now -- your knots are like magnets to my fingers.

That's the fun of getting really good at something. At first it's hard, but you practice and you practice until it's in your bones.  And it becomes easy. Then it becomes something else. It becomes intuitive. It becomes beautiful.

On a not-entirely-unrelated note, I'm so ridiculously, amazingly excited that I get to study acting non-stop for the next two years! (Acting and massage, people. I will always find a way to connect them.)


Til tomorrow!

Fact #290: Shaken, not stirred

I like being shaken.

...did that sound weird?

Probably. Oh well.

Being shaken is awesome! You might think I'm crazy, but don't knock it til you've tried it. (Have I ever steered you wrong before? You've already tried moaning, right?) Seriously, I'm not making this up, and it's not just the ranting of a slightly odd individual -- I'm a trained professional. Shaking is a totally legitimate massage technique, as explained here:

Jostling and shaking can stimulate muscle tissue if applied rapidly or ease stress and tension if applied gently. Jostling and shaking help prepare the tissue for range of motion and stretching.

See? See? It's a real thing. And it totally works.

Freddie used to laugh at me because even if I was in the depths of a major crisis/meltdown/pity party, all he had to do was grab me and shake me to make me smile.

What can I say? I'm pretty low maintenance. 


Til tomorrow!

Fact #281: So. Tired.

Today was a long day of endless chair massages. I would say it was exhausting, but I don't want to because tomorrow is going to be even longer.

On the plus side, falling asleep tonight will be a snap. For a mild insomniac, that's a pretty big bonus.

Mmm... sleep.


Til tomorrow!

Fact #230: I'm a hobo on the outside

I'll admit that, lugging a garbage bag full of massage sheets down the street today, I may have looked a bit like a homeless person. But I also made next month's rent in one day. So I am, in fact, as far from being homeless as I've ever been. Go me.


Til tomorrow!

Fact #219: The best thing ever

I got a Thai massage this afternoon. It. Was. Awesome.

Thai massage is sort of like assisted yoga. Instead of being on a table, you lie on a mat on the floor. There's a lot of pressure point work, and tons of stretching. It's such a cool modality. I really liked how it made me more of an active participant than a regular table massage. Instead of just lying there dozing off, I was moving, I was breathing. Life is never really static, and I love that Thai massage seems to embrace that.

Seriously. If you've never had one, get one. You'll thank me later!


Til tomorrow.

Fact #200: The best thing ever

Guess who got a massage today? I'll give you a hint:

It was meeeeeeeeeee!!


Til tomorrow.

Fact #191: Stitches vs Massages

Tomorrow morning I'm getting a massage! Then I'm getting another mole sliced out and more stitches.

Guess which one I'm more excited about.

No, really. Guess.


Til tomorrow!

Fact #177: About damn time!

I'm getting a massage today!!!! Wheeeeeeee!

This is long, long, long overdue. I always lecture my clients on making massage a priority and a regular part of their lives -- but I've been bad about taking my own advice lately.

So I'm ridiculously excited to climb onto a table and at least start the process of unwinding all these knots. I'm a bit of a mess, to be honest. BUT I'm also working on setting up a trade with an old coworker next week. If I can finagle two massages in a week, I'll be a whole new woman!

Ahhhhhh... :)


Til tomorrow!

Fact #126: Massaging and Acting

Speaking of massage, the other cool thing about working as a massage therapist is that it's taught me some good lessons that actually relate to acting. (Or maybe that's just me finding ways to relate anything to anything else.. oh well, too late now!)

Things Massage Has Taught Me About Acting

It's less important to press as hard as you can than it is to press on the right spot.

If you're nervous or self-conscious, it's worse for everybody.

If you try to use force, you'll just hit resistance. If you sink into it, the resistance melts away.

You might think you're amazing and doing everything right. But only your client knows how what you're doing feels to them.

Don't work halfheartedly. Whatever you're doing, do it.

Make the work a collaboration.

Hmmm. That may or may not make any sense to anyone who's not me. It's hard to explain some of the massage stuff. But I really do think there are a lot of ways it can relate to acting.

And just wait til I start trying to explain all the things slinging coffee has taught me about acting!


Til tomorrow.

Fact #125: Acting and Massaging

One of the cool things about working as a massage therapist is that is that it's generally a very calm work environment. Sure, sometimes it gets a little hectic on a busy day at the spa, but the whole point is always to create a relaxing atmosphere.

When I'm working on a client, I'll talk if they're chatty, but I never start the conversation. I'd rather let them focus on themselves than worry about making chitchat with me.

As a result, I spend a lot of time working in a dark, quiet room. It's very zen-like.

I always try to tune into my clients, feeling out and working with the muscles -- but I've been doing this for long enough now that a lot of that stuff has become second nature. So while part of my brain is focused on the massage, the other part just sort of drifts. Almost like a meditation.

If I'm working on a show, I might run lines in my head while I work. (But the funny thing is, because it is so meditative, I'll sometimes accidentally get stuck on one line, repeating it over and over like a mantra.) Or my thoughts might settle on a scene or a beat from the show, turning it over and over, rolling it around in my head like a marble.

It's pretty cool the stuff that my brain does when it's in that mode. I mean, sometimes I just think about puppies. Or what I ate for lunch. Or how annoying it is when people misuse idioms. (It is!!!!!) But I've gotten some of my best ideas in a dark, quiet room.


Til tomorrow!

Fact #101: You wouldn't like me when I'm angry

The mole I had removed last week was on my left upper arm. After the doctor stitched up the giant gaping hole she made in my flesh, she said (and these were her exact words): "Try not to use your arm."

Um. Okay.

I must have given her a weird look, so she added: "I just don't want you to pop your stitches."

Ummm. Okay.

I'm not trying to undersell myself here. I mean, I'd say I have average or perhaps slightly above average upper body strength. I do yoga (the kind with lots of pushups). I can do a pullup or two. There's definitely a little muscle in those arms.

But it's not like every time I flex, my shirt is ripped to shreds Hulk-style. I'm not straining the seams of my sleeves or anything. I'm not sure exactly what the doctor imagined I would be doing with my arms that might cause my stitches to bust wide open.

I, of course, completely disregarded her directive. I did yoga the day after I got my stitches. I've done massages, lifted heavy stuff over my head, gone to the gym. And, despite all of these amazing feats of strength, my stitches seem to be doing fine.

But it's still there in the back of my mind. I could pop my stitches.

Now anytime my arm hurts even the slightest bit, I imagine my stitches snapping like guitar strings, bits of black thread flying like shrapnel, and blood and guts pouring out. (Yes, I have guts in my arm.)

I know it's not very likely to happen. But just in case, don't make me mad.















Til tomorrow!