Ye learn something new every day

It's been crazy lately.

Yesterday I did chair massage at the wee software firm all day and today I did seven hours of table massage. The reason for this masochistic behaviour is that I'm taking a bit of a break from massage next week (although I work Monday) and so I'd to pile a lot of people in today.

Anyway, I learned something new yesterday.

The phrase "Panties in a wad" is the American equivalent of the British/Irish phrase "Knickers in a Twist" (a client and I figured this out during a session - it's funny the things that come up during sessions, isn't it?)

Yep, and I'm thinking of coming up with a "Untwisting of Knickers" massage since everyone seems to have them in such a state these days.

PTSD and returning soldiers

The Universe is a funny thing.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Chamber of Commerce Friday morning meeting, only I REALLY didn't feel like going. I wasn't feeling that great since I have "gut issues" and they're the worst in the morning.

Anyway, when I was coming out of the cubicle in the restroom (this is probably TMI, but I'm trying to give you a picture here!) there I came a across a woman who had tears in her eyes, so I asked if she was OK. I'll not say what was going on with her, but the situation ended with me giving her a big hug, we had a wee chat, I gave her my card and told her she should come get a massage and it would be on the house.

I found out from another colleague at the Chamber that the lady was involved in setting up a group to go to the airport to do nice things for the soldiers coming back from overseas. So I thought that she'd be a good one to ask about looking into getting a group of massage therapists to go out to the airport to work on some of the soldiers as volunteer work (just chair massage). I had it on my "list" of things to look into.

So. Weird thing happened today. When talking to a fellow MOST-EXCELLENT massage therapist blogger on the phone today, Christina, I mentioned what I was planning (plus a lot of other stuff since I'm SO excited that Christina is planning on moving to Texas).
THEN a couple of hours later the lady that I met in the restroom called to set up an appointment for her massage and we talked about the airport/soldier thing then too. She thought it was a great idea. So she's contacting the contact that I need to contact to see about getting this thing going.

Back to my favorite quotation of all time: "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous". The pattern of me not feeling that great/meeting the lady because I didn't feel that great/talking to Christina and then the lady calling right is leading me to get this thing going (and yes, that was an overuse of the word "contact").

Plus I think the lady that was upset deserves a free massage. She's obviously had a rough time of it and she's a nice person.

Just out of interest, I came across this good article on post traumatic stress disorder and massage .

Very interesting. Looks like chair massage will be as far as I'll go since the article suggested that I might need more training for dealing with PTSD clients on the table.

Rollercoaster day...

I'd an early start again - first client at 8 am. I did 6 massages today and it went good. I was GRATEFUL today though since a lot of the people in their businesses around me aren't busy these days. There is a lot of talk about how business has slowed down for most. After doing 6 massages I was tired.

So I came home and we got dinner in and I vegged in front of the T.V. I watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and was transformed into an angry mass on the couch.
I like that show but they brought up the "happy ending" crap in this episode. There's a "masseuse" that is handling...well...you know...and of course there's a big joke made of the whole thing.

It amazes me how much this "Joke" is brought up on HBO. It's not only with CYE (they've joked about the same issue before - this wasn't the first time), but I've seen it on "Entourage" too.

It really puts me in a foul mood.
What can we do about it though?

To Wait for Walk-ins or Not To Wait for Walk-ins

THAT is the question.
Well, yesterday was interesting. I had 3 people reschedule, so in the afternoon I was headed out when I ran into the manager of the place I'm in. She was telling me that sometimes she has walk-ins requesting massage and there's no one to work on them. So I explained that I lived within a 3 minute drive and asked her to always try me on the phone if there is a walk-in and I'm not here.

After I left I literally got a call from her within 5 minutes. Someone wanted a massage. I did a U-ey and went back. It was a 45 minute massage and I gave the dude $10 off because it was his first massage with me (my usual policy).
He gave me a $65 TIP. Nice!

So walk-ins are a good thing.

I think one of the things that may have increased the number of people asking is that they recently put a large "MASSAGE" sign on one of the windows at the entrance to the building. (I plan on taking a photo of this sometime and putting it on the blog).

Right now I'm now working on my laptop in my room and I'm going to do this more - just letting the manager know that I'm available if anyone is around.

Since I worked out of my home for so long the concept of "walk-ins" just didn't ring with me, but I've got to change my attitude, especially on days where I have a lot of people reschedule or if I'm just slow.
Change is good, right?
I'm just glad they have a wireless internet connection here!

Hotel talk

Word on the street is that The Four Seasons in this neck of the woods is in serious difficulty.

I know that some would fear for the loss of jobs and wotnot, but I'm not surprised they're in the red and I'm sort of glad they're in diffs. There's a reason for this.

A few years back I had an outcall to the hotel. So I pulled up in my little jetta with my fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. I had to haul ALL my equipment (which included my table) on to one of those luggage trolley thingies and then park my own car AND NOT ONE OF THE BELL STAFF CAME NEAR ME.
I had my tips in my pocket ready to give out. Had someone helped me I would have tipped WELL because I work in a job where good tips are appreciated. I also used to work in hotels in my 20's so I know what is expected.

A woman that was driving a Mercedes that had Louis Vuitton bags had a plethora of people around her.

About a year after that I went to the "W" in downtown Dallas for work again (I normally don't go so far, but I liked the client). The guys there were really helpful, about 3 of them helped me with my gear. One of them even said that my little beat up jetta would go on for ever.

One other thing about the Four Seasons, I don't know what the attraction was about the hotel. The rooms are small and I've stayed in nicer accommodations in Crowne Plaza and Marriott hotels.

SO if anyone ever asks what the best hotel is in the metroplex, I have NO hesitiation in saying "The W. Don't go near the Four Seasons. They suck".

Just goes to show how things pan out and the importance of treating everyone the same, fuzzy dice and all.
I always try to keep this in mind when dealing with Joe Public.

Proof that I am not a morning person

I'd an early start this morning.
I have a little workflow pattern that I go through to set up before work and as part of that I put my lotion bottle in the towel warmer just to warm up the lotion.

Only this morning I was out of sorts.
I put a bottle of water in the towel warmer.
I caught on when I saw my bottle of lotion and checked to see what I'd actually put in the towel warmer.
If things had gone on in this mode, I would have given the first client a bottle of lotion to drink after the massage and I would have been massaging with warm water.

Then again, I supposed it would be OK to massage with water if the client happens to be possessed - holy water in that case.
Possessed clients aren't fun to work on though. I think it's the way their head turns 360 degrees that's just distracting and the fact that you've to use twice as much Oxy Clean on the sheets since they spew so much green pea soup.
They could do with a face toning massage though!

Happiness is...

...a new electric table warmer.

Big Magnets and No Business Cards

I went on a home visit yesterday and called in at Half Price Books (one of my favorite stores) on the way home.

When I came out of the store there was a woman wailing and shouting down the phone in the parking lot. I'd never seen anyone so hysterical. Anyway, I was walking to the car, when another woman approached me. I thought she was going to remark on the wailing Banshee, but instead she said "You're a masseuse?" (yes, I dislike that term as much as the next massage therapist).
She had noticed my car magnets and started a conversation where she wanted to know where I worked, how much I charged etc.
Meanwhile the wailing Banshee was getting even louder.
It was a sort of surreal few minutes. It was nearly like some sort of test whereby I was being tested on whether I could still talk about what I do when someone is having a total meltdown nearby.

Anyway, I didn't have business cards with me.

What's the first rule of thumb for every business owner/massage therapist? ALWAYS have business cards. You'd think I'd know that by now, right?
Anyway, the lady had a writing pad and wrote down my information.
It's funny, I always think that no one notices those magnets on the side of the car, but they do. They're an easy and cheap marketing tool and you never know who sees them!

As for cards - well, I REALLY should have been giving one to the Banshee too.

I thought it was going to be a killer week

But things don't always turn out the way I planned.

I had 1 client sick.
Another 4 rescheduled (I thought the full moon was on Monday??? It seems that everyone was a bit crazy this week) and I had to reschedule 1 because of a gut issue.
It was still OK - 21 massages, but I thought it was going to be a 27 massage hour week.


Oh well....maybe next week

A Piece of Massage Equipment Going Haywire

My electric table warmer has turned menopausal.

I have no idea what is going on with it, but it's beeping and doing weird stuff and it just isn't working the way it should. Of course, maybe I've just configured some weird thing in it by mistake. I need to look at the instructions if I can find them. (Yes, I need the instruction thingy - how sad is that?)

The clients like a nice and cozy table. I think it makes a difference, especially since the cold weather will be coming in soon. I don't normally keep the table warmer on during the massage - except when someone asks for it to be kept on. Part of the reason is that I've I'm wary of the effects of electromagnetic fields on the body, but I do like to warm the table up before the client climbs in since it evokes that "Mmmmmm...this is nice" response.

Anyway, if the warmer has a hot flash, that's OK. It's what it's supposed to do anyway!

The epitome of professionalism

I'd a long day yesterday, so I came home and flopped in front of the T.V and watched the mind-numbing Housewives of Orange County.
After lowering my I.Q drastically I got up and felt my butt.
Something didn't feel right.
Sure enough, after heading to the bathroom mirror to investigate I found out there was a huge rip in the butt of my jeans.


I'd been wearing these jeans all day at work and I have no idea when the tear happened. It was no small rip but the only good thing was that I was wearing navy underwear (and no, I don't do thongs - I'm actually glad I wear big Bridget Jones's).

Yep, I'm just the height of professionalism!

Dusty Days

It always amazes me how quickly my massage room gets dusty.
Seriously. It seems that I've to go over things daily since it accumulates so fast.
And as for under the table? It's a magnet for dust bunnies.
I'm glad I have an easily "swifferable" and washable floor.
It makes a hec of a difference and I just feel better knowing the room is clean.

But then is it any wonder the room gets dusty so fast?
There are a lot of claims on the internet (and some that say the claim isn't correct) that dust is mainly comprised of dead skin cells. Since I work on skin all day, it's hardly surprising that just my work could create a lot of dust, even if I use lotion most of the time. I've also read that it is made up of fabric fibers (and every massage therapist's room is sheet city), bits of food and other dry stuff and just plain ol' dirt.
Taking it further, dust might contain: pollen, mold, fungi, plant and vegetable matter, insect parts and if there is a mattress or pillow involved it could have dust mites and dust mite poop. Dust mites apparently feed on human and animal dander (our skin flakes) and apparently we shed about 1/5 of an ounce of dander each week.

Lovely, eh?

I'm off to do a bit of swifferin' and moppin'......

Wee survey....

If you're an MT please take a minute this wee survey for someone that is trying to gather info on wages/etc. She is especially wanting feedback from MTs that work for other people, so please send the link to your MT buddies too!
Cheers!

It's a full moon tonight, so no massaging after dark

Don't you just hate it when you're working on someone and then they start transforming into a werewolf right there on the table?
You end up having to feed them a chicken just to keep them from howling and using 10 times more lotion on them since they're so hairy.

It sucks.