#12 Get a Massage, check...by Juli

I am a scaredy cat, thats the only excuse I can come up with. When it comes to new things I get all nervous and sweaty and then all the sudden I have a stomach ache with a side of migraine. My mom actually used to buy me "Rescue Remedy" {a homeopathic anit-anxiety tonic} because it was that bad...as a child I tell you! The thought of a massage freaked me out for a good long time, lets round it out to about 28 years. I officially had my first massage {see here} thanks to a friend who gifted me one and I was instantly an addict. But despite the gloriousness I hadn't returned, until yesterday.

Thanks to Groupon I purchased a swedish massage from Elements Skin and Massage here in Santa Rosa. Since it was leap day and I had gotten my service time for the month I figured it was like an extra day day in my life that didn't count. So massage day it was! I didn't want to ruin my massage in the evening so I went to boot camp first thing in the morning and then had to scramble to shower and get to the massage. I could feel the tension brewing and it nearly peaked when I couldn't find the spa. With only a minute to spare I burst through the spa doors like a bull in a china cabinet. It felt like 121 degrees in there and I could feel my heart beating a mile a minute. It took me a second to get my bearings and by then I was being escorted to the massage room. Tension rising again. The massage therapist was a gentle soft spoken woman and kindly said, "undress to your comfort". "Undress to your comfort" for a total stranger in a place I have never been, is that possible? That seems like a comment only a nudest would like to hear. Anywhoo, I did as she recommended and waited.... The message was amazing but mentally my mind was saying, "Oh I should blog about this, and oh yeah, I was totally a bull in a china cabinet. No, relax...what kind of music is this, tribal? oh maybe beachy? don't think...not possible."

There were no awkward moments as I had anticipated {aka fretted}. No falling off the table, sighs of disgust from the massager, no fire alarm, no spider attack. I survived and it was wonderful. I felt like a ball of melting jello and wanted to promptly crawl back in my freshly made bed {are you kidding me, who makes their bed?}. Instead I cuddled with a certain Ollie and played a very long game of Scene it Disney with Phoebe. A cup of tea and a madeleine later I was in relaxation bliss. It was weird...I had to go for a walk.

What's next for this anxiety ridden little hapa?...