Credit Limits

#45: I Owe Me a Massage

I got home at 10p.m. today. From the office, I headed straight to the spa for a heavy-duty massage. Why? Because I woke up this morning feeling all over my body my punishment for bullying the little Korean kid yesterday. I could barely move. (And that didn't help the fact that it was 9 a.m. and I just opened my eyelids when I should already be at work opening my emails.)

The masseuse had very silky hands. I loved that she used oil that was more syrupy than greasy. She was very skilled and the pressure she exerted was just right for my bump-car-beaten body. I was loving every minute of it... until she went on to work on my back. At that point, I knew I had more to pay for my act of terrorism. Excruciating is the only word that comes to mind. I wanted to cry. She said my muscles were all in tight knots. She had to untangle them. Mangle was what I thought she was doing. She proceeded to kneel on my sore back. I braced myself for paralysis.

She asked me when I last had a massage. It had been a month. And this wasn't good given that before I left for Europe, I had my regular massage every Sunday. "Not good," she said. She asked me to come back next week so that she can break down all the twisted knots of muscle further. Break into what, I wondered. Into amino acids?

I left the place feeling refreshed. I should have done this sooner. I looked back at the days and weeks I spent crumpled in buses and planes and realized that this wasn't just because of our EK day. I had already owed my body a lot in terms of relaxation and pampering. I had reached my credit limit. I should have gone for a Thai Massage when I was in Bangkok. I instead chose to go shopping. (There goes another credit limit.)