Harmonic Haven

Journal entry 1 — Making the Appointment
I’ve called Robin several times beginning last Thursday… left messages (Thursday, Monday, Tuesday)… I didn’t get a call back until today (Tuesday). She stated that she doesn’t work on Mondays by way of excusing her calling me today (no excuse was provided for Thursday). And why didn’t she mention that she doesn’t return calls on Mondays in her outgoing message? That annoyed me.
Then Robin went on a little rant: she only has one appointment on the day I wanted and if I want it, I need to return her call immediately, email her, send her my Groupon number, have her email me some policy stuff, otherwise she would fill that slot before noon today, oh — and did she mention that she’s a home-​based business?
All of that gave me the distinct impression that poor Robin’s been screwed over and is a bit jaded… Like a new dating relationship, it’s not a great idea to outline all of your precautions that you have as a result of your cheating ex-​lover. Makes me think that I don’t want to touch that. Makes me wonder if my massage will really be all that relaxing.
Journal entry 2 — The Massage
I arrived on time to Robin’s home for my massage. I planned on waiting on her front step until the EXACT time of my appointment as I did not want to ring the doorbell and disturb someone else’s massage; however, I ended up ringing five minutes early. Whew! It wasn’t a problem.
The living room area was set up with a massage table in place of a coffee table. There was still a couch and book shelves in the typical places. Stairs went upstairs along the wall and two other doors were closed. I must say that I felt a bit unnerved. The thought of hidden cameras or a voyeuristic roommate/​partner crossed my mind. I convinced myself that I was crazy and that it was still safe to get undressed.
I told Robin that my right leg was bothering me a lot and that I’d like for her to focus on it and she said she would. She did a LOT of effleurage massage — which happens to be my favorite technique (you should Google it), but I think she might have done it to excess… She would work on a part and then stroke from my lower back to my neck then work on a different part. I wasn’t sure what that was about so I asked her. She explained she did it to keep from overworking any of my muscles.
Besides the effleurage strokes, the most significant part of the massage was that Robin used a LOT of oil. She said it was good for my skin (and I believe her), but it was really a lot. Like, you know when you have too much lotion on your hands and you look for somewhere to wipe off the excess? That’s how much oil it was. I wanted a towel afterward to get it all off, but there wasn’t one. I just put my clothes back on my slippery body.
I guess I would have liked a more professional massage. You know — an intake questionnaire, a business card, a price guide for services, a place to leave tips… Something. Maybe a business license on the wall? It was a good massage and I felt great afterward. Oh — and she didn’t seem to like to talk during the massage which was just fine (I’ve had more than my fair share of chatty massage therapists). I might go back again, but I don’t think I would go out of my way to do so.