Clinic - 12/18/2010

I had my last public clinic of 2010 this past Saturday. I have eight more to go before I'm done.
Because BSOM has been running 2-4-1 specials in the Balt-y-more Sun, clinic was packed with clients.
As soon as I walked in the room to say that I was ready, they were giving me another client. Wow! Certainly beats sitting there and waiting for clients. As a result, I had another clinic day working on four clients!
I was quite tired afterward, but knowing that I could come home and be done with school for two weeks was quite rewarding.
I'm celebrating being off school this week by taking a few massage appointments for friends/family after work this week.
Honestly, I don't know what I'd do with the extra time if I weren't taking appointments. Probably be on facebook or youtube watching cat videos all night. Like this one: Animals Singing Jingle Bells
On Sunday, after Christmas day, I'm leaving for a week vacation in the Outer Banks. I will not think about school or massages. At least giving them. Hehe. My plan is to maybe get one while I'm on vacation. Wouldn't that be great?!!?

Day 138 - Can I Get an Amen!?!?!

Today was one of "those" days. It wasn't bad at the J-O-B, but we had one of the first snows of the season today. It began this morning, and it seemed that one by one, co-workers left and went home to miss either the snow or the traffic. It could go either way...people are nuts, ya know.
Anyway, knowing that my work commute is a whopping 14 minutes, I figured that I could handle staying until the end of the day. And I was busy the whole stinkin' time. I didn't even have time to primp my hair or do my nails!
Unfortunately, in those 14 commuting minutes, 12 of them are on a back, winding, hilly road.
Because I didn't feel like landing in a ravine or on the side of a tree, I really took it easy and it took me a whole 30 minutes to get home! That's over double my normal commute!
I couldn't handle that every day.
(Have I mentioned in my previous life, 30 minute commutes were considered a "good day"?)
There was a debate on whether or not we would actually have class or not tonight, and then after it was decreed that class would be held, a debate with myself if I would go or not.
But, after arriving home and freshening up a bit, I got back in the car, brought WGH with me, and we rode to Baltimore together. The roads weren't that bad, actually. And the traffic didn't stop/slow/get ugly until about the Patuxtant River bridge, close to I690-500.
Some call it 695, but I call it "six-ninety-five hundred" because of the way people* drive.
*I've become one of "those people."
Upon arriving at the school, I got my stuff, got into the classroom and we promptly took the anatomy final exam. After we finished, we were free to go because of the weather.
I actually stuck around after I finished. Well, mostly because WGH had gone off to the wild blue yonder that's also sometimes known as Arundel Mills Mall, but I also was able to find out my grade whilst waiting for him.
98% baby!
Yeah!
That's the way you do it!
Take that, Erector Spinae muscles! Oh yeah, transversospinalis muscles? What do you want, suboccipital? You want a piece of me, you sphenoid bone?
Don't worry, I got this.
Oh yeah...sorry. I tend to get excited about these sorts of things.
Tonight marked the end of classes for this year, so can I get an amen to that?!?!
I still have clinic on Saturday, but I think that's pretty easily handled.
So, in conclusion. I would like to say that WGH and I arrived home around 8:45 - and that was after making a pit-stop at Dunkin Donuts because SOMEBODY wanted a hot chocolate. Not naming any names or anything, Ricardo Leon Smith.

Day 137 - Almost There

One of my classmates said that whenever I mention anything lately, it's about the time off we have. Yeah, I'm a bit (a lot) excited about it. One more final tomorrow night.
Anyway, about tonight. I have been studying for this pathology quiz we had tonight for the last couple days. I think I did ok. I won't know the results until probably the new year. I may have actually gotten my first "B" out of this class. Wow. I'm just preparing myself for the possibility.
One thing I wish: I wish that when our Pathology "Textbook" talks about an abnormality, it would talk not only about what it is, where it came from, the functional significance, and the stuff it has in it now, but also how the Massage Therapist handles it - do we work on it or not?
After the quiz on the nervous system, we began learning about pathologies of the endocrine system. By the way, our "regular" teacher (still trying to figure out who our regular teacher is) was out sick so we had a TA teaching us the material. Since we aren't being quizzed or tested on this, and I was/am tired as an old coot, I left at the last break.
I'll have to make sure that I study endocrine pathologies before I take the national certification exam.

Day 136 - Shiatsu Takes My Breath

We had our final exam tonight for Shiatsu - a written portion and then a hands-on portion. I was quite confident in the written portion and highly confident for the hands-on portion.
We took the written portion first, and when I first got the exam, I brain-dumped the meridian circuits and any other pertinent information onto the back-page for reference. From there, I completed the hand and foot meridian points portion of the exam and then finally, to the rest of the exam. I was so confident in the whole thing, that I believed that I got a 100%. Later discussion revealed that I got a 99%.
I can live with that.
After I finished the written portion, I made a field trip to the gas station and filled up the tank. On a side note, since October 13th, when we purchased the commuter car, we have put approximately 7,000 miles on it. That's 7,000 miles in less than two months.
Wow.
Well, that's why we got that car. To put miles on it and not care.
Anyway, after returning to the school, I studied a little bit for the Pathology quiz tomorrow night and then began preparing for the hands-on portion of the Shiatsu exam. My partner went first performing the exam. She did well, I believe. Then we took a break and switched partners doing the work and it was my turn.
As soon as I started, I felt like I was breathing heavier than normal and my heart was beating faster than normal. I'm not usually one to get nervous over this sort of thing, but I had a pretty hard time trying to catch my breath while performing my protocol on my partner. Besides the fact that it's a very physical modality, if you don't center yourself just right to begin with, it takes way more effort to get there. I was "there," but my breath wasn't following me.
Well, I guess I should just keep working on getting back into shape and practicing yoga to help with flexibility and strength.
All-in-all, I think I did pretty well for both portions of the exam.
Another thing that we have learned in this class is that gas happens. Because of the physicality of this modality, sometimes gaseous expulsions have occurred, courtesy of fellow classmates. Tonight was no exception. And the best part: while the perpetrator of the expulsion was laughing because of the first expulsion, further expulsions ensued, which made the rest of the class lose their wu wei (beingness).
I guess this is better to happen in class, where we can get all the giggles out, rather than when it's our client on our table or on our Shiatsu mat.
In the meantime, WGH has been his wonderful, goofy self and been putting together our Christmas cards to get ready to mail out. Yeah, Christmas is in 10 days and we're just getting around to the cards. Considering that I was trying (unsuccessfully) to convince WGH that we didn't need to send out cards this year, I think we're doing pretty well.

Day 135 - Getting on My Nerve

Over the weekend, during clinic, I had four clients! I was tired after my shift, but I guess that's to be expected. My clients were quite pleasant, generally speaking.
One piece of advice, though. If you go get a massage, do the therapist a favor and bathe beforehand.
Thank you for your attention to this PSA.
In tonight's Pathology class, we learned more about abnormalities of the nervous system, both the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).
I found my nervous system starting to shut down around 9:00 tonight, though. Maybe it was the howling wind and cold outside and the warmth inside. Not sure, but at least I was able to get my notes down as best as I could.
Now I shall go let my body go into a parasympathetic state.

Day 134 - Shiatsu, Please, With Feeling

In our Shiatsu class tonight, we practiced our protocols and reviewed for the final exam next week. Also, we had a visitor, Gina, one of the school staff, who had come around to tell us about the new program the school has: Honor Roll. In order to be eligible, students would have to meet the requirements of at least 97% attendance and at least a 3.7 GPA for that five week session. She even had certificates with her for the students who made Honor Roll during the October term. Several of my classmates got them, but there was not one for me. I thought this was rather strange, being as how I'm always there and I have an overall GPA of 4.0. Oh, have I not bragged about that before? Let me now. I have a 4.0!
I gave her a puzzled look as she was walking out the door and she realized that what I was saying was, "where's mine?" She told the class that if anybody feels they deserve one but didn't get one, come see her. Well, don't you know that on the first break, I went to see her. I don't really care about the Honor Roll, but I do care about principle. The principle that says that I meet the requirements for it, and therefore, I should have gotten one. When she looked at my grades and attendance, she agreed, but apparently, not all of my grades have been turned in for clinic. Yes, we are graded for clinic.
Let's see, the session was mostly for October and early part of November, and it's now a month later. Is that not enough time to turn in grades?
Sorry, I didn't mean to sound snarky.
Well, yeah. Maybe I did.
Anyway, long story short: she'll be printing me out a certificate saying that I'm on the Honor Roll.
Now...who will be on the Ornery Roll?

Day 133 - Pathologeez

I have to say right now that I enjoy my classes, my classmates, and most of the teachers and even some of the substitutes. And as you know, there is always a BUT. BUT I'm really looking forward to not seeing any of them for two weeks over Christmas break. I need to just sit and stare* for awhile and not think about massage, anatomy, pathology, shiatsu, russian, acupressure, structure, cranialsacral, or professional development. If that's wrong, sorry.
At any rate, our teacher - I'm not really sure is supposed to be our "regular teacher" for Pathology anyway - wasn't there, so we got the joy of having one of our favs teach us tonight. She definitely knows how to handle our class, and I think that she is one of the only teachers that all of us respect and enjoy at the same time. And I'm not just saying that because I know she reads my blog.
Anyway, in our class tonight, we had a quiz first thing. Apparently, the majority of the class didn't do so well on it (I got seven out of 15), so she gave us the option of retaking it. I took the lifeline.
And ended up getting a 14 out of 15 in the re-take!
I have to say, Pathology has a lot of diseases/abnormalities that all sound the same, and it's really hard to remember which symptoms go with which name.
We then learned some pathologies of the nervous system. Some of them were very familiar, like ischemic stroke and intracranial inflammation - which is what happened to my dad almost exactly three years ago, but that's a whole long story in itself.
We also learned about seizures and some symptoms of the different types of seizures. Like muscle spasms or staring*. When we were talking about the symptom of staring, all I could think of is one of my frequent status updates on facebook: *blink*blink*stare*...meaning that I'm just so tired or out of it, that's all I can manage to do right at that moment.
Also of note, since we got CC (the Commuter Car), I fill it up with gas every night right before class or during the first break. Hey - with 200 miles a day between WGH and me, go figure. Anyway, oddly enough, the gas station I usually frequent next to the school was out of gas tonight. So I went to one down the street and found that it was also out of gas. What's going on in Linthicum that there is no gas???
There are a couple of guys that work at the gas station I normally go to. They are a trip. I was minding my own business a couple months ago, pre-paying for my gas with cash, and when I came back inside to get the change, Rashid told me that they don't give out change on Mondays. *blank stare*
The next night, he told me that they don't give out change on Tuesdays, so I said, "I thought that was Mondays." He said, "Monday is Kumail's night. Tuesday is my night." So we started a little rapport about it. Well, I had built up so much change from them, that one night, I took all of the one dollar bills to pre-pay for my gas and he was quite surprised and said something about all the ones. I told him that it was from all the times I worked the pole. I told him that I needed to get a better club where they throw fives and twentys. Yeah, I enjoy picking on my guys there.
Then there's the young lady that works at the Subway. She sees me and knows exactly what I want. Wow! Now that's service!
Anyway, a little long-winded tonight, but I remembered all these things that I wanted to share. Have a great night and a pleasant tomorrow.

Day 132 - Anatogeez

I had not really looked at the class schedule for a few days and couldn't actually remember what class we had tonight. Therefore, I also did not study for the quiz we had. And guess what? Our regular teacher wasn't able to make it, so we had a substitute. Actually, he's one of our regular TA's, so that was cool. It seems that because the class as a whole is so comfortable with him that he didn't get the respect I feel he deserved with being our instructor for the evening. But such is life sometimes. He did the best he could in the situation.
At any rate, we learned the muscles in the head - minus the facial muscles. They are in the book, but we didn't really go over them. If they're on the national certification exam, I'll have to study them on my own.
We also reviewed for our final exam next week.

Day 131 - Break 'Em In

In our Shiatsu class (you know - every time I type that, I have to be uber-careful to make sure I spell that one right) tonight, our class had the pleasure of breaking in another new teacher to the school.
She seems eager, knowledgeable, and personable. Sometimes, though, you want to ease into it, ya know. Maybe kinda hang back and watch. Let the regular teacher do her thing. Let the students do what they're doing - you know - practicing - before you bust in and say, "Hey, let's do a demonstration!" Demos are great, but if you're already in the middle of practicing, it may not be the best time to do so.
Just my two pennies.

Day 130 - Almost Forgot

We had class tonight. Yes, on a FRIDAY!!!
It almost broke my heart, but it was so chill and relaxed. We enjoyed some pizza, worked on protocols for Shiatsu, and set up for clinic. It was all-good.
After class was over, a few of the classmates and I got together for a little play time and chilled out at Ruby Tuesday down the street from the school. Just a nice time to chill outside of school in real clothes, not our school uniforms.

Day 129 - Could I Get An Extension?

In tonight's Anatomy class, we studied the extensor muscles in the back. As a Massage Therapist, it will be imperative for me to know these muscles, as these are the areas that seem to give people the most problems. And why I'm here to help.
I think I could almost geek out on this anatomy stuff sometimes.
Then other times...nope!
On a "life" note, I would probably consider myself a fast food snob. My idea of "fast food" is Panera Bread, California Tortilla, or maybe even Arby's and get a Market Fresh sammich. I haven't been to the Golden Arches for a lunch or dinner sandwich in years. Now, their breakfasts...well, I'll just say that I could pretty much scarf those down, but if there's a Panera around, that's going to win in my book, hands down!
However, let's talk about Sonic. Here in Frederick County, we see commercials for Sonic, but there's no Sonic within an hour's radius to us, that I know of. I do love me some Sonic sammiches and especially their tator tots and vanilla malts.
Well, one of my friends from class mentioned that he thought there was a Sonic within a five minute drive of the school.
My mouth started watering, just thinking about it.
After class let out, I drove over to where he said it was, but it wasn't there. But my watering mouth was still there. And there happened to be Hardee's, Taco Bell, Golden Arches, KFC, and Wendy's around there, too, where the Sonic was supposed to be.
So you know what I did?
After pulling into KFC's drive-through to find it already closed, I pulled into Wendy's drive through and got a chicken club. And it was delicious. No fries or drink. Just the sammich.
Why are you telling us this, Stacy?
I've actually forgotten the last time I ate at Wendy's. I think it's been years as well for them. And BK. And Hardee's. Years!
I hope that this was my "fast food" fix for awhile. Well, at least until Sonic comes to town.

Day 128 - Pathology of Arthrology

We got to take a quiz tonight in Pathology class on abnormalities of the Intgument system! Exciting, right?
I got 12 out of 15. Pretty good for not really studying, I think. I've been so focused on doing stuff for Shiatsu class that I've sadly been neglecting Pathology and Anatomy. I better get on the schtick, then, eh?
For our lecture tonight, we studied more of the Musculoskeletal system, in particular Arthrology - or the study of joints. I guess in this case it would be the abnormalities of the study of joints.
I guess I learned something. We'll see, I suppose.

Day 127 - More of a Good Thing

We had more shiatsu tonight, learning more anterior leg stuff and practicing our protocols. My partner got to practice our protocol and we were even able to fine tune it some more, even from last night's tuning.
We're gonna be rock-n-rollin. That's about all I got for tonight.

Day 126 - Flowing Like The Nile

Saturday afternoon's clinic seemed to be a bit slower than they have been. My guess is that many people were either out of town for Thanksgiving weekend or they were out Christmas shopping. Either way, there weren't as many clients this past weekend. Well, my Shiatsu partner and I got to practice shiatsu stuff on each other during a student exchange.
One of the clients I got to work on was a weight lifter, so his muscles just stuck out and said, "Hey! Massage me!" So I did.
Now, onto tonight's class. My partner and I have been working on our protocol and I gotta say - it flows like the Nile. We have certain moves that we have to do and we have been working on how to transition to the next move. It's been working out very well. I'll get it all typed up tonight or tomorrow and we'll be rockin' an' rollin'.
On another note, over the long weekend, I watched one of the things WGH had DVR'ed from last week: The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now. I have to say that I was inspired. So much so that yesterday morning, I did a 15 minute yoga routine and then took a 30 minute walk. This morning, I got up and did the same 15 minute yogo routine and took walks during each of my 15 minute breaks at work today. I'm not saying that I'm going to lose a bunch of weight, or any at all, but I know that I need to be way more physically active than I am now. With the exception of a few things I do for classes or clinic, I've been very sedentary and I'm really starting to feel the effects of that. So...I'm trying to find ways to at least incorporate some sort of activity into my routine.

Day 125 - Thanksnatomy

So this evening's class was one of the hardest to actually get to...mentally. It's the evening before Thanksgiving - turkey, dressing, mashed tators, and all that good stuff. I went to class anyway.
I'm pretty sure everybody who showed up for class was thinking the same thing: get this over with so I can go home and prepare for tomorrow.
We took our quiz (10 out of 10, baby!) and then after a break, learned more about the skeletal system.

I hope I can retain this information for recall later.
Or have to study.
EWWWW!
Well, off to dream about turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and dressing. Yum.

Day 124 - Musculoskeletal Pathology

In tonight's class, we studied some of the pathologies of the musculoskeletal systems. We also got our assignment for next class, in which we take "SOAP" notes on a client and then put a pathology on them (that they don't really have) and describe how we would change our SOAP notes based on that pathology.
SOAP notes are the typical way that people in a medical-type profession keep notes on clients/patients. It has nothing to do with hygiene and getting clean.
It stands for:
S - Subjective (what they say is the problem or what they are presenting with)
O - Objective (What the practitioner sees)
A - Assessment (what the practitioner does)
P - Plan (what the plan is for next time or in the mean time)
That's about all I have for tonight.

Day 123 - Extra Movin' and Groovin'

I do actually WANT to update after my shift in student clinic, but actually, I'm either too tired or too lazy. It could be either. During this past weekend, I worked the Saturday afternoon shift, where there aren't as many student therapists so we were all quite busy with taking clients. I actually worked with four clients and did no student exchanges during this shift.
Oddly enough, two of the clients asked me specifically to work on their abdomen, which is not something that I automatically included in the massages I have been giving. Another different thing is that I had all women for clients this time.
As far as class goes for tonight, I had shiatsu class in which we learned about the back and various meridians and points associated with it, including the energy path that runs along WGH's favorite place - the lamina groove. We also learned extra moves for the posterior side and all sorts of other stretches. I just practiced a couple of them on WGH. He's a good sport.
My partner and I have our final assignment/protocol started. Now, we just have to get it typed up and formatted with the right flow and that sort of thing. And practice it. Well, that will definitely take some time.

Day 122 - Getting a Clue with Shiatsu

Before I tell of all the exciting things that happened in class, I have to share a confirmation I received today on why I am going into this field.
While at the J-O-B, I noticed a co-worker in her office with the lights off, which was quite unusual. She explained that she had been experiencing one of the worst migraine headaches she's had - for the whole last week! She seemed very lethargic, too, which is pretty unusual for her. I told her that though I had learned some stuff that may help, I wouldn't want to "practice" on her. She said that she was going to the doctor and see if they can help.
After she returned from the doctor, she asked me to help her. Besides saying that she was experiencing stress and possibly not eating balanced meals, the doctor had found some knots in her trapezius muscles that may be causing the headache. I almost immediately found them and went to working them out, using some pincer techniques, friction, vibration, compressions, and good ol' petrissage. After about 10 minutes - 15 at the most - I felt I had done all I could in that "session" and wrapped up with her. She said that she felt better and more loose in the shoulders and after a little chat, she left the room. About 10 minutes later, she came bee-bopping back into the room with a much more energetic demeanor and said she was feeling better.
So, in case you're wondering, THAT'S why I'm putting myself through this grueling schedule. To help people feel better. I love that feeling!
Anyway, back to class. We discussed what a client's reaction may be to a shiatsu session, benefits to it, and a little bit more about Eastern Medicine and how it relates to shiatsu. I find it interesting that it seems to mix the physical work with the energy work. Of course, I could be wrong about all of that.
We got our "big" assignment, which is creating a protocol for a made up client. We also got to see protocols made up in previous classes, as well as see a little bit of demonstration of some "extra moves" that are to be used in the protocol. The extra moves seem to be very similar moves, if not the same, to Thai massage.
My understanding of Thai massage: do Yoga for your client and bend your client into a pretzel until screaming begins.
I could be wrong though. It's been known to happen on occasion.

Day 121 - Deja Vu Anatomy

Last week, we took our Anatomy I final exam which included the subject of muscle tissue, what it is, what kinds there are, and how muscles actually work. We had learned about sarcomeres, calcium's role, and what actins and myocins are.
In our first class of Anatomy II this evening, guess what? We reviewed muscle tissue, what it is, what kinds there are, and how muscles actually work, including sarcomeres, calcium's role, and what actins and myocins are.
Weird. Deja vu.
Last week, I ended up getting a 95% on the final exam, but wasn't really sure what all of the muscle stuff meant. Frankly, by the time we went over that last week, my brain had totally checked out. After tonight's review, I think I get it.
Yay!
As for the J-O-B, today was a strange day. Since the company had lost a contract back at the end of September, things have been rather slow. Well, today, TPTB executed multiple lay-offs. I was not one of the parties affected. I really want to add "unfortunately" to the end of that because in many ways, working 40 hours a week while doing this massage school program is hugely time consuming, physically and emotionally draining, and I never have time (or make the time) to clean the house.
But - I guess I have to help pay bills and make my contribution to society, so off to work I go.
Well, I mean, tomorrow, I will go to work. Tonight, I'm heading to bed.

Day 120 - Pathology - Kinda Like a Review

In last session's Anatomy class, we studied the Integument system (skin). In this session's Pathology class, we studied the Integument system - or more of what can possibly go wrong with the skin.
We learned about fungus on the skin, parasites on the skin, burns, frostbite, various STD's, and cancers that affect the skin. We got to pictures of examples of a good number of them. And I just gotta say - EWWWWWWW!!!!
All that to say that should I have you on my table and I say, "EWWWWWWW!" You might want to see your dermatologist.
Or if I just simply say, "I see this thing, and you may want to see your dermatologist." You might want to see your dermatologist.
Before these classes, I would not have called myself a germophobe. After all, I'm one of those people that pretty well thinks that we're too clean and too anti-bacterial. If you don't have some germs for your body's immune system to fight, it will just attack whatever foreign stuff it sees. Right?

Well, after serveral months of being classes, I started noticing that if I didn't wash my hands after a certain amount of time, or I was in a public place, touching railings or handles, I really had the desire to wash my hands. I especially noticed this feeling when I was in New York City a month ago.
Today, one of my co-workers at the J-O-B went home sick after making a technicolor offering to the toilet gods. After her departure, I got out the handy-dandy Clorox wipes, wiped down her desk, then sprayed everything around her desk that I could find with Clorox disinfectant spray. Then washed my hands twice, sprayed down everything in the restroom, washed my hands again, sprayed the door handles for good measure, and then washed my hands again.
When I arrived home after studying pathologies of the skin this evening, I washed my hands.
I think the classes are starting to affect me.

Day 119 - Shiatsu! God Bless You!

Class

Many moons ago when I worked at the old J-O-B, one of the neighbor companies in the office park was named "Otsuka." When my sister and I carpooled together, I asked her one time as we drove by the building, "What does that say?"
She replied, "Ott-soo-kaa."
So I responded, "God bless you," as if she had sneezed.
That's what the name sounded like to me.
A sneeze.
And that's what Shiatsu sounds like to me as well. However, unlike the Japanese pharmaceutical company, Shiatsu is a Japanese word that means "finger pressure," and we are studying this in class for the next five weeks. It's another modality, like acupressure, that is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. And you may remember how much fun I had with acupressure. I will say this, though. I can see me probably using this more than I will acupressure.
In tonight's class, we got a short lecture on what shiatsu is and then we got a demonstration of it. We also got to try a couple stretching things on our partner as well. In the next five weeks, we'll also be creating our own protocol to use on a client that my partner and I create. No, that is not a dangling modifier. We get to "create a client" with ailments and imbalances that can be helped by Shiatsu.
I think I'm looking forward to this class. At the very least, it will help me with my flexibility.
Things to remember for Shiatsu:

1. Yoga mat or really big thick mat (a mattress would be great, but my be bulky to carry into class)
2. Wash feet and change socks before going to school
3. Wear loose, comfortable pants, preferably sweats. Hello Kitty pajama bottoms could be fun, too.
4. Don't eat beans the day before or the day of Shiatsu class
5. Make sure to take care of any rest room needs before practicing

Clinic

In other news, I had my fourth (and final for this session) student clinic shift this past Saturday. My first client wanted deep pressure, but not on his back. Nothing on his back. The next hour, I got to receive a student exchange. As much as giving is good experience for me, receiving from another student is also good to pick up other ideas and have reminders about strokes and speed and that sort of thing. In the third session, I performed a student exchange. For the fourth and final session of the day, I had a young lady client who enjoyed her massage so much, she tried to give me a tip. I told her that I couldn't accept cash, but even more important to me now is a student evaluation feedback form.
From this week until the end of student clinic, I will be taking the Saturday afternoon shift, which means I won't be getting home until about 7:00pm.
Short term sacrifice for my long term goal...

Day 118 - Anatahuh?

After last night's shenanigans, I decided to take this afternoon off from the J-O-B and do some studying for tonight's final exam in Anatomy. I'd like to say that I was super-productive at the J-O-B, but I can't lie. I got some stuff done, but was too anxious about the exam to really be gung-ho about working.
Once I got home, I had some lunch, a spoonful of Nutella, and then proceeded to basically type out my own study guide in Power Point. It sounds silly, but it gave me the opportunity to go back and forth with all of my resources to get the information I need and try to put it in a logical fashion. I guess you could say that "it works for me."


After nearly three hours of doing that, I was pretty tired. After a spoonful of Nutella and setting the alarm on my cellphone, I laid down on the couch and looked at my Power Point study guide in presentation mode and kinda sorta fell asleep for a little bit.
When my alarm woke me up about a half hour later, I made some cawfie, got some dinner, enjoyed a spoonful of Nutella, got ready, and went to school, getting there almost 40 minutes early.
Several classmates were studying, so I joined in, chiming in when needed.
Our instructor was late due to traffic, giving us more time to study. When she arrived, we did a little review. During this time the education director came in and explained to us that for the next few weeks, there will be security at the school for our safety - due to a former student (our former classmate) who may not be reacting well to a situation. It didn't take a genius to figure out exactly why we were on lock-down last night.
We finally took the exam. I think I did pretty well. At least a 90%, but we didn't get our grades. There were only a few questions that I kinda guessed at, but all-in-all, I confidently went right to the answer.
After I finished, I signed out and got home at a decent hour. Now...where's the Nutella?

Day 117 - On Lock-Down

In this evening's anatomy class, we reviewed some osteology (bone) and arthrology (joints) prior to our quiz, then took our quiz. I'm sure I did well.
While my classmates and I were relaxing and chatting in the student break room, the education director came in and informed us that due to a situation, we were on lock-down. No students could go outside as the doors were locked and there were police outside.
That was a little freaky.
Little?
Especially since most of my classmates and I had a theory about what the lock-down was all about...or who and why, despite administration's denials that it had nothing to do with a student.
During the next break while there were many students in the breakroom (which is full of windows), they told us to go back to our classrooms.
All the activity made it very difficult to be able to process the information on which the instructor was trying to lecture.
Tomorrow is the final exam. At this point, I'm a little freaked out about the whole lock-down thing and the exam. Maybe I need a mental health day from work. Or at least half a day.

Day 116 - Russian Final

I must have a memory shortage on the weekends because I neglected (forgot) to post anything about student clinic from this past Saturday. I had three clients and one student exchange, which gives me a total of seven actual real clients that I've given massages. Out of those seven, six have been men. What are the odds of that?
One of the men this past Saturday was a young man, I'd guess in his 20's, and he never had a massage before. Since he seemed athletic, I figured I'd practice some of my Russian Sports techniques on him. He seemed to like it and I was glad for the practice.
Speaking of Russian, we had our final exam (written and hands-on) tonight. 98 and 100%, respectively, thankyouverymuch.
Now...on to study for the anatomy final exam on Wednesday.

Day 115 - United Again

We had Russian tonight, combined with the other class again. We went over more stuff for the written and hands-on final, then practiced a 15 minute back protocol.
Then - oh glorious day - we went home a smidge early! I was home before 23:00! That's 11:00pm for those who don't read military time.
So I'm keeping this short so that I might be able to go to bed before 23:00.
It's a beautiful thing.
And a big deal.

Day 114 - Something Going On Up In This Joint

In last night's class, we studied Osteology bone. In tonight's class, we extended that study into Arthrology - the study of joints. I mean, bone just doesn't work as well without joints. Just ask anyone with degenerative disc disease. So, we learned what joints are made of, their function, and such.
We also tested the theory that yawning is contagious. I don't believe it was the subject matter, but our instructor yawned, then a student, and soon, the whole class seemed to be yawning at once.
It was magical.

Day 113 - Getting Under My Skin

I guess taking anatomy, physiology, and pathology are necessary evils in massage school, but this is really getting to me right now. I don't know if I'm having a 'don't care' attitude about it or if I'm having a hard time soaking in the information due to the pace or simple annoyance in the class.
We had to finish up the lecture on the integument system (skin) and such since we have been behind in the lectures, and then take the quiz. We then learned about bone and what it is.
I want to really learn this stuff, but I think the pace is a little too quick to be really learning it, especially for folks who have - you know - real full-time jobs and have no time to do homework or study.
Also, I have a pet peeve with the "text book." I've mentioned before about how the book has some information in it, but the rest is completed during the lecture.
When I was in elementary school, high school, and college, back when textbooks were chiseled into stone, the information was complete. We took notes based on the lecture, not to complete the textbook.
I guess it's done a little differently.
On another note, at my J-O-B, there is not a lot of actual work to be done and that's making me a little antsy because they just sent one of my fellow data entry co-workers to the Gaithersburg office for a project there. I'm hoping to find enough work to keep me busy so they don't decide to send me to G'burg. I'd love to see my friends in that office, but with my school schedule, it would cause major stress and hardship.
Six more months.

Day 112 - Take Your Time, Don't Be Russian

I must also apologize for not reporting on Clinic, Day 2, so I'll give a brief run-down. Or maybe not so brief.
It went much more smoothly than the first day and I was a lot less nervous. I had two clients, both men and wanted deeper work, and two student exchanges in which I gave massage. Previously, I had been a bit aprehesive about giving my "all" in deep tissue work to women with small frames, but I think have at least gotten over some of that. At least I know that I won't break them now. I practiced that on both my student exchanges.
My first client actually asked what was the difference between regular massage and Russian massage, and I was quite excited to tell him a little about it and even practice a little bit on him, incorporating some of what I'd learned so far.
One of the things that is highly stressed in massage class is to make sure we have good body mechanics to preserve our bodies and give us longevity. It's particularly important to the back. A massage therapist with good body mechanics may have sore hamstring and gluteal muscles, but not a sore back. I'm proud to report that after I had driven home after clinic, it wasn't my back that was sore. It was my hamstrings and glutes that were a little more stiff!
Yay for me!
On to tonight's class. We learned the rest of the segments in Russian after effleurage, wringing and petrissage: friction, vibration, and percussion.
No, it has nothing to do with bongos, The Beach Boys, or cowbells, unfortunately.
After a brief demo, we got to practice a little bit with all of the segments in the order they are performed. Since we had more lecture tonight, we'll get to practice a lot more on Thursday in class.

Day 111 - Getting a Little Taste of Borscht

After calming down from last night's class, I found out that several other classmates were frustrated. Well, I guess we'll work together to achieve our goal: learning this anatomy information.
But in the meantime, we were in Russian Sports Massage (let's just call it Russian) tonight, combined with another class. Our instructor, who likes to make things run as smoothly as possible, had us actually do LOTS of bodywork tonight, even when we haven't learned all the strokes, just to get us used to the pattern of work in this modality.
My partner worked on me first and was still learning "the ropes" and was not overly thrilled with what he was learning from Russian.
When he got on the table, I tired to convince him otherwise, since I wholeheartedly enjoy this modality. He quite enjoyed the massage he got while I was practicing and I think I've converted his thinking.
Now, on to Friday and preparation for clinic on Saturday.

Day 110 - The Little People

Warning: This post is mostly a rant due to frustration. I may cover some of what we learned in class, but probably not a lot, due to reasons I will address in my rant. There's also a DC Talk reference at the end. DC Talk makes me smile.
Why is it that corporation heads or adminstration thinks of really good ways to do things, but doesn't always realize the ramifications of their decisions?
We have been in this program for six months. Six. SIX! When we entered the program, we were given ALL the books we would need for the next year of the program. We were combined with another class that had already gone through a five week session of classes, and it was a little stressful, as we had some "catching up" to do, but not much. Throughout the program, we have had one or two people come into our class to make up time or finish out the program with what they needed and it wasn't too stressful.
When we started this new five week term, TPTB (The Powers That Be) had two brand-new students join our class. They were where we were SIX months ago. To say that they had some catching up to do with our class is an understatement. They got their books. Guess what? Their books are NEWER EDITIONS and aren't consistent with what's in our "old" books!
It may not sound too bad, but guess what? Our poor anatomy instructor has to take time to figure out what page contains what information and make sure that the information is consistent for both. As a result, we are about 3/4 of a class behind where we should be, according to the syllabus. How will we catch up? By rushing through the material and not understanding?
This evening, we finally finished the lecture from last night's class and took the quiz - shortly before 9:00 pm - nearly two hours after class started!
After we got the quiz behind us and took our mandatory break, we finally got to learn about the Integument System. That's the skin and epidermis* and that sort of stuff.

Now, let me take a moment to describe our "textbook" for Anatomy. The lecture is meant to complement the book, and therefore, is where we take notes for what we're supposed to know about the subject matter. So, in order to do any homework, we have to get through the lecture for the complete information. Since we didn't start until two and a half hours after we should have, we did not get through all the material and the material we DID get through is all confusing because we were trying to rush through it and write down what notes we need to have the information. And since we didn't finish the material, our homework won't be completed by the next session because we haven't gotten there yet. *Breathe*
This is one of those rare evenings where I am a bit frustrated. At least I had a 40 minute drive to think and calm down a little bit.
*I can't help but think of the DC Talk song "Colored People" whenever they mention "epidermis." Lyrics: "Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, mister/I couldn't help but note your shade of melanin." It's about God's colorful creation and how we're all just colored people and we see the beauty in the tones of our skin. Give it a listen if you feel so inclined.

Day 109 - Can You Hand Me A Tissue?

I'm gonna make this a short post. Not because I'm tired or anything like that.
Well, ok. Actually, that's the reason. That and there's just not a lot that sticks out in my mind tonight. Or is it because I'm tired? Could be.
After taking our Anatomy quiz on chemistry and cells (I got a 10 out of 10), we learned about Histology. Not History, but Histology. It's the study of tissue. Things like simple squamous tissue and columnar epithelial tissue.
Impressive, huh?
We also learned for which possible functions they each may be used.
Now, let's see if I can remember what all of it means when it comes to tomorrow's quiz. Now, to go rest my epithelial tissues.

Day 108 - International Delights

As I have discussed previously, I am in a Russian Sports Massage class. Interestingly enough, we aren't learning Russian words, but using the same French words we have learned for Core class: Effleurage and Petrissage. I feel very international now.
In tonight's class, we went over what sort of Petrissage we'll be using in Russian Sports Massage, the different strokes we'll be using, and whether we are pushing or pulling the muscle.
Also in class, we discussed how things went over the weekend in student clinic. There seems to be a consensus that the clinic doesn't have a lot of organization nor communication. (ie - there was a lot of complaining about not knowing where to go at first) I'm just trying to stay of the mind like one of my classmates: just go, do the massages assigned to me, and get the experience.

About The Commuter Car

There are a couple things about the Commuter Car I have neglected to mention. Well, ok, I forgot actually. Usually when I post to this blog, it's late at night and I'm possibly already half asleep.

When I was on the phone with Matt at the insurance company to add CC, the 1995 Geo Prizm Commuter Car, to the policy, we were discussing liability (a requirement) and comprehensive (in case of SSD - Stoopid Suicidal Deer*), and I was being a wee bit sarcastic in my description of the car, being as how it's a 1995 Geo Prizm. Hey - don't get me wrong. I think the car is great and it serves its purpose as to why we bought it in the first place. Anyway, I asked Matt if he suggested any other types of coverage for it. He replied, "Towing."
I like Matt.
The other observation about CC is that it has NO lumbar support for the back, to which my back has protested. I had a classmate work on my back during clinic yesterday, and I have put a little pillow in the car for support for my back.
*Due to an unfortunate incident with a deer last year, WGH has renamed them to DAD, short for Dumb A$$ Deer, but this being a (mostly) family-friendly blog, I didn't want to write that.
But I just did. Well, you may see either acronym (DAD or SSD) pop-up again. Well, hopefully, you don't because if you did, that means that there was another unfortunate incident with one of them.

Clinic, Day 1

I got up EARLY on a Saturday morning, after going to bed at 10:00 on a Friday night. Man, how is that for getting older?
I got up at 6:45, got ready, had some cawfie, breakfast, and left around 7:50, arriving just after 8:30 for my first day of student clinic. KB, our clinic director, paired another classmate and I up with a "mentor" to show us the ropes on getting linens, lotion, and clients. After getting my "cubicle" set up, with nervous excitement, I went and got my first client, who was a man who appeared to be a little older than myself and said he was a "good guinea pig." I got the massage started and a couple pieces of equipment in my cubicle didn't work they way they were supposed to, like the head rest and stand-up lamp that became the leaning lamp of Pisa. But, I got through it, and after 50 minutes, I closed and escorted him back to the "station," where he completed his evaluation on me.
During the second session, there were no clients left, so I participated in a student exchange by having a couple classmates give me a chair massage. It was rough, I tell you. (/sarcasm) Actually, it was just what I needed to help me get through to the end of the shift.
During the third shift, I got the name of a client, but she was not in the room anytime I went to get her, so I just did a student exchange with another classmate in which I was the practitioner.
I finally got a client during the fourth session, who really only wanted her back done. For 50 minutes.
Well, let's just say that I improvised a lot.
I asked if she wanted her feet done (to at least give me some rest from the back), and she did, so I worked on her feet for about 5-10 minutes each. I pulled out all my techniques for feet, and during the evaluation, that did not come back void. She loved the foot massage! Yay!
During the times where I didn't have "clients," I signed up for getting a facial after my shift ended. After I signed out, I treated myself to getting a facial from another student. What a great decision! Not only has my face been exfoliated, but it calmed me down from a morning of nervousness, chaos, and general "not-knowing-what-to-expect."
When I got home, I became a vegetable on the couch for a little bit then the hubby and I went clothes shopping. What fun!

Day 107 - Proton Packs and 80's Flashbacks

I took chemistry - oh - about 22 years ago or so, and the class I took was Chemistry and Society, which was a science class for non-science majors. Definitely me. I enjoyed the chemistry class because it was stuff I could actually relate to: acetone is the active ingredient in fingernail polish remover. And then to find out that acetone will also make styrofoam non-puffy, melting it, in effect. That stuff was way cool. Not like whatever it was that the science majors had to take!
In tonight's anatomy class, we went over at a very high-level about chemistry. Basically, what is an atom, a cell, and so on and so forth. When we started discussing protons and neutrons, it all came back to me, but I also had an 80's flashback to the Ghostbusters strapping on their proton packs and capturing ghosts.
We also starting going over information about cells and their structures and functions, but we ran out of time and had to turn our classroom into the clinic setting. We had to fold up our classroom tables and bring in massage tables, pull the curtains around to form "cubicles," and make sure that each cubicle had what it needs: table, chair, stool, head rest, and bolster, which is a fancy name for round pillow used for support.
This Saturday, I begin my time in public clinic for four and a half hours pretty much every Saturday between now and March. After my shifts, I plan on giving a review, or at least my view of what happened.
So, until then, Bon Soir.

Day 106 - Just Call Me Martika

I'm just gonna say it: I love Russian Sports Massage! This stuff makes sense, helps you understand proper body mechanics, and dang it, it feels good, too!

In class this evening, we got beginning information about a few of the strokes used and where to use them. Then we got to practice them on each other. I know I definitely need practice on everything, but from what we did tonight, it just seems so - uh - gonna go Spock here - logical.
At one point while working on my partner, with my best Checkov impression, I said to my partner, "My name is Martika and I will be working on you tonight."
Man! Two Star Trek references! Sweet!
Oh, sorry, back to reality.
Since my blog forum is about the whole massage school experience, I just have to share this...when I left for school this evening, WGH wasn't home. Therefore, we didn't get to really talk to each other today and give each other our affirmations and all that mushy stuff. We try to find ways to communicate with each other the information needed. Today's communication, besides texting, was leaving MS Word documents open with messages like, "Thanks for taking care of me" or "Love you bunches" or you know, mushy stuff. I really couldn't do this without him or his support, physical, emotional, and all that jazz. I surely don't want to take him for granted.
Of course not, and don't call me Shirley.

Day 105 - Anatomizer

Our class has had at least two anatomy classes, classified as V and VI. Well, this evening, we started Anatomy I. I think that Anatomy I would have been a lot more helpful SIX MONTHS AGO!
That could, of course, be a personal opinion.
At any rate, I put gas in CC this evening, with a total of 178 miles and put in 5.4 gallons, for approximately 34 MPG. It's not AS exciting as last night's report, but still pretty cool anyway. WGH's commute can be very much stop-and-go-in-rush-hour-traffic-on-the-270-parking-lot whereas mine is straight down the highway at 70 MPH. Or so.
We began our first class of Anatomy I with Jenna Kate as our instructor. She is a self-professed anatomy geek and gets very excited about anatomy. And she makes it more interesting than just learning facts. She can relate it to us by playing Simon Says or demonstrating "dorsal" vs "ventral" with a chocolate bar.
I'm thinking that some of this stuff is going to be a refresher, since we've gone through so much already, but I did learn some stuff tonight. A good portion of it is just about WHERE to find anatomical parts and how to describe a location. For instance, I have a three inch scar medial to my right patella. I could go so far as to say it's on my inferior limb, but right patella is pretty specific. Most NORMAL people would just say that they have a scar next to their right knee.
I do think it's kinda cool though - just being able to toss out anatomical terms like I was ordering lunch at Panera.
Hmmm...Panera.

Day 104 - A Good Day

Last post, I discussed the new "Commuter Car" that WGH and I are sharing. This evening, it proved one of its points as to why we purchased it, which was to save money on gas, wear and tear on our other cars, and just to have an extra car - just in case something stoopid happens. On Friday, when I took possession of the car, I filled it up with gas for $25.00. I drove it Friday evening to class and back Saturday, and then WGH took it to work today and then I took it to school for a total of 246 miles since I filled up. I like to fill up at the gas station by school, and since I was going there, I went ahead and filled up, even though it didn't absolutely need it as it was on a half tank.
I ended up putting $19.00 in for 6.8 gallons, for an average of - wait for it - 36 miles per gallon!
Yay! That's what it's all about!
For those who use modern vernacular, that's the shizzle!
After my excitement about getting gas, upon arriving at the school, I entered the classroom and I think I saw the heavens open up! The instructor from our first class was standing at the front of the room, getting ready to teach us Russian Sports Massage! It's safe to say that the whole class was excited to have Molly back. One classmate even baked cookies for the occasion, which we did NOT eat in the classroom since we're not allowed to have any food or drink in the classroom besides water.
Of course we wouldn't eat cookies in the classroom.
You betcha.
We wouldn't DREAM of doing such things.
Anyway, after having a cookie or two, our world was opened up to Russian Sports Massage. This modality actually makes sense to me. I can see it and touch it, unlike CranioSacral or Acupressure. I GET it, and it's only the first class.
In a nutshell, it teaches a certain protocol to use, specifying exactly which muscle group to work and what type of stroke to use, at what pace, and for how long. It's pretty much like the recipe for how to give a massage for repairing muscles that have been worked due to strenuous activity. If you can read a cookbook, you can understand the modality.
I think I'll like it, even if I don't play sports.

Day 103 Core Being

On Day 103, we took our final exam for this week's Core class. It was pretty much simple and straight-forward: come in, get the table set up, get on the table, get massaged for 50 minutes, get off the table, clean the table up, reset the table, have my partner get on the table, do a massage for 50 minutes and the instructor comes around and asks to see a couple strokes. Pretty simple.
Enough to earn me 99 points out of 100 for the exam! Yay!
I do have to say that my partner was not having a very good day, but I am so impressed with her that she was able to lay all of that aside and give me a great massage! She was truly "in the moment" which is what "beingness" is all about.
After the exam was over, we were free to go, and it was a bit earlier than usual, so that was quite exciting. A classmate and I ended up crashing at another classmate's house and we enjoyed the rest of the evening hanging out.
This morning, we got up and went to our Student Clinic orientation so we know what's expected of us for this portion of our education. It's going to be a gruelling six months. So the question is, should I count clinic in my "day count"? If so, we're talking Day 104.
In other news, since WGH and I end up driving about 200 miles between work and school each day, we purchased a "commuter car" that will be less of a hit to our pockets for gas. He took off yesterday to get it legal to drive with registering and such, so I got the chance to drive it to school last night and then home again this afternoon. It's a 1995 Geo Prizm, a smaller car than what I'm used to, and it actually does pretty well. What was really fun was filling the gas tank and it only took $25.00. I've driven 100 miles on it since filling it up and it was on about 3/4 tank. So, I think this is going to be a great thing for us in saving a little bit of dough, between gas and maintenance costs on the two other (bigger) cars.

Day 102 - Musical Tables

We had an interesting alternative to our regular bodywork tonight. Usually, we partner up with one person (sometimes scheduling a day or so ahead of time with the partner you may want to work with) and exchange bodywork. After I had set up with my partner for this evening, the instructor threw a curve ball at us: half of us would be on the table (face down) and the other half would choose one of the classmates to work on, work for 10 minutes, then switch, work for 10 minutes, then switch, and work for 10 minutes. The person on the table, who may not even know who's working on them, can give feedback on their experiences with each practitioner.
Despite the grumbling over the curve ball, it seemed that the class enjoyed the experience, from both sides of the table.
I guess it goes to show that it's ok to shake things up once and awhile.
Final exam for Core tomorrow night. Then clinic orientation at 9:00 am Saturday. I'm crashing at a classmate's house tomorrow night after the final, since driving 41 miles back home after the final and 41 miles back eight hours later does not sound appealing.

Day 101 - Core 101

In this evening's class, we had a three minute lecture, then had a 50 minute demo from both the instructor and the TA, each working on one of our classmates. I think most of us were wishing we were the ones on the tables. After the demo, we set up and we did our own bodywork, about 40 minutes worth for each partner. Ahhhhhh....got to be first on the table, which really set me up to get ready to give a massage. It's amazing after five weeks of not giving many massages, how out of practice I felt. Well, that's all going to change in the next week. Core class, then clinic.

Day 100 - Back to Basics

Every couple of sessions, like this new one, we take a four day "Core" class, which is basic Swedish massage, including the proper draping, strokes, and other, well, basic stuff.
Our class had not seen each other since Thursday night's final exam, and today was Tuesday, by the time we got to class tonight, it was like a family reunion, with everybody just chattering away.
Because it was the first night, we ended up only doing about 30 minutes of actual body work with our partners, and then switching.
Over the weekend, one of my girlfriends and I went to New York City on a "Girls Whirlwind Birthday Tour" where we left early Sunday morning, had brunch, went to a show, a jazz club, dinner, stayed in a fancy schmancy hotel, got up and did some more touring, and then took a bus arriving back in the DC area around 8:00 pm Monday night, which was last night. If you think that was a long sentence, then you get the picture of what a whirlwind tour we had! We walked. A lot! I mean, we walked from the bus to the subway. We walked to the activities. We walked all over the street festival around Times Square. Get the picture? We walked.
Remember that because I've been in school and working at a full-time J-O-B, I haven't really had time to concentrate on exercise, unfortunately. So all this walking...whew! If I sat down too long, my legs would get stiff, so I really have had to work the juice back into my joints and muscles.
With all that walking and stiffness in my legs, tonight's teaser 20-30 minute massage was just that: a tease. I look forward to tomorrow night's class and hopefully having more time for being on the table!

Day 99 - Finality of Pressure

Well, we took our Acupressure Final Exam tonight, with a written portion worth 100 points and a hands-on portion worth 100 points.
I have been studying during breaks at work, lunchtime, and even during work when there isn't any work to do (yeah, it happens sometimes). There was a whole bunch of information that we had to know and it wasn't "natural" stuff like we Westerners are used to.
I'm very glad to be done with it and I'm also very proud to say that I got a 98% on the written portion and a 100% on the hands-on portion. Usually, I'm not as impressed by a hands-on grade, but this time, the last week of studying has been for this particular portion. Needless to say, I'm quite relieved.

Day 98 - Which Class?

Tonight's class was Pathology and we had our quiz. Oddly enough, there was not a final exam in the class, but it was the last quiz, only worth 15 points. Which, I got 15 points, BTW.
At any rate, after the quiz (10 minutes), we didn't really have much else to learn, so the TA from our Acupressure class came in and reviewed for tomorrow night's final exam. So, I got slightly confused as to what class I was in this evening.
Also, since we didn't have much else to learn, I left about a half hour early. Rebel, I tell ya. I'm such a rebel.

Day 97 - I See Your Point

In our Acupressure class tonight, we reviewed all that is going to be on the test, went over the Golden Points, some meridians, and just generally reviewed.
In my humble opinion, this has been one of the toughest classes we've had. Oh sure, we've had anatomy, pathology, and trigger point, but I think that because we've had to learn something totally foreign to us, based on Traditional Eastern Medicine, it's more difficult. Not only do we need to all of the theory behind it, but the points themselves, and why we might use these points. It's a lot of information. I think I'll go study some more. Or sleep. Whichever.

Day 96 - Vision Test

Every few years, we have to renew our drivers license, which means that they have to test our vision to make sure we can see well enough to drive. Sometimes, we have a special code on the license to say that we must be wearing corrective lenses because our vision isn't good enough to drive without them.
In tonight's Professional Development class, we took the "level" test, which is basically the same as a final exam. I think when I snuck a peak at my grade on it, I believe I saw a 50 (out of 50). Yay me!
After taking the final, each student in the class presented his or her "vision" of what they want to do with their massage career, which had to include their goals and their purpose. The visions in the class were as diverse as the class itself. Some students don't know what they want to do, but just explained why they're in the class, some shared their life history to demonstrate why they are going the direction they are going, some have grand visions of huge wellness centers, some have visions of working in the medical community, and one or two may have left us scratching our heads or wiping the tears from our eyes. Regardless of their vision, they shared a part of themselves and gave a glimpse into what makes them tick.
I think I have a new-found respect for some of my classmates because of their visions. The question is - do you need your vision examined?

Day 95 - Acu-Barometric-Pressure

Today was marked by rain. Lots of rain. It had been raining most of the day, stopped for a little bit, then right before I left the J-O-B, it started again. And it poured. The last several months have been quite a drought, yet now we get three or four days of straight rain. When I drive to my J-O-B, I pass a farm with a pond on it. During the drought, the farmer had to send horses into the "pond" to eat all the grass in it. All the water was gone. Since the rain started a few days ago, it took until TODAY for the pond to get some water in it again - and then it was only about 10 feet across when I drove home.
When I left for school, it was barely spitting, but on the way to school, I went through a downpour for a good 10 minutes up the road. Then the skies cleared and I was able to get to school with no problems. About a half hour after my arrival at school, the rain caught up to me there, too. From the classroom, we could hear the patter of rain on the roof. And it hasn't stopped. Not even for a little bit during my drive home. Ugh!
Anyway, for our Acupressure class, we learned about the Water element. Yeah, ironic, huh?
We also reviewed some things to prepare for the final exam and then looked at some case studies on how to determine what treatment to use for a client and their condition. We also interviewed each other. Or at least that's what we were supposed to do. We mostly sat around and chatted...sometimes even about Acupressure.
Oddly enough, I'm getting this stuff.

Day 94 - Got My Sentence

I figured it out yesterday. Between work and school, I think I'm gone from the house about 60ish hours a week. Wow!
Tonight, I got my schedule for Student Clinic beginning October 16th. For the most part, I'll be there Saturday's from 1:30 until 6:00. So, my 60ish hours, will be jumping to 65 hours.
And I wonder why I impersonate slugs on Sunday's. (/sarcasm)
We also had Pathology class, where we learned the importance of nutrition and more information on how to take SOAP notes. SOAP stands for "Subjective, Objective, Assessment/Action, and Plan. It's a way that we can keep notes on our clients and track their progress through their therapy. Yes, we even keep notes on people who are just there for basic relaxation. I think even doctors take a version of SOAP notes, too. Theirs are probably illegible. Mine probably are, too.

Day 93 - Be of Good Chair

Usually, the quote is "be of good cheer," but we practiced chair massage again tonight, so we want to get good at it, right?
We reviewed a little for our Level Test (Final Exam) for Professional Development I during the lecture part, and then we got to practice more seated chair massage.


Our instructor and I were discussing why it was in a Professional Development class, but I guess they view it as an alternative source of income for Massage Therapists and practitioners. Some companies even have LMT's come in on a regular basis. It can be done in the mall, airport, bus stations, train stations, truck stops, rest stops, or basically anywhere that people may tend to be a little stressed. It's done with clothes on, so there's no need to worry about modesty issues. It seems like a great deal all around!
At any rate, it helps me to realize that maybe that could be one avenue I could persue in my massage career. Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger, and I don't know if I'll be able to handle the physical demands on a day to day basis. So something less taxing on my body, like seated chair massage may be a good supplement to my regular "table clientele."
Speaking of physical demands, one thing I know I will have to make a priority once I graduate (and have my celebratory vacation/s) is to get into better shape. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out any time to get significant physical activity, so I just do what I can as far as diet and trying to get enough rest. Like I said, it'll happen once I graduate.

Day 92 - Heave Metal, Dude!

This past Saturday, WGH, one of my classmates who's become a good buddy, and I went to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. Her Majesty's Healers is in a garden where guests of the Renn Fest can come, relax, and get massaged by one of the licensed therapists. We all indulged ourselves and got some sort of treatment shortly after we first arrived - before the massive crowds and pandemonium broke out. This was my first professional massage since I started school, so I was eager to take mental notes.
I was able to note a couple things, but for the most part, I relaxed and enjoyed it. She traced meridians on my legs (I got the legs and feet done) and did a little Thai work on them in addition to the typical Swedish style that so many are used to getting.
Not to brag on my classmates or anything, but quite honestly, it felt very similar to the massages I've received in class. The therapist that worked on me was also a graduate of the Baltimore School of Massage.
We spent the rest of the time there shopping and revelling in the Festival.


So, back to school and tonight's Acupressure class. We went over the element of Metal this evening, with its Archetype being the Alchemist. My buddy was one of two Alchemists (Metal) in the class. They are very methodical and there are set protocols to doing everything. According to the theories, Earth creates Metal and Fire controls Metal.
For bodywork, we traced the meridians (which are channels of energy, according to the theories) for Metal, which are the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. That sounds oh-so-enticing, doesn't it?
We also went over the flows for treatment. The flows are acupressure points related to this element, worked in a certain pattern, kinda like a recipe. I think I better get to practicin' cookin' with the cookbook, eh?

Day 91 - Earthtones

I may have mentioned previously that I have a gravy J-O-B. Especially right now when we are in between contracts/projects - basically, there is not a whole lot to do. Today, I spent most of the work day doing homework and creating study guides for the classes in which we have tests or quizzes.
I got together a study guide in Power Point for Acupressure class, and in setting it up, I had to review the material, and of course, I started grasping some of what they're trying to teach us. What a concept!!!
In class tonight, we studied more about the Body Clock as it relates to Acupressure and then we studied the element of Earth and all that entails.
Well, in the Archetype assessment we took, Earth was my strongest one, and its Archetype equivolent is "The Peacemaker." The description in our book says that this person brings people together, and is prone to lethargy. Yeah, I get it, I'm a slug who wants to throw parties.
After going through all that information, we got to get used to what "the work" potentially is for balancing this individual. For the person on the table, it's nap-time. For the person "doing the work," it's about bringing together points on the body through meridian connection. Or something like that.
Like I said, I'm just STARTING to get it.

Day 90 - Environmentally Healthy

A huge topic in the media these days is about being environmentally friendly and keeping the earth green. Businesses advertise their products as "being green" or "environmentally friendly" or "Made from recycled materials." Conscientious people are looking for more organic products, provided without the use of pesticides or hormone-enhancement or harsh chemicals.
In this evening's Pathology class, we discussed "Environmental Health" - basically things in our environment, whether by choice or involuntary exposure - and their effects on the body. Things like radon, carbon monoxide, smoking, alcohol, cocaine, and even delved into substance addiction. Quite eye-opening. We heard statistics like Baltimore has the highest heroin-addiction ratio in the US, with one out of ten people being addicted. I'm so naive when it comes to that stuff. I've never even seen anything "harder" than marijuana, "the gateway drug" - and I haven't even seen that for almost 20 years!
We also discussed some aspects of Pharmacology that we may need to know as Massage Therapists, as we need to understand what medications our clients are taking and the potential harmful effects massage may have on them.

Yes, your medications may affect your reaction to massage, so be careful and let your Massage Therapist know everything you're taking!

*Stepping down off soap-box now*
In other news, WGH has asked me what I want for a graduation present. I told him, "A Vacation."

Day 89 - Have a Seat, Get a Massage

A bunch of years ago, when I was previously married, my then-husband and I went to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival and we loved it. One of the many artisans/vendors there was called the Healing Gardens, which was basically a place that did massages. At the time, I treated myself to a foot massage and he got a neck and shoulder massage - a much more expensive treat. They did his massage fully clothed and seated in a special chair. I got a foot bath and a massage. The poor young lass doing my foot massage had to take my dusty, sweaty shoes and socks off my feet. No wonder they included the foot bath! It sure did feel heavenly, though.
Little did I know then that I would be venturing into massage myself years later!
I tell that story because we learned about chair massage this evening in Professional Development, from lecture to actually using these chairs, we got to learn about them. Because of the nature of these type of massages and where they are done (work places, malls, events, airports, and other public places), they aren't necessarily for relaxing, as Swedish table massages are, but are used to energize people in addition to its other benefits.
We combined with another class to practice, and each chair had three or four in a group using it: one in the chair getting worked on, one working on the back, and one (or two) working on the arms. Well, I had a group with four in it. When it was my turn to get in the chair, I had three people working on me. Can you say, "Ahhhhh..."?
Another area I may check into after graduating: doing massages at the Rennaissance Festival. Talk about coming full circle!

Day 88 - Fire!

In tonight's Acupressure class, we learned about the Fire element and what do with it in doing an Acupressure session with a client.
I may have mentioned in a previous Acupressure post that one of the things we're learning is how the five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, and wood) work together in Traditional Chinese Medicine, even with personality types...or in this case, they're referred to as "Archetypes."
According to acupuncturetoday.com, "Archetypal expressions of fire include compassion, communication, pleasure-driven, seeking novelty and excitement. This individual thrives on the ecstatic nature of new love and will do just about anything to avoid routine or boredom."
According to the "quiz" in the book, I'm pretty high in fire, so I'm not sure how to take this.
I actually tried to get something out of tonight's class. I guess that's a good thing. I think I was pretty bummed out last week by my low grade on the quiz I took. I am still not totally sure about all of this stuff, but I gotta learn it anyway, so just relax and have fun with it.

Day 87 - Eastern Mumbo Jumbo to Western Girl

Ok, so to say that this whole Acupressure thing seems a little hokey to me may be an understatement. That being said, it's still part of the curriculum of the school and I need to learn it, whether I believe or like it myself.
Mostly what I don't understand why I have to know some of this stuff is the whole Traditional Chinese Medicine stuff and the study of Tao and Yin & Yang. Maybe I'll "get it" more as I go on through this class, but for right now, it just seems so foreign to me. Well...ok it IS foreign to me.
We had a quiz this evening. Six of the 25 points were random words (warm, night, summer, external) and we were to say whether they were "Yin" or "Yang." It reminds me a lot of French class in high school when we had to learn nouns as masculine or feminine. Basic memorization.
I can grasp that the body has certain points on it that could control pain, tension, or whatever, but the rest of the stuff (Yin & Yang), I really don't have much interest in learning.
Oh. And that quiz with 25 point? I got a 15, with only getting two of those six Yin & Yang points correct. At least I know what other Mumbo Jumbo I'll need to learn for the final exam.
Speaking of Mumbo Jumbo, check this out. Hysterical!
How to Massage Your Oppossum

Day 86 - Study of Stuff We've Studied Before

I feel like tonight's class in Pathology was a repeat of stuff we've studied in Anatomy class - oh about six weeks ago. I guess they have to make up 768 hours teaching us something, so they may as well make sure we know it by repetition.
Immune Systems and Transmission of Disease. However, we did study a section on Neoplasia, which I was impressed to find out had nothing to do with the Matrix Trilogy of movies. It's actually about cancerous tumors.
I hate cancer. It's taken away far too many friends.

In other news, while rinsing out the shampoo from my hair this morning, my doorbell rang. Being totally unable to get to the door, I basically ignored it. After I finished my shower and was drying off, my phone rang. Somebody obviously wanted me. It was the roofing company asking me to move my car parked in the driveway so they could toss the old materials into their dumptruck. All that to say, we now have a new roof on our house.
Other random thought: Cheerios at 11:00 pm (2300 hours for you military types) are delicious.

Day 85 - Purpose, Vision, and Goals

Have you ever wondered what your purpose is? What your vision is? What your goals are? This evening's Professional Development class talked a lot about those three things. What we really want to do and why, and how are we going to get there. Our big assignment for this class is to create our vision, write it, and tell the class about it in a five minute presentation.
Several of my classmates have expressed their wish to NOT present it to the class - because that would be getting up in front of people and talking. I have to say, that's one fear I don't have...public speaking. I had no problems before, but then I took a Dale Carnegie course on human relations and public speaking, so that is soooo far behind me. Now all I can do is encourage those around me when they have their turn to "step up to the microphone."
My problem now is that I have so many ideas about what I want to do with Massage Therapy that I am having trouble deciding exactly which vision I want to present to the class and write about. There's the vision of freedom and the open road and there's the grand vision of planting a multi-faceted business that incorporates massage into it as one aspect of it.
So the question is - low-key or grand?
I'm such a low-key kinda person, but the grand idea - well...just getting it down on paper could be very fun to imagine it.
The other part of the class, we took out a piece of paper and wrote down three lists: things that are important to me, what I like about myself, and what I would change about myself. Then, some of us shared them with the class. From important things to us like cupcakes and cawfie (my spelling, thank you) to God, family, and stability it was Very interesting to get to know classmates even better - and OFF the massage table!
So what about you? Have you written your lists of those three things?

Day 84 - Another Day - Another Quiz

We had our Pathology quiz this evening on our introductory information. I ended up getting a 13 out of 15. After the quiz, we learned about Inflammation, Wound Repair, and Hemo-something. Basically, it was all about how the body tries to heal itself. There is a lot of information covered in these classes and it's almost impossible to remember all of it, let alone share everything here. As if I'm sure you want me to share all of it.
Usually, when I get home from class and write this blog, I'm still trying to remember all we did. It hasn't been committed to long-term memory. I also don't consult my notes or books when I write this, so that's why it seems like I make up words. Well, I do, actually. Because I just can't remember all of it.

Day 83 - Wizard of Peacemaking Fire

WGH and I met on eHarmony.com. Yes, we're one of the couples that could be on one of those sappy commercials. Except we're not usually that sappy. Silly. Not sappy. As evidenced by our wedding - and its photos.
When signing up for eHarmony, I had to fill out an hour long personality profile to determine my 29 characteristics they would match on and also told a lot about my personality. Go figure. A personality profile to tell about my personality. How novel.
It all turned out pretty well, considering that I got the WGH out of it.
As part of our acupressure textbook, there is a profile to fill out to find out more about who we are and what potential "imbalances" we may encounter as a result.
According to the profile, I am a Peacemaker...or in the elemental terms for Acupressure, Earth. I also scored high on being a Wizard, or the element of Fire. In the description for Peacemaker, it said that someone with this tendancy brings people together. Imbalances may include lethargy, over-indulgence, and indigestion. I think that fits pretty well, frankly. On the weekends, I like to be a couch potato and eat scrambled eggs with lots of ketchup. Lethargy, over-indulgence, and indigestion. Yup, that fits.

Day 82 - Logic of Path

There have been way too many Saturday nights in which WGH and I have been the epitome of non-excitement. Instead of going out to a movie, going miniature golfing, bowling, dinner, or something else exciting, we would stay home and watch Forensic Files on TV. The premise of the show is that there has been a crime committed (generally homicide) and Forensic science points in the direction of the suspect. This science is sometimes also called Forensic Pathology.
In tonight's class, we had an introduction to Pathology for the Massage Therapist. Basically, we're going to study diseases and how they can affect the therapy treatment we provide for our client, based on their medical condition.
As I said, it was an introduction. We learned some words. And we learned stuff about cells. And free radicals. Which have nothing to do with those in the Baby Boomer generation protesting the Vietnam war.

Day 81 - Professional Vision and Expectations

We had our first class of Professional Development for this session. During this session, we'll be developing our "vision" of what we want for our career in Massage Therapy. During the class, we went over what our expectations could be while working in a spa, medical, or private practice, in regards to hours and compensation.
To think that I will get rich doing massages - well, that's a real long shot. I may as well go bet on Sea Biscuit in the second race. However, I didn't really get into this for the money anyway. It's really about having a career in helping people and the personal satisfaction that goes along with it. The money is necessary because I do actually have to pay bills. Go figure.
Today, I was off from my J-O-B to attend the funeral for the mom of one of my long-time friends. The funeral and associated activities reminded me that regardless of how much money somebody has, it doesn't make them happy, nor does it guarantee them long life on earth. What does make us happy is the relationships around us, with God and others, and also in knowing that we can make a difference in somebody else's life.
All that to say that I hope that my new career choice can truly help somebody.
Wow. I got philosophical there for a moment. Don't expect it too often.

Day 80 - Accurate Pressure?

Since last week was the final for Massage Variations, that means that I started a new five week session this week. This session includes classes in Acupressure, Pathology, and Professional Development, and tonight's class was Acupressure.
It has nothing to do with pressure being accurate or acute.
So far my understanding of it is that ancient people in the East (China) tried to understand the human body and found that pressure on certain points will help people feel better. They use terms like Taoism, Chi, Yin & Yang, Shen, and Jing.
These are my impressions of the words we went over tonight:
I read the Tao of Pooh one time, about truisms from Winnie the Pooh, one of the great philosophers. WGH has introduced me to the Chi-Lites' music - it's kinda R&B so I like it. Yin & Yang were a mime duo that guest starred on The Muppet Show in the 70's quite a bit. Shen was one of the Three Stooges. And finally, Jing is a game played with blocks stacked on top of each other. The idea is to pull one out and put it on top of the stack without knocking the whole thing over.
You may get the impression that I'm quite the Western American girl - from the East Coast. When I was growing up, my family's idea of Chinese food was Chun King Chicken Chow Mein from a can. There was one Jewish boy in my whole elementary school class and we were all shocked he didn't know who Jesus was. (Yes, the students even discussed this in a public school - in 1978!) There were very few Asians in my elementary school - I think one family. I seem to remember the words "refugee" and "Vietnam" being said about them, but I didn't know what they meant.
I guess you could say that I grew up in a very White Bread area. I think it should have have been named WonderBreadville.
Since going to college and getting out into the workforce, I have experienced much more diversity, but needless to say, my exposure to Eastern medicine or culture is next to nothing. This class will definitely present a challenge.

Day 79 - Final Variations

We had our final exams tonight for Massage Variations. First, we had a written final. Then we had a nice little break and then the hands-on final, for which we were graded on beingness, body mechanics, technique, and some other stuff I can't seem to remember.
The important part is that on the written final, I got 100%, and on the hands-on, I got 95%. Yay!
On the way home from school, which is a 40 mile drive from the Baltimore beltway (I-695) to I-70, I got followed. It creeped me out -especially at 11:00 at night. WGH was with me, so I wasn't alone in the car, but it was still creepy.
I noticed the car pretty much tailgating me coming off the I-695 ramp onto I-70. I got over in the right lane so they would pass me, but they didn't pass, and instead go into my lane. I did a couple lane changes, all with the same effect: they got in the lane behind me, still tailgating me.
I started to exit off of the highway onto Rt 32, and they started following, so at the last second, I got back onto the highway (safely, of course). At that point, I knew I was being followed, so I dialed 9-1-1. The dispatcher transferred me to State Po-po, and their dispatcher instructed me to pull onto the shoulder to see if they followed. When I did that, they kept going and I finally got a look at the four-door white sedan (Mitsubishi Galant, I'm 99% sure), so I got back on the highway again and tried to get their license plate. They exited onto Rt 97 before I could get it.
Creepy. Just creepy.
Still excited about my final exam grades!

Day 78 - Blinded

Tonight's class theme centered on "intuition." I think of it more as "just knowing something." First, we had a brief lecture about what intuition is. Next up, we began a guided meditation that didn't work out as well as it was supposed to.
Our teacher had us form two circles, one on the outside and one on the inside, each facing in opposite directions and walking - with our eyes closed. Unfortunately, with my class, just because our eyes are closed doesn't mean our mouths are...or at least some of the classmates. There was too much talking and bumping into things to finish the walking around in circles meditation. After that, with our eyes still closed, our teacher went around and paired us up to determine who we were to work with this evening - the goal being that we have not worked with this person yet. I had worked with this young lady before, but it had been just after we had started the program, so it had definitely been awhile.
Next on our intuition theme: blindfolded massage. The student-therapists would be blindfolded and work on the student-clients...while the student-clients and teacher and teacher's assistant would be able to see. I went first as the client and despite not knowing the time and not being able to see, my partner did a great job. She dropped the lotion bottle once, but that's ok. After that, it was my turn. I think I did a pretty good job, all things considered. I still fumbled around with my draping, but I think I actually did a better job without seeing it - at least on one anterior leg.
I don't know how much I believe in this intuition stuff, but I feel like there are some instincts that kick in when one sense is lost.
Maybe it's a matter of semantics.

Day 77 - Variations in Review

We got the pleasure of having the Drill Sargeant(DS) back tonight, substitute teaching. I definitely like him. We went over some of the high points of the last several weeks in Massage Variations class, in preparation for the final exams on Wednesday night. We will have a written and hands-on final.
After that - bodywork! I gotta say, though, that with all this bodywork that I have been getting, over the weekend, I found myself a little sore because I hadn't take care of myself properly - not drinking enough water, maybe also not soaking in an Epsom Salt tub to keep my muscles loose.
Tomorrow night's class will be very interesting during the bodywork portion. We will be doing blindfold massages, where the therapist is blindfolded. The thought behind it is that the blindfold will make you "see" with your hands better and also not be as distracted by what's going on around you. Regardless of the reason, it should be interesting.

Day 76 - Cool It!

We here in Maryland have had a hot and dry summer. There were I think over 30 days in which temperatures were over 90 degrees. On my way to and from the J-O-B, I drive by a pond. I have watched this eighth of an acre pond go from something that looks like it could sustain life - as in fish - to something that needs to have its grass mowed. After a rain last week, it had a bit of water in it, maybe about 10 feet across. This afternoon - mow it.
In the beginning of summer, our central AC was blowing hot air, instead of the bone-chilling cold air it was supposed to. With the inside unit being over 20 years old, we knew it didn't need just a band-aid this time, it needed to be replaced. However, we just can't come up with that kind of money to get that sort of thing, so we have been using window units and a portable A/C unit lent to us by friends. We have them in the bedroom and the dining/living room. It's been bearable, but just barely.
That means that whenever I have had a guinea pig - uh - I mean, friend or family member, come over for one of my practice massages, it's been like a new spa treatment - The Sauna Massage! Coming soon to a spa near you! I have done them in 100 degree heat! That's just crazy!
By the time I get done these massages, I'm drenched in perspiration. Doing massages is very physical and making sure to have good body mechanics is essential to a lasting career. Just doing a regular massage is taxing enough while learning. Doing a Sauna Massage is downright masochistic and draining. Several Saturdays after working on a couple practice clients, I would not be able to do anything else the rest of the day.
For the big announcement: Tomorrow we're getting a new A/C unit installed! The first thing I'm going to do when I know it's working is put the temperature on 65 degrees. My guinea pigs practice clients will be very thrilled that it will not be a Sauna Massage any longer!
Oh...and yes, I had class tonight. Lecture. Bodywork. Talkative classmates. The usual.

Day 75 - Pain, Stress, and Malaise? No, Thanks, I'll Pass...

Tonight we studied how pain, stress, and malaise can affect a person and what a Massage Therapist can do to help - or what NOT to do to try to help. It seems like common sense stuff. One thing that it seemed all of the class found unusual was that everybody has the same pain threshhold, but environment, upbringing, basic history, and the like is what actually affects people's tolerance for pain. That took a moment to sink in for everybody, I think.
We also talked about how malaise (depression) can be a downward cycle. For instance, if you become injured, you have to wait to heal, so you don't do what you used to do, so you become depressed. Once you're depressed, then your body becomes stressed and more pain happens, causing less ability to do the things done previously. I think this last year has been my malaise cycle, of which I think I've been slowly coming out. While my mood has certainly lightened, I'm trying to figure out where my physical limits or non-limits are, especially since I haven't been very active. It's hard to be active when I'm either sitting at work, the car, class, or laying on the table. I don't have time for much else, but this week I have gotten up early twice and done a 15 minute walking program with OnDemand exercise.tv. At least it's something.
And of course, we did more practicing on bodywork. Oh, the burden to be practiced on...

Day 74 - Professionalism

I've never worked in the food industry. I worked for about a year as a Customer Service Representative in an upscale clothing store when I was first going to college. That's about the extent I have of working with the general public. I did, however, serve in a capacity where I answered phone calls coming from people inquiring about their pensions - dealing with their MONEY! So, I had to have a certain amount of professionalism and courtesy in dealing with those calls. I was yelled at, cursed at, hung up on, and other not so pleasant experiences. I think there was only one time where somebody yelled at me so badly on the phone that I started crying. For the most part, though, I was able to help people get the information they needed, or get them their money they needed. One gentleman sent me a HUGE gorgeous flower arrangement - because of how I helped him! Those are the ones I like to remember - where I helped somebody.
In our Massage Variations class, we're focusing not just on the strokes, but also on the profession of being a Massage Therapist. We're focusing on all the professionalism that's expected from us by clients, the kind of relationship we have with clients, how we communicate with clients, and most importantly, how we serve the clients, because when it comes down to it, it's all about the clients.
I hope that as I gain more knowledge and experience in this field, I will be better learn about serving people.

Day 73 - Sir, Yes, Sir!

Back in the day, my dad served in the US Army. According to Mom, he went through boot camp three or four times, due to re-enlisting after being discharged. I guess that's the way they did it. He served in Korea, Okinawa, and Vietnam in the Big Red One. He repaired helicopters. At any rate, I'm sure he dealt with his share of drill Sargents. He even became a police officer after he got out of the Army for the last time. I guess he got used to serving in uniform.
What does that have to do with massage school?
We had another substitute tonight for class. An older gentleman who is a retired Maryland State Trooper. I guess it was after he retired that he became a Licensed Massage Therapist. I definitely liked him. He reminded me A BUNCH of my dad. Gentle and caring, but you can definitely see the disciplined and tough character underneath. He even resembled my dad a bit, with a couple of the same mannerisms. This guy, though, was a straight-shooter. Dad, was more of a guy that held back a lot of what he was thinking and feeling...at least BEFORE he had the stroke. Afterward, well, if you're missing hair, he'd be sure to tell you about it.
Now I'm picturing my dad as a Massage Therapist, and that is quite the mental picture.
For lecture tonight, we learned about a holistic approach to health and the client/therapist relationship. During the bodywork, we had a 50 point evaluation done by the drill Sargent. I ended up with 43 points, so I can see where I need improvement. My partner was a tiny little young woman, so I was afraid I would break her in half if I really did some of the deep tissue work of which I'm capable. I did get some things accomplished, I think, but he noticed my hesitation about the deepness of the work on my partner. Well, of the folks I've been practicing on here at my house may tell you, I don't shy away from deep tissue - and really leaning into it. If only I could get graded on what I do here. *sigh*