Hey, don't touch me: My First Massage

There are very few things in life that terrify me enough that I go out of my way to avoid them.

Amongst these things are lobsters, pigeons (go ahead, ask me about PigeonSTORM 2009 sometime, you won't be disappointed), lettuce, air grates on the sidewalk, and people unnecessarily touching me.

The last item on the list proves to be a problem, or, at the very least, the cause of considerable worry, because as of 2:00 pm today I will be participating in my very first massage, courtesy of Head Games and The Landing. We Questers were fortunate enough to receive "half way through" surprise gifts of massages/facials/and another fancy type of massage involving oils and mud and shamans, I think. I'm the recipient of a straight up massage and I have no idea what to expect.

Through the past month and a half I've put my body through a good amount of stress; both physically via classes at The Landing, and emotionally, while finishing school, trying to find work, and just everyday annoyances. The last few classes I've taken have been Kettlebell and after my most recent workout I noticed my lower back was a little sore. Couple that with my few days of "being a lady" this week and I'm sure my back and spine are gasping for some help.

I think a lot of the reserve and apprehension I'm feeling towards this massage is that I'm not a particularly touchy-feely person. I don't mind hugs, in fact, I willingly dole them out to friends and family. But I cringe when someone grabs my arm to look at my tattoo(s) (which, by the way, is bad manners. I don't pull at the few strands of hair left on your head and ask to see your bald spot, do I? Didn't think so), or when trying to squeeze by someone, or having someone squeeze by me in a tight spot and the dreaded "excuse-me" hand-on-lower back/shoulder/hip move occurs. It causes me to shudder and lose balance for a moment, wondering what just happened and needing to sit down for a few (okay, not really).

Yes, I realize I may have major issues and this isn't really a normal thing, but it's just how I am and it doesn't exactly stop me from living my life or anything, well, my fear of lobsters would be a problem if I worked on a lobster boat and my disdain for lettuce excludes me from most salad bars, but my "fears" are generally silly and laughable. Hell, I laugh at myself daily, which is how I stay looking so young.

But I digress, because with two weeks left of this program I'm thinking a massage is probably exactly what I need. I'm sure I will report back next blog with details of the one hour session and I'm sure I'll probably want one every week, I'm just psyching myself out.

Also, on a second, non-related note, there are only two weeks left, like I said, and I think I'm heavier now than I was at the beginning!!! I'm hoping it's related to a muscle gain because I certainly notice new lines in my arms that I just happen to see while I put my contact lenses in during my a.m. getting ready for the day ritual where I flex my arms and do my best Terminator voice and Schwarzenegger (<- totally spelled that on my own, by the way!) pose. I'm a little bummed that my body fat percentage wasn't tested at the beginning of this program because I'm curious to see how much of me has been transformed from FLAB to FAB in the physical sense.

I guess knowing that I've made even as small of a change as being able to do ten REAL pushups now instead of my measly modified ones is a big enough validation for me.

Can't wait until next week when I get to fill all (3) of you in on my massage happenings and whether or not I'm as heavy as I think I am because our weekly weigh in is tomorrow.