today i went to a spa for the first time. wouldn't have gone if it weren't for free. di kasi ko health buff, at naniniwala akong ang pinakamainam na cure to stress and toxic overload ay pahinga at tubig. haha.
but this morning i found myself at a spa. on assignment. i was tasked by a newbie travel magazine to write a review of the establishment's services. in short, a sampler experience in exchange for promotional written material. aha, the perks of rackets. ahlavet!
ewan ko kung anong ine-expect ko, but initially i was a bit disappointed to see that the place was actually just a tad above the average working man's massage parlor. only difference is, malinis sya, at legit sya (meaning walang "extra services" from the masseusses, which could actually be a minus for denizens who are looking for such "extras"). pero syempre pag sinulat ko na yung article, i'd probably say that the place is "a comfy nook in the middle of the metropolis". haha. well totoo naman, na isa syang "comfy nook". hindi sya "oasis" at malayong-malayo sya sa bonggang spas na nakikita sa pages ng Inquirer Lifestyle (hahaha siguro ito nga ang in-expect ko bago ako pumunta sa spa na yon!), but it serves the purpose. the cubicles were dimly (almost lullingly) lit, and the place smelled faintly of some earthy aromatic oil. hmm.
the working middle-class person will find this spa functional enough to relieve the holiday stress away, i constructed the sentence in my head as i toured the place, snapping pictures. syempre di naman pwedeng gamitin yung "working middle class person", kasi parang lumalabas na jologs lang ang makaka-appreciate nung lugar (na medyo hindi naman malayo sa katotohanan, pero syempre taboo sabihin). ehe. pretensyosa. pero syempre, may politics pa ring kasama sa likod ng mga magazine articles na yan. best to save the real story for the personal blog.
i was asked to strip down to my bare essentials and take a steam bath for fifteen minutes. nakapag-steam bath na ko before (sinasama ko dati ng nanay ko sa mga weight-loss sessions nya sa slimmer's world nung hayskul ako), pero ten minutes pa lang, hindi ko na matagalan ang init. naisip ko tuloy bigla ang impyerno, at nung mga sandaling yon parang gusto ko nang magsisi at magpakabait dahil pihadong mas mainit ang impyerno kesa sa steam bath na yon. araguuy!
after ten minutes in the steam room, then came the best part: a full body massage. my masseuse, in fairness, had such nimble, pressure-calibrated hands. i was lulled to half-sleep in a matter of minutes. habang minamasahe nya ko, kinukwento nya ang buhay nya. haha. naalala ko tuloy yung isang short story ni butch d@lisay tungkol sa isang masahista sa isang seedy massage parlor. wala nang bago sa storya ng masahista ko. naisip ko tuloy sana hindi ko na lang sya chinika para mas nakapag-concentrate sya sa pagmamasahe. hahaha. sama ano.
after an hour of kneading, pressing, rubbing, and stretching, i was done. unknotted, a bit sore in certain places, but definitely more relaxed than when i first came in. i learned that the entire body massage-with-steam-bath package cost less than P500. in fairness, it was, well, worth it. the excellently-handled massage session made all the difference.
so i came away wondering how i was going to write that friggin article. i still am, now. thanks to the massage, nakatulog lang ako buong maghapon, so ngayon maghahapit ako buong magdamag para ma-meet ang deadline bukas. hmm, kung tutuusin madali lang naman yon. 800 words, photo-heavy. para lang akong nagsulat ng blog entry. pero syempre nagpo-procrastinate pa rin ako. kaya inuna ko munang ikwento dito sa blog, to get me started somehow.
haha! pasensya na kung na-bore kayo. praktis lang. :-)
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