An Asian Swedish Massage.

Yesterday was my aunt's birthday. Next Saturday is my birthday. So we decided we'd get massages and pedis to celebrate. As background, my aunt discovered this small nail/waxing/massage parlor that just opened in Merrifield. She took my grandma to get a pedicure there once and got hooked. So then she took me. I got hooked. The funny thing is I nor my aunt have ever been manicure/pedicure type people. There's just something Cheers-esque about this place that keeps us coming back. As an aside, I've always wanted to frequent a place often enough so that they would know me by name and I could order "the usual." Lo and behold I have found it! Albeit, I wasn't expecting it to come so heavily scented with acetone, but I'll take what I can get.

Moving on. So now I go fairly regularly as does my aunt. The owner and the girls that work there are Korean. Some of them don't speak much English. They are all as nice as can be. All the stuff is clean, new and it's small (only 3 pedicure chairs, one "waxing" room and one "massage" room). And it's great. My aunt even has her own box with her name and a number on it that has the nail polish color she likes in it.

So I go into the massage room first. And you know how most massage places are very strategic about where they place the sheet over your nakedness? Yeah, well this place not so much. And I didn't care. So as I'm laying naked on my stomach vulnerable to the lady hammering into my tissues and feeling reeellaaaaxxxeeeddd, I hear the door open and the owner walk in to hand the massager some hot towels. And instead of just walking right out, she says to my back "Ohhhh, hooonneeyy!! You have suuch a good body, I did not even know!!!" (said in Korean accent). With my face firmly planted in the massage table and eyes closed I mumble an "Um, thanks?" Subsequently, because the walls are super thin, I hear her immediately walk back out and tell my aunt the same thing to which she responds something like, "Yeah, she runs a lot."

Now whenever I feel sad and lonely, I can just go where everybody knows my name....and my body. Amen.