So, I've become a lady with a certain reputation.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

It seems to have started with a coworker who I will call Guenivere. I gave her a massage week before last, deep tissue, neck and shoulders, plus some heavy work on the deltoids. The next day, she was raving to our Fearless Leader (the owner of our little massage studio) that it was the best deep-tissue massage she had ever had. Mind you, this is an experienced therapist, who, by virtue of trading work, has gotten a lot of massage from a lot of people.

So, Grineldehyde overhears Guenivere raving about my astounding massage abilities, and decides she wants to swap work with me. I happily agree, spend an hour on her rhomboids, traps and rotator cuffs. Next day, she was, like totally intimidated and afraid to work on me. Said I’m a way better therapist than she is (I’ve been in the biz four and a half months, Grineldehyde three years). She had nothing to worry about, really, she gave me a great massage.

So, how’d I get to be so good at deep tissue work? Well, remember Guenivere, the one who was raving to the Fearless Leader? She had worked on me the week before, and I stole some of her chops. Yep, she was basically raving on and on about the wonderfulness of her own massage techniques, which I lifted and am now applying on coworkers and clients alike.

So, now, my coworkers who previously had been too busy to trade massage with me are taking numbers to be worked on my me, and happy to work on me in return (which means more opportunities for me to steal other therapists’ chops)

And apparently I’m no slouch at Swedish, either. Lately a lot of people are calling our little studio and requesting me. Not just people I’ve worked on, either. Nope, I’m getting referrals. I do keep track of who is referring to me, BTW. I have a standing offer to any of my clients that if they refer five people to me, I will give them a free massage. So far, I’ve only gotten one or two from each referring client, but it still is adding up to a tidy little bit of word-of-mouth advertising, since a certain number of referrees will become referrers.

I am trying very, very hard not to let all of this go to my head, but it just seems like in the last month or so, I’m becoming very much in demand.

I just hope I don’t develop the Big Ego, and have my little bubble pop as a result. I’m enjoying the boost in confidence, and I think that in itself has improved my work because I can go into a massage with the attitude that I Can Do This, then do it rather than I Hope I Can Do This and be all hesitant and give a massage that has no flow.

2

I’d love to have a good massage. I’ve only had one “professional” massage and was disappointed.

I also like to give massages and have good hand strength. Does it take some of the pleasure out of it when you are doing it professionally?

3

Well, it’s not the sort of reputation that I was expecting. Still, could you put me down for a couple of hours towards the end of next week?

4

oh how i wished right now that ‘The Islets of Langerhans’ was some subburb of calgary - my neck is a disaster atm :frowning:

5

Been there, done that. I’ve had more than one crappy massage, but I’ve had more good ones than bad. Some people just don’t know how to mold their hands to the contours of the body, or they have “pokey fingers”. It is not fun having someone’s MP joints raking across your ribcage like a frustrated bluegrass musician fantasizing about playing the washboard.

Not that I’ve noticed. Bliss face is bliss face whether your getting paid for it or not, and I try to keep my schedule light to avoid burnout.

6

I’ve been standing at the kitchen counter peeling and putting up peaches all day. My back is killing me. Can I get an appointment for tomorrow morning? :smiley:

7

Sure. It’s only about a six hour drive…

8

I actually live somewhere near the pancreatic isles. How far is that from you?

9

Not too far, really…

Actually, I’m in Las Vegas, home of Fasolini’s Pizza Cafe, a place well worth the short drive if you want a nice lunch after your massage.

10

A good massage is a gift from the deity of your choice. I’ve been lucky enough to have been worked on by two totally unbelievably talented massage therapists in my lifetime, and lots of other quite competent ones as well, and I have a huge admiration for people who are really gifted at it. I’ll definitely have to come in and see you, Asbestos Mango, next time I’m in Vegas!

11

Note to self … next time mrAru and I drive to california to visit his parental units, there is a better draw to stopping in Vegas than a hotel room with a hot tub, and a lobster dinner…

After 4 days of driving my back was killing me. I would have killed for a competent massage.

12

Well, now I definately have a reason to go to Vegas!

13

Indeed, Fasolini’s rocks.

14

Can I drive down, too? My back is murdering me.

15

Vegas? Just be glad your reputation doesn’t include the words ‘happy’ and ‘ending’

16

Er, that would be the place across the street.

17

::slight hijack::

True story. A year ago last November, I was attending a conference in downtown Chicago of school business officials, board members, etc… A pal of mine that works for an architectural company that does a lot of schools and government buildings was whining (justifiably) about having to spend 8 hours, two days in a row standing at his company’s booth. I’ve done that when i was in the private sector and it’s hell on your back.

I ran into him at a party that evening, and he tells me the funniest story. Seems that morning he was telling his wife, who was home with the kids, that he wasn’t looking forward to how he’d feel at the end of the day. Later in the afternoon, she called him and said she’d arranged a nice surprise for him at the end of his day. He was getting off the show floor at 4, and at 4:30, she arranged for a massuese to come to his room.

Uh, yeah. Being grateful but a tad leery, he asked some more, like where she called to get a massage for him.

Well, it seems the nice lady got online, looked for massages and found a nice service, with some pictures of the ladies and after all they promised satisfaction. She thought it was weird they asked if he preferred one hair color over another, but kind of just ignored that.

So, my pal, being the kind of guy more people ought to be, explained patiently to his wife what he thinks she just arranged to have delivered to his room. He asked for the website she looked at, and when he checked, yes it could have possibly been taken for something legit, but clearly it wasn’t.

Wifey was mortified.

I was a doubting boy til I met his wife a few months later and thought that indeed, she semed gullible and innocent enough to have not caught on.

Hijack over, control of your thread is now returned.

18

Hey The Asbestos Mango,

Where at in Vegas? My sister is also looking for a massage therapist, her last one left town. I could also probably use a good massage. My back has been bugging me lately. I carry all my stress in my shoulders and life has been somewhat stressfull lately.

If you drop me an email I’ll pass on your name to my sister*. I’ll probably also set an appointment if I can find the time.

Oh, and where is Fasolini’s Pizza Cafe? Never been there and I haven’t found a good pizza joint in town.

Slee
*Assuming that you are comfortable with that. If not I understand.

19

Pfft.

You should take a gander at the Massage section in the LV Sprint phone book yellow pages. Probably 90% of the ads are for, er…

There are certain things you look for in an ad to find out if it’s a legitimate establishment or a, um, massage parlor.

First, and most obvious, would be something like “attractive female therapists” or “attractive masseuses”*

“Full service massage” is a dead giveaway that the place is a bordello, not a legitimate establishment.

“Asian/Oriental” massage- no need to advertise the ethnicity of your staff, unless you are shooting for a clientele that is after something, shall I say, exotic?

There is one place that has a billboard featuring an attractive, scantily clad Asian woman, the last four digits of the phone # are, I kid you not, 6969.
I field a lot of calls from people (mostly guys) who want to make sure my little workplace doen’t do sexual massage before they make the appointment. We still get our share of problems, though. I once had to throw a guy out when he started trying to do the horizontal hokey-pokey with the padding on my table while I was working on him. A couple of weeks ago, I took a payment, then returned to my room to change the sheets and found spooje on them. Mind you, there are four massage parlors on our mile-long stretch of Sahara, and one legitimate establishment. Why they feel the need to come to us rather than to one of the obvious bordellos is open to speculation. I think some people just get off on the wrongness of going to a legitimate place and grossing the therapist out.

*Actually, any establishment that refers to their staff as masseuses/masseurs is probably a massage parlor, not a legitimate place. For the past couple of decades, legitimate practitioners have preferred the term “massage therapists”, since masseuse/masseur has been co-opted by prostitutes. One of my coworkers went with her boyfriend to a place that they didn’t realize did the “full service” bit until she was offered the full service massage- by a masseuse!!! I’m finding myself a bit irritated by the fact that it seems increasing numbers of bordellos are referring to the hookers they employ as therapists. What legitimate massage practioners will have to call ourselves to set us apart from the prostitutes ten years down the road when they’ve co-opted the term “therapists” is anybody’s guess.