Jun and i had the most horrible journey back from HK (but in retrospect, i’m glad we MADE it back, we could have died on the plane or something worse).
Our flight was delayed by an hour, so we landed in KL in the wee hours of the morn. By the time we retrieved our luggage and jumped into a taxi it was 2+am. Then the taxi tyre punctured and Jun got out of the car to watch the guy change the tayar while i waited listlessly in the car (was too tired to get annoyed) and we got home at 3:30am.
I was so panicked by work that i sent some urgent emails out at 4am then went to sleep at 4:40am. He woke up at 8am for a meeting (crazy) and i, at 11 to hop back onto my emails.
That night, we went for a much-deserved massage that he wanted after doing his 100km run in Lantau last weekend. I wasn’t too keen in the beginning, but my body was whining for one by then.
Went to this nearby cheap massage place we’d been to once or twice, called Ancient Thai, and my masseuse and i got into a little tiff in the beginning cos she was annoyed that i only wore my underwear, whereas the previous time i went there i didn’t have to wear the shirt and pants they gave me. So many other places i go to don’t require you to wear clothes! I was in a huff but put them on anyway, and felt agitated that was STARTING a massage feeling that way. (In retrospect, i did request for a sports massage instead of the oil massage this time.)
After 5 minutes of her massaging my back, i started apologizing to her in my head.
Oh my. This girl was GOOD. She knew what the hell she was doing, and by damn i will wear those loose clothes every time i come to this place with NO retaliation now.
I started thinking about how i reacted when i didn’t get the way i wanted in the beginning.
And how i was taking my words back now.
Her massage was so great, it soothed me to the point of pondering on how impatient i can be sometimes.
If something isn’t my way i get so worked up for the smallest reasons. (In Kilimanjaro, i got stressed out over my shoelaces, but not of climbing the mountain -_-)
I need to remember how everyone does things in different ways, and despite it not being the way i’d originally think is best, how it’s the beauty of every person’s individuality that makes them function the way they do, and sometimes, surprise you with how their way is equally stunning in motion.
That’s the lesson i took away with me today while being massaged by someone i’d just exchanged sharp words with. I silently commended her for standing her ground in the way she insisted on doing her job, and she did a freaking awesome one at that.
After our massage and the girls had left, Jun turned to me and said, “That was a fucking awesome massage.”
Me: I know right.
Him: I was thinking how come you were so quiet?, it must have been damn good else you would have given her hell after all that.
Me: I wouldn’t have given her hell!
Okay maybe i might have batalkan the massage and walked out if it wasn’t good after 15 minutes (i’ve done that before, i hate people wasting time touching my body if they suck at it.)
But in the end, the whole thing ended up being one of the best massages we’ve had together and they both got tipped.
+ + + +
The massage we did was the Sports massage at Ancient Thai, connected with the Royal Thai Government, according to their banner and website. I don’t like traditional Thai massages cos i hate all that twisting and turning around, and much prefer oil massages; but this technique is new to me. It revolved around me mostly lying quietly on my front and sides, but I HAD to wear loose clothes cos she extends and moves my limbs into vague stretching positions to massage me (which would have proven extremely awkward if i were mostly naked, so i see her point now).
