Spa-ing

Last weekend after giving massages to a couple of friends at their home (my only 2 clients and they are wonderful!) on a house call, I had the luxury of joining a good friend of mine at Thousand Waves Spa for three hours. My friend had two free passes to use the facilities - a whirlpool, sauna, steamroom, showers and a "relaxation room".

I had only been to one spa prior to Thousand Waves, and it was in Portland (you know - the West Coast where you can pretty much expect the unexpected, so I had no idea whether or not that expereince was normal) so this was pretty new to me, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Bathing suits were optional - this was a big issue for my friend and I. We didn't know if we should bring suits because we had heard that most people don't, and we didn't want to be the weirdos with suits on, but we also weren't entirely comfortable with the idea of prancing around in our birthday suits for three hours. My friend ended up bringing a suit. I didn't. I decided that in order for me to get the full spa experience I needed to do what the Romans did - literally. And I felt the need to "do the spa thing" because of the industry I'm going in to. "Research" I call it.

Well after pruning in the hot tub, suffocating in the Eucalyptus Steam Room, sweating buckets in the sauna, and taking multiple showers for three hours I felt that I had a pretty good taste of your typical Chicago spa. My favorite part actually turned out to be the Relaxation Room where it is socially acceptable to wear clothing (the robe you are handed at the door) and where it is quiet and filled with guilty pleasures like girly magazines (Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour - of that ilk). I learned from my first real spa experience that I do enjoy having a place to go where I'm supposed to relax. You aren't allowed to run around shouting at people or frantically sweeping the floor so you kind of have to slip into the groove of relaxation. Something Cara needs much more of in her life. My body also felt pretty good after soaking in the whirlpool, and so I decided that a definite perk to working as a massage therapist in a spa setting is that you can probably use the facilities for free.

Today after giving a massage to one of the same two people I worked on last weekend I decided that I would go back. However, the friend that I worked on recommended a different spa - one closer to my apartment, and two dollars cheaper than Thousand Waves for unlimited use of their facilities for a day.

Totally different! This was a Korean place called Paradise, at which I was fantastically the only white woman among women of all ages who were there to be healthy (as opposed to checking each other out). In other parts of the world massage and relaxation are considered basic components of maintaining health - not a frivolous indulgence. I actually liked the facility much better - nicer pools, better lighting, some things were kinda old and crumbling a bit, but it was clean. There was no question about the clothing issue - several signs were posted at the entrance "No Clothing allowed in Spa". You go naked and that's that. The owners were no nonsense and supervised the goings-on quite well. A woman who looked to be about 70 kept asking me if random towels that were strewn about were mine. Aparently it is a very bad thing to lose track of the towels that you are given. I made the mistake also of taking my hand towel with me into the whirlpool so that I could use it as a compress for my sore shoulders. The woman wagged her finger at me and said, "no no no no no no no!" I apologized profusely and decided it was time for me to leave shortly thereafter. I was ready anyway. Spending three hours in a spa really isn't my thing. I have the attention span for only about two hours. Another interesting thing about Paradise - the relaxation room is called the "nap room" I think and all it consists of are about fifteen lounge chairs pointing at a television with the USA channel on. So you don't even have the opportunity to get caught up in girly mags! You get so bored watching old westerns that you doze off!

So I'll definitely go back - to both places. I think that it is the perfect way to unwind on a Friday night after a long week. Well, actually any week night would be fine also. I've learned a lot, and feel that next time I will be able to relax a little better knowing what I'm in for. I also know to limit my time, go by myself (so I'm not tempted to talk up a storm), and bring my own hygiene products. At Paradise the women have little plastic totes that carry all of their personal products. This way you don't have to use the Suave Shampoo.

I'm off to bed now. Wow, I guess I'm liking the blogging thing again! I'll keep you posted on the spa scene in Chicago.