smack it up, flip it

tonight was dear friend rance's birthday. a few of us gathered over at rance and deanna's for cake, an extremely fun game of celebrity, and the inevitable donkey konga. happy 34th, friend.

preceeding that, though, i went and got a massage at a thousand waves here in chicago. i've been several times, and can't endorse this place enough. they have a program for cancer patients (and those with blood disorders) that allows you healing massage gratis. amazing. if you need this service, or just want a massage, support this establishment. not to mention - the place has a hot tub, a steam room, a sauna, and a "dojo" that you rest in post-massage. (there are even little sleeping cots!)

bar none, tonight was probably the best massage i have ever had. it was amazing. super healing, very relaxing, and i was worked, y'all. afterward, i had (what i hope was adorable) sleep-face, what little kids look like when they stumble down for saturday cartoons. s'nice.

in the dojo, there are tons of books and papers that you can look at as you are enforced after to "drink lots of fluids", like water or tea. [tea update: this place has one of the only teas i like, yogi's lemon ginger. try it.] anyway, tonight i snagged a book that would typically lie within a woman's retreat; a tribute to women across the ages, their pictures in stone and paint, the women strong and beautiful and broad and narrow and different. this quote inside, flanking a picture of one of the women:

"You may have a fresh start at any moment you choose"

and for some reason it struck me as particularly nice, though it is just a typical platitude you'd find in one of these kinds of books. it felt like it was a little fortune written just to me.

and now, hopefully, it's a fortune for you too, should you need the same.