(Note to self. Don't make a New Years' resolution promising more entries before checking to make sure you've got enough topics and content you want to talk about first. It's been months since I had something nipping at my heels...) I've written previously about the fact I am a huge fan of bodywork. All sorts of massages and therapies. To me it satisfies two different needs with a single experience: muscle relaxation/pain relief, and the need for human contact. Touch. Skin to skin extended intimacy, not for sexual gratification but for physical stimulation of our largest sensory organ, the skin. In the last couple years I've written about particularly special experiences in Barcelona and San Diego, but have been unable to duplicate those experiences here in my hometown. My favorite of the more popular bodywork modalities is Thai massage, which involves a lot of stretching, combined with an oil and hot stone massage, which involves a lot of long-stroke rubs acro...

Last week my wife and I decided to take a short vacation out of town. One of the things we like to do when on a trip is pamper ourselves, usually with massages. I'm a huge fan of bodywork of all kinds, and there's little I find more indulgent and restful than a good massage. We found a local place that had great reviews online, and wasn't too expensive. Thai massage being the featured special, among other modalities.  The salon itself was a very modest affair, as these sort of places usually are. We knocked at the locked front door, and were politely let in by a young Asian gentleman.  The lobby, to be generous, had a small desk, stark white walls and pretty cheesy decor. The host, as a he called himself, handed us laminated "menus" of the treatment options. I went with what they called a therapeutic massage, essentially a Thai massage but using Tiger balm, followed by a soak in what was described as "hot tub."  We finished our paperwork, which also in...