90 Minutes of Complete and Utter Bliss

Thank you #90 for your incredibly nimble and soft hands that massaged my whole body for 90 minutes yesterday.

Oh my GODDDDD it was amazingggggg. I can't even begin to describe!

You know how people always tell you, "You have to go get a massage, it feels SO good!" and you think, "yeah sure, but how good can it feel when you know you're paying them an arm and a leg for a stupid massage." Well, let me tell you, I am now a believer.

As a Christmast gift, a friend of mine bought me and my two girlfriends 90-minute massages at this beautiful and expensive massage parlor called Sakura in Taipei, and we finally got around to using them last night! I can't imagine a better time to use it, since my body has been feeling a little beat up lately.

Anyway, we go in, and the ladies all ask us to please take a seat, and they bring out hot towels for us to wipe our hands and faces and necks... oh my god, I'm getting shivers just thinking about those amazing hot towels...

Then one of the ladies escorts us into our room, where we see three massage beds, each with a set of massage clothes and slippers! She takes our drink order (fresh-squeezed juice, or hot tea?) and then we quickly change into our massage outfits and turn on the flat-screen tvs!

The masseuses (sp?) come in, and they're totally not what I expected... I don't know, call me a sucker for stereotypes but I kind of assumed they'd be like younger girls, instead they were really normal looking older ladies! Shocker.

The whole thing was just absolute HEAVEN. She put hot towels on my back and legs, and massaged my whole body: back, arms, legs, head, neck, even butt! (The most awkward part was when she was pulling down my pants in the beginning.. I was thinking "God.. I wonder how far she's going to pull these down...")

There were some times when I really wanted to laugh, since I'm so ticklish, and others when I kind of wanted to cry, because it hurt so bad, but after a while, she said "Ok, time's almost up.." and I kind of cried a little inside.

Bottom line: I'm completely addicted... now I just have to find a job so I can enjoy these awesome massages more often!!!

2010, I'm Lovin' It!

Ok so maybe it's not the best sign that the first thing that popped into my head when I thought of the new year was the McDonald's slogan... but it's just so fitting!!

It's only about two weeks into the new year, and I gotta say, I've been loving every minute of it so far! I have to admit I'm so excited for this year and I have such a great feeling that good things, big things, are going to happen to me this year! :)

New Year's Eve was absolutely insane! I got to see the famous New Year's fireworks off of Taipei 101 from a friend's penthouse rooftop (yeah, crazy I know!!) and it was beautiful! I have to admit, it was just a liiiiittle anti-climactic, as in, I was kind of expecting more, but it was still super pretty nonetheless. The cherry on top was the confusing "Taiwan Up" slogan that lit up on all four sides of the skyscraper.. it's still there every night to this day, 12 days later.. and I have to say I'm still just as confused now as I was then.

Other than the fireworks, it was still a New Year's to remember. Now, granted, every New Year's eve is memorable (usually because I never forget just how sick I feel the next morning, the first day of the new year), but this one was particularly so, since it was my first New Year's in another country!! The city closed off a BUNCH of the main streets surrounding 101 (aka the heart of the city) at 10 PM, so no cars could get in or out of that area. And, in a classic move, Daniela and I were running late from the salon, so... we called a cab from the salon, the cab dropped me off at my place, took Dani to her place, waited for her to change and grab her makeup, picked me up again from my place and took us as close to 101 as he could get. We were in the cab for literally 2 hours and 15 minutes, and our cab fare came to about $20USD (hahahaha). Then Dani and I had to walk the rest of the way to our friend's house, and boy we were a sight to see! The only two people, probably in all of Taipei, walking around outside in the freezing cold with bare legs and high heels, each carrying a clutch and a bottle of wine for our host. They must have thought we were crazy!!!

We literally had to break into a run by the end because I thought we were going to miss the fireworks, so we arrived--a little sweaty and out of breath--at exactly 11:40 PM. Just in time to catch my breath, put on some slippers (so Asian.... haha), go out onto the rooftop, pour out some champagne, and get my camera ready for some action!

Oh, might I add: another disappointing thing about the 101 fireworks? NO COUNTDOWN. I mean, WHAT THE HELL??? One second I'm saying "hey guys how much time do we have left?" and the next second it looks like 101 is exploding with light in like every direction, which only then signals me that "well, happy new year i guess!"

After the fireworks and the crowd (somewhat) dissipated below, we put our coats and high heels back on and went out onto the streets! Man, it was crazy! There were people literally everywhere! Sitting, standing, walking, eating, drinking... and there were me and my girlfriends: bare-legged, in strappy high heels and big coats, screaming and laughing at the top of our lungs, walking to the club. Definitely a first, and hopefully the last..

Going to the club was just like any other night, except about 10 times more crowded, so it quickly became very uninteresting and my friends and I decided to leave and head for home, but not before stopping by a small pizzeria! The owner is a friend of my friends, so they went in to socialize, and, in a very classy move, I fell asleep on a stool, at the bar, with my head buried in my coat (hey, I was really tired!). As we were finally about to leave, I insisted that I would not go home without a pizza, so I ordered a chicken/feta/pesto pizza (yeah it was soooooo good) that was about four times the size of my head.

My friends dropped me off, and I walked home, high heels dragging on the pavement, big pizza box in hand, and completely satisfied with the start of the new year :)