The Stressball Incidents

In the Beginning

When things are slow at the spa, we sometimes play with the stress balls. They're lots of fun, spiky multicolored, & they light up when they hit a hard surface (trust me, this is an important detail). The spiky shape makes things fun. You never know which way they'll bounce. That could also lead to an eye injury, just ask T&M.

Escalation

Another day, M was tossing a stress ball around (she had conveniently forgotten about almost getting her eye poked out with one less than a week previously). So she was tossing it up & catching it most times. She got bored with that and decided to throw it at me. Unfortunately, I was talking to T, and not in the best position to catch a pointy stress ball. Next thing I know, I felt something smack my right hip. I grabbed my hip and (my drama queen friends would be so proud) cried out in pain, complaining that the stress ball left a nasty bruise. The "bruise" (also pictured here) is the same colors as the stress ball, but it mysteriously took the shape of a gecko. Hmmmmm.



Retaliation

M, undaunted, continued tossing the stress ball around. I was more vigilant about making sure it didn't hit me. It bounced over to me a couple of times and I either tossed it back or kicked it back to her. This last time, I threw overhand, but with my left hand, so my aim turned out to be either miserable or fantastic depending on your opinion of what happened next.

The stress ball flew at M like a 98mph fastball headed straight for catcher's mitt. I'll admit, the ball was slightly off its mark. It hit M in the right breast and she dropped to the floor in a fetal position, letting out a scream worthy of a horror movie. The stress ball hit her so hard it lit up before it hit the floor. My reaction was hysterical laughter. I laughed so hard my abs were sore and I started crying. Even though M claims the hit will cause her to develop breast cancer, I'm sure she'll be fine, but be a little more cautious next time she picks up a stress ball. I'll keep laughing every time I see a stress ball.

No More Procrasinating

Well, the job at XpresSpa (the airport spa) has finally started. There was a weekend of training, but I missed the first half day because I only had two days notice and couldn't change my schedule. In the training we learned about the company, the spa menu, learned the product line, and got to know everyone. The facials are lots of fun, especially the peel-off masks. There are four other massage therapists, but so far I'm the only esthetician. Massages are the most popular service for people stopping in the XpresSpa, but I have done a few facials and one waxing so far.

The hours are actually pretty good for a night person like me. My normal schedule is 3-11 four nights a week, but they have called me in early a couple of times and I worked late Saturday because the flight at the gate next to the spa was delayed three hours. Only problem was that I was the only therapist working, so we had to turn people away. I finished the last client around 1130, then finished the closing and left after midnight. The same flight was two hours late Sunday night, but another therapist stayed late, so it wasn't so crazy.

Monday I was off from there, but worked at my office instead. That seemed like such an easy day in comparison. I had time to sit down and relax between clients - what a luxury! I even got home before dark. Back to the spa tomorrow. we'll see if that Aero Mexico flight is delayed again.