I must have looked tired and stressed out, because he said, “you look stressed out. And tired.”
“I was stuck in traffic. There was a multiple-car accident and traffic was backed up for miles.”
“Yes, the rain is nasty. Some people don’t slow down for it, and whammo.”
He was smaller than I, and younger. Slender and good-looking.
“So take off your shirt, why don’t you?” he said. I took off my shoes as well. He’s always fastidious about that.
He placed me face down on the table.
“Shoulder okay?” he asked.
“Pretty good. If I didn’t know it was sore I wouldn’t really notice it.”
“Back?”
I told him it had been on fire from my knees to my shoulders after cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Better now, I said. “Just that one spot by the right hip,” I said. He said the upper back was still tense too.
“You need a little pleasure,” he said. “I’ll do something good for you.”
He gave me a back massage and loosened everything up. I asked him what he thought of chiropractics and he told me. We got on the subject of shiatsu and he asked me about living in Japan, and I told him. We talked and talked.

Then he was finished. “We can do more exercises next week,” he said. I struggled off the table. I thought I was going to die – it took me a couple minutes to adjust to my new, relaxed back.

It’s raining again today. In the mountains it’s snowing.

#2 on google for miniature helicopters.

1. I’m way too lazy to actually list 100 things.

2. I enjoy reading singles ads when I’m bored. People invariably sound so lame and pathetic, which makes me feel superior and less isolated. But yesterday I was reading one by this woman who wrote 26 things about herself, in alphabetical order. “A” was Ameli
   

Xkot on counting money.

I was going to write something about almost falling down the stairs at the music school last night, while carrying a cello and a harp, because I was looking backwards talking to a music teacher and not watching my step, but Xkot’s story is far better.

The Secret Books
[via U.D.N.]

Thanksgiving was exhausting. I baked two apple pies and au gratin potatoes and a 8 kg turkey with orange glaze (fresh-pressed orange juice, sauteed chopped onions, grated orange peel, grated ginger, honey, red currant jelly). Alpha made good corn soup. I baked biscuits. My mother-in-law made some tasty pumpkin/vegetable concoction. We had steamed broccoli and carrot sticks. Beta invited girls and they brought mashed potatoes and potato salad. Another guest brought a bunch of wine.

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Dropped Alpha off at the airport yesterday, story here, and after we’d bought nice-smelling candles and things at the Body Shop and roasted candied almonds at the pharmacy and had coffee at a coffee shop (where I ate all the roasted almonds) and looked at things at Harrod’s I saw her as far in as I could see her. She showed her ticket to the man and went through the turnstile and through the glass I watched her walk off to her gate.

She didn’t look back.

I hung out at a newsstand for a while. I was looking for something good to read, or failing literature something with naked ladies. The Playboy with Dita Teese on the cover was tempting, but I passed and also passed on some lame Penthouse collector’s issue, Bob Guccione recycling old Pets o’ the Month I guess.

Instead I bought Anne Rice “Blood and Gold” for a nice wintry shot of goth excess and Paul Auster’s memoir “Hand to Mouth” for some literariness.

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