Foot Massage = Team Building Exercise
May 7th, 2009
Aha! I knew that would grab everybody's attention!
So I am back in Beijing.
It's been a rough week. Most days I would stay up till 2/3/4 in the morning, discussing stuff with the people in China and India. Then up by 5:30 am to check emails, and on calls from 9 in the morning till 12 almost everyday. Noon time, I'd try a little sleep, but then the phone wouldn't stop ringing. It was all getting in the way of my functioning properly. Thanks to Rupali who decided I need a break and a pedicure on Sunday. It relaxed me enough to send me on my way on Tuesday morning. But Monday night, I was on calls till 2 am... a 6:30 flight was almost unimaginable. I decided to catch a few and make the 9:30 - on which I was originally booked.
The flight from T.O. to Newark was delayed. I had exactly 40 minutes to run from one terminal to the other, and pick up something from the duty free. And I did it. Unlike last time, this time the plane was packed. Next to me was a Vientamese American boy in his twenties, going to China on an exchange program. Beside him was a Chinese-American going home to her parents. We had a good time talking to each other, and I picked up another bit of Mandarin - sign language. The Chinese sign their numbers with one hand - no two handed signs like us plebes. One more new thing. I worked a little, slept a lot and found the time to catch up on the emails I'd downloaded before leaving. Down on the ground, on time. There were long lines this time.. health check for the swine flu and then immigration, get my bags, grab a cab, and head to the hotel.
This time I got a club level room on the 16th floor. To my immense delight, this room faced the entire Olympic park - the Pangu hotel, the Water Cube, the Bird's nest and the alphabet buildings which had housed the Olympic athletes. The room is huge, and a bathroom that is BIG. It even had a separate shower stall and a bath tub big enough for two. A king sized bed. Man, I was in hotel heaven. I unpacked, showered and plugged in my laptop. About 150 emails! Groan!! I'd only been away for like 20 hours from my computer. I also jumped into Meebo.. my IM gateway. Right away I got pinged. It was Eric. He'd arrived on Sunday - and was madly glad that I was in town. I started combing through the emails while receiving pings from India. Very soon, Kevin came online. We were gonna have dinner together as soon as they got back from work.. but first drinks in the club lounge on the 17th.
So up I went. Kevin was already there, and we played catch up - with him telling me all the wonderful stuff - WORK - I believe its called, that had happened while I was up in the air. Eric arrived soon after, and two glasses of wine later, the three of us went down for dinner to the Brazilian restaurant. It was as good as I remembered. That night we decided to take the calls from my room. Needless to say, the boys both had massive cases of room envy!
The next day - today - was work day. I found my rhythm quickly. Breakfast at eight. Answer emails. Head out the door. We're almost into production now.. this weekend actually. And that's why I was back so soon. Work quickly caught up with me. Eric needed something, so did Kevin and so did a few dozen people. Ah well...
We got home, changed, had a drink in the lounge and then headed out. We needed to relax. What better way than to get a foot massage? So off we went to a foot massage place just around the corner.
Now most of you have seen my earlier note about the 'special' massages on offer. Not at this place, or at least not that we were aware of. But this had to be one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. Never having been to a massage parlor (a spa in the US dont count!) before, I didn't quite know what to expect. Which was a good thing. I would perhaps not have had the courage to go through with it. But now that I've done it... you know what? i'm going back for more!!
We walked into the parlor and they asked us what we would like. Now remember, we dont speak Mandarin, and they speak little English. A business transaction like this one can get quite lost in translation. We asked for three foot massages. The lady at the desk led us down a hall to a room. Three big loungey chairs with ottomans were in the room. On the opposite wall was a big screen TV. We sat in the chairs me in the center with the guys on either side. We were getting our massages together??!! Bit awkward, that! But that was just the start. Soon after the girl came in again - what would we like to drink? I opted for a bottle of water, Eric wanted tea and Kevin wanted diet coke. Those arrived along with a couple of trays of the sweetest watermelon. We sat there talking flipping through channels. About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. A young girl about 5'10" tall walked in, carrying a tub of hot water. She was followed by a young boy..and another young girl. The two girls went to the two men on either side, the guy was for me..!! Ulp!!
They had us put our feet in the water and then walked out. By the way, it was almost synchronous - the way they did it. We sat there, feet soaking in very hot tea water. A few minutes later they came back in and helped us turn around and sit on the ottomans. Feet still in water, they proceeded to give us back rubs. OH.. MY... GOD....!! It felt soooo good! I could feel his fingers digging and finding all the knots in my back. I was melting. My eyes were closed, and as I felt his fingers working into the back of my neck, I removed the band around my hair and allowed him to dig his fingers into my scalp. Oh yes...... I could get to like this very very much. I don't know how long that was before I was helped back into the chair. I lay there, eyes closed, wondering what was next. They took our feet out of the water, and then dried and proceeded with the foot massage. But it wasnt just a foot massage. I felt him leaning over me, and then he started to massage my arms... strong fingers digging into my biceps - did I really have that many knots? None of us were making a sound at this point. It was hard for me not to say anything. But I could hear one of my friends being asked by his 'girl' if he was from America? how long was he going to be there? First trip to Beijing? hmmm... she was soo hitting on him!! I peeked at her, and was a little perturbed to find her sitting on the ottoman - her short skirt had ridden up her thights, and you could see the bare flesh between her stockings and her skirt..okayyyyy.... this was a little uncomfortable.
But I soon lost sight of that, as my masseuse gave me the most delicious arm workout. Then it was on to the feet. They hurt. Literally. But then they relaxed oh so nicely.. My feet were all tingly now... The soles of my feet were mmmmmm....
Then came the part that I absolutely did not expect. This was the leg massage part of it.. oh dear... i was fighting hard to keep any sound coming out of my mouth, as he just went for the knots on my quadriceps and calves. Oh my God! the fourteen hours of sitting cramped in a coach seat were soooo worth this moment in relaxation heaven. He found knots and worked them out. Ninety minutes later, we were done - all at the same time! Wow!!
I had to be helped out of my chair.. My legs were like noodles, all soft and spongy. We came out, paid up. Then it was on to our favourite dive for dinner. Rice, a big bowl of chicken soup and a big meatball. And two bottles of beer - remember Chinese beer comes in those India sized bottles. We definitely felt good. Back to hotel now... and more work, conference calls. But you know what? I'm going back there again. As a team bonding experience - it was the most bizarre of all. However, I realized that I had these two wonderful men in my team that I could trust implicitly. I think and hope that we all will stay friends - even after this project is over... How could we not? We got foot massages together, for crying out loud!!
Cheers to that!!
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