Wednesday-4th week!!

Two assignments done and ready to go. Quiz in AP today. I need to study, but I am procrastinating and writing in here instead. I just had lunch with a friend. Short, but fun, I just was not very talkative, errg!! :-p

As you can tell I am not right now. I got to watch three instructors today and their "beingness" and their techniques today do a full 50 minute massage. It really helped me in my massage today.

Ugh, to bored and tired to add anymore in here. Need to go read!!

Love,

eVe

2nd day 4rth week

So i am freezing my butt off in the cold, it is darn cold today outside!!! But so I am back to class in like 15 minutes. Had professional development first today, heard a lot about making our visions, was pretty crazy!! Now I have to write my own vision and I have so much I want to include that I have to be careful to not make it like three pages, so much I want to accomplish, but if I am confident and I put a structure to it and a timeline, I know that I will be able to do it.

So I have massage therapy basics next, and I have two assignments due tomorrow that I need to do tonight, and I work tonight also!! 

Arrg, going to kick my butt in high gear!!!

Love,

eVe

Back to class

So after this week is done I will have been in class for a month!! CRAZY , right?? Well I must say it has all gone by so fast, and I am beginning to worry I will forget everything I have learned because of the new classes I have. 

I just had my first movement class today. It was very different. But I think it is something that is very important in any massage, especially being able to tell clients after a massage to do for homework . 

I found that I am not structurally objective, being that I am not correctly aligned, nor is anyone, but it is a goal! We walked around the class trying to feel where we put most of our weight and how are feet are positioned when we walk. I found that I walk pretty straight but because my feet are pretty much flat I walk medial, so my feet point a little outwards because I am walking on the lateral sides of my feet.

So then after we learned what was wrong we did some exercises that we are supposed to do from now on to keep our deviations at a minimum. We did them and then we got up and walked around again. Strange it was, I was like I have feet, I can feel like every part of them!! Pretty Awesome I would say!!

Yet, to find a class I dislike enough, all of them I seem to keep liking the more and more I go.

Hmm well I am hoping my internet is still working, it was having problems!! Have a splendid day!!

P. S. I just learned how bad my keyboard and my job are for my new career, arg have to change it !!!

Love,

eVe

YEAA!!!

3rd week done and on to the 4th. one more class, with a nice big anatomy quiz...but yeah!!

So we had our evaluations on our massages, meaning graded on our draping and body mechanics!! ARG!! I have no idea how I did but when I go back from lunch I should!! NERVOUS NELLY I was and I am anxious to see how I did. Nerve racking let me tell you. Sometimes I think it makes me do badly, but I guess I will find out. Got another good massage today, YEAH!! So I felt good and then I had to give a massage and get all heated and nice and warm and then go to lunch. Gross because I wish we had a place to take a shower after we give a massage, you get really really warm and 5o minute massages are like nothing, they fly by, but when you are done you are drenched in sweat, its definitely a full body workout, which I think I am going to start to do, start running and all that and do more physical stuff so I can keep up and then maybe Pilates or Yoga, get some good body tone and now that my metabolism is speeding up with all the massages, I should be awesome and in shape, not like I am right now....:-p!! Well, short entry because I have to go study for my anatomy quiz and I took a long time eating and enjoying my food for once instead of scarfing it down!!!

Have a wonderful weekend, hear from me next Monday!!

Love,

eVe

Wow only one more day of class and its into the 4th week

Hmmm, so these blogs are getting really boring, but at least I am sticking to what I said I would do. Today I had Acupressure first off. This is what some would call "energy " work, which is somewhat a bad connotation. It does deal with energy because sometimes you aren't even touching the person to work on them. It is very balancing I find and I always have to pee afterwards. That and my body twitches and usually gets really cold trying to balance out my energy. But I have found that since school started I am a very positive person, I had some not so fun stuff to deal with last night and today I have pretty much stopped dwelling on it except for of course I am consciously writing about it which is why I say pretty much. 

Umm maybe I should update my personal life and not just school. Well besides sleeping eating or going to school and work, not much has really changed. My social life has virtually become non-existent. On weekends, the days I don't work or go to school I either try to catch up on sleep, practice for school or I help others, lets say work on their house. LOL ! So all my days never seem like a Monday or Tuesday or so on, they are just days and so when Friday comes around I am like really , doesn't feel like a Friday. Hmm probably because it doesn't mean a nice long weekend anymore. So it isn't a bad thing though, every day I feel worked in a good way and I am ready for bed a lot early, the AWESOME thing though is that I am actually sleeping really well, I think I have MASSAGE to thank for that!!

Hmm, well word of advice don't sit downwind from a smoker outside, you will get a bad headache, like I have right now!!! BLECH!! I wish I wasn't so sensitive to smoke, but it irritates my lungs, I am actually quite allergic to certain brands, I can always tell what type a person smokes based on this, which is when one of the smokers from my class gives a massage to me or receives one from me, I start coughing sometimes because I can smell the smoke on them, even though they try to disguise it so well, which with me doesn't work!! Funny thing-- like 3/4 of my class are smokers. And most of my classmates have piercings and tattoes, nothing against them, I just know it could be a little harder for them to get a job at certain places or to be seen as professional. 

So last night I was at Chipotle and I forgot I had my ASMT (AZ School of Massage Therapy) shirt on and I was getting a burrito and all of a sudden the guy behind the counter goes, if I give you a free burrito will you give me a free massage, and I am like is he hitting on me or what!!! LOL well I forgot I was wearing my massage and so I promptly explained to him I cant accept favors because I am not licensed and he was well you could just be nice. HAHA!! Yeah just like I am nice to everyone else, my coworkers, friends, family, roommates...LOL I was like I guess it is good because I know that there are a lot of people that are willing to pay for a massage. So yeah an interesting experience to say the least I was like HMM was I HIT ON or is that seen more as hey ILL SEE IF I CAN FIND THE OPPORTUNITY to take ADVANTAGE OF THIS?? HMM!!

Well signing off, I need a new battery for my computer I think!

Love,

eVe

3rd Week!! WOW

So I can't believe I am writing about my third week of school already. I have already begun to learn so much and yet have so much to learn. Well so it is a shorter week this week, because no school on Monday( Martin Luther King Jr. Day--funny though because every time somebody would say happy MLK day I would think they said happy MILK day, and I was becoming confused).

First class was reflexology. So I am not really one that particularly enjoys foot massages, maybe because I never really had one, and the ones I did receive just didn't make me feel superb. Today in class though, I just about fell asleep, be it that I am able to relax better or that I am sick, I am not sure. You would think being sick it would be harder to relax, it is somewhat hard to lay on my back and have a harder time to breathe. But for the first time, I just completely relaxed while getting an awesome foot massage, the techniques are so useful and I started to fall asleep, I probably would have had I not woken myself up with my heavy breathing/borderline snoring. That is what happens when you have a cold. Yeah so yes on foot massages... and I suppose that is what I will be practicing tonight!

Next class is Mastering the Basics #7( meaning the 7th time I have had the class) and we are doing evaluations, so I am a bit nervous, I mean it counts toward a grade, but isn't like a test on our techniques yet. THANK FULLY!! I would die if we were graded on our techniques at this time....AAAA!!! Well I think this is enough for one post today.

I know they are boring sometimes, but basically because I am just so into school and the days just fly by I look back and Im like I know I learned stuff I just don't remember it!! LOL

Well signing off, Later Gator!!

Love,

eVe

An "Interesting" title for the last day of the 2nd week of class

So....

Practiced more massage techiniques learned some weird but really good feeling ones. Chucking, palmer friction, I cant remember them right now and dont have my book. I dont really have anything to say that is interesting today, I am really relaxed from the massage I received before class but other than that, I get to practice on a friend tonight, taking all the techniques I learned today and previous days and put them all into one. I am curious as to what they will say and how I have improved from no education on massage at all to only two weeks. Exciting, I shall post a response to that of course.

Class always goes fast nowdays, especially Massage Basics. It is funny because I know now that whenever I see MTB on my schedule I go arrg, like I have to go to that class today, but then when I get to class I am like yes, give me more!! I am getting a lot better at the body mechanics thing, practicing them everywhere I go and in class my back actually feels better when I am doing a massage than after and I think it is because I am remembering to suck the gut in and help my back out, where as sitting for lecture is uncomfortable for my back. I did begin to use my body mechanics watching demo though..!! Good techniques these people know what they are talking about and actually want us to really succeed!! Way to go us, we are a lucky to have such enthusiastic and uplifting teachers.!!

Well I am at lunch again, as always and starving, I did remember my lunch today, but have yet to eat it so that is what I am going to do right now and then go take a quick power nap, this sickness I have is making me more and more tired, I almost feel like it could be mono. And I cant drink enough water, and I am hardly peeing as much when I first started class because now I am either sweating it out giving a massage or receiving one. And the changing under the sheets is hard so you work up a sweat trying to do it fast!!

Ok seriously out I go, signing off!!

Love,
eVe

Wednesday- 2nd week

First off I need to start thinking of some interesting titles...

2nd I need more enthusiasm in writing, I promised a lot of ppl I would keep up with this everyday and well today was just as blah as yesterday. Exciting that I dont work tonight and get to get a bible study in tonight, but other than that...

Hmm, well I stayed up way late last night and well talked on the phone till wee hours of the morning purposefully procrastinating on my homework and studying for a quiz that I am pretty sure I failed at this morning. Sweet for the first quiz right, way to fail the first one. I was amazed that I was able to multi-task though... talk and do homework, I was awesome and then I went to bed and got up this morning so tired and am paying for it now, beacause I forgot my money and my lunch so I am broke tired and starving a good combination and my gas tank is on empty, so hopefully I will make it home.. LOL

AP was good, learned a lot about cell structure, a ton of things I will never remember. I was proactive and actually finished my homework that is due next today. That out of the way and one to greener pastures like working....haha just kidding! At least I got 30 points on my homework and the quiz was only worth 10 points, so score!! I potentially have a 30 out of 40 which is not bad at all...I am hoping for at least a 5 out of 10 on my quiz..

We shall see though...I am going to go try to find something to eat I am ready to pass out ...and water is not killing the stomach acid burn. Later and peace out!!

Love,
eVe

Tuesday 2nd week

Hey,

So my enthusiasm today to blog in here, not so much!! We did Acupressure today, and I think my energy was all off because I have a headache, could be caused from the cold I also have, but I have no idea. I have to work tonight so probably won't get to practice any of my techniques until this weekend or maybe tomorrow, I don't work. Hopefully, my roommates will be up for it. I have ProD next or Professional Development. Met the teacher on my first day, he seemed cool. We shall see how it goes. Well I only have a few more minutes before class starts and I am laying on the floor with my laptop as my class filters in listening to music typing on the keyboard. And now I must go, just wanted to add in a little bit, I promise I will write more tomorrow!! Well hopefully :-p

Peace out, gonna go brush my teeth!

Love,
eVe

Back to school-2nd week!!

Back again to school already. Already to week number 2 and 28 more weeks to go. Time is going to fly!!

So Massage Basics was my first class , actually practiced massaging today. We are learning the techniques of Swedish Massage (* by Per Henwick Sp?) one being efflerauge(sp?). So yeah, we did the whole disrobing thing again and practiced efflerauge. And just a side note, even when we all don't know what we are doing, it felt GREAT!! So I was all relaxed and everything getting a nice massage, and then we had to switch partners. Next time I am going last !! :-) For me, the thought of dressing and undressing is not even a thought anymore, its like clothes come of quick and yeah no nervousness, hardly think about the sheet coming off or sliding down and I think as we all get better with our techinque we will learn to trust each other better. Class always seems to fly by though. I don't really have any funny or interesting atencdotes in here except for that I can't spell and my teachers can't either, which is great for tests and papers and such.

My one teacher, is so much like me its crazy, the younger one that is. Shes the add type, self proclaimed of course, like myself. Where you just cant sit in one spot at a time or stand in one position. Someone mumbled under their breath "add" today, and it was hilarious because she heard it. She is an awesome teacher, likes to have fun. Not one of my teacher's yet do I dislike in anyway. And that is rare, usually I pick out their annoying habits or weird quirks right away and these teachers are just plain cool! And it is awesome, makes the learning experience more fun and I think to it helps all of us students to feel more relaxed and less like we are in a school environment and more like we are in a learning environment (where we can each learn at our own pace). Some of us I have noticed are more auditory and visual where others like me, cant sit still or focus in to listen the best and are more kinisthetic (spelling on that?). Kinisthetic being more a combination of all. I find for me I am this person. I learn with a combination of all and the demos are what helps me the best, and than to actually practice or "hands on" as it is called. I learn by example and by doing and experimenting. I incorporated my body mechanics into what I was doing today really well, I got told it twice, once by each teaching assistant. It is hard to remember all the things you need to remeber when giving a massage.

Remembering body mechanics, hand placement, pressure of touch, type of touch, the draping, most important emitting a good sensation in your energy so the client doesn't pick up on that your thinking to hard or too much. I am totally an over analyzer and even though I am really good at multi tasking I am sitting their thinking ok this and that and that and this and then screaming inside my head going "what in the world did I just get into" and then its over and we switch. LOL! Intesnse but fun and keeps my attention especially for somebody that has ADD (self-proclaimed of course ;-) ) Well....

Let me see, I am freezing outside right now eating lunch all by myself because nobody would answer their phone. Yes freezing outsided in the middle of winter in Arizona. Hard to believe right? I think it is something like 54 degrees right. All I know is I am wearing a sweatshirt and my hands are like ice trying to type.

My time is up too though so I gots to walk back to the school. There is a Schlotzsky's deli in the parking lot of my school and I go their on most days,like today.( eww...side note, gross smoker upwind from me Blech!!--moving now!!)

Hope my blog makes some sense for those who read it.

Laters and peace out!

Love,
eVe

4th day of school

So,

It has been like three days, since the last day of first week of school, so my memory may be a little faded here. It is Sunday night and I am back to school tomorrow, but I wanted to write about every day.

Thursday, what do I remember? I had reflexology and massage basics. I practiced draping again and I am becoming more and more comfortable at it, I just need to be better at back support which is where comes in to play the stances. Horse and Archer. I prefer Archer, it is easier on my back and Horse kills the thighs. So yeah I tried using it this weekend when I was working on the house and giving other people massages.

The exciting thing about Thursday is we got to order our massage tables. And yeah bummer though because they will come in 6 to 9 weeks. I may possibly get it sooner If I chose a color that the school had in stock, but I doubt it. That would be really cool because I could get a head start on practicing,but I guess we will find out. If not, then I will have to wait just like everyone else for my massage table and that stinks!! I really want to practice all my techniques and my draping and become superb.

I really want to work on the cruise ship when I am done, the more they tell me about it the more I want to try it, but I guess if it isn't available I would want to do outcall massages and work part time as a teaching assistant. The whole idea of being able to teach a class, something I have always wanted to do, blows my mind!! I am like sweet I don't have to get a degree to teach a class, I am all for that!! One of my teachers is a really young professor who I think is probably my age or a year or two older and she is already teaching. And it is cool, she wanted to do physical therapy when she thought about massage therapy, which is my ultimate goal! So I already have a lot in common. At any rate, I must excel and do better than everyone because being a teaching assistant is something I really really want to do. I thought massage therapy was just doing massages, but there is so many different opportunities that I never realized.

Let's see... I can't really think of anything else that stood out about Thursday in class. I had a good lunch hour and learned how to do foot massages. Reflexology, the best!! And I already practiced on my roommates and they loved it so I think I will be doing well on practicing and homework for my next 7 months!! The roommies will help with that *wink wink*. Hmm, what else.

I had my first full day of back to work, wasn't the greatest and  may need to change hours again, but other than that, that was my Thursday and tomorrow I will finally be caught up on my blogs for school and Tomorrow's will actually be Current as of Monday!!

So I am signing off, peace out more later!

Love,

Eve

3rd day of school

So I know I am supposed to write about yesterday. But I am so exhausted!! I went to bed at 4 am this morning and got up at 7 am to get to school on time. So why did I stay up so late, not to do homework!! Lol, that would be a first. No, I was lighting things on fire, specifically my bills and had the help of two awesome gentlemen to add fascinating colors to it. I burned bills in blue, green and red and it was pretty sweet!! But, so that isn't really about school, I must stay on one tangent since this blog is mainly about my experience in school.

Regardless of the sleep I didn't get though, I am remarkably awake. Three hours is a good refresher course I suppose. And since I actually want to be at school for once its awesome. Something I don't want to miss. Yesterday I was thinking, man I am going to love going to school. And I am not only making a great decision in my life, but I am going to have a career I love in 7 months, helping people. That is right I said career, not work, not a job- a career!! Something I would define as a job you LOVE to do!! And I can say with full confidence that I am already loving it and will continue to love it. The next 7 months are going to fly. 

I started school the 5th of January and today is the last day of school for my first week and it already feels natural, I am already getting into the routine of things. If feels like I am already half way through the month of January and that the new year was a long time ago, barely 8 days ago. So hmm what else to put. I am running short on time today, had other more important things to do on the computer. Umm, let us see, classes whoosh by, I am sitting in class and so absorbed in what I am learning(because I soak it up, every last drop, I love what I am learning) that when the teacher calls break ( we have 10 minute breaks every 50 minutes-- more than enough time)not just me, but the whole class is like "Oh man." We are so ready to move on, practice what we have learned and get to the hands on. My class is a lively bunch and I love it. We have been in class together barely 3 days and I am already picking out peoples personalities, dislikes and likes, what they love and what they struggle/fear the most (with). The class has bonded remarkably fast.

So what we worked on on Wednesday was CPR/First Aid and Acupressure. CPR/First Aid being a refresher course for me, but not dull at all. And Acupressure, so RELAXING. We did some meditation and relaxation techniques. I was practically drooling I felt so relaxed, working with energies and meridians.

Well my laptop is running low on battery, I will try to add to this blog later today, but I doubt that will happen. I don't know if I am going to go to work or not tonight, it has been nice to just focus on school. Guess we will just "play it by ear" or as I learned in Acupressure, the Wu Wei, which means literally translated " go with the flow."

So I am going with the flow, let everything just be effortless as Lao Tsu (spelling?) did.

Back to school, add in later maybe and today's blog possibly!!

Love, Eve

The second day I survived school!!

So as it looks,

Well what to say here. It looks like I will always be behind one day in my blogging here. I am in my third day of school and I am only writing about yesterday when I should be writing about today. I guess its better that I am behind on here instead of behind on my schoolwork. Which to think of it I bet I am pretty behind. I have anatomy to do, which will be do next time we meet for class on the 14th of January and even though I have a time to do it now, I know that I will procrastinate doing it till the last minute, exactly the kind of bad habit I am wanting to break. Hopefully, I will. We shall see.

Besides having homework already, I have already had my first experience in the classroom with the massage tables. Yesterday we learned to drape supine and prone. Prone meaning face down on your stomach. And supine meaning on the spine or laying on your back, looking up at the ceiling. Well so we were a little behind schedule in our class and as was I. I hadn't found a partner yet. 

Now I think I should say that my class is not like most, according to faculty. My class is 37 compared to the 50 students it usually is, so first off it is smaller. Second of all, there is a fairly even number of guys and girls, yes I repeat girls and GUYS (Sure it is nice that guys want to learn this sort of trade, it works well, they have more strength especially in like deep tissue massages).

So, I didn't have a partner yet and so when the time came to practice draping( draping- the covering that goes over a client when in a massage session) I was out a partner. Thankfully, there was another person in the class who didn't have a partner, but it was a guy. So you know I am already nervous about undressing completely in class with other people around, but then let us just add to that uncomfortable feeling and just make it completely awkward. No amount of anything, could have made me comfortable in that moment.

So I am like OK!! Whatever I guess, got to get this over at some point, I would prefer now rather than later, It really has a lot to do with your mindset. At this point, I was trying to think positive, like ok it will be fine, as long as it is kept professional. And you know as soon as I changed my mindset it wasn't so nerve racking anymore. I was able to get into what they say is called "beingness" yes, a term that is used in school, but I am not quite sure if it is in the dictionary. 

"Beingness"- described many different ways, but any UCMT student would recognize it as having oneness with self or like "being in the zone" you are completely focused and able to block out anything. So your surroundings basically. I was able to find this easy and I didn't even realize what it was till later.

So there it was "BEINGNESS", a funny term I know, but I found it without even trying. And it was great. After that the undressing while a guy was holding the sheet and being a little bit nervous himself, it was easy to block out and not think about it.

So after a way exciting class, where everyone was nervous and each had levels of uncomfortableness, I think we will all learn really fast, we are all just as nervous as the other and that our confidence will begin to build the more routine it becomes. 

For the second day of class though, I was still screaming inside, I feel like for once I have accomplished so much, I can already see the finish line and it is the greatest feeling in the world. That of course is not looking at the my financials, now if I can just make sure I don't go bankrupt going to school and don't have to withdraw because of financial status, that would be great, but because life is not that nice all the time, Wish me Good Luck!!

And with that I go, class starts in like 30 minutes and I want some time to just veg on the internet and chill. Check out my email, skype, facebook, stuff I like never do anymore. But sweet yeah for once !!!

Well Peace Out- Third day blog tomorrow :-)

Love, Eve

First day of school

So this was quite an interesting experience. How can I express what I felt in one sentence? I was screaming inside all day, as I was sitting in class!

So much to say in so little time. Right now I am sitting in class, we have the same class room for the first quarter, others are sitting around me doing work, busy listening to music. We all have lunch from 12:30pm to 2:00pm. It is a nice long break, but let me tell you that class goes by so fast and lunch even faster.

I was going to start a blog yesterday, but I was purely exhausted and just wanted to forget the whole classroom experience. A lot was drilled into my head yesterday; per example: I was told repeatedly that " I'm not going to lie to you, it is going to be hard." " That you will lose friends and family." But, most important I think though is that they told me we don't lie because you paid $12,000, it is your money and we are here to help you acheive your dreams/goals and to us you are not just a number. This made me feel a little better. But then, one of my teacher freaked the whole class out.

" Ok, just take a moment and breathe deeply, prepare yourself for what I am about to tell you..." WE all sit there like what in the world is she going to say?..." You will be fulling disrobing tomorrow in class so make sure you have two sheets that you can't see light through because you will be undressing in these. And that means no undergarments on at all. Hence provoked the screaming in my head...

So I will probably edit this later when I have well if I have more time. Doubt I will, but hoping so. I am sitting in my classroom still waiting for class to start. It is nice that we get 10 minute breaks every 50 minutes, but I need to go have a bathroom break before I start another class, If we are late like 5 minutes we get docked a quarter of our attendance points, and attendance counts major.

Well anyways, this is me signing off add to this later and hopefully let everyone know I made a blog.

Love, Eve