Hurts so good
Saturday, January 13th, 2007 at 4:56 pmI’ve been writing quite a bit lately. Well, I write pretty much every day, but I’ve been writing more than usual, which means I’ve been sitting still on my derriere bent over a computer more than usual, which means my back and neck have been getting stiff and sore. As I live in a country renowned as a place to get a good massage, it may sound surprising that I’ve never had a Thai massage, but I’m one of those people who would rather go in pain than be touched by a stranger, until the pain gets really bad. Then I put aside my personal space issues, and, in this case, pay up 200 baht (less than $10) for a 1 hour massage, swap my clothes for light flannel pyjamas that make me feel 8 years old again, and lie down to accept the ministrations of a big, strong lady.
How she got to be so big and strong becomes apparent as she presses down on my back many times with enough force to drive me breath from my lungs, attacks pressure points, bends me, stretches me, thwacks me, and slings my body around like a rag doll. She is also very nice, and, after my protest when she pulls one of my fingers till it cracks, obligingly agrees to an immediate cessation of all finger cracking. Actually, it’s a damn good massage. It’s rough and there’s plenty of mild to medium pain, and a certain degree of terror, but no real agony, and my back feels a great deal better. There’s hardly any stiffness next morning, either.
I was glad of the pyjamas, as this was full body contact massage. At one point she was sitting on me, at another she had me bent over backwards on top of her. Whenever a sleeve or leg slipped she was quick to smooth it back into place. Oh, and she did something to my right arm that made a weird rapid shock run down the nerve, which was kind of fun.
Speaking of electric shocks, before I had the massage, Stu and I had been playing pool in a bar where there was an electric mosquito zapper lying around. These wonderful devices, which look like small tennis rackets, are sadly illegal in Australia and the US, as it is said that you can make stun guns out of them. I turned it on and hit my leg with it to see if I would get a shock - I think I had vague ideas of employing it on my Thursday students - however, it seemed that a shock sufficient to kill a mozzie is not enough to register on a human being. It just felt like I was hitting myself with a tennis racket. I was still tempted to get one and bring it to class next Thursday, as any weapon would be better than none - but the kids would probably figure out how to make the stun gun. No prizes for guessing who would be the first victim.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Stun gun? Hell, they’d figure out how to make a laser death cannon with that thing.
Good to hear you’re writing a lot!
January 16th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
You are so right. They would be dancing around my charred, half-vaporised corpse.
It’s mostly very (exceedingly) rough first-draft stuff, but I’ve hit 10,000 words (all done in about a week). And Gwynn is finally stirring from that railway station restaurant in my mind where he’s been loafing for the past two years or so. He’s back in the army now, lol - at least for a bit.
January 16th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Ooo, does that mean we might see more of him, too? And I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is: did he eat any eggs?!
…Okay, maybe that’s just my mind.
January 17th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
You just might. Some people have said they’d like to read a sequel to TEC, other people think it’s a bad idea… but I’m simply curious to find out where this leads. I truly hope Gwynn and I can make it into a book that we like and that someone will publish.
He didn’t eat any eggs, he ate a chicken sandwich. (But which comes first, the chicken or the egg?) However, he might be watching someone else eat eggs. Thanks for reminding me about the egg thing!
Gwynn really wants fish and chips, but it might be a while before he gets any. And he can’t decide whether he’d rather be wearing a WWI-ish officer’s uniform or a charming ethnic (Mongolian?)tunic embroidered with leopards. Sigh.
January 18th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
As far as a “sequel” to TEC - I don’t really have a concept of how there could be one. (Not that I’d argue if you wrote one, oh no, no arguments from this corner.) But an alternate story, or something along those lines… (Viriconium comes to mind.)
Out of those two I cast my vote for leopard embroidered tunic! But I could also totally get behind an SS-esque uniform ala Trinity Blood.
January 19th, 2007 at 8:37 am
It’d be sort of a diagonal sequel…taking place before the epilogue of TEC. I want it to be as alternate as possible while still allowing it to be read, if you want to, as a direct continuation of events, if that makes sense - or as direct as anything ever is in that world…or really, to be honest, I don’t know yet. I’m just letting the characters wander around and talk and think, finding out what themes are on their minds.
Gwynn is partial to the Asian tunic too. It does suit him. He likes the aesthetics of SS uniforms but says all the best tailors back then were Jewish…