I Can't Afford a Massage

After surviving a mentally grueling ("grew-elle-ing") Week Without Coffee, I have decided to treat myself this week. What I would really adore is a full hour massage, but I do not want to spend that much money. So, inspired by a friend over at The Martha Initiative, I've decided on a bottom-up approach (wah-wah). In lieu of whole body relaxation, I'm going to focus on refreshing my feet. Today, I am going to get my first-ever pedicure.

I'll be entrusting my feet to the beautiful people at Sonia Salon, a spa I chose because of its reasonable price tag and relatively convenient location on North Clark. I am a little bit nervous about the part where the pedicurist removes the dry skin. My colleague C said that they sometimes use a shaver tool that she likened to a cheese slicer - yikes! She also told me that Oprah said that when she gets a pedicure they take off so much dry skin that she actually goes down a full shoe size. So, ok - first of all, yuck, and secondly, doesn't that hurt?

I guess even if it is a little uncomfortable, that's all right. I still want to have the pedicure experience. From now on, if I'm with a group of women and they start discussing beauty services, I won't have to confess that in all my years on this earth I haven't had a pedicure. I will still be wholly unqualified to converse about many of the topics that tend to come up in all-female groups, but pedicures will no longer be one of them.

Before I go, I would like to take this opportunity to declare that just because a woman is generally uninterested in 'girly' things or activities, this does not mean that she should not be taken seriously in the event that she decides to pursue a feminine interest every once in a while. I certainly reserve the right to be 'girly' (whatever that word means) in any way and at any time I choose. So K, I'm not sure if you thought I was joking when I told you about my appointment to have a pedicure this evening, but this is the real deal, buddy. No watermelon nails for me, though - I think I'll just stick to pink or peach.