My First Thai Massage Experience

My cousins-in-law were telling me and my husband about this thing, this Thai massage, about how good it was. That it will give us good value for our money because we can get a nice one-hour session for just P200.00. It sounded fabulous so I made a mental note to myself to go there the following weekend. 

We went there on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, my husband couldn't come with me because he had to attend a seminar. Still, I was happy to bring my son along and spend some quality bonding time with him. He was also excited to experience the Thai massage.

The place was so near to our place that it only took us10 to 15 minutes to find it. Anyway, we went into a reception area that was filled with the smell of eucalyptus, it was so strong that it made our eyes sting.

A small young lady appeared after being summoned by the front desk receptionist, said her hello and asked us what kind of service(s) we want. She washed our feet in soapy lukewarm water before she led us upstairs. We were taken to a tiny room with two simple cots on the floor and with a curtain to hide us from other customers' view instead of an actual door. She gave us two sets of t-shirts and shorts then she left and closed the "door".

So now, Ashton and I are lying on our mattress; our female masseuses started massaging our feet. At first I was enjoying it but when she started applying pressures on my leg did my panic begin. She was walking, pulling, stretching, bending, pinching, massaging my body in a most interesting but not relaxing way. I was either inhaling and exhaling deeply like I was in labor pains, or I would bit my lips to keep from screaming, "Ouchhh!"

The whole ambience - the minty smell of the room, the candles and the nature-relaxation music playing on the background, were supposed to make one feel relaxed. But I simply could not do it.

It was the least relaxing, the most painful massage I have ever had. I felt like I was being beat up, which is not my thing since I have a low pain tolerance level. The whole time I was being "tortured", Ashton was actually laughing at my facial expressions. I asked him if he didn't feel any pain at all. "Wala. Nakikiliti nga ako eh!" (Nothing. It tickles, actually), was his simple reply.

After the massage, they offered us two cups of tea and warm towels. When we left, I felt like I've been run over by a truck. But about an hour later, I felt limber, calm and rather relaxed. I was so pleased until the next day - and only then did I experience severe pain all over my body and a splitting headache. =))) .

Will I try Thai massage again? I'm not sure. But if I do, I'll bring my husband along so he could also experience it with me.

 I heard there's also an Egyptian therapeutic massage. I wonder if it's as painful as the Thai massage. Oh well...

Yonghwa and Seohyun Met Euno Juri At Last!

Too much has happened that I was unable to post for almost a year now. Well, what can I say? I am a full-time wife and mother; and although I love blogging, seldom do I find enough time to write one.

Now, let's get straight to business. Oh, I've so much stuff to write! I know failed to do a follow-up on Yonghwa and Seohyun's story on "We Got Married " so I'm going to also update you guys about them. Well, they finally did it! Yes, they finally held hands plenty of time already that they're now comfortable with each other. And they've also got to meet the afabled Euno Juri in person.

If you're a fan of Yonghwa and Seohyun or a "Yong-Seo Shipper" (yonghwa and seohyun worshipper) as the fans of couple call themselves, and if you've watched each and every episode, you would know that Euno Juri is a Japanese actress who was a lead star on a live-action adaptation of Nodame Cantabile and which also happened to be Seohyun favorite show.

In this episode, Yonghwa is trying to make Euno Juri feel at ease and comfortable - so much so that he even wanted her to call him "Oppa" (Korean ladies' address to an older brother or boyfriend) which made Seohyun raise her eyebrows. Lol.

Seohyun and Yonghwa with the Japanese actress, Euno Juri

Travelling Back Down Memory Lane

The YongSeo Couple's Not-So-Obvious "SKINSHIP" Moments =)

Fans of the Yongseo couple are impatient for that 'skinship' moment to happen. But I can't believe that they didn't notice that there have been lots of subtle touches already - most of the time, initiated by Yonghwa as these screen captures would show:

EPISODE 1

Hyun: "What was your first impression of me?"

Yong: "First impression? ...

Hyun: "Yes."

Yong: "Honestly, for me ...never mind."

Hyun: "Aah..tell me."

Yong: "Well, I like Taeyeon's personality..."

Hyun: "You're right."

Yong: "Right? Wait. What's right?"

"Let's promise to call each other Yo~ong & Hyu~un."

EPISODE 2

After paying for the rings & other stuff ...

Hyun: "Next time I'll pay"

Yong: "OK."

Hyun: "Thank you ..."

EPISODE 3

On their way to the bookstore ...

Yong: "I need to ask you something.

Hyun: "Yes?"

Yong: "The sweet potato ...I heard that it was

a secret code."

Yong, on their experience inside the Haunted House ...

"I've never been there before. I really got scared

even though I tried to hide it. I didn't realize that

I was holding onto SeoHyun, Hahahaha"

Riding the Free Fall Tower ...

Yong and Hyun: "Fighting!"

EPISODE 4

Inside Yong's music studio ...

Hyun: "Teach me again."

Yong: "Alright. Your fourth finger goes here..."

Yong: "Move your fingers a little farther ..."

Hyun: "That hurts ..."

Yong: "Your hair's going to ..."

One week later. At a cafe near Yong's music studio.

Arm wrestling ...

Yong: "Hey, you're pretty strong."

Hyun: "I am strong..

EPISODE 6

Meeting her brother-in-laws for the first time ...

Hyun: "This is funny..Like this?"

EPISODE 8

A blood donation on their 2-2 days ...

Yong: "Are you alright? Do you want me to give

you a massage?"

Hyun: "It's alright ..."

Yong: "Let me press it down for you."

Hyun: "No, it's ok ..."

EPISODE 9

On the train to Jeongdongjin ...

Hyun: "What are you doing?"

EPISODE 10

Yong playing tricks on SeoHyun ...

Hyun: "Hmmmm .......?

Checking if Yong can indeed see though his mask ...

Yong: "Aaaah ..."

Guiding SeoHyun towards the heater ...

Yong: "It's warm , come here."

Hyun: "Let's share it together."

EPISODE 11

In these scenes , Yong was either holding

Hyun's elbow or linking his arm with hers.

THE NEWLY WEDS ARE IN THEIR HOME AT LAST!

(SeoHyun dancing to "Run Devil Run", while Yong was in-charge of the lights)

Hyun: "Come, let's do it together. I'll teach you, quick!"

Yong: "What?! Why are you always doing this to me??"

 

 

 

 

EPISODE 12

Sister-in-laws finally paid them a visit. SeoHyun, was worried for YongHwa.

Hyun: "Fighting!" (as she pats him on the back)

Yong: "It's ok..."

Again, the thoughtful wife comforting her nervous husband ...

Hyun: "Fighting! It will be fine.."

Hyun fed Yong upon her unnies' urgings..

EPISODE 13

The newly-wed couple with their aprons on ...

Yong: "Here, let me tie it for you ..."

Teaching Yong how to cook the sweet potatoes...

Hyun: "Do it like this ...kokoko ..."

Yong: "Do it like this ...kokoko ..."

While Hyun was washing the s. potatoes ...

Yong: "How is it?"

Hyun: "It's ok ..."

That's all folks ...for now! =)

P.S. I was supposed to do a follow-up on their "skinship" moments but somebody beat me to it in YongSeo Couple's Official Thread on soompi.com =)

YongSeo fighting ♥

Is Yong-Hwa 'Falling Slowly'?

Jung YongHwa is the leader of an indie quartet South Korean band, CN Blue, which debuted early this year and had won their first-ever K-Chart at Music Bank last January 29th. Seo Joo-Hyun is the maknae (youngest) of the popular nine-member, South Korean girl group, Sonyeo Sidae or Girls' Generation,formed by SM Entertainment in 2007. Apart from group performances, the members have had various activities as solo entertainers — acting in dramas and musicals, hosting various reality, variety, children's or game shows, modeling, endorsing brands and releasing solo singles. It is in the drama, "We Got Married Season 2", that YongHwa and SeoHyun are being paired as make-believe husband and wife. As of July 10, YongSeo Couple (as they are being dubbed) is on it's 14th episode. WGM airs every Saturday at 05:15 PM Korea time.

Anyway, although YongSeo is on it's 14th episode, fans are still waiting for them to hold hands. Oh! There have been little touches here and there but fans are expecting more skinship from this couple. South Koreans, or all Asians for that matter, are, in a good way, generally old-fashioned and traditional compared to our European and American counterparts. Korea still doesn’t have a whole lot of opposite-sex public-display-of-affection happening. It is still even a big deal to kiss in public. It takes the boys forever to work up to that point in a relationship. Touching someone from the opposite sex in public is still fairly rare and generally limited to couples. But with the actions that these two are showing lately, it seems skinship may happen anytime soon. Lately, YongHwa has been dropping hints on his radio interviews about his ideal woman and who he will take to their concert.

On the recent SBS radio show 'Choi HwaJung's Powertime', YongHwa was quoted saying, "she (SeoHyun) has a good personality. But these days I'm into watching the Japanese drama, 'Nodame Cantabile' and I really love Ueno Juri who appears in the show." And on June 30 on KBS Cool FM 'Hung Jin Kyung Radio', they were asked who they want to invite to their concert if they were to invite only one person. YongHwa's reply was, 'Euno Juri'.

But wait! Is he really referring to the Japanese actress, or is it a code name he made for SeoHyun in order to protect her and his budding feelings for her? Well, I've still got to watch the in-coming episodes to prove that my assumption's correct...can't wait..ahh my heart goes doogeun, doogeun again...

My Korean Romance

These past few years, I'm into anything Korean. I'm Southeast Asian and I've no Korean blood in me. My interest in this culture started in January 2002 when I became friends with this Korean lady I met in Baguio City. Baguio is located on the Northern part of the Philippines. In 1903, it was designated as the Summer Capital of the Philippines.

Anyway, one cold, rainy afternoon I was out browsing in this small Korean grocery store which was just a stone-throw away from where we staying. I bought this choco pie - it's like an Oreo cookie but this one is dipped in chocolate & with a marshmallow filling. But what really piqued my interest was this rice cookie, so I asked the cashier-owner of the store how to prepare it.

"Aah..you eat it like you would eat a cookie. Ganito. (Like this)." I looked at her with amazement and asked her, "How come you know how to speak Tagalog?" So she told me how she came to the Philippines to study, why she loved the country and why she decided to stay.

I told her how envious I am of her. She's Korean but she knows how to speak Tagalog. I am Filipino but my Tagalog is not that good. I am more fluent in both of my parents' local dialects. We started conversing then in mixed English-Tagalog language, with more effort on my part =). So, what started out as a boring, rainy afternoon ended as an interesting one. 


To make the long story short, I became her regular customer. I would spend hours in her store just chatting with her. Until one day, she invited me to her home. I discovered that Koreans and Filipinos have some things in common. They are respectful to their elders too. They bow their heads in a 45 degree angle in formal greetings. We, on the other hand, take the hands of our grandparents, parents, godparents, uncles and aunties, and touch it on our foreheads. In our native tongue, we call it "Mano". Koreans would also leave their shoes by the door of their house, we Filipinos do the same (well, my family does). I remember as a child, whenever I will bring friends home, I would instruct them before hand to leave their slippers outside because my mom was a stickler for cleanliness.

Thirty days later, Eun or Grace (her English name), gave me these all-Korean products as farewell gifts - cd's of assorted Korean bands, Korean movies, bottled mix Kimchi that she made herself, assorted toiletries and my favorite rice cookies.

Back at the home front, I listened to the cd's and watched the movies, thankfully the movies were English-subbed. "I Love You" and "Address Unknown", were beautiful movies. By now, I've watched it like a zillion times already. It was through these movies that I began to take an interest in the Korean culture. I began watching Korean drama series. I've listening to DBSK, Lee Seung Gi, and Super Junior. I began stocking on Asian condiments for my Korean recipes. Now, I'm addicted to Korean body scrubs, facial cleansers, lotions, foundations &; lipsticks. I began to learn how to speak a few Korean phrases.  

"Komawo, Grace." It was you who opened my eyes to other Asian cultures besides my own. Thank you for introducing me to your culture...it was through you that my Korean romance began.