weekday redemption

It's been an insanely busy and stressful week at work. I mean, halfway through Monday I caught myself thinking there aren't enough lemurs in the world to make this worth it, so you KNOW things musta been rough. Luckily, it's a temporary situation, so all will go back to normal when this week is over...but it's definitely a week where you leave each day looking glassy-eyed, shell-shocked, and mumbling incoherently. So when 5:00 rolled around yesterday and it looked like Matt was going to be stuck at work until at least 6:00 or maybe even 7:00...yeah. I wasn't jazzed at the prospect. Since we carpool to work, that meant I was stuck, too. And on a week like this...I just couldn't bear to sit in my office a minute longer than I had to.

I had my book (HP Book 5!) with me, but I couldn't think of where I wanted to sit to read it. We work in downtown Athens, so there's no shortage of possibilities. Starbucks? Possibly. Brewery across the street? Tempting. A bench by the fountain on campus? Hmmm.

Oh...wait.

Sit in a massage chair while someone massages my legs and paints my toes?? DING DING DING!!! We have a winner!!

I love a pedicure as much as the next person, but due to budgetary constraints, they aren't exactly a regular event in my life. And upon further reflection, I'm pretty sure I've never gone to get my nails done on a day that isn't Saturday. Maybe a few Fridays for wedding-related pedicures. But mainly weekends. Going on a regular ol' Tuesday night seemed like it could be risky- are they even open? Do you need an appointment? What's the Weekday Pedicure Protocol? 

If you've never experienced a weekday pedicure, let me be the first to tell you: DO IT. It's just like a Saturday pedicure except a MILLION TIMES BETTER.

The place was practically empty. There were plenty of workers. And since there wasn't a line of people impatiently waiting for their turn, the workers weren't rushed in the least. Holy cow. It was magical. The girl did an awesome job and took her sweeeeeet time. Like...probably 10-15 minutes of dedicated massaging per leg. Extra attention to detail. I don't even know what to say except that it was fabulous. The water was perfectly hot. The chair was perfectly massagey. 

I guess that normally I (and the workers) feel the pressure of the weekend crowd waiting. But not on Tuesday at 5:30. I think my whole life has been changed. After-work pedis are the only way to go now. Plus, I think I appreciated it more, you know? I mean, Saturdays are already great. A pedicure can make it even greater, but like...it's Saturday. But a Tuesday? Tuesdays are forgettable, at best. So an amazing pedicure on a Tuesday is like...redemption. Hallelujah. 

I feel dumb for being so excited about a stupid pedicure, but seriously. Matt can attest- I haven't stopped talking about how great it was, and now I can't stop typing. I'm sinking to new lows, but oh well. The moral of this story is that if you have a stressful day and it also happens to be a weekday, you should go get a pedicure immediately. It could change everything.

I finished Book 5 last night! I'm still really loving the series. Mostly I'm loving that now I can catch up on all the pop culture references I've been missing over the last decade or so. Ha. So if I make tons of references and bad jokes that are totally passe...just nod and smile and remember that I'm new to the HP fan club. I spent some time in the shower last night thinking about what figure my Patronus would take. It didn't take long to figure out: a manatee. Obviously. What dementor wouldn't be terrified by a giant silver manatee floating towards them? I feel like I can sleep better at night now, just knowing that (if I were magical) a manatee-on-demand can protect me. Whew.