Sunday, February 3, 2008

What would be your bliss?

Two years ago, I went through a bad period with my back, a problem that revisits whenever I sit for long stretches of time writing. A friend suggested I try acupuncture & cupping, a toxin busting procedure where glass cups are heated and placed on your skin to suck out impurities & restore circulation.

I decided to give both a shot, a big decision for me because I have zero tolerance for pain. None. On any level.

The woman I went to couldn't speak English, and I was so scared I couldn't speak. Put these together and you'd think the results would be hit and miss. Not so. After three sessions, I felt better than I had in years.

My husband suggested I reward myself when I complete a novel, sort of like how novelist Paul Sheldon in the movie Misery has one cigarette and a glass of champagne each time he finishes a book. I've decided he's right, and if you're a writer, I think you should do the same thing. Finish a novel, get a spoil day.

What would be your bliss? I'm gonna hunt down the Chinese lady who stuck pins in my back and see if she remembers the trembling customer she took care of two years ago!

33 comments:

Nadine said...

My sister's tried cupping and swears by it. I still haven't worked up the nerve!
Does it hurt?!

P.S. If I ever finish the novel I'm working on, I'm treating myself to more than one spoil day. Count me in for a two week vacation to Hawaii.

Anonymous said...

No needles in my back.
Not a chance. A bottle of
bourbon would do fine for me!

Anonymous said...

My bliss, or treat, would be to splurge on a real hairdresser who could make my hairdo look like yours.

I'm serious. I've been broke and cutting my own hair for eons. And you have fab hair. So there it is. A decent hairdo, top of my blisslist. If that ever happens I'll know I Have Arrived.

Sandra Cormier said...

I inherited a Dr. Ho muscle stimulation thingy (for want of a better word) and it eases my back, shoulders, and even my tendonitis-prone forearm.

For a reward at the end of a novel (if I can afford it) I'd love to go on a week-long horseback trek through any mountains I can find.

Afterward, I guess I'd really need Dr. Ho!

LadyBronco said...

Oh, my bliss would be a pedicure, a manicure, and a deep-tissue massage.

Oh yeah.

Doreen Orion said...

I didn't even think of treating myself to something when I sent my manuscript to my editor a couple of months ago. Shame on me!

I should get the final copyedits in a week or two, so I'm going to rectify this situation post haste.

My bliss: Put on my favorite PJs (pink flanels with poodles), stay in for the evening, have my hubby cook my favorite meal while we play some Motown on the stereo, sip some wine and dance as best we can in the aisle (we're living on our bus for the winter, so waltzing is out).

Adam said...

I'd be deep sea fishing with
my girlfriend and a cool
bottle of bubbly!

ORION said...

My bliss? Every wednesday I go down the dock to my neighbor's sail boat -- she has a massage table on her bow and is a masseuse...I get a 90 minute massage.
I no longer have sore lower back or carpal tunnel...

Holly Kennedy said...

Nadine -- Does it hurt?!!
You're asking the wrong girl.
To me, it felt like a bee biting each time she attached a cup but it wore off. The results were great, though.

Wordman17 - Awwww, suck it up.
If I of all people can handle a few needles, so can you.

Anonymous -- LOL **
My hair is a touchy issue (ask anyone who knows me well, right, Donna?!) I'm forever being bugged about my "big hair" but I can't stand it flat so it's a horrible quandry.

Holly Kennedy said...

Chumplet -- Question for you.
What are the symptoms of a tendonitis-prone forearm? Forget carpel tunnel (sp), maybe I have what you have. Can you tell me more?

Ladybronco -- I'm so with you!
I love a good massage. It's my favorite thing.

Doreen -- Your bliss sounds lovely. I can't wait to read your book, btw!

Holly Kennedy said...

Adam -- You're crazy. If my feet can't touch the ocean bed underneath me, I'm not getting on any boat.

ORION - Careful, that's sounding a big "show-offy" you brat. No need to make the rest of us want to wring your little neck!

ORION said...

I know I know...my bad...

Anonymous said...

LOL, no comment.
Donna

Ramona said...

My bliss would be a spa weekend. Loads of pampering sans all those
needles and glass cups! Ugh!

Wendy Roberts said...

I have a very high pain threshold but I experience migraines and neck pain that can bring me to my knees after a long day at the computer. I've always thought about acupuncture but now I think I'll give it a try. After finishing a book I sometimes reward myself with a lunch out by myself somewhere nice.

Tyhitia Green said...

I think that a massage and cheesecake would bode well for me. :*)

Anonymous said...

Nothing to do with bliss, but can I just say a huge thank you for helping to judge Nathan's amazing contest?

Also due to the contest I've found your blog, which is a treat.

The Anti-Wife said...

A day at a spa would work for me - or a week or two or.....

Travis Erwin said...

I have back pain nearly all the time and I have been considering acupuncture. I've never heard of cupping but your post has pushed me to try both.

Unknown said...

I think a homemade carrot cake would be nice. Finishing a novel is a great feat.

Larramie said...

Every two years??? You deserve more than that, Holly.

Sandra Cormier said...

Holly, I'll email you about my tendonitis because it's a rather long explanation!

ORION said...

um...nerds? That would be Holly Burns
here:http://www.nothingbutbonfires.com/

FYI She's the one judging Nathan's contest...

Anonymous said...

I'd be at a Diary Queen
eating double fisted, extra sprinkled banana splits.
There's my bliss!

Anonymous said...

Holly,
I've tried accupuncture as well on my tennis elbow and I know it sure helps make the pain tolerable. I thought I had a lower tolerance for pain but I managed to get a tattoo (actually 2) and I barely felt those. I think I had more pain when I had my gall bladder out.

My bliss? It would be a massage (I go to a really good masseuse) and then maybe supper at the best steak place in town.

Cindy

Melissa Amateis said...

I had acupuncture years ago when my menstrual cycle was all screwed up - it took care of it, to my surprise.

Never heard of the cupping thing...

My bliss? Hmm...a nice, long back massage.

David L. McAfee said...

Hmmmm...

I like nice rides on my motorcycle through the country, weather permitting. I'd do that all the time if my back could take it (or if I had a masseuse living next door like pat does).

As far as a celbratory tradition for when I finish novels, I don't have one. Maybe I should think of one...

Chris Eldin said...

I've never known anyone to try cupping. But if I were in pain, I would give it a try.
Glad it worked for you.

My bliss would be something similar--a very nice massage, lunch, a few hours reading.

:-)

Anonymous said...

My Bliss would be anywhere there were NO children calling ME mom!!!

Kim Rossi Stagliano said...

I was asked to try cupping once. In the backseat of a 1978 Monte Carlo..... ;)

Holly, I L-O-V-E when people find relief and success in alternative treatments. Hooray!

My bliss?? Hmmm. I've never had a night alone in my own house since the kids came along. That would be lovely. But a good day in NYC with writer friends? That's an attainable bliss and I adore it. Any day walking in New York recharges me and makes me feel like tossing my chapeau in the air a la Mary Tyler Moore.

The Zoo Keeper said...

Ha! What a coincidence, Holly. I am reading this with my back propped up against a heating pad! My bliss would be hiring a housekeeper for a while. That would be so awesome!

Doreen Orion said...

I knew your post was making me remember something about cupping from my childhood, and I finally called my mother to ask her. (I even recall the set of cups I saw over 40 years ago in some relative's basement.)

My mother is 85, and just told me (she thanks you for triggering a phone call from her daughter, BTW - OY!) her parents used to do it on each other as a cure for colds. It went back to the "Old Country," Russia (where they called it, "bonkus" in Yiddish). My grandparents came to the U.S. almost a century ago, 1910.

When my mother was a kid, she says barbers would display cups in their windows, and people would go to them for cupping treatments (if they didn't have their own cups, I guess).

Thanks for the memories, Holly. And, thanks for the nice thoughts on my book!

Pink said...

you know I have been thinking how I need some pampering right now.

Can I spoil myself after I finish my next novel, even if its only the 'reading' of a novel? ;)

xx
pinks