Needles In My Head

I had plans to get an early start to my day this morning, and go for my acupuncture at about 10ish, but I am apparently not so good at getting myself moving in the morning. I woke up at 9, but I didn't even get out of my room until 10:30. The first point of business? Money. I was low, seriously low. But that was quickly fixed. Thank god for ATM machines.

Once again, I had to push myself the point of no return. The place that I was going today to get acupuncture done was not the hospital that I had gone to yesterday: this time, all that I had to get me to my destination was a name, and a small map on a business card. So trust me when I say that I was hoping to get a helpful cab driver who would be able to help me, and not take advantage of a poor clueless 外国人 (foreigner).

Apparently it was my day. The cab driver that I got was more than helpful. He squinted at my little business card, mumbled to himself, and off we went. He said no worries, he could get me to where I wanted to go. And that he did. It was a bit of a rough ride for a little bit, because neither one of us really knew where we were going, but hey, I got there in the end.

I wasn't as nervous for this acupuncture therapy as I was for the last one. At least this time, I knew what was in store for me. I was also mentally ready to be stabbed in the head with needles. That makes all the difference.

When I got there, I just walked right into the first office that I could see, and just my luck, it was the right one. My little old Chinese doctor was behind the desk, talking to someone about their child, while two of her victims were lying on beds behind her, one with jars suctioned onto her stomach, the other with needles in her ears. I don't even want to know.

It was a bit of a rocky start. I hadn't realized that I had to sign in, so I had to walk back out to the front desk and sign in. Then, after I had signed in, and gotten all nice and cozy on the bed, they told me that I had to go buy needles. So I had to get up again, and go buy 200 needles. 200. I know, I thought it was a bit excessive too, since I only ended up using 20, but what are you going to do? Party at my house! Or, my dorm room, as it is.

This time, she put the needles in different spots. Sure, there were still some in my forehead, and neck, and temples (I feel like those must be mandatory) and the rest were distributed over my legs and feet. There were way too many in my feet for my comfort, but I couldn't complain. It was fun to watch her get ready to stab me. She had an alcohol swab that she used to clean the spot she was going to stick a needle. She stood over me, swab in one hand, and muttered to herself, using her other hand to map out lines on my body, poking and prodding, before stabbing. It was actually kind of cute.

I laid perfectly still for half an hour, and then the doctor took out my needles, and declared me fit and ready for action. I wouldn't need any more treatments, unless the headaches came back. She kindly told me where and when I could reach her. She also told me that I was already skinny enough, and even if I wanted to get acupuncture to lose weight (which I had asked about) I shouldn't. The first Chinese person to tell me I am not fat. I'm in love.

I would just like to clarify, I didn't ask if acupuncture can help you lose weight because I want to lose weight. I asked her, because I had heard that it can help you, and I wanted to know if that was right or not. That's all. I don't want to give you the impression that I am one of those weight obsessed women. I'M NOT.

I didn't have much of an afternoon after that. I ate lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to write my paper, to at least get some characters onto the page. I finished the day with 400 characters. How about that, sports fans?

I took a quick break from writing (my excuse was that I needed inspiration) to go to the gym and blow off some steam. I did the whole shebang: running, weights, blah blah blah. When I walked into the weight room, there were only men there. Surprise surprise. It is swim suit season, after all. Well, in America it is, anyway. More appropriate to say it is clubbing season here. ANYWAY. No matter. I still went to do weights. I feel like I have grown as a person.

There is really not much more to tell. I want to maintain an image of mystery and intrigue. Sleep tight!