And even then, some days just aren’t…

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Bad day, cartwheels, Daniel Powter, drought, humidity, island continent, Keystone Cops Circus Extravaganza, natural disaster, personality disorders, Queensland floods, Rain, Sunshine State, super-Herculean effort, Warren Buffett, Yoga

Quite working out for you, right? What is that when the general prognosis is good and all omens indicate that things are looking up, and yet there’s tension? Blergh.

I mean, sure your job isn’t causing you to do cartwheels of joy and the folks there are just… well, imagine a solid 60% as the least productive and highly interruptive folks possible, an unusually high percentage of whom probably get by with a bunch of untreated personality disorders. And only 15% of the tools you need to do your job. That is, when you aren’t being interrupted by endless inanities and people who’ve never learnt to use Google to figure out how to spell a word or peruse an online thesaurus. But they’re all harmless enough, really.

Emergency Essence - excellent in case of emergencies...

Took this job because I thought it’d be a lower-stress option (ha!) than my previous attempts to integrate with the 9-5 and in doing so, went for a lower pay day than I’ve been accustomed to. It’s only money, right? That’s true, until you realise that it’s about the same amount of shit (or more) for less pay and daily admission to the Keystone Cops Circus Extravaganza.

So, it all feels like a struggle. And one that I pretty much do alone. No partner, not heaps of close friends nearby and just not enough encouragement or support. Sure, I get that it cuts both ways and I’m GLAD I’ve been strong enough to get even this far on my own. But it gets tiring, you know?

Fuck. So I have all these plans and goals and I’m working my ass off to make ’em happen. Lots of scheming and writing of lists on post-its, or in my iPhone or on this notebook I’ve been dying to use for ages but hadn’t really gotten around to yet…

This enormous idea I’m trying to manifest and wow, it’s that daunting view you get there at the base of the mountain: I’m going up there?! Yes. Yes, you are.

Mostly I’m on-course. Got the right equipment and some maps and stuff. And I KNOW you can’t stare too long at the apex – you gotta just get going and work on making it to your first marker. I get it.

Then the world goes mad again. Thousands of birds fall out of the sky simultaneously on different continents. Fires, blizzards and earthquakes ravage one hemisphere while in the land down-under our Sunshine State is desperately flood afflicted and there’s not enough money in my bank account to pay the rent, the bills, buy food and donate anywhere near enough cash to make a difference.

And there’s no sun. Well, maybe for a couple of days at a time but frack, it’s MEANT to be mid-Summer according to my calendar and the generally accepted concepts of time around here. Since 1st December, we’ve had two or three days of Summer-like weather in a row at most.

I am trying to keep my chin up, I promise. I do all the right things. I make a super-Herculean effort to eat well…

Last Saturday's breakfast

 

I keep my mind turned to all things yoga as much as possible. Yoga books, DVDs, practicing at home and in the studio, teaching, writing and talking about it. It’s pretty much the glue that keeps my world together.

But I’m still a long way from home, y’know? I know where I’m going, but will I survive the road trip?

And NOW the “m” on my keyboard is playing up. How many commonly used words include the letter “m” anyway? A lot, so I’m finding.

The reason I’m not at work today however isn’t because of my crappy keyboard, but instead because I woke up and it freakin’ looked like Winter out there – as if we don’t get enough of it in the middle of the year and for the month or two each side of it!!

Holidays – when you really aren’t digging the space, time and people where you spend forty hours a week staring at a screen – are painful. You have them, then their absence once done, is jarring.

Then there’s the unrelenting greyness and almost endless rains that are a cruel joke on a large island continent that’s limped along for years in drought. Farmers lovingly trying to encourage their crops to prosper and salvaging parched farm animals, often failing. Big strong farm folk breaking down and crying and you never knew they could before.

But now the weather has turned almost vengefully, having listened to thousands of entreaties over the years for moisture and only just gotten around to responding – all at once though, which isn’t exactly helpful. People and animals are being left homeless and/or dying. Crops are dying, too.

And the rest of the country weeps for Queensland. New South Wales and Victoria cop the fall-out from those floods – the rain never lets up. Even when it does, it’s only temporary and we’re now dealing with that sort of extreme humidity normally found only in tropical countries. Even here in almost-as-far-south-as-it-gets-Melbourne. Nothing stays dry, and my entire body is covered in sweat from even the most passive walk to the corner shop.

So when I woke up this morning and saw the skies, my inclination was to draw inwards. To stay out of the mad weather that’s been wreaking so much havoc. It’s a thing. Part of my winter’s malaise, perhaps? Or tuning into the environment and just for today, finding it hard to cope with pretty much everything.

And that’s not even considering all of the other natural and man-made disasters, wars and human rights abuses going on even as I sit here typing. I don’t have enough money to support them all, but I give what I can. Is money what they even need, though? Just money? How else can I help? Do these people need yoga or do they need food and shelter?

Clearly, yoga doesn’t solve all of the world’s problems. But the heart, mind and body openings are what everyone needs, and they’d go a long way towards just that. Imagine if everyone donated part of their income to people who have nothing? Imagine if all of the world’s super-rich were as generous and giving as people like Warren Buffett? If everyone felt empowered to join together and build a high school? Or if lending a hand in large and small ways to anyone, was not viewed with suspicion but gratitude and inspiring similar acts in kind?

If you’ve got a few spare dollars and you feel so inclined, please donate to Queensland’s Flood Relief fund. It doesn’t matter how much or how little, it’s all about participating in the act of giving to other human beings in need.

Because what you’re really giving is love. And we all need more of that.

~Svasti

Nightmare on Acland Street

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146 Acland Street St Kilda, 217 Glen Huntly Rd Elsternwick, Arch Demoness, Arch Demoness of Eyebrows, Awful bosses, bad customer service, Bad day, Bad eyebrow wax, day spa australia, day spa australia bad customer service, dayspa australia, dayspa australia bad customer service, Kicked out of a day spa, Lotus Day Spa, lotus day spa st kilda, Lotus Health Spa, lotus health spa st kilda, lotushealthspa.com.au, Mangled, Mutant zombie people, Waxed, www.lotushealthspa.com.au

As mentioned in Mutant Zombie People, I ran into a little trouble with a so-called beautician.

To recap: I needed an eyebrow wax desperately, so I didn’t end up looking like this…

Trust me, I was on the verge!

Okay, maybe not quite on the verge. But, it’d been a while.

Started getting the brows waxed over five years ago now. To allay Ana’s concerns – I’m in no danger of them thinning into oblivion. There’s not a single brow hair that’s shown any sign of vanishing completely, after all these years (stubborn bastards!).

My usual cheap ‘n’ cheerful (but excellent) place, had a one hour wait. An hour I didn’t have. So I strolled around the corner looking for an alternative.

Ah! The Lotus Health Spa was advertising eyebrow waxes… excellent… or not! (As an aside, their website is currently listed as a phishing site by Google!!)

Walked up a bunch of stairs into what was a rather lovely reception. There was a little relaxation room off to one side, and before they take you to the treatment room, your shoes come off and feet are massaged with a warmed towel… how beguiling it is, being drawn into the demon’s lair!

We get started. She asks me what I want, and I tell her: make the thicker parts closest to my nose thinner, but don’t touch the thinner bits and keep the shape natural. It’s what I always say.

I start to wonder if she knows what she’s doing, when there’s one pass of wax under each eyebrow and then, she does an awful lot of plucking… (erm, this is a wax, not a pluck!). I am not a chicken to be de-plumed!!

I’m given a mirror to view the result and I cringe as I behold the opposite of what I wanted. The thinner bits are thinner, and the left is thinner than the right. The thicker bits are still thick! And weird looking.

I’m not rude, but I am direct, probably because I’m in shock. I’m sorry, I’m really not happy with this.

I try to explain what I want again. She starts plucking my right eyebrow again, and then asks me to have a look. Oh! The inner part of my eyebrow resembles a misshapen wedgy blob… roughly shaped and anything but streamlined or neat.

I stare in horror, unsure of what to do next. Eventually I tell her please just try to even the other one up and we’ll leave it at that. I’m sorry, I’m really not happy with this at all. They’re really kind of mangled… (probably shouldn’t have said ‘mangled’).

She finishes and runs to talk to her boss (the owner?), who storms into the little room where I’m putting my shoes on. Doesn’t introduce herself (henceforth I’ve dubbed her Arch Demoness) and demands to know what the problem is.

I cringe as I realise she’s going to give poor Kate (who’d made a mess of my eyebrows) a dressing down while simultaneously trying to resolve things with me. I was far from comfortable and way too polite to just walk out. I wish I had!

The Arch Demoness insists I lie back down on the treatment bed while I explain my concerns. As I do this, she demands of poor Kate ‘explain yourself’. Kate stammers something about my eyebrows being too long and Arch Demoness runs with it… Well yes, the hair was long and that plays a part, and see how your eyebrow is slightly curly here? Well, it will never look the same as the other one! Her tone is triumphant; she’s confident she’s made a valid point.

Really, I say… So, you’re blaming my eyebrows for what’s happened here? I’ve been getting them waxed for years and no one has ever said anything like this before. And I’ve always been happy with the result, but I can’t say the same for this one. [Perhaps a touch harsh?]

The Arch Demoness speaks in an overly loud voice, Look, no one’s eyebrows are perfect! So tell me what you want me to do…

I ask her to lower her voice, and try to explain once again, before she cuts me off on another rant, again with her voice raised and tinged with anger. She’s now yelled at me, at Kate and instead of telling me how she’s going to make me feel better and put my eyebrows back in order, she’s vomiting one excuse after the other.

All of which leaves me feeling particularly nervous.

I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable having any more work done here. I think I’d like to leave.

At this point, the Arch Demoness and Kate are outside the room. Kate is being yelled at. The Arch Demoness storms back and forth to argue with me some more as I gather my things. She keeps claiming I haven’t told her what I want her to do. When in fact, I’d told her I wanted her to fix the problems we’d discussed.

And I’m getting kinda angry. Her staff member screwed up. That happens. But this is my face. If things go badly (as they have), it can take weeks to grow out. The Arch Demoness continues taunting me in a very loud voice.

Did you hear her tell us what she wants, Kate? I didn’t hear her say anything!

Yes I did. I wanted you to fix my eyebrows. But you’ve given me lots of excuses and haven’t actually done anything. Tell me, can you honestly look at my eyebrows and say they look even?

Arch Demoness raises her voice but refuses to give me a straight answer. Instead she bellows in return, Do my eyebrows look perfectly straight?!!

Please stop shouting at me, I say as calmly as I can.

She turns around, draws her face closer to mine while turning a bright shade of beetroot. It’s clear she’s lost control of herself as she screams, NOW I’M SHOUTING AT YOU!!!! GET OUT, GET OUT OF HERE!

Kind of amusing really, since I’m already going.

As I leave, she keeps shouting at me to get out. Hope there weren’t any other customers in there somewhere!

DON’T EVER COME BACK!!, screeches the Arch Demoness.

I have no intentions of that. But I will be telling everyone I know what happened today.

I don’t know what came over me, but I lied (a little), Oh by the way, I’m a writer. And I’ll be writing all about my experience.

Good, she says (all high pitched and bitchy), I look forward to responding to it.

Great, I say, you total freak!

She didn’t try to charge me at all. Not that I would’ve paid.

I ride away on my bike sobbing a little, thinking about the shocking state of my brows. Can’t go out looking like this! So I find another salon (a place called ‘Waxed’ on Glenhuntly Rd).

It’s staffed by cute young blonde things who look at my face with a frown. I explain the story to them and within minutes I’m in a treatment room.

The girl doesn’t look any older than twenty, but her professionalism is apparent.

Less than ten minutes later, I’m able to look at the upper part of my face without fear. Sure, they’re thinner than I’d like, but they look good. And the difference between the ‘beauticians’ at Lotus Health Spa and these cute spray-tanned bottle blondes… is stark.

Of course, if I’d read the signs right, I would’ve cancelled my evening plans and stayed in that night. Even so, I still would’ve run into the Orange Frizzy Haired Chihuahua Lady…

And now? Due to all the plucking instead of actual waxing, there’s a whole bunch of spiky little hairs growing back already. I should be grateful, really.

~Svasti

Mutant zombie people

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146 Acland Street St Kilda, 217 Glen Huntly Rd Elsternwick, A Film With Me In It, Anger, Angry lady with Chihuahuas, Arch Demoness, Arch Demoness of Eyebrows, Awful bosses, bad customer service, Bad day, Bad eyebrow wax, Cocktails, day spa australia, day spa australia bad customer service, dayspa australia, dayspa australia bad customer service, Dylan Moran, Eyebrow waxing, Freaking out, Freaks, Freaky weekend, Kicked out of a day spa, Lotus Day Spa, lotus day spa st kilda, Lotus Health Spa, lotus health spa st kilda, lotushealthspa.com.au, Mangled, Mark Doherty, Meat market, Mutant zombie people, Orange fuzzy hair, People talking during movies, Pheremones, Swine flu, Waxed, www.lotushealthspa.com.au, Yoga

Ever have one of those days weekends where you realise it’d be better if you never left the house? Or if you do go out, you should just shut the hell up?

Perhaps there was a small outbreak of swine flu in the local area or some other disease temporarily rendering people quite mad? Myself included?

It all started out well enough. Yoga studies as per usual on a Saturday. We finished early, so I chose to cycle home the long way by the beaches and stopped for a late lunch at this gorgeous little cafe right on the cycle path.

The day had turned into one of those warm and sunny autumnal days, increasingly rare as we head into a bitterly cold and early on-set winter.

So far, it’s all good.

With a little more free time than I was expecting, I decided to do something about my rather shaggy looking eyebrows with a long overdue and much needed waxing.

Went to the place I usually go to if in St Kilda, only to find there was an hour wait. So fatefully, I decided to try another place. Hrmmmm.

What began as a pleasant encounter in a visually appealing environment, ended with my eyebrows being mangled and the owner of the business totally losing her cool, and yelling at me to leave her premises. Not because of anything I’d done, I promise! I certainly didn’t raise my voice to her or anything of the sort!

I’m gonna expand on that incident in a separate post (see Nightmare on Acland Street). But, I’ve never experienced such poor behaviour from a so-called professional business in my life!

I was somewhat bemused and freaked out by it all, and horrified at the state of my eyebrows, which were mercifully fixed at another salon. Thank goodness!

That wasn’t, however, the end of the day’s bad experiences. It was all so weird; I kinda wondered if I’d been inadvertently sprayed with a pheremone causing people to have bad reactions to me…

Almost home, I directed my bike to the footpath of a busy intersection (always a safer way to cross some roads). There were people at the crossing, so I slowed my bike to almost a stand-still. Yet, the woman with two Chihuahua-type dogs and a mass of orange fuzzy hair glared at me and muttered under her breath. Sorry, I’ve slowed as much as I can I say, and she tells me off, You’re not supposed to be on the footpath!!

That did it – the poor woman was the unlucky recipient of my anger at the salon owner. Fuck off, bitch! I yelled aggressively… which she totally didn’t deserve. But hell, cyclists are allowed on the footpath if required!!

Okay, so now I was upset at being yelled at, having my eyebrows mangled, and losing my cool at the frizzy-haired lady with annoying dogs… still, I didn’t see the writing on the wall, and kept my plans to meet up with L anyway.

We were going to see A Film With Me In It (hilarious dark farce from Dylan Moran & Mark Doherty) in which a series of very unfortunate accidents keep occuring. Kinda like my day…

Ended up sitting next to a woman who talked incessantly (a pet hate of mine) to her husband, including stating really obvious things like, Oh no, she’s dead!! Just as they happen.

I turn to her and (tempting fate, clearly) politely ask… Could you please stop talking throughout the movie?

What?? She half-turns her body in her seat and leers at me aggressively.

Can you please stop talking; I’m trying to watch the movie.

Really? she growls, Well, I have to listen to you laugh!

I didn’t respond any further, thinking, Yeah, everyone is laughing BECAUSE IT’S A FUCKING COMEDY!! But her husband then turns in his seat aggressively and starts mumbling. With a puerile gesture, I stare straight at the screen while flipping him the bird til he backs off. Sooo mature of me!

They both backed down, thankfully. Managed to enjoy the rest of the movie, but I was still marvelling at my (seeming) ability to bring out the worst in people that day.

I mean, it’s not like I was pissed off or unhappy – it’d been a good day to begin with! If anything, I was still feeling a little fragile, but doing okay.

Later, L and I have a cocktail at one of Melbourne’s many laneway bars, and decided to stop off at a dodgy pub on the way home for one last drink…

For someone teetering on the edge of depression, freaked out about their self-image and generally dealing with anxiety, a meat-market pub full of young people and lecherous older men is not the ideal place to hang out. To make matters worse, L is immediately approached by some guy, hoping to get lucky. In a loud environment, I can’t hear their conversation to join in, so stand there feeling very uncomfortable instead.

As much as being in nature soothes me right now, this artificial booze-fuelled bar completely unsettles me. I’m freaking out for no good reason. But then, given the day I’ve had, can you really blame me?

So the night didn’t end well. L couldn’t understand why I was freaking out and I really couldn’t and can’t explain why I did either. Just… I wasn’t up to being in a place where everyone was trying to pick up a cheap date.

Sunday I didn’t leave the house, but not because I couldn’t. Just… wanted to make sure the ‘curse’ had lifted before I came in contact with other people again.

But under the cover of darkness I went out… deciding to grab a Sunday paper coz it comes with my weekly TV Guide (not that I watch that much TV). Had to go to four shops, though, before I found one. The milk bar in my street had ‘sent them back’, the Seven Eleven had one left and the guy who walked in just before me grabbed it… the service station was out, too. So I had to walk to the freaking supermarket to finally get a paper.

Just not my weekend, really… though, I managed to get home without abusing or being abused by anyone, so I think I’m safe now!

~Svasti

***********************

UPDATE: A possible explanation in a post by Josh… if you’re into that sorta thing! 😉

P.S. Yes, I am laughing at myself very much, don’t worry!