Bio...sort of

OK, about me in 100 words or less:

I grew up split between 2 diametrically opposed lives:
1.) a normal kid, living in a quiet mid-American suburb, attending regular school, and
2.) an honest-to-God, run-away-and-join-the-circus carnie.

Yep, that's right. I traveled throughout Canada, so although I was born and raised mostly in the good ol' US of A, I was just shy of 19 before I got to see my first 4th of July fireworks. But I wouldn't trade my alterlife for anything. I got to live ON the fairgrounds. Yes, after the crowds cleared out and all that was left were styrofoam plates, plastic cups, and the occasional penny strewn across the land, the sky was nearly light and we were just mere hours away from having to get up and do it all over again--achy joints, exhaustion, adrenalin, and all. The residual head-pounding from the 5 subwoofers of music heard at any given time never really clears, and neither does the smell of heated vegetable oil lining the nasal passages. The hip and low back stiffness was simply a way of life.

But despite all that, it gets in your blood. It becomes addicting. You somehow just KNOW, that when the days reach a certain length and the air reaches a certain temperature and the zodiac cycle takes on a certain magnetism, that the time is coming. I can't really explain it. It's been years since I last traveled, but sometimes I feel little pangs here and there, just enough to remind me that the instinct never really goes away.

Let's see, what else?

I'm a Virgo. It actually took me a long time to come to appreciate that. For whatever reason, for the longest time, I did everything I could to deny it. The Virgo sign just wasn't happenin' enough for me. It wasn't fascinating enough, not sassy enough. It wasn't the center of attention like I used to crave to be. It was hard to be a Virgo because the sign's influence seemed to want to banish me to a corner, where I could be a quiet shy little wallflower--a meek, selfless, and chronic pleaser. Ugh. Back then, I felt that the sign Leo fit me MUCH more. Being the self-admitted flamboyant, artistic, social, strong-willed, overdramatic primadonna teenager that I was, I fit that bill better than anything. And then I grew up--somewhat. At least enough to have come to realize that Virgo's strength is just that--STRENGTH. I was hooked on my sign the minute I read the descriptive phrase, "...spine of stainless steel". I thought that sounded pretty cool. And strength will be forever cooler than any amount of drama.

I'm also an 8, numerologically. This somewhat bummed me out, because I was caught between the 2 numbers I was secretly shooting for--7 and 9. I liked 7 because it seemed lucky and outgoing. I liked 9 because it's a cosmic number, indicating spiritual advancement. Ha! I must be a bit of both, but not enough to call myself either one. I've come to grips with 8, because it's powerful and psychic. Maybe I'll actually get lucky financially--for once. Which brings me to my next point...

I'm a massage therapist, licensed by the Great State of Texas. I have been for 4 years. I decided to become a chiropractor first, but when we visited our school as drooling prospective students in early 2003, we filled out our applications, turned in our transcripts and since we had waaaay more undergrad classes to take, they said, "great! It's nice to meet you; we look forward to having you. See you in 2007." Needless to say, I was bored and burned out from my several years too many as a cocktail waitress, and I wanted to start helping people out as a bodyworker NOW. So, I gravitated toward the Next Best Thing: massage therapy.

Massage Therapy IS all it's cracked up to be. I really like it. I have a select handful of clients, and I've gotten close to them. It's relaxing to just be able to duck into the studio and interact with another person, someone you don't see every day, for an hour or more, and apply manual therapy, knowing that what you're doing is helping them, knowing that when they get off the table, they'll practically be a new person--much different than they were when they came in.

Increasingly, though, as I progress through the twists and turns of training in chiropractic medicine, I experience a slight dissonance between all the neat new cool stuff I'm learning each day and what I'm expected to be and provide as an LMT. While it's refreshing, it can be limiting. It's nice to be able to spend more time with each massage client, though. Sometimes I feel I don't get enough time with my patients as a chiropractic intern. So, each has its pros and cons. I'm flailing my arms somewhere in the middle, trying to keep my head above water as I juggle it all--the studying, the 2 sets of appointments in 2 different locations, and everything else. I'll definitely get through it; we have a little over a year left, and I have the feeling it's going to fly. It's just a matter of wearing all the hats, and still looking good.

I think that was, like, 11 words... :)