"The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." - Lao Tzu

"I didn't fail 1000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps." - Thomas Edison

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." - Bruce Lee

(We know, Bruce, you always had to do it 10x more than everybody else ...)

For those of you keeping track (Hi Mom!), regarding my "immediate goals" from my previous post back in May, I did acquire a massage therapist position with a well-known gym here in NYC (which will not be mentioned by name, for several reasons which I will get into in a few moments - or perhaps in another post.)  They graciously offered to sponsor me via the NYS Limited Permit option.  I was originally set to start work in early September, but unfortunately the new location I'm set for is not opening until mid-October... at the earliest.  In the meantime; I'm also working on getting at least some part-time work in one of the most well known spas in NYC - wish me luck on that one.  An interview is pending but hasn't happened yet!

While I have been waiting for these jobs to appear and adhere to my bidding ... I also received my official licensing credentials from the State of New York last week. Which means YES, I did pass "The Test." Nearly 2 full years of intense study and dedication have brought me here, and I have to say that that was one heck of a State Board exam.  After the test was over, my classmates blanched when I commented that it was harder than I thought it would be.  Apparently several of them thought it was a cakewalk!  Regardless, that hurdle has been jumped. There's no turning back now. Unless you forgot your glasses. You really shouldn't do that. You look good in them, too.  More intelligent.

Sadly, I never once worked for pay on my Temporary Permit. But I loved you all the same, Tempy! (Tempy is upstate now, on a farm, with all the other Temporary Permits, helping to herd temporary sheeps.)

My first day as an LMT was just yesterday, as a matter of fact - covering a shift for my boss at a different location than I will eventually be working. And that, my friends, is where our story begins...

*sprinkle sprinkle glitter dust chime flourish arabesque...*

By now you're wondering why I so slyly started this post with three quotes all referencing those big, round numbers. Well, I think as far as blog gimmicks go, I think I've found a lovely one. It suits me well.  Maybe a little snug in the legs, but it'll stretch with time.

It's a fairly common, generally harmless, anecdotal-type claim: you don't really begin to learn something until you've done it "a thousand times."  (It's proverbial. Go with it.)  Often this idea comes up in sports; 1000 free throws, 1000 curve balls, etc.  I've heard it most frequently in regards to the martial arts (1000 punches, 1000 cuts... Oops, the far right-wing just arrived from an errant Googling...) The Bruce Lee quote above is perhaps the most noted variation.  One of my teachers at the Swedish Institute - the incomparable Thom Paul (a man for whom the phrase "brother from another mother" fits me well enough to be somewhat disturbing, and yet a skilled martial artist to boot) - was the first to bring this concept to me in reference to massage therapy.  In school, I often lamented the state of my palpation skills, my assessment skills, my treatment plans, basically everything about myself that comprises my core confidence in my own work - despite being, frankly, a straight-A student throughout the program. As I sat self-depricating myself on one of my final days in my clinical internship, Thom, his white lab coat a-glow in sagey goodness, wisely appealed to my not-so-concealed love of martial arts by drawing the parallel to this metaphorical idea:

1000 bodies.

Continue to work and build your skills with every client you have, and maybe in 1000 bodies you'll have learned how to be a better therapist, he told me. Well, more or less; I'm not directly quoting - he may have interjected a music reference in the conversation along the way (he likes to do that too.)  And those modifiers, "maybe in 1000" and "better therapist" are key. What he said wasn't a criticism of me in any way.  Those words clearly show that this is a path to an unknown, perhaps unreachable destination. He too is still learning, he too is on this path.

(Seriously, if he's not, and he was just selling me some bull, I've got a bone to pick with the Swedish Institute!)

So that, my reader, if you haven't already figured it out, is what I intend to write about.  The experience of my first 1000 clients as a massage therapist.  Not my first 1000 sessions, mind you, that's the first rule: 1000 bodies. Different bodies, which means repeat clients don't count. In addition, there are of course HIPAA laws and privacy considerations to be made (which is why I'm not going to write about anything job specific today, I've got a little more research to do to see how much I can talk about.)  However, I have no doubt there will be plenty to do, even if it means talking purely about myself and my internal struggles and triumphs - Oh, I know you all want to read about that!

I hope it will be interesting. I hope it will make you laugh, at least on occasion. I hope it will not make you cry. Most of all I hope I actually do it! I mean, I've got to keep records on all my clientele anyway, so it shouldn't be too tough to write about what I find interesting along the way, right?  Let's look at the math... generally, They say a full-time working therapist sees an average of 20 clients a week.  Now they're not all going to be new people, so just for the sake of arguement, lets say 15 new people a week. That's ... 67 weeks. That's not too long. A little bit over a year, if I stay on that supposed "average" pace. Which I'm not on at all. I haven't even started what I wanted to start.

(Don't cry, Chris - you're going to make everybody else cry. Don't do it. I will turn this blog around, Mister...)

Hey, I had 3 sessions yesterday. 3 new bodies. 3 people. That's pretty good.

Only 997 to go ... more to come. Soon.

Love and Peace,

Christopher Trice

P.S.: When this is all said and done I want to be played by Meryl Streep. (ART-CRUUUUSSH!)