Valentine's Day Post-Baby

The recap of this day will be quick and painless because there’s nothing to write! In fact, ever since having Bella, Jin and I have grudgingly accepted the fact that our days of intimacy and romance are gone like a fart in the wind – short and silent and never lasting long. We didn’t get to do much on V-day, but we decided to take full advantage of President’s Day and turned it into our own special Valentine’s day without the baby.

Spa-tacular!:

As you can imagine with a near-20 pound baby, our arms, necks and backs have had quite a demanding workout while lifting and playing with Bella. So our first stop of the day was to the Lafayette Day Spa where we enjoyed pampering and relaxation. We purposely arrived early to our massage session so that we could use the pool, sauna, and hot tub. But stupid me forgot to bring our bathing suits (not that I was delighted with the idea of cramming my post-partum hips into a slinky string bikini). We contemplated on relaxing in the sauna with the terrycloth robes that were provided. But after 5 minutes of intense 180 degree heat while wearing the equivalent of a bearskin rug, Jin decided he would drive home to retrieve our suits.

Thirty minutes later, I was still waiting for my massage when Jin arrived with the goods. Apparently the therapist was running late so we waited some more until I was finally called in. To my surprise, the masseuse was a man, which technically means he wasn’t a masseuse, since masseuses are female (what’s a male equivalent to a masseuse?) I admit, I was a bit taken aback and nervous. I have only had female therapists in the past and was not really akin to the idea of having some potential pervert, fronting as a massage therapist, rubbing his greasy mits all over his clients to get his kicks. Then dual images of me flashed across my conscience – one wincing in pain from throwing out my back, and one gleefully sinking into the soft warm bed of the massage table. Within seconds I dropped my drawers and jumped into bed. How’s that for decisiveness? Besides, I decided that if this guy made any false moves, I would quickly make reference to my large, body-building husband who was patiently waiting his turn out in the Relaxation Room.

Surprisingly, Dmitri (we’re on a first name basis now) was gentle to the touch and very professional. In fact I was quite impressed with his knowledge of muscle groups and how to relieve pain and discomfort from everyday repetitive motions. Jin later learned that Dmitri studied to be a massage therapist in Russia at the only school for Olympic athletes or something like that. At least I think that’s what Jin said... …Anyway, the details are unimportant. The point is, his training was unique and his skills were excellent. (Whew! Sometimes I think I have early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, or maybe just a degree in BS).

After my massage, Jin had his turn so I decided to spend my time in the sauna and hot tub, this time in my bathing suit. I started to develop a nice think brow of sweat from the baking heat of the sauna and was just relaxing in the silence of the enclosed room, when an annoying older couple loudly clamored in with their sandals flopping loudly with each step, spilling tea all over the floor as they marched. Of course there was barely enough room for me to sit reclined in the sauna so now I was forced to scrunch into fetal position to accommodate the new arrivals. I decided I had had enough of the sauna. I waited for just enough time to pass so as not to seem obviously rude and then I gathered my robe and left for the hot tub.

Ahhhh…soon I was soaking in the bubbly bliss of the tub. I had just reached the juicy part of an article about a recent Hollywood scandal when lo n’ behold, my friends, Crusty the Clowns in their big top shoes decided to join me in the 2 x 2 hot tub. I felt like I was playing an unspoken game of follow-your-sister-until-she-gets-really-annoyed. It was working. I decided right then and there that my attempts at relaxing in private were futile so I went to clean up and wait for Jin to finish his massage.

For those who know Jin, seeing him in a relaxed, slow-moving fashion is a rare sighting. The guy is always moving 100 miles per hour. His motions are choppy and quick, sort of like a bird’s head as it turns to view its surroundings. Even his walk resembles the jerky strut of George Jefferson. So you’d think that an hour of a relaxing massage by an Olympic-trained therapist from Russia would slow him down, but you’d be wrong. I was waiting for him to shower and clean up after his massage when Jin busted out of the Men’s Showering Room fully unaware that he had left an entire strip of shaving cream along the underside of his chin. The spa receptionist and I took one look at this spectacle and burst into laughter. Of course he had no idea what we were laughing at until we directed him to look in the mirror. Poor Jin, moving too fast to even see the remnants of shaving cream on his own face…

Next stop, Let’s GO TO THE MOVIES!:

We have been dying to see a movie on the big screen since our Netflix subscription was just barely cutting it. So we decided to see the one movie that so many have been talking about, Brokeback Mountain. Not only did I want to judge for myself on the quality of the story and film, but I wanted to support the film’s critically acclaimed Taiwanese-born director, Ang Lee. As I watched the film, I thought of my fiercely allegiant Taiwanese father, who undoubtedly would have rushed out to see the film (if anything, out of curiosity), had it not been about such a controversial topic. And even though I raved about it, I warned him of the risqué “cowboy” scenes. Those who have seen it know what I’m talking about. They don’t call it Brokeback for nothing! And it all just might be a little too much for a 65 year old Republican to bear.

Ennis Del Mar: If you can't fix it, you gotta stand it. What you can't change, you've just got to ride out.
Jack Twist: This is a bitch of an unsatisfactory situation.

Regardless, the themes of love that run deep into the storyline – forbidden love, the power of love – are all universal. It is a powerfully honest look at the most profound connection of love you can have with another human being – the sort of connection that transcends time and defies categorization, the sort of connection which re-writes the way we look at ourselves and at others. My take on the film was that the acting was superb, the cinematography was beautiful (even though the footage was shot in Canada and not in the serene mountains of Wyoming), and the directorial performance by Ang Lee was yet another masterpiece. As Jin clearly called out, “I almost laughed during the sex....uh....love scenes but you could really tell their love was genuine. Heath Ledger's accent as a cowboy was pretty good, he sounded like a real American cowboy.” Well said, honey.

Final Destination, Ruth’s Chris Steak House:

There’s nothing like a big fat juicy steak to top off the events of an unforgettable day with your loved one. Never mind that we just spent a small fortune on our spa services and are now tapping into our baby’s college fund to pay for our dinner. Let’s enjoy the night. Come to think of it, let’s order a $12 bottle of wine and pay $80 for it instead! Then throw in a friendly, but borderline annoying waiter who won’t leave us alone long enough to get a word in edgewise to each other. Turn the stopwatch on because now you only have 20 minutes left to eat before we have to furiously drive home to get to your baby before the nanny is off duty. Try chewing and swallowing a slab of filet the size of Paul Bunyon’s fist in less than 20 minutes when you only have wine to swig it down. Somebody’s bound to get drunk after gulping wine. What a thoroughly delightful day it was with my hubby. Can’t wait ‘til next year! Happy V-day, honey!