8-31-09 New office space and recharged batteries

I have leased a space in Downtown McMinnville that I think will be a pretty good location. The parking might be a problem as there is only street parking. There is a parking structure 2 blocks away but I can't expect my clients to walk that far. So far I have usually been able to find a parking space within a block's distance from the door. The office is located between 3rd and 4th on Ford street and seems fairly secure. There is a lobby that serves several offices (including mine) with restrooms and drinking fountain. The building has been remodeled in the not too distant past. The room seemed huge when I first looked at it and I thought I would be able to divide it into 2 massage rooms and an office space. Once I got my Massage table down there I soon realised that it was not as big as I thought. So, one massage room and the office space. I looked for room dividers but the cost even for used panels was too high and I could not find any that gave good enough privacy for clients to disrobe to get on the table. I found a place in Sherwood that had some doors salvaged from the Portland City Hall. These things are huge - 8' tall and 40" wide, solid and weigh a ton. I have been able build a beautiful wood wall across the center of my office using these old Oak 5-panel doors. I have found some nice old furniture to decorate with. Last night my wife and I stripped the finish off one of the doors that has a frosted glass panel. It will be sealed today. It will be used as a sliding door between the office side and the massage side of the room. So far everyone but my daughter has loved the look of the new wall. She has good taste but she grew up with lots of wood in our log home so I think she is a bit tired of seeing all that wood. Personally I could never grow tired of wood.
So my space is getting close to being ready. I have already seen one client in the new office.
A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to recharge my batteries. It has been kind of stressful these past few months with looking for work and trying to get something going with my massage profession. I have a good friend that moved to Reno a while back. I drove down over the weekend and she and I did several miles of hiking in the Mt Rose area north (I think) of Lake Tahoe. Later we found a clothing optional beach in a little cove of Lake Tahoe where we went skinny dipping. It was great fun jumping off rocks and swimming about. I felt like a kid again and it was very refreshing. The water was cool but tolerable. I wish there was some place like that to play close to home. I sometimes go up to the CO beach on Sauvie Island but it is downstream from every major city in Oregon so I don't trust the sanitation of the water there. The water in Lake Tahoe was so clear and beautiful. I wish now that I had stayed and played longer. I don't think I have had as much fun since my wife and I went to Maui in '03 and I played in the surf at Little Beach - also clothing optional. Anyway, I can't thank my friend enough for hosting my little get-away and finding that beach for me. I feel refreshed and ready to move on with life.

August post

I have been looking for a place for the past few months to set up my Massage practice here in McMinnville. I suppose I am being picky but I want it to be a place my clients will feel comfortable and relaxed when they come see me and also a place I will enjoy spending my days. My dream has been to set up a day retreat here at our log home in the mountains west of town but I realize now that there will be few people that will want to make the drive up here to see a massage therapist they don't know. I had wanted to get a hot tub and sauna, build trails in the woods and let people come get a massage and relax for the day. So now the plan is to set up shop in Mac, build a clientele and someday set up a place here for people to come once they get to know me. I would keep both places - for those that don't want to make the drive and those that do. I think I am close to signing the lease on a place near 3rd street. The property manager seems very supportive to my needs so that is a big plus.