I did it!

Whewwww! On Wednesday I drove to the state capital (Salem) and took my practical examination. I will not know the results for a week or so but I feel like I passed it. I will be stone cold shocked if I do not. So, one down one to go. On Tuesday I take me national exam which is in my opinion the easier of the two. This national exam is written, whereas the practical I just took was completely hands on. I had two proctors observing me and the third proctor was the client on the table that I was working on! This next exam is much less stressful as it is just me and a computer at a testing center:)

The massage studio is coming along in a most lovely fashion. I believe it is a positive sign when the universe places what you need in front of you. The paint I needed was supplied at no charge by a friend who just happened to have extra in a color I needed. My business partner Tele had extra shelves which worked perfect in our space. Yesterday we were feeling bummed out because all the rugs we looked at where very expensive, and then we found the perfect rug for $40! All of the coincidences encourage me along this path and give me faith that I am making the right decision. Soon (in the next 3-4 weeks) I will finally be completely licensed and accepting clients.

School is going well. I am taking my elective courses to round out my advanced program. These classes are a breath of fresh air compared to the core program I just completed. Being advanced massage courses we have a level of freedom to expand out skills and teach one another as well as learn from our professors. The more I study the more I realize that I too want to teach one day. I am taking small steps now to begin that process and am registering as a certified tutor and massage evaluator through my school. This means that I have a history of good academic performance and can tutor, as well as receive massage from current students that I then evaluate for their learning purposes. I feel this is a good place to start. Perhaps in a year or so I will start looking into the 'junior' schools in the area for teaching opportunities. I have found that if you start at these schools and teach there for awhile, then the larger more respected institutes (such as my school) are more interested in hiring you.

That's about it from here. Scott is doing well and still waiting to hear back from the union regarding the next go round for the apprenticeship program. Hope you are all doing well!