MRSA: Not a good Valentine

I have a tendency to cheapness.  And I would like to think there is a way to reverse the aging process.

How are these two statements relevant?

The answer:  SPA DAY.   Some time ago, my sister and I checked ourselves in to the no-frills JADE SAUNA in Beaverton, Oregon.  It's Korean.  You strip down, shower, sluice,  soak, steam, roast in the sauna and then submit to the industrial exfoliation: a lady  grimly attacks your dermis with scouring pads.  ALL of your dermis.  Including between your toes and your butt crack.  She shakes her head a lot and says you ought to come in at least once a month.  You come out feeling peeled, fresh and slightly mortified. But possibly ten years younger, so it's worth it.  AND IT'S CHEAP.  Like maybe a quarter the cost of a regular spa.

And here I must refer you to the toast post.  Cheapness + toaster = broken toaster, over and over and over.  Cheapness + spa = questionable hygienic practices = MRSA.  Which, as you probably know, is the drug resistant staph infection....Which they treat with Bactrim which I'm allergic to, which meant they gave me something else which meant the MRSA came back three weeks later...more drugs...more Doctor visits...more fretting that someone in my household was going to catch it....lots of careful bandaging and washing everything in hot water....no one else got it and it was finally gone....It took over two months to fully eradicate.

So don't cheap out on the spa day (Duh, you probably knew that, too.).  If you've scheduled yourself for a little buffing and polishing before a big date-- say this Feb. 14?  Learn from my mistake!  Go somewhere nice and CLEAN and expensive!  Or if you prefer to cheap out, DIY!

I called the health department, incidentally, but because the JADE SAUNA is called a SAUNA and not a spa, they are not subject to the same regulations as a spa.  As far as I know, they're still in business.  And when I called to request a refund, they suddenly did not speak much English!  So I feel it's ok to name names here on my blog, in the interest of public health and safety.

My sister escaped my fate, even though she was on the table right next to me.  Probably because she is a better person.

No doubt it' a good thing that I have no interest in plastic surgery.