It’s a tradition for me to look back what my work has gone through  for the whole year and to extend my gratitude to repeat clients for their continuous support and thanks to prospective clients who are considering to have my service at some point in the future. Below are some highlights:

• The website I had promised and been long overdue finally came into existence in early March. My regular French client offered to buy it for me, but to save him money, I decided to learn how to use Word Press to make one myself. The website also received a contribution from a British client, who is now the top guy in Europe in his industry. He helped me shoot short massage videos and had another massage to compared to what he received a few years back. In his words, “It was equally enjoyable.” The logo on my website was designed by a different client, a French digital nomad that had a standard package. He did it for a nominal fee of $5. I also had my uniform designed and made as well as a stamp and initials for Sheila’s Approach Massage Training certificate. I just wonder if clients are brave enough to hang it on their wall. The uniform later on was brought to Taiwan, where I wore it during the entire trip.

• Things start to look up for my Japanese client. He is moving his family to Southeast Asia for better educational opportunities for his kids. We touched base in Saigon for a massage at a hotel of my choice after he checked out of his. He has been fraught with numerous unfortunate incidents for the last 2 years; I sincerely hope his life will turn around once his family has relocated and I could help with some positive energy transfer.

• This year alone, I have travelled overseas 7 times; three of the trips were for work and sponsored by clients. I was fortunate enough to go to Paris and Phnom Penh to give massages and meet people to spread the word about my service. The Cambodian client also came to Saigon in Oct to become my repeat client. According to him, the second time was more intense than the first one although he knew what to expect then. As for the French client, scrolling back to our first conversation, I have just realised that I will have known him for two years this coming February 2020. The story about my French client is an interesting one. After having a mixture of different massages over a course of 6 months, he had to fly back to Paris to attend to his family affair. He had never had a massage before and he didn’t like being touched by people. I was his first masseuse and maybe that first impression was good enough to make him fly me to Paris twice. My client isn’t a millionaire, but he certainly has a heart of gold. The first time he flew me there, he wasn’t even there. He flew back to Vietnam 2 months before I got to Paris. He still put me in a nice centrally located apartment and help me with itinerary for visa application. He even wrote an invitation letter for me, but for some unforeseen circumstances  I never got to use it. The second time he flew me there; he had a limousine driver to pick me up and drop me off at the airport. During my stay, he got me integrated transport tickets, twice per day, enough to get me somewhere in the city and back to his family apartment. He also stocked the fridge with snacks, yogurts, fruits and made me hot chocolate every morning. There were a lot of interests in my services in Paris for sure, but my client warned me about disappearance of Asian tourists in Paris and was concerned about my safety, so I only made contacts for future trips. 

• For personal development, I learned about Reiki from one dear friend British client, the same one that helped me with the videos. He introduced me to a Reiki practitioner, who works under him in his industry. I also learned and experienced first hand tantric sex practice except the sex part. My old client taught me for free, so I promised myself it would be a bonus for couples who buy the highest package.

• I have also been contacted by a Chinese Canadian spa owner about the possibility of her flying here for a week to buy a NURU Successor Package. She has a spa in Toronto and is a skilled, experienced, knowledgeable masseuse herself. She was inspired by her mentor to learn so that he could cross having a Nuru massage out of his bucket list. Close to the date we would likely agree on, he passed away. We were both sadden by the news and my heart went out to her. We agreed that she would need time to collect herself and pick up everything in Feb 2020 or so. 

• I met my financial target in early October, so I started to take it slowly the rest of the year and focus on my health, diet and do some introspection. I have been postponing making podcasts for years since it’s always noisy wherever I move. I have all the tools ready, software installed; I just need to find the right place. I moved in early December not to a quieter place as I hoped but to a place that is better for my dog. So for those who follow me on my blog, twitter or FB and future podcast listeners, excuse me if my upcoming podcasts cannot cancel all the noises. 

• 2019 has been a big year for repeat clients. The majority of massages have been with former clients or new clients that have become a repeat clients. My wonderful year hadn’t been possible without your support. Thank you for using my service wherever you are; I am happy to serve you, to know you and send you on your way a new person. I hope that you will come back gain soon.