I took the day off Wednesday for a day of relaxation with TBID at a Korean bathhouse. We'd read about it months ago and were prepared for saunas and hot tubs. The day before Thanksgiving seemed perfect, as people were still at work and school, and no one would have recently gorged themselves with turkey and sweet potatoes. (Not pretty, especially in the single-sex nude areas).

TBID and I arrived, changed into these crazy uniforms, and met up on the sauna floor. The buck naked woman with the locker next to mine had gladly given me directions. I'd call her a stranger, but I now know her a little more intimately than I do any of my female friends.

Though it was in the thirties outside, we splashed around in a hot tub with jets powerful enough to rip off my swimsuit bottoms. Then we dried off in the sauna, sat on indoor water massage chairs, and walked through more saunas. Being from Texas, I could withstand all of them with nary a pant - and without wearing pants. TBID, a native New Yorker, preferred the freezer room that was just a wee bit colder than outside.

I felt like I was just getting started with all the steaming and soaking after my romp in the nude area. Being naked with a bunch of old Asian women? Not so bad. Anyone who says that once you get comfortable, you don't even notice people are in the buff is lying. You notice. You compare. But it's completely benign, like, "That lady's eyes are brown. Mine are blue. Ahh, this jet is perfect!"

Post-skinny dip, TBID and I reunited. I ate a fruit plate and asked how he was feeling. "I'm very relaxed," he said. "So now what?"

I thought about that. "Well, you relax more," I replied.

"Relax more?"

The boy didn't know how to. I took him to the chaise lounges under the infrared lights. I think they prevent pregnancy or improve mood or something. I was ready to doze; he felt blinded. "Close your eyes!" I hissed. "I'm trying to relax!"

I ended up hanging out in the saunas again while TBID read the newspaper. Who needs a massage when you can get tranquility from the world news section?

We left before anyone unwound too much. That's kind of how I feel about this holiday, too. Going back to work tomorrow is a bit of a relief. Call me shackled, but I don't know what to do with so many days off.

Maybe productivity at work is therapeutic enough for me.

There aren't as many naked people, though.