The not so happy ending

I've often said that getting a massage is the perfect storm of quiet comfort and intense discomfort.

I got my third ever massage yesterday to try to relive some strain in my lower back and as good as it was and as relaxed as I felt afterwards physically, I spent the entire hour worried. Laying on that table with your face down in the cradle is an incredibly vulnerable position to be in, you are completely at the mercy of the masseuse with all your warts, cysts and imperfections on display like a painted canvas. So in one respect you are at ease as her hands work out the stress in your shoulders and back while on the other hand new stresses are forming.
But my biggest issue isn't my physical imperfections but as a rookie to this entire endeavor is that as she starts to work my back it occurs to me that I have no idea what an acceptable gratuity would be. I figure she gets paid by the place so it's not like being a waiter where your tips are your real salary but I can't figure out how they split the bounty. It's $125 for the massage, so I figure maybe they go 50/50 and she gets $66.50 which comes out to about $125k per year. This is a pretty nice living but it assumes she gets 8 massages per day and doesn't hit the IR with crazy carpal tunnel syndrome. I wonder if she has health insurance or a 401k plan cause somebody who can loosen up my back is really doings God's work should at least have the luxury of not worrying if she's covered for a crown on her tooth.

Then I wonder do you tip somebody who is making $100k per year?? I assume so since being part of the service industry probably trumps the straight salary but it seems kind of weird being she makes a nice living just doing her job, heck nobody tips me if I take down an order correctly and make sure it ships out.

Then again maybe it's a less even split with the house and she makes only $30 or maybe it's all based on tips like being a cocktail waitress. In which case maybe you should tip her. She does have to massage my feet which should be worth a couple of bucks extra anyway you count it. Now is this a 20% gratuity situation or more?? Maybe less is OK too, I run myself crazy trying to figure it out.

so all of a sudden I realize that I've spent 20 minutes worried about the salary of the masseuse, 20 minutes worried about my heinous looking body and 20 minutes trying to decide what is an appropriate tip.
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