Just Barely

I'm working at a club that used to be fantastic. But in the last six months it has declined so much in such a short period of time. I used to be able to walk in and make $400 in five and a half hours without even trying. Now, I can't make that much money if my life depended on it.

Last night I worked my first double in months. Usually when I work a double I make upwards of $600. Last night I worked. I was on the floor the whole night and talked to EVERYONE. I only made $95 during the twelve hours I was there. I have never done so poorly. That's a little bit over minimum wage.

I can't afford to quit, and right now I can't afford to work either. It's ridiculous. I don't know what to do.

I'm thinking about travelling and seeing if there is better money in other areas that are still fairly close by. I'm trying to save for the future so that I can quit and have almost all of my senior year in college without stripping, but at this rate I won't be able to quit because I can't even make enough money to pay for my monthly bills.

I'm just really happy I have regulars and I know enough people to make it by.

Late Night

I've been up for almost 24 hours.

Jamie is in Florida right now. He's doing testing for the Marines. We always fall asleep together. Right now, I am completely incapable of falling asleep in our bed without him.

So, instead of sleeping I am watching the show Satisfaction. It's an Australian show about a brothel. I'm watching it and other than the fact the girl have sex, it's the same as my job. I like this show better than most portrayals of the sex industry because it's real.

I'm going in to work tomorrow for my first double since July. It won't be fun, but I have to work more often than I have been. It will especially suck because I fell and fucked up my knee... Knee's are really important when you're dancing.

Oh Mom...

It's the weekend after Thanksgiving and I'm at home with my family. My mother decided that we would go out for an after dinner snack at a sushi restaurant. The owner is a friend through the cycling community. When we got to the restaurant the owner came and chatted for a moment. After the dinner rush was gone the owner came and sat with us. We chatted for three hours. (Including an hour and a half after the restaurant closed.) At one point in the conversation my parents asked where he lived and he gave directions. He said "It's not classy, but the biggest landmark in the area is Big Earl's." I didn't know what that was, so I leaned over and asked my brother who said "it's a strip club." When I sat back up my mother was glaring at me. And the owner didn't make the situation any easier when he narrated what just happened and added to the end "it's a good thing you don't know what that is. It means you're on the straight and narrow." My mother glared at me even more.

Well, good to know my mother still hates me a little.

Haircut... Oh Crap

I was trying to think of a new post, and I was going through all of the posts I've written previously. There was a post a little while back about how my job is interfering in life, and a new example came to me.

Last year, about a month after I started stripping a girl and two guys came into the club. It was a kind of slow night so I sat around and talked to them. She stuck out in my mind for a couple reasons. First, she was very nice and sweet. Second, she and her friends biked there because they were preparing for RAGBRAI and because my little brother is a cyclist we had a lot to talk about. Third, she was the kind of person you don't easily forget. And fourth, she was the first woman I ever gave a lap dance to. I don't know why, but I remembered her name.

A year ago I went into one of the nice salons in town and scheduled a hair cut. It was my first time at the salon and I didn't know any of the stylists. I was scheduled with someone, and when I showed up she looked familiar. Oh crap!!! I figured where I had seen her around. At that time I was working in a store at the mall and saw a lot of people. Well while the stylist was cutting my hair we started talking and we ended up talking about RAGBRAI and I realized... I'd given HER a lap dance. 

I didn't bring her visit to the strip club up... you know cause it might of been awkward or something. I don't think she recognized me. It doesn't surprise me that she didn't recognize me. Mostly because she was so drunk that night that I would be surprised if she even remembered her first visit to the strip club.

I really can't go anywhere without seeing someone I've met at the strip club... Gross.

Noble Stripper

The other day I sat down at the lunch table in the middle of a conversation. Vera was talking about how her good friend is a stripper with a baby and a pill addiction. She was saying that her friend had never wanted to be like her mother, but in the end has turned out just like her mother. She was saying how awful it was that her friend was a stripper and it was the worst thing. I was sitting right next to her as she was saying all of these things. She turned looked at me and kind of did one of those "Oh God, but, you know, not you, it's different, you have good reasons, you know what I mean." I wasn't offended because I did know what she meant.

Later that day I told Jamie all about the conversation. He started laughing and replied. "Yes you are NOT a pill stripper. You are a noble stripper. Stripping for noble reasons."

Well there you have it. I'm not a pill stripper.

Magic Mike

So today I watched Magic Mike in its entirety. As I'm watching it I'm kind of confused. The portrayal of stripping is both glamorous and serious. Except the serious part comes in with drug use, and yes that's part of stripping... depending on the person. The movie makes the job out to be pretty alright. Except there's one glaring thing for me. They don't show that it has an affect on the person at all. Other than the affect of partying. It does show that it is hard for the family members. My big thing with the movie is that it's more work, more serious, and more depressing than they let on. Although in some ways it's realistic. I just watch movies about stripping and think to myself. GOD there needs to be a realistic movie about stripping.

Anyways. I went to work last week. It sucked. No one was there. I was supposed to go in today and work a double except the fact that I had a paper to write and finish up this scholarship application. I'm hoping to go in tomorrow as long as class doesn't run long.

Tired. I've been writing essays all day. Night night.

Best Intentions

I had the best intentions of going into work today.

Jamie and I have been together long enough that we don't really have individual possessions anymore. We both own both of our cars which doesn't seem like a problem. Except for the fact that I never bring my dancing stuff into the house. I keep it in the trunk of "my" car. This morning Jamie took "my" car, which is the new car that has the best gas mileage. He usually works in the morning at Starbucks and then comes home over the few hours he has until he goes to his next job. I didn't realize that he didn't have a long enough lunch break to come. So he is at work with the car that has all my work stuff.

Unfortunately I can't go into work today. Damn...

That makes it a whole month since I've been into work. I'm not at all disappointed by this long sabbatical, I am however starting to get to that point where I need to make money again.

Oh well. I'll be going into work tomorrow, for sure... Probably...