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Thread: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

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    Member xcuzmylife's Avatar
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    Default Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    I am starting a 9 to 5 in about three weeks doing construction admin. The pay is decent for someone with limited education (I am still taking a 70% pay decrease though). I will have full benefits to include a 401k and much needed health insurance since I couldn't seem to stay out of the So FL sun.

    I am now 32 and have been dancing for two years. It has certainly had its ups and downs. Prior to dancing I have always held office jobs i.e. insurance agent and paralegal. If I knew then what I know now, I would have started dancing at 18.

    I started dancing because my daughter and I lived in a converted garage apartment where we could not even brush our teeth with the nasty well water. Furthermore, the schools around here suck so I have her in private school. (She goes to school with a certain early 90s white rapper's daughters). That isn't relevant to this post. I just find it f'n funny. Anyhow the most I ever made in an office setting was $32,000.00 yearly and our quality of life sucked. I was working two jobs and never saw my child.

    Now that I know I am close to the end I realize that I really like dancing. I have finally learned to work sober. I used to work, get trashed and be useless the following day due to hangover. Now, I work sober, get up and go to the gym, clean my house and spend quality time with my child. And I am earning a lot more money sober.

    When I think about stopping I feel like I am gonna have an anxiety attack. I would like to continue, however, I made a commitment to go to work for my pops and I don't want to disappoint anyone (I've done enough of that).

    Can anyone who has made the switch tell me how they made the transition?

    I know this post is long and I greatly appreciate any advice.

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    maybe you could dance every other saturday night to ease your transition out and to help fluff out your account a bit more. Congrats and good luck!


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    Member xcuzmylife's Avatar
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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    Thank you LoveSexMoney. I probably will do every other weekend. I kinda have to if I want to keep my child in her current school.

    I will be working on the actual job site. Hmmm, I wonder how many of the workers have seen bread n butter (my boobies).

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    I think cold turkey is hard, unless you are extremely burnt out, and it doesn't sound like you are. I would dance on the weekends if you can. Cold turkey without a financial plan is almost impossible and most dancers return when they try to do it that way. If you really do have it together enough to make dancing well worth it for a few more years maybe that would be the better thing to do. It's tough that you made the commitment to your Dad, but I understand his fear for you too. Try to do both for awhile if you can, then see from there what's best.

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    I would say to work like 2 nights a week, one being a weeknight, and on a weekend night. That may help balance out your income, not get you overly tired out, and keep your foot in the door of your club.

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    i was massively burnt out when i finally quit, due a lot more to moving 2500 miles to a part of the country where stripping is especially frustrating to make money at (seattle) than to sticking with my exit plan(s). there were just enough obstacles and moneymaking frustrations related to stripping in seattle that it wasn't a temptation.

    i called in some favors and gussied up my resume and was pleasantly surprised to find that even with the blank-time that stripping often is, i could command stripper-wages or better after a few months getting my feet wet with a 9-5 to get me used to staying awake days again.

    i took a job with a small company that offers flexible hours and a wide range of responsibilities. just having a range of things to do and the option to come in exactly the times i want to helped a lot.

    something small i miss a lot about dancing is counting the money. so i take a part of each check and get cash back in small bills and pile them up. it's a little thing, but having that stack of money is kinda my stripper-methadone.

    because it deals in cash, the biggest problem with quitting stripping to work a '9-5' is the illusion that you can always head out and get some money together. waiters have the same problem adapting to jobs that don't pay nightly. and they also think 'eh, i can always pick up a shift and make a quick 100/200/400'.

    i haven't left stripping, just the club aspects. i'm taking up pole dance and possibly burlesque finally because i do love the 'arty' and athletic sides of this work. it really helps to look at what you miss about dancing and to REALLY explore your options.

    finding out i could make really excellent money and still have flexibility and freedom while keeping my clothes on has been a strong incentive to keep me out of the clubs. if you have skillsets that are valuable in the real world market, you should try to pursue ends that allow you to make the most of them. stripping isn't the only or even best way to make a lot of money without working long hours or set days. look around and see if you can create or jump into some of those other ways.

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    I recently got a regular job myself. It still freaks me out that I have a schedule, but I love the paycheck:p
    I work at my house club whenever I have free time. I recommend you do the same until your transitioned:p

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    I wouldn't worry if anybody that you are going to work with recognizes you from the club. I'd pull 1 of 2 things. 1) Plausable Deniability. Wasn't me. LOL. or 2) There might not be much said because you were there to work, he was there as a customer...he would be to blame, too.

    I quit dancing for awhile and bartended for a bit. The money was so bad that I came back. The thing that I found I missed the most in my time gone was the music. I would hear a great song I haven't heard in awhile and be like, "Wow, I would have loved to dance to this..." So I made a list of music for when I returned to work.

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    Default Re: Starting a 9 to 5 and Freaking Out

    Quote Originally Posted by AJM1987 View Post
    I would hear a great song I haven't heard in awhile and be like, "Wow, I would have loved to dance to this..." So I made a list of music for when I returned to work.


    I do the same thing:p

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