I'm done, for the moment

I've quit this gig - had to, in order to get my weekends freed up so that I can get over to the other side of the pond each weekend.

My mother is terminally ill. And while the last several visits were very nice, where she almost appeared like her old self, I'm told not to have false hope. It may not be the 2-3 months that the doctors initially quoted, but due to the condition of her liver/kidneys, it will more likely be within the year.

Last weekend was my first weekend free. Felt very strange not to go. Felt even stranger not to have that tip money in my pocket. Don't think I'll miss the club much, but I will miss the cash in hand each weekend. That came in handy.

Did my taxes, though - before I added this job, I was due back a nice refund, but once I entered in the 1099 for this gig, it reduced my refund by over $1,000. When I look at what I made and what refund I could have had, it really wasn't worth it, in the long run. The only nice thing was the cash in hand, but if we budgeted better, that wouldn't be an issue.

So, I'm done. For the moment. I did offer to my boss that I would be available for emergencies or if her regular gal wanted to take a day or two off. And who knows? Could be, 6 months down the line, that I'll want/need it again, and she's told me she would hire me back in a flash any time I wanted to come back.

I want to thank my one or two readers :o) I appreciate you letting me share my experience and observations. I tried to come with a cute one-liner to end this with, like "I'll be back" ala Arnold, but I'm really hoping that won't be the case.

Old Lady

Man, that's what I get for looking.

I was in yelp.com yesterday, and for grins and giggles, I looked up the club to see what reviewers had to say.

I'm reading through them - the majority very non-complimentry, when I come across one that had this to say:

"OH. And.. it's embarrassing, but there's this old lady in the women's bathroom (and an old man in the men's bathroom) who rips paper towels for you and there's an assortment of lollipops, gum, hairpins, hairspray, lotion, deodorant, tampons, etc. Of course, gratuity is always welcome, but it makes me irrationally giggly to grab goodies in the bathroom. I feel like a kid in a candy shop. What a terribly unfun job, right?"

So, let's see - embarrassing; old lady; irrationally giggly; terribly unfun job. Did I get it all? And ripping paper towels? I don't rip anything - I hand out paper napkins. I have to think this was someone very young and not very observant. I know I look older, but I certainly don't consider myself an old lady.

Oh, well - I've always known that a good number of the ladies coming into the closet are clueless.

Beautiful Becca

Had a young lady come in Saturday. Such a sweetie - trying so hard to be obnoxious (not sure why), but not pulling it off. She asked about things I hear in the closet and I told her honestly that I mostly tune conversation out. I'm not a natural eavesdropper and unusually not curious. I guess because after a while, it's all the same. Ladies talking about their "man," their home life, their kids, their jobs. Nothing novel or new. Told her I had this blog and she was intrigued; said she was going to look it up. I asked her then if she would do something outrageous, I'd post about her, but she couldn't think of anything to do (nor could I, so here you go).

She came in several times - I could tell she was with several friends. While she was so sweet and friendly, she had one friend that didn't have to try hard to be obnoxious. What a piece of work. Very dismissive, very messy, very not-a-person-I'd-like-to-get-to-know. Can't imagine what a sweetheart like Becca is doing with shit like that. This friend is one of those rare ladies that come in that look down their nose at me, as if I were any less than they are - pppppbbbbbbtttttt.

Another young lady came in and was very curious how I had gotten this job. Told her through craigslist. She asked all sorts of questions; said she'd love to have a job like this. I asked her if she was serious, as I was contemplating quitting and she said yes. So I took her name and number down and told her I'd share that with the Bosslady.

Which I did this morning. Yup, I did it. Gave my two-week notice. I need my weekends free to deal with a family situation. Part of me hates having to give it up, but part of me is relieved. It's hard having to work every single weekend. When I spoke with the Bosslady this morning, I told her to keep my number in case she needed someone to fill in on occasion. That I could do. She said she most definitely would and that I could have the job back any time I wanted. Nice to feel appreciated.

If only I could get that at my day job.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year - hoping there's lots of love, laughter, health, wealth and success for everybody.

And I apologize for letting a month go by without posting. Without a lot of detail, my private life is very complicated right now (an illness in the family) - so much so that I am contemplating quitting this gig so that I have weekends free to do what I need to do. The only comfort I find there is that I believe my boss likes me well enough that should I ever decide I want to do this again, she'll have a spot for me.

I was half anticipating and half dreading New Year's Eve. Last year was so crazy-busy and I made very little, since I didn't really know what I was doing yet, so this year, I figured I was going to rake it in.

Ha.

People shouldn't go out if they cannot afford to. I cannot believe how cheap the majority of the ladies were Thursday night. And it was busy, but not bad - not like 2008's New Year's Eve. Made exactly half of what I had expected to make.

And then Friday and Saturday nights were very slow. So glad my Special K got me a new phone for Xmas (I can access the web from it), as I had plenty of time to read the news sites, Facebook, scroll through craigslist - that sort of thing. Made next to nothing Friday, but Saturday, I made only $2 less than Thursday. Weird.

No, not weird. Criminal. That's what it is - downright criminal lol!

This is not a buffet

Was so enamored with the heart Origami, I nearly forgot I wanted to share this one:

Young lady comes in several times throughout the evening last Friday and she likes the Altoids. Second time, she takes one of the paper cups I have out and throws several Altoids in there. She does this like three more times. On the last visit, I had had enough. I walk up to her and say "Excuse me, but this is not a buffet," and I take the cup from her. She's got it half full of mints! She said she was just bringing mints to her friends, and I let her know I'm not here to feed the club mints. These are here for the enjoyment of my customers coming into the restroom and I cannot afford to provide mints for everyone out "there." "Oh, I'm sorry - you pay for these?" Well, yeah, dimwit - how else do you think they get there? I know, I know - folks assume it's the club, but that's getting real old.

Wouldn't have minded so much if she would have dropped me a dollar or two (or three with the amount of mints she took!), but nothing. Not a dime.

Incredible.

A heart in my tip jar

Last Friday night was a strange night; slow with bursts of busyness. And the women - no tips for a long time, and then bursts of everyone shoving a dollar in the jar. Did fairly decent for a slow night. At one point, when I was emptying the jar into my velvet bag, I found this at the bottom:

At first, I thought someone threw a heart-cutout just to be cute, but once I examined the Origami, I discovered it was a two dollar bill. How cool is that? Only bummer is I can't bring myself to unfold and spend the bill. It's just too cute.

Another theft

But this time, it wasn't from me. End of evening, I'm going through each stall as I usually do, and I notice one stall's trash bin was overflowing. I try to stuff it down and it's packed. I look and I notice a purse stuffed in there. A big, leather purse. And I think, wow - someone didn't want their purse anymore. But then as I pull it out, I notice underneath it is the contents; makeup bag, brush, perfume bottle, etc. But no wallet. So I figure, uh, oh - we've had a theft. Just then, security knocked and asked if I was all clear (and I was). I give the purse to him and explain that I think we've had a theft. He said, "Ah, I'll bet this is the missing purse."

It was a nasty evening, anyway. So many young "ladies" cursing up a blue storm. Had to have security come clear the room; had a puker in a stall for over 20 minutes. Just weird. Didn't help that I had been ill this week - caught a nasty-assed cold. So I wasn't feeling so hot anyway. But, dang, it was rough tonight.

So, I'm in the elevator going down to my car and I notice the purse. A fellow is holding it and the hand of an obviously distraught young lady. I said, "oh, that's your purse?" He said, yes - it was snatched from the back of her chair. He asked what I knew and I told him where I found it. I told her I was sorry; she was crying; feeling so bad. She said she was trying to remember what all she had in there. I again said I was sorry that it had happened.

We all get off the same floor of the parking garage and as I'm walking to my car, the fellow calls out "wait a minute." I turn around and before I know it, he's grabbing my black sweater from my bag and asked his gf if this was her sweater. I said "no, that's mine," and make a grab for it. He held it out, showing it to his gf; she said no, it's not mine - give it back. He hands it to me, saying "we're upset."

Yeah, well, buddy, that upset me. I would never steal. Period. From my customers or anyone else. That's just so wrong. I'm so sorry that happened to her/them, but damn - to practically accuse me of stealing her flipping sweater; I found her purse, for God's sake. Why would I have turned her purse in if I was the one doing the stealing?

(sigh) Nasty night. Surprised I made as much as I did. Hope tomorrow brings a nicer crowd.