Nothing to "Show" for my nine years of service

Everything depends on what you went in looking for. Looking for friends in a strip club is more than likely going to get you burnt. I was there once and was a regular. Now I am more of a casual goer. I think I enjoy that more.

Tropical, if I may shift away from the topic for a minute, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions. You've said here that you still dance sometimes and you've said elsewhere that you are a massage therapist. I find that interesting. Do you do that because you can't make enough doing just massage? Or do you do some other things too? And where do you do your massage work, are you independent or something else? The reason I asked is that my ATF recently started her own business and is tryping to support herself just by giving massages independently. I'm wondering what her chances are and what other sevices she might consider offering. She's very personable and very good at what she does.

This thread clearly shows how important developing friendships is to people. This includes SC customers with strippers.

Why deny it? Why not just accept it? Admit that it is one of your explicit goals when you go to strip clubs. Take steps to acheive it. Think about what true friendship is. Does one party feel the need to compensate the other with cash? Or is it mutually beneficial relationship such that no cash needs to change hands.

Sorry to rag on you a bit here JC (and those others who are getting burnt out) but I feel quite the opposite, once I admitted that, yes, there are strippers that I want to make friends with and I started work proactively towards that, I found my time in SC much more enjoyable while at the same time spending less cash.

Nothing wrong with wanting to be friends with strippers. Don't let the TUSCL/SC industry's propoganda and ass kissing machines convince you otherwise.

Jpac, I hope that other people's insights have helped you put things in perspective. I've danced in a few clubs part time throughout the past 6 years. In the beginning it was so much fun, like a vacation from reality. After the first year it was still fun, but the shine had 'worn off'. Now, I go to the club when I know that a regular will come in to spend time with me or I really NEED the $$$. If you take a break from the clubs, you'll probably enjoy yourself more when you decide to return. -T

Funny thing about memories - the good ones seem to last forever, while time erases most bad ones. For years I've had this wierd fantasy that when I reach the end of my life, Ill be allowed to pick 10 days to live over again. It's fun to think about which days those might be. At least 2 of them will be days I spent with my ATF, maybe including the night we met.

Maybe you just need a freak.

Maybe you just need a break.

Jpac-

I wouldn't worry about it much. If you don't ever go to a club again, nobody's going to stop you. There are things I used to do that I don't do anymore, like golf. Nobody makes me play golf, and nobody makes any of us go to strip clubs. If your time has come, so be it.

JPac:

From a brotha in Chicago, I know that you have a limited number of SC's and GC's to visit down where you live and I know you truly looked forward top your road trips. It's a little disheartening to find out that your (new) ATF is a married Mom or has a live-in boyfriend/girlfriend, drug habit, criminal record, or possibly just a habitual liar.

Strip Clubs are simply Theater. There are no small actors, just actors playing small parts. From the DJ's hyping the girls, managers and bouncers fronting that they care about the talent, or waitresses flirting for larger tips; it's all geared to make you feel wanted and appreciated while you are in the club. OTC experiences will let you see pockmarks and frayed thread. You may not think she's so beautiful in sunlight, with a ponytail tucked into a "scrunchie" while she's wearing more comfortable clothing and footwear; however, that's the REAL (Fill-in-dancer's-name-here.)

I've been going to clubs for over 25 years and have some wonderful memories of some truly special ladies and bartenders; however, I also have experienced my share of Bullshit, Racism, Scams, etc, in my travels around the country. Do I have regrets ? NO WAY, Jose'!! I would have spent that $$ on dates which may have proven to be more deceitful or ended up in unwanted pregnancies, etc.

Enjoy whatever GOOD TIMES which come to mind and remember what Confuscious supposedly said: "Bullshit is merely chewed-up grass ..." Don't sweat the small shit.

Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the New Year and look for that special someone outside the SC's

FONDL: "Memories are the ony thing you get to keep" that is a good motto to live by. Thanks to everyone for your input.

I agree with FONDL here. I'll never forget that first time I got an "extra" in a SC. It was totally unexpected.... but certainly not unappreciated.

We meet a lot of people in all areas of our lives and few ever become lasting friends. In fact most people's closest friends are people who they met early in their lives, it's extremely difficult to form a really close friendship later in life. So it's no surprise that strippers usually don't turn into close firends. But they can provide some wonderful memories. And frankly I think that's one of the most valuable things you can have. Don't dismiss your pleasant memories, treasure them. Memories are the only things that you get to keep.

Jpac, it's easy to get the feeling from reading this board that you must be doing something wrong if you aren't constantly carrying on with strippers outside the club and counting them as lifelong friends. That's bullshit. Strippers disappear after their shift to leave their work life behind and blend into the crowd, and they do the same after they leave stripping. It's all the more reason to appreciate the pleasure they give us in the club and cherish the memories.

Casualguy has it absolutely right. If you had fun, you got your money's worth. All you can expect to take with you are the memores. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Merry Freakin' Christmas!

I'm going to agree with Jpac to an extent. I've been a stripclub funk for a while now, and it does color my memories of good times past. I used to enjoy the hobby a lot more. Lately even when traveling to new clubs, which I used to find the most enjoyable and exciting part of the hobby, I find myself wondering why I still bother. My club trips are shorter, less enjoyable, and I've wondered what it is I really get out of this. Entertainment, sure, but I almost never go out to the movies anymore either because I think most of them suck. I've wondered, occasionally out loud on this board, if the change is me, the club scene, or a bit of both. The last is probably the case. Overall, there were lots of good times, and a few strippers I'm glad I got to know at some level. I'm not sure if I'll burn out by going to a bunch of clubs and deciding its not worth it anymore, or fade away by just going less frequently till I don't go, or maybe even find a new reason to go and enjoy, but I think that the hobby has changed, at least for me. As for the nothing to show, I think that is a symptom of the present funk coloring the past. I feel it sometimes too. I have no advice to offer, just a common experience.

I spent 10 years with a company and all I got was a lousy plaque. At least I've gotten a lot more good times and smiles in those 10 years at strip clubs than I have in the office.

Lol, I was wondering if you were retiring from the military or something when I saw the thread title. Even if you didn't gain any friends from these visits, if you enjoyed yourself it was your entertainment. I think it's like asking what did you get out of going to see a movie or playing golf or going on a vacation to some exotic or nice location. You spent the money and now only have your memories. If you had fun, I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe you got better human interaction skills now as well. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hate the overdone political correctness of saying happy holidays now.