Road Trip question to bones7599?

Bones7599 said:

BG - I don't think that you're the only PhD holder not making a lot of money. I do empathize with you 100%! ... [snip] ... Don't blame mom and dad, they thought they were doing the right thing at the time. Even at 40, there's still plenty of opportunities out there for your skills. Just have to keep looking, digging, and sending dozens of resumes out.

AbbieNormal said:

BG, don't come down too hard on education. Mom and dad are right, statistically. Overall the wage gap between high school and college graduates is huge. The median wage for high school dropouts is about $20,000/yr, for high school graduates it is about $30,000. The median wage for college graduates is over $50,000 and for people with advanced degrees a bit over $60,000. Looked at in that way a college degree is THE key to a more prosperous life. However not all degrees are the same, and an educational establishment that acts as if they are is doing it's students (and customers) a disservice. A PhD in romance languages or philosophy is useless outside a university when applying for a job. A B.S. in electrical engineering is just about as close as you can get to guaranteed high salary employment. Ask lopaw. My guess is that she out-earns most of us on the board (except maybe Chitown).

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What I want to know is, how come you guys KNOW this stuff. I find out the hard way. :(

I am the equivalent of the PhD in Romance languages, and I have to admit that it's continually a surprise to me, how LITTLE I am valued by the marketplace. I took college Economics and thought it was a load of hogwash -- the rules apply all the time, except for the 99.9999% of the time that an exception applies instead -- and then I see these fellows who also thought it was equally silly being able to take advantage of it to their own benefit, salary-wise. I just kept on doing what the "adults" (mentors and peers in positions where they should have known better) suggested was a wise procedure, and yet my procedures turned out not to be very wise. In fact, I can pretty much draw a 1:1 link between dudes who totally slack off all their lives, and dudes who make a helluvalot of money. It seems to me, when I think about the guys like that whom I know, that the task of "going about things in the cheapest, simplest, stupidest way, with minimum effort, and absolutely no self-respect" is the quickest way to high amounts of cash ... FOR THEM. When I try that? I get fired for producing inferior work, of course.

Argh, I'm just venting. But I do know that the "frat boys" and campus drunks are actually quite well-heeled now, because of the social skills they honed in college. They made friends, learned how to make friends quickly, became charmers, got Cs, didn't get into grad school, and are now making $100K. I made good grades instead. :(

Another point to make about "mom and dad" is ... yes, DO blame them. I mean, don't HATE them, but it's their slavish adherence to "the system" that got me started on the wrong path in the first place. Dad was a company man, and when push came to shove during a big crisis, he'd always be there for the company. But the company wasn't there for him (gee what a surprise, why would he think a major corporation's raison d'etre should be to provide its employees with salaries!). I at least am not making that much of a mistake.

In the Victorian era, there were lots of "rules" about what was the right or wrong type of sexual activity to have. Only married couples were "supposed" to have sex, and it was officially supposed to be a very socially restrictive society. But actually, there were thousands of prostitutes throughout London, totally unregulated, and men got their cojones off probably MORE then than we do nowadays.

There were the written rules, and then the unwritten rules.

I think I'm in a similar position about employment. I only know the written rules, and I therefore keep having a very unfortunate experience, over and over again, of being quite surprised that my skills and qualifications don't provide me with a decent existence. How do you FIND OUT that a BA in electrical engineering (just as an example) is lucrative? My college TOLD ME POINT BLANK not to get a vocational degree or an engineering degree BECAUSE it was job-oriented and therefore not likely to provide a high income, given how jobs can change much more rapidlyl than degree programs can. They also told me to work hard all day, get good grades, etc. How do you know when they're saying a (false) written rule, as opposed to a (true) unwritten rule?

Argh argh argh. I'm sick of being the poor smart kid. I wanna be stupid for a while.

For road trippers thinking of heading north of the border,

www.merb.ca gives a lot of great info about Canadian clubs.

Your welcome Bones, I should also mention there is a terb.ca (for the Toronto area) although I have never looked into it, as I don't get up that way.
Come to think of it, it has been awhile since I visited Quebec, it might be time again soon...

BG, don't come down too hard on education. Mom and dad are right, statistically. Overall the wage gap between high school and college graduates is huge. The median wage for high school dropouts is about $20,000/yr, for high school graduates it is about $30,000. The median wage for college graduates is over $50,000 and for people with advanced degrees a bit over $60,000. Looked at in that way a college degree is THE key to a more prosperous life. However not all degrees are the same, and an educational establishment that acts as if they are is doing it's students (and customers) a disservice. A PhD in romance languages or philosophy is useless outside a university when applying for a job. A B.S. in electrical engineering is just about as close as you can get to guaranteed high salary employment. Ask lopaw. My guess is that she out-earns most of us on the board (except maybe Chitown).

I'm amazed at the money available. I was always taught, "get a good education" and "you want a desk job, not a factory or a field job." My family definitely has their heads up their butts. I never have broken $30K a year, but to please mom-n-dad-etc. I've always "had to" apply for the white-collar-classy jobs like publicist or journalist or teacher other type of "since you love it so much, we don't have to pay you." Damn man. I have a goddamned PhD but I've never made enough to regularly pay my own car maintenance and rent, now in my 40th year!

Well, it pisses me off. This job change, I'm actually changing my parameters and assumptions. Mom-n-dad-etc. are getting a talking to.

FunSeeker: Definitely Baby Dolls! That place ranks in my top 5 clubs that I've visited. The Clubhouse (on Manana Dr.), was excellent as well. The third was the Goldclub.

Sounds interesting. If I end up in a town near a casion I may get dealer training as a "back up," kind of like learning to be a car salesman even though you're actually a paralegal. :)

At $25 per hour, I'd be making roughly twice what I've ever gotten in any of my previous employment. Do dealers get regular (medical, etc.) benefits? Dunno why I stick with the whole "white collar myth" of prestige and class-status only being found in an office job, it ain't helpin' me so far ...

Hey Bones, I'm currently between jobs. What kind of money / career could I get in the casino industry?

Hey all. I've never been to Dallas. I can't respond about those clubs. I have done a monger's trip strictly to Houston strictly for clubbing. Didn't really see anything except the insides of Michael's, Treasures, Penthouse, and several ... umm ... more customer-service-oriented establishments.

Thanks to DougS, Book Guy and Bones7599 for great suggestions!

DougS - I was in dallas during last Christmas holdays. I visited Baby Dolls, Men's Club and Club Royale. You indicated three clubs, and which are the ones? - Thanks in advance.

One fun way to do Toronto would be, to fly in and out of Buffalo and rent a car from there. I'm not sure of all the specifics, but I think you can even get a free mini-bus from the Buffalo/Niagara (USA) airport to the casinos on the Canadian side of the border. Check out the falls (very pretty; the Canadians have the nice part), then check out the ridiculous tourist traps (very ugly; the Canadians have the bad nasty part), then go shopping, then head out Lundy's Lane for Seductions and Sundowner (which are in the same parking lot). It's maybe a $5 or $10 cab ride to S&S from the casinos.

If you like casinos.

Then, after you're done with NF, get your rental and go to Toronto.

Montreal would be harder to manage. I think you'd have to download and print a lot of pages from TUSCL and MapQuestCanada (if such exists), fly to Montreal, and get a rental car and take it from there. Those clubs in the small towns are a significant distance out in the styxx.

Oh yeah, BG, thanks for reminding me... The Toronto area is pretty good, too. My last time through that area had a great time in Toronto at a Deja Vu club. The REAL highlight was in a 'burb called London. Solid Gold was the club name, and the place was simply crawling with gorgeous, willing girls.

Toronto and Niagara Falls. It's a free-for-all in NF right now (cf. Seductions), plus one of the non-service-oriented clubs (Sundowner) is currently one of TUSCL's top rated (or ranked? can't ever remember ...).

Also Montreal and the areas south toward the US border. Again, lots of backroom action.

I think the exchange rate could be better, though ...

If I were to take a road trip specifically for clubbing and not a business trip, I think I would aim for Dallas.

I've been to Dallas and there's an area (Northwest Highway, I believe) that is loaded with clubs. You could hit 20 clubs within walking distance of each other. Many of the clubs are excellent with high quality girls and dances. I can only speak for two of the clubs, but both were outstanding - I saw no need to check out any others, 'cause I didn't think I could top my experiences.

Tampa would be another good alternative. Again, a lot of clubs, but probably two that stand out above all others.

Seattle, of course... a few clubs there are MUST sees.

San Francisco... home of one of the ultimate club experiences.

For the homer in me, I couldn't leave off Indy, which would include Kokomo.

Bones7599,
Thanks for your recommendations! Seems like, lot of fun can be had in KY!! Looking forward to it.

By the way, I like your sense of humor in your reviews!

Bones7599:
Thank you for your estimate of expences. That would be a big help.
When I say road trip, I might fly in and rent cars, then take the road-trips.

I would appreciate your recommendations on 3 or 4 top-notch cities for strip clubs.