I'm just a girl...

It was very strange teaching a pole party in some one else's pole studio last night. Here is a picture of the party, taken and posted with permission of the participants:






The studio was definitely different from mine and the bright lights were hard to get used to (we use low, strip club style lighting in my studio). And the building owners turn off the heat in the summer. So my feet were freezing the whole time, and some of my toes were numb. And I don't know if it was because the ceilings were so high or because the building is so old, but there was a powerful echo in there. The sound system was probably very nice, but sounded bad because of the way the sound bounced off the walls. And when I would give instruction, it was hard to hear me. It was like my voice was just dissipating all over the room instead of being focuses in a small area and easily heard and understood.

What I did like though was working in such a huge studio. It was nice for once to have tons of room to walk around and move. I'm really looking forward to having a larger studio with more room like that.

Talk about opportunists! I was called by a company that makes these plaques for people like me that have won an award on City Search. They offered me the little 6x12 one for $139 or the 9x12 for $219. It's some special lucite casing thing.

I know I could probably pay a designer to make me one and frame it for much less, but I definitely don't have time for that in my schedule.

It appeals to my sense of pride. And the folks that sell it said it also encourages my current students, that will see the plaque, to go to City Search and post more positive reviews. And this in turn brings in more business. I don't know if that's true or not. I can afford it. But I wouldn't feel right about spending that kind of money on something to feed my pride before I get a second opinion first.

I spoke to quicksilver1 today about the possibly helping out with the rent on that new location I want. It would give him a place to store his belongings and a nice place with me when he gets back. He said he'll consider it, and look at the place too. So I'm mulling it over but I think I'm going to make an offer tomorrow of $3,000 per month. The owner really likes me, but she may have gotten a better offer by now and maybe it's even leased already. Or maybe she'll just decide that dropping the rent by $400 a month is just too much. I feel like by leaving the decision up to her, it's out of my hands. And I like that feeling. It would be nice to let some one else decide for a change.

I did the list of pros and cons and they came out equal. But the biggest con is that the studio will only hold 3 poles. But honestly, the house hunting is just causing too much stress in my life and I miss and love my stress free life. At least if we take this place, I can relax and know I have a wonderful little studio that is bigger than my current one and a swank place to live with room for quicksilver1 or a roommate. Not living alone is a huge plus.

And best of all, I could for the first time ever, have a separate bedroom and office. Right now my bedroom is a sleeping space, a storage space and cluttered office. It's impossible to feel romantic in a space like that. Moving to this place would mean having a bedroom that is just a bedroom. And keeping the business in a separate room (one with a deck and a view). I think that would be a sound and healthy step to separate my work life from the rest of my life. Right now they are just too blurred and that makes me the actual business rather than making me some one who has a separate identity from the business. It would be like reclaiming more of myself and my life.