Workin' the pole

I've been to many strip clubs. Not the most common place for a (fairly straight) woman to enjoy going but I find them to be intriguing and fun. I even celebrated my 22nd birthday at a strip club. I delight in the excitement, the naughtiness, the power shift between women and men. Over time I became curious about what happened behind the scenes - who chose the music, costumes, what was the dressing room like, were the ladies as friendly as they acted, how did they learn they learn pole tricks?
To answer these questions I decided I needed to get some first hand behind the scenes experience. I auditioned on a Tuesday evening (amateur night) at a local, fully nude strip club. I called in advance and was told just to bring one outfit, shave or wax fully, and they would choose music for me.
I looked up some basic stripper dos and don'ts on the internet. I arrived in my normal clothes, went to the dressing room to get dressed and do my own hair and makeup. The DJ (a large and friendly guy) gave my a choice of songs and honestly I can't remember which 2 I chose. I was so nervous. The other rules that the DJ told me were to be topless by the end of the first song and naked at the beginning of the second song and look like I was having the best time of my life.
And truthfully I did have a good time. The nerves pretty much all went away once I got up on stage. Being the amateur girl all eyes were on me like I was a virgin. I felt so powerful. I was above all these men who desperately wanted to touch me, but couldn't (the city law was that they had to be at least 18 inches away). I felt more confident in my physical appearance than I ever had since everyone was looking at me adoringly.
At the end of my 2 songs I went back to the dressing room with the $70 or so dollars I had made for 5-6 minutes of fun. Wow. The manager asked me if I would like to work there and I said yes right away.
I got put on the schedule to work Saturday day shift 11am to 7pm. It certainly wasn't the best shift but it was something and that was all I was really looking for, a glimpse inside.
I worked that shift and a few others here and there, as well as at the bikini bar owned by the same people for somewhere between 4-5 months. I learned a lot and still revel in an opportunity to either strip or pole dance, but not as a job. Here is my top 10 review of the good and bad things from the experience.

Good -
1) I got to buy lots of new sexy clothes and shoes.
2) I felt the most powerful and dominant I have ever felt in my life.
3) I saw a 4 month pregnant stripper (visibly pregnant) make all the men drool with her baseball cap routine (she'd borrow a baseball cap from one of the men, dance with it, put it all over her body and then return it).
4) I learned how to dance like a stripper - some of the girls taught me moves and I learned by watching.
5) I earned quite a bit of fairly easy money.
6) I got to listen to and dance to my favorite music.
7) I got to take on a new persona.
8) I learned how to give myself a full Brazilian (bikini waxing). I didn't want to pay for one every few weeks for 1 day a week of work.
9) I got to dance for friends as well as strangers.
10) I was able to leave when I decided I'd had enough without being jobless or broke.

Bad -
1) The club was supposedly owned by the Croatian mafia. What I knew for sure was that it was run by unkind and condescending men.
2) Most of the other strippers were using cocaine or meth.
3) Many of the strippers were rude and catty - if you used the genre of music they used, if you talked to customers while they were on stage, if you looked at them.
4) The management yelled at the strippers if a customer ever touched a stripper - not really something a stripper could control (though understandably bad as the club could lose its license).
5) Men harassed and waited for strippers outside of the club.
6) Many of the women used the regulars to get outside benefits - they would have the men take them shopping, pay their rent or buy them cars (often with nothing more given than a chance to hang out).
7) I was always bruised everywhere from the hard wooden stage and the pole.
8) There was always some sort of bodily fluid on the stage or poles - sweat? saliva? vaginal fluid?
9) I had to be friendly and animated and act interested even when the customers were exceedingly boring.
10) While customers could not touch the strippers, they blew on them throughout stage performances, in an attempt to make them feel they were interacting in some physical way. Not sexy and not fun.