The Good Stripper
OK. I'm back. The week before midterms is always crazy. I graded 31 short essays on Pericles and 30 assignments on state legislatures. I prepared two lectures on Machiavelli and one big one on state legislatures. I assembled two midterm review sheets. While keeping an eye on the kitchen contractors and helping Jonah with two school projects. So, I had three late nights in a row.
The neighborhood busy-body said that he's been watching me at my computer until all hours of the night. He's concerned about my health. I'm concerned that some old dude is spying on me.
On Wednesday, I came home from work and crashed on the sofa for an hour. Oprah was on. She brought out two Freegans, people who dumpster-dive to avoid ruining the environment with more stuff. Apparently, you can get a lot of good stuff from the dumpsters outside of supermarkets. Oprah with her big castle looked a little grossed out by the whole thing.
The next guest was a forty-something woman who worked as a stripper at nights, so that she could spend time with her kids in the afternoon. She said that other jobs only paid $30,000, not enough to support her three kids on her own, and that the hours interfered with the kids' after-school needs. Lisa Ling and Oprah patted the woman on the back for finding a way to earn money, while being a good parent.
So, Oprah may have convinced me to be a stripper. The money would be better, and the hours would be about the same.
I knew an undergraduate who lived one summer by dumpster-diving at an upscale grocery store where the produce is helpfully individually wrapped. Apparently, the key to safe dumpster-diving is to avoid meat and dairy.
Posted by:Amy P | February 29, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Actually, hard cheese is one of the best dumpster-diving products, as it keeps basically forever.
Posted by:SamChevre | February 29, 2008 at 10:45 AM
During a hot, humid summer, too?
Posted by:Amy P | February 29, 2008 at 11:01 AM
ick (to both dumpster diving and stripping as an occupation). I don't think it would give you the intellectual satisfaction, though, would it, Laura?
I put no moral judgement on these choices by others, though I do worry a bit about the public health consequences of dumpster diving. Can we get them to take some kind of dumpster diving certification so that they don't become a health menace :-).
bj
Posted by:bj | February 29, 2008 at 11:20 AM
If you're concerned about creepy old dudes looking at you *now*, I think stripping is definitely contraindicated.
Posted by:meg | February 29, 2008 at 11:43 AM
Being a professor is a lot more exhibitionist than being a stripper. :)
Posted by:Daniel | February 29, 2008 at 06:09 PM
Ditto being a blogger.
Posted by:Amy P | February 29, 2008 at 06:19 PM
Daniel: Being a professor is a lot more exhibitionist than being a stripper.
Amy: Ditto being a blogger.
So...you guys both teach and blog in the nude? Huh. I mean, as far as the latter goes, sure, who doesn't? But the former, I though they tried that at UC Santa Cruz, and it just didn't work.
Posted by:Russell Arben Fox | March 01, 2008 at 05:29 PM
here's somebody who's REALLY not having fun with it: http://reversecowgirlblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/fast-dirty-interview-stripper-hates-you.html
Posted by:dave.s. | March 10, 2008 at 10:04 AM
I was an elementary school teacher barely making ends meet when I started dancing 8 years ago. That was my last year of teaching.
Posted by:Avalon | April 21, 2008 at 01:16 AM