All Over the Map…And Even More Craziness Added To That!

From Quebec City to Hanover to T-Bay to Montreal and am now here settled in Winnipeg for at least a couple of weeks lol traveling wilbury is to say the least! And some adventures along the way, of course, from freaking out on a Dj, (something I don’t do often, I always try to avoid conflict, keep a somewhat pleasant and easygoing work environment for the week and work things out if an issue does arise BUT sometimes people don’t respond to the high road of communication and resolution, they need the feisty freak out to get the point!) to learning what a ‘plus’ club was, to a triple shooting, to getting thrown out of my motel, to almost being stuck in Montreal then a lil miracle happened, to landing in Winnipeg where I was on stage performing a show no less than 20 minutes after arriving  and then 11 shows the following day, just to turn things up a notch. Pheeew! As I’m dabbing a little sweat dripping from my forehead lol I do see a vacation in my very near future…

Yep, got into a scuffle with a dj, for a brief moment the bitch switch was turned on high but then we worked things and all went well for the rest of the week. All over effin smoke. I don’t like their smoke machine, I feel sick directly after my shows that have had it. He kept blowing smoke on my shows, every one, even with me telling him before I’d walk on stage. It’s one thing to be kind and want to create an enjoyable work vibe for the week but at the same time you do need to stand up for yourself when someone’s crossing your boundaries and just being blatantly disrespectful. He then would say, “It’s water based, it’s not even smoke, it’s a mist,” “How about I DON’T care if it’s coming out your butt, I don’t want it!” Why do I need to explain myself? Seriously….WELL, then I spoke with the owner after a show where he once again put the smoke on and the dj happened to walk up behind the owner and I just freaked out.

When he apologized later to me, which was a nice gesture,  he said he’s never seen me get angry like that before….yes, and we both don’t want me to angry like that again or there’ll be some knuckle sandwiches given out! Dukes up, baby! JOKING Honestly, I don’t like wasting my energy on getting angry or creating an uncomfortable work atmosphere. I let things go and brush the small things off but I will remember when it comes time to tip the dj at the end of the week.

Next drama..and These Are the Plays Of  My Life…or better yet, As My Stomach Turns.. ha ha ha                                            I was SO excited to go back to Montreal for the grand opening week of Studio 300 and THEN there was a triple shooting! No, I wasn’t there, and no, it wasn’t some sort of scuzzy biker bar lol It actually was  quite beautiful, very modern and classy and the staff was amazing. It really was too bad that happened there. Though I have to admit, it is the worst stage I’ve ever danced on-stainless steel and aluminum everything! Brutal! It was I was in Ice Capades! But the show must go on. Suck it up and make the best of what I’ve got. They wanted more of audience participation show (basically go out into the audience, interact with them, bring them on stage and whip them LOL) and I don’t mind having fun with the audience but I LOVE putting on my show, too, so it was a double edged sword that way.

It felt weird being in a full out Viva Las Vegas showgirl costume and going off stage to interact with the audience. Being flexible and adapting to new places goes with this type of career if you want to take it to a global level where you’re performing around the world. Different things work for different cultures and audiences. I’ll embrace a new environment and try to incorporate their style of doing things, if I like it and feel comfortable I’ll continue, if not, I’ll move on. It’s that simple. I need to be the right fit for a place and they need to be the right fit for me. As much fun as interacting with the customers is and I do enjoy making it a part of my show, I didn’t like it being the entire show. I am a showgirl at heart and do need the balance of performing. It was a little too much interaction for me and not enough show but then again, that stage was a bit of a nightmare to perform on so what to do when you’ve got lemons……make lemonade! 😉 More like paintonade-did paint and water shows to my heart’s content.

The shootings of course were all over the news and many stations reported that it was gang related, locals that lived by the bar were in upset and wanted the bar gone, it was chaos. In most cases the bar would be closed down but they had a hope that maybe they’d recover and the police couldn’t revoke their liquor license so the club went ahead and continued with the grand opening week. There was a heavy police presence to make people feel safe (yeah right, it didn’t help, if anything it kept people away! Not that anyone would want to come to a club that just erupted in gunfire anyway.)

“But this is normal for Montreal,” is what I was told-well, no thanks then. I didn’t end up finishing my week there, of all places I ended up in Winnipeg, which was such a blessing in disguise and a nice Christmas present to receive. And to add to the chaos I ended up being asked to leave my motel in Montreal cuz pets weren’t allowed and I had my lil pooch with me. At that point I knew I just needed to get the heck out of there; too many red lights. So I made a couple of phone calls and Winnipeg was eager to have me come finish off my week there. After dealing with the chaos it was a pleasure to come back to my familiar, enthusiastic audiences and have received more boxes of chocolates than I know what to do with! (a few pounds later…lol But loving every decadent bite :D) My family is quite small and spread out from one side of Canada to the next, so I just work through the holidays and it was going to be quiet. It was SO nice to be in a place where I have so many familiar faces in my audiences, the holiday spirit energized the city and peoples warmness and generosity was abundant, it made me feel at home 🙂

That’s one thing I always teach peeps: Be attached to your ideal outcome but not to the process of gettin there cuz many times what appears as obstacles or blocks could be blessings guiding you towards what u really want in a better way. Be open to surprises or changes that detour ur road from A-B. On your detour u may see many other vistas and could even change your destination to something greater that you would’ve missed…happy I ended up here, afterall. Dealing with the drama wasn’t what I wanted, what I wanted was to have a funfilled, prosperous week surrounded by joyful people to get me through the holidays, maybe even move out of my Grinchness a little…well, that’s the outcome I ended up receiving 🙂 Wasn’t my ideal path to get me there but I guess it needed to be a big chaos to move me the heck out of Montreal pronto to where I was supposed to be and being in Winnipeg at this time was for my highest good and THAT’S what counts in the end.

ps A ‘plus’ club in Quebec is where anything goes…as in, you can get whatever you want in the private dance room. My agent told me I was to only do my 2 feature shows per night and to not be on the floor selling posters. Now, I don’t judge, I just go into a place where I am contracted to do my shows, perform and leave. It’s none of my business what goes on behind those doors cuz I’m not the one behind them. It does come to a bit of a surprise though, when you’re not used to seeing that or hearing about it.  Geeze, in Manitoba a private show is on a side stage and the customer has to be 3 feet away! And a ‘private dance’ in Quebec is $20.00 and $40.00 in Manitoba! SO different everywhere! But each place has their system and I have mine….on the big stage! Well, nighty nite peeps and I will get caught up on my blogs and even have some photos to post 😀