Breaking my Stride for my 100th Post

I'm going to interrupt my memories and commentary about my adventures as a strip club patron to celebrate my 100th post. It's not actually my 100th post - I got faked out by my Blogger profile counter which stopped counting at 98 for some inexplicable reason. But it's within +/- 10, close enough.

Some thoughts on this auspicious occasion:

- My inspiration to start this blog came from stumbling across a blog by "Dee Gee Girl" on the web. I don't even remember how. I just remember the lightning strike impact of reading her blog. How personal it was. How sexual it was. How hot it was. She inspired me and I sat down that night and started DANCEFAN. I always remember her for not only inspiring me, but for being the first blog to link to me. I had joined the blogger community and it felt like nothing else. Dee Gee Girl has since discontinued her site. Who knows, maybe she started another blog and is still out there. I wish her well. And if you're out there reading me, send me an email and say hi.

- That was almost a year ago - Nov 5th, 2003. (Hit the archives and read that 1st post. You'll like it and it explains me.) I had no idea at the time that I even had 100 stories to tell. I imagine that if you knew that at the start it would be hard to begin the journey. You just write one story at a time and see where it takes you. And I've had enormous satisfaction in the journey so far.

By the way, you may have noticed that I write long posts. Some of my early posts were, in fact, two posts - some musings and a tribute. They just flow out in one draft in one sitting.

- I also had no idea that anyone would want to read it. (I also started a political blog on the same evening with the same number of posts that almost no one, in fact, reads. Imagine that!) I don't write for readers, unless I'm answering a specific question. I write purely for me. I write what's inside me that I have to write. I write the only thing I could write. What I'm passionate about. I send it out into the ether. And then I think about the response. Having said all of that, the absolute best part of doing this has been meeting you readers and fellow naughty bloggers. Anonymously, of course. But in many ways more personally than most people I know in the flesh. You are an endlessly fascinating, interesting, witty, educated, sexy and alive community of people. Most people sleepwalking their way around the planet have no idea how special you are, but I'm proud to be associated with you.

- The site stats are a fun way to keep score. 100 posts, 36,000 words, almost 60,000 visitors, an average of 300+ hits a day, ocassional comments. That's all way more than I expected. But I don't obsess on them. But I do thrive on a connection made with you in an email or a comment. I live for the connection.

As usual, some thanks are in order:

- Thank you to Blogger for enabling my little dream here. I know it's fashionable to dis Blogger and to move on to bigger and better sites when you grow up, but I'm grateful to Blogger and will stay.

- Thanks to the strip clubs around the land that are havens for me on the road. To all of the Deja Vu, Pure Gold, Doll House, Diamond Club, Men's Club, etc's in the country. You provide a valuable service to the horny men of the USA. Of all the clubs I've been to in the country, I'll tip my hat to my favorite: The Kappa Kabanna

(Take the "club tour" on the site and check out the pics. I know the girls on the stage, and I think I'm even in the crowd in one of the pics. This will help you picture me at the tiprail.)

- Thank you to all the bloggers out there. I love my links sidebar and all of you that reside there. You're the group that I surf and enjoy weekly. You've contributed to my mental well being. And gotten me hopelessly horny on many occasions.

- Thanks to all the girls. The strippers. You are beautiful and interesting young girls with inconceivably difficult jobs. I have a deep appreciation for what you do and for who you are inside the club and out. I know that you are much much more than a stereotype.
I appreciate the connection we've made whether it's superficial in one lapdance or deep and personal over time.

Finally, I gave some thought recently to pulling the plug on DanceFan now that it's been a year. I have some pressing family issues that need my attention. And I watched several of my daily read blogs fall away: Working Girls, Pussy Ranch, Belle de Jour, all pulled the plug in their prime. It's like it was in the water or something. But the bottom line is this: writing this blog revitalizes me. It's my outlet for expressing an important part of me. And I have more to say. More stories. More observations. More tributes to dancers. So I'm staying, at least for a while.

What really helped me to decide to stay is several email conversations I'm having offline with readers, most of them new and most of them women, who have found the blog and have written me to say that I've given them some insight on this topic. It's interesting - men write to ask for advice on maximizing the club scene and women write to discuss the insight this has given them on personal dynamics of relationships in their lives. The email conversations I'm having off line have depth and vitality and almost amount to writing another blog!

I'll leave you with an example of a recent email that helped me decide to stay around and has started a long and fascinating conversation. She tells me that I "give good chat". Her email, subject line "Wow" goes like this:

"DanceFan,

I've been reading your blog for a couple of months now and your writing is very engaging and intelligent. It is also incredibly HOT. You seem to have a deep appreciation for women and their bodies. That alone probably makes you a nice guy to strip for.

Like many women I've had my ups and downs with the whole idiom of the strip club and strippers - am I threatened? Turned on? What? I've never been to a strip club (I would have to drive an hour to get to one). But I've recently been exploring my sexuality more: moving from a kind of shy tom-boy to a more outwardly feminine girly-girl. I see strippers as the pinnacle of feminine _expression. Almost an over-the-top femininity. Not necessarily something I want to emulate on daily basis, but I do fantasize about doing a strip/lapdance for my boyfriend.

I would say that before I read your posts, I would have viewed strippers as most feminist would have people believe - exploited, mentally disturbed sex workers too stupid to hold down a "real" job. Your posts point to women who are very much in control of their situation, enjoy what they do and probably make damn good money. What could be more feminist than that?

So, thanks for the enlightenment. You have definitely sparked some intense fantasies and hot sex on my end."

How could I not stay after that?