Some of you might know that up until recently, I had a day job as well as working in sex work. Fewer of you might also know that I'm studying (though I took last semester off). The balancing act of these things was an interesting experience, and one I will do again at some point, I'm sure - if only to keep up the mask to those of my friends who would not be too happy at the idea of sex work. I'm now not currently working, but may pick up a contract here in Melbourne just to keep a steady income.
My days consisted of:
-- Getting up at 6:30am to take my dog for his morning walk (a really cold and unpleasant experience in Canberra!);
-- Getting ready and heading to my office by 8am;
-- Working until 5pm;
-- If I had a booking at 6pm, I'd go straight home, take the dog for a quick run (or my housemate would do it if he was home), then rush to the date;
-- If I had one later, I'd fit some gym time in;
-- If I had no bookings that evening, I'd go home, walk dog, take him with me to the gym, come home, eat, and do some admin;
-- Maybe get to bed by 10pm, more often a bit later.
This really doesn't leave a lot of time for a social life, but I fit it in on weekends when I could - if I wasn't at bookings, or spending time with my family. I popped onto Twitter during the day on my phone (it's necessary if you want to keep up your social media presence), and took selfies in the mornings before work, or the evenings when I got ready for my bookings. Guys, I was exhausted. I'll let you in on a little secret: like most sex workers, part of what drew me to this work was the ability to set my own hours, because I have chronic fatigue syndrome (thanks for that, glandular fever). Doing both corporate work and this often left me unable to function for days at a time, but it was a necessity for the time I did it.
Why do both at once, then, if it took up so much time and tired me out so much?
Well, I'll not let you pry into my finances, but I do love this work. My office job wasn't bad, but it sure gave me a lot less satisfaction than being able to make someone's week or month just by spending a night with them. The downside, of course, is that this work is seen as less legitimate than the desk job, and I can't just be out here with my real name and face in case someone tells my bosses (who would have fired me if they had found out). I am lucky to have people in my life who are accepting of what sex work is to me - freedom, fun, fulfillment - but I would love to not have to balance it with my "legitimate" job so carefully. This work is seen as a huge gap in my resumé, one that cannot be explained away with being a carer (my folks are very healthy), having kids (I only have dogs), or long term illness. I can't put "sex worker" on my CV - for one, LinkedIn will simply not allow it! So I pursue my other interests during the day, and at least they provide a regular income I can rely upon.
I'm like Batman: during the day, I'm mild mannered [name redacted], who sits at her computer and hangs out with mates. At night, I'm Sienna, siren and sex fiend extraordinaire. For now, I'm okay with that.