SO a few months ago I either replied to or posted about wanting a travel buddy. About 2-3 weeks ago Johanna from Houston messages me and we get to talking. Shes seemingly nice over text message, and she decides to come here so we can meet. We spoke over text every day and I really liked her.
Thursday she flew in with her photographer. I picked them up from the airport and took them to dinner, and then we went back to hotel. We went out to bourbon, had a decent time and went back to hotel and called it a night. Nothing bad ever happened. I went above and beyond to try to make her and her photographer feel at home, because its kind of a big deal being so far away from home and not knowing anyone.
I gave her the keys to my car in case she needed to go somewhere, I helped her in any way I could. I tried to help her get clients..
But the whole time we were all together she and her photographer are speaking spanish right in front of me, knowing I dont understand. I would walk away and hear them whispering behind my back. I never said anything about it but I was very uncomfortable. I always text to check on them and make sure they were okay, give them ideas on where to go, how to advertise or directions. But if I didnt text her I would never hear from her.
Yesterday her photog flew back and finally I think I will get to know her without her making me feel like a 3rd wheel (I was really trying to give it a conscious effort) she lets me know her guy friend from Houston is about to be in town. I dont know if or why she felt she needed to always have someone with her and make me feel excluded but it was strange. I came here with the intentions on making a friend with her. A regular of mine from biloxi inquired about a double with us on Friday for sunday and on saturday (yesterday) she and I agreed 1:30 would be a mutually agreeable time to do it so at that point I confirmed with her and the client. Last night my client for the night asked me if I had a friend I could hook his friend up with, so I mentioned johanna. I gave my client johannas number to give to his friend, and left it at that. What happens afterwards is up to them. As im getting ready for the date I text johanna and ask her if she wants to go to Ruths Chris with us and she tells me no, that she is having dinner with the guy friend. She tells me my clients friend hasnt called her and my client told me he called her and she did not answer. I CANNOT DO MUCH MORE THAN THIS. Client tells me not to worry about it, if Costa wants to see her he will call her again. I go on about my business, go to dinner, do my appt and go back to my hotel.
Today at 12 she tells me shes ging to get lunch, I assume shes eating and coming right back. At 12:45 I text her and ask her whats going on. She tells me: "Well you told me a client wanted to see me and it never happened so I just assumed this wouldnt happen either, Im afraid you are not dependable enough to work with in the future". So.... because the client last night found someone else last night IM NOT DEPENDABLE? WTF DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH OUR DOUBLE TODAY?
This client drove an hour and a half to be here and I was the one to have to smooth it over. I dont know what this girls problem is. I was nice as I possibly could be... Shes only been in the business for 2-3 months, shes spanish and I guess doesnt understand english very well because there was nothing un clear about our plans today. After the way shes acted since being here I didnt want to do the double anymore anyways, but her doing this fked up my clients appt who did not deserve her bitchiness.
Johanna- hunny, I know you said eccie guys are cheap dirtbags and youre really cool because youre on Eros but I promise you; you are not better than anyone because you charge $50 more an hour on your little eros post. Your holier than thou attitude is makes you ugly and youre going to have a hard time in this business. I hope you do, actually. You obviously dont know what southern hospitality is, or how to be nice to people that want to help you, but I promise you this; you are NOT too cool honey I promise. You should be ashamed of yourself for treating innocent and nice people the way that you do. Go back to Texas with your dumb bullshit. Bye Felicia
- Lacey Amour
- 10-19-2014, 04:09 PM
- loaner1231
- 10-19-2014, 04:23 PM
Wow that's terrible. Some people have no regard for others. Sorry you had such a terrible experience.
- Lacey Amour
- 10-19-2014, 05:02 PM
Thank you babe. Anyone that knows me knows how excited I was about this endeavor and I was worried to death I wouldn't be able show her a good time. Unsure if I will try to meet anyone else this way. If I ever see her again it'll be too soon
- loaner1231
- 10-19-2014, 05:54 PM
I just cannot understand her actions from a purely business standpoint. She ruined what could have been a lucrative partnership and gained nothing. In fact she has probably lost business from some potential hobbyist due to her actions.
- Lacey Amour
- 10-19-2014, 06:38 PM
Exactly. I suggested I introduce her to clients I already know, wasn't interested. I suggested she post an ad on another site since she's only had 2 appts the whole trip, wasn't interested. She didn't want to do ANYTHING. Even down to like going sightseeing... Nothing. She's the weirdest.
Had she been normal or even just RESPECTFUL (which is apparently hard to come by) we would've traveled the U.S. with each other doing doubles and making money
Had she been normal or even just RESPECTFUL (which is apparently hard to come by) we would've traveled the U.S. with each other doing doubles and making money
- ilovethemgirls68
- 10-19-2014, 07:39 PM
Sounds like she is controlled/pimped by her photographer "friend"
- Guest103014
- 10-20-2014, 08:25 AM
Wow! I would think people would be lined up to work with you!
You are a class act.
I wish I could be your doubles partner... I like sight seeing and Ruth's Chris!!!!!
Thanks for calling it like it is and letting us all know.
You are a class act.
I wish I could be your doubles partner... I like sight seeing and Ruth's Chris!!!!!
Thanks for calling it like it is and letting us all know.
- Guest123018
- 10-20-2014, 08:58 AM
Go back to Texas with your dumb bullshit. Originally Posted by LaceyAmourYou did nothing wrong Lacey, you were very kind IMO.
I tried once to be nice w/a couple TX providers. Will never happen again. They will lie on you and basically try and assassinate your character.
- Lacey Amour
- 10-20-2014, 09:58 PM
You're welcome gregster and thank you for such a nice compliment. I really did try.
The client just told me he got an apology message from Johanna and it also said i had let her down all weekend. Well o feel the same about her and if she thinks that me telling her someone's going to call her (because that's what they told me) and they don't is a reflection upon me... Then I don't know what to tell her. She's going to have a hard time in life. I didn't tell her to sit around and wait all night for the call. When someone tells me their friend is going to call me and they don't... I fucking move on. I may shoot my friend a text and say "I thought your friend was gonna call me. Oh well, I'm going to make other plans". Like every other fking person in the world would do. How the fk is that my fault? I don't know man, obviously she's not very smart.
The client just told me he got an apology message from Johanna and it also said i had let her down all weekend. Well o feel the same about her and if she thinks that me telling her someone's going to call her (because that's what they told me) and they don't is a reflection upon me... Then I don't know what to tell her. She's going to have a hard time in life. I didn't tell her to sit around and wait all night for the call. When someone tells me their friend is going to call me and they don't... I fucking move on. I may shoot my friend a text and say "I thought your friend was gonna call me. Oh well, I'm going to make other plans". Like every other fking person in the world would do. How the fk is that my fault? I don't know man, obviously she's not very smart.
- Lacey Amour
- 10-20-2014, 10:09 PM
Look, I was so worried about showing her a good time... The first 2 days I didn't have any appts, I knew exactly how much money I had, and I was so worried I wasn't going to be able to afford to finish the weekend out with her. While we were in the room I re counted my money and realized I was missing at least $100. I started tearing up, feeling like I failed her and was going to have to leave early, at which point she tells me "I hope you're not insinuating I took your money". Which I wasn't and reassured her of that. Things ended up turning around but after that she started being standoffish. It was weird. All I know is I gave it my best and had the right intentions.
And yes, seeking. I had a very bad experience but you never know whose the good ones and whose the Hispanic ones who don't fully understand the meaning of English words and find ways to make shit weird. Lol
And yes, seeking. I had a very bad experience but you never know whose the good ones and whose the Hispanic ones who don't fully understand the meaning of English words and find ways to make shit weird. Lol
- Guest103014
- 10-21-2014, 03:04 PM
Just let me know when you'll be back in the BR/ NOLA area.
We'll put the past behind you... in style!
We'll put the past behind you... in style!
- Eva Damita
- 10-21-2014, 03:51 PM
You did nothing wrong Lacey, you were very kind IMO.Aww P sorry you feel that way! I remember when you first came to Houston and we exchanged a few PMs and I remember you saying how unresponsive and unfriendly some if the ladies are. Just know you have ONE Texas gal that loves Ya!
I tried once to be nice w/a couple TX providers. Will never happen again. They will lie on you and basically try and assassinate your character. Originally Posted by Seeking ~P
And to Miss Lacey, so sorry about your experience. ..I personally don't mix and mingle with other providers unless we've known eachother from real life. Too much conflict due to different business practices. So...unless doing a doubles, I don't eff with no hoes.
Ella no podria hacer eso conmigo por que hablo espanol perfectamente y nadie no se debe tratar anyone like that! Y pa que tu lo sepas, Johanna what goes around comes around ya Tu sabes que asi ES LA VIDA.
Chao.
- innovation
- 10-21-2014, 04:00 PM
Wow really sorry. Very unusual.
- Old Horn Dog
- 10-21-2014, 06:24 PM
Ella no podria hacer eso conmigo por que hablo espanol perfectamente y nadie no se debe tratar anyone like that! Y pa que tu lo sepas, Johanna what goes around comes around ya Tu sabes que asi ES LA VIDA. Originally Posted by Eva DamitaOMG--I've always wanted to see Eva but this makes it even more important. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, like a ridiculously hot girl giving you "verbal encouragement" en español--makes the o much more intense to have her growling in your ear "¡Dame tu leche... ahorra! AHORRA!" Finding a way to see Eva @ some point just became a moral-f'n-imperative, not a choice! LOL
- Johanna
- 10-21-2014, 11:33 PM
Hmm.. I'm just reading this post. Very interesting.
I really don't like drama, so I was going to just put the past behind instead of continuing to stir the pot... But since Lacey has done the honors I will go ahead and share my side of the story.
I also thought Lacey was nice over text and I had very high regards for her. She suggested a very nice hotel, and I thought it would be a great idea to do a photo-shoot there, since I had plans for that anyway. I mentioned it to her before going, and she agreed to have a shoot for herself as well. I flew the photographer in with me (who by the way is a GIRL and not a pimp or manager), with the mindset that the trip would be well worth it for her since she would be photographing two girls. She is very talented by the way (:
So the day of the trip Lacey tells me that she has had trouble booking any clients and I suggest that she put an ad on eros. My phone had been ringing with clients wanting to see me in NOLA before I even left. I kept sending them to her as they came, and I hoped that she would do as well on eros as I do. Anyway, she told me that she would not be able to afford a room if she got an eros ad. I found this very strange, because I couldn't picture anyone in the hobby as being financially unstable. I'm not one to judge, so I offered her to check in to my room. I called the hotel's front desk and had them add her to my reservation. Yes, I had this much trust in her.
She picked us up from the airport, and was very nice and hospitable as she said. Lacey treated us to dinner as payment for her half of the room, her choice, and I appreciated it very much. We went to Bourbon and into a bar. One of the local guys was chatting me up by the bar, and she was hanging out with the photographer (Let's call her "P"). According to P, she seemed annoyed that I was talking to him "like I knew him", so she decided it was time to leave. She came up to me and the guy ( he was a cutie pie, btw :P ) and said that we should go somewhere else. I found this behavior a bit strange, since i was clearly having a good time with the cutie, but didn't think much of it after that. I bid my goodbyes to the guy and we left.
All three of us slept in the room. She asked if it would bother us if she "caught up on some tv shows" (mind you, it was like 2am). We of course said courteously that we did not mind, but I found this behavior a bit strange again. I knocked out, but P said she could not sleep for a long while until Lacey finally turned the TV off. My point is, we were trying to be accommodating to her too. I guess some ppl sleep with the TV on, but if I shared a room with 2 other girls, I would try to be considerate, especially if it's so late at night. Again, we didn't make much of it at this point, but it seemed like her odd behaviors just kept coming.
Let me make a parenthesis here and point out that P and I are not long time friends or anything. She is the cousin of my best friend, I did one shoot with her in the past, and this was the second time that I met her. We were all getting to know ea other during this trip.
Anyway the next morning Lacey slept until very late, and even though we were up we tried not to disturb her. She is a sound sleeper, and we know this because her alarm kept going off and that didn't even wake her up, but it woke us. So P kept silencing it, but another alarm would go off within a minute or so. We of course don't have the code to her phone, so we just dealt with it. We silenced about 15 alarms before Lacey woke up (on her own) and mentioned that she had 75 alarms set up. We were very relieved that we only had to listed to the first dozen or so. Again, thought it was strange, but didn't make a big deal of it, just kept going with the flow.
So P is getting her equipment ready, and Lacey and I are getting ready for the photo shoot. I jump in the shower, and Lacey tells P to let her know when I come out, and she leaves the room. A bit strange, but no biggie. She would leave the room like this and come back every once in a while. I think she would go out to smoke, but I didn't really instigate because it's not my business. She would also go in the bathroom quite often, and leave the water running every time. She even announced one time that she needed a "private moment", so she was going to close the door to the BR. I thought this announcement was very unusual. Everyone needs a private moment in the bathroom when nature calls, but I can't remember ever announcing it in that way, and never met anyone else that did. They say a guilty conscience needs no accuser, that's my only comment about that.
So we went on getting ready. She forgot to bring eye lashes, and I brought some for her to have. She also forgot to bring heels, and we wear the same size so I laid out all the shoes that I brought and she helped herself to them during the shoot and for the rest of the weekend, which was fine by me. She was taking a bit longer to be ready, and she invited us to start without her. So P and I are taking pics. We are both Latinas. I am a native speaker, but P is american born, so her spanish is not altogether fluent. Yes, we said some things in spanish at this time when she was telling me how to pose. It wasn't a whole conversation ( as I mentioned, P is not completely fluent), just some words here and there, maybe a phrase.. we were having fun with it! I know it's rude to speak a different language when someone in the group does not understand, but like I said, Lacey was in the bathroom putting on makeup or doing whatever. When she left the room we probably spoke more spanish, but why should this matter? It was between us two, and it's a free country! When she walked back in, we spoke english again. Noone was whispering, and we were talking about the poses etc, this was very obvious (I'm laying half naked on top of the desk, P is holding a camera in my ... face... lol... catch my drift?).
Anyway, as we are shooting, Lacey says that she lost a makeup brush and she can't do anything without it. We had moved our things around for the photo shoot, so I get down from the desk and we pause the shoot and open all the drawers to help Lacey find her brush. It was nowhere to be found. I felt terrible because I didn't want her to be any more delayed so she could jump in to the shoot with me, but there was nothing more that we could do. We start shooting again, Lacey is finally ready and we start taking pics together.
We had ordered a bubble bath, and when room service arrived and we were taking care of the bill, Lacey seemed a bit confused about the money. We paid the lady, but Lacey had some other money in her hand and didn't know where it had come from. The room service lady and I pointed out to her that she had that money in her had prior to the bill. At this point, Lacey appears to be very confused and out of it. She has this blank look on her face and is staring into space not saying anything. I finish taking care of room service, and the lady has already left, she seemed as puzzled as I was about Lacey. I asked her if she was ok, and she tells me that she is missing some money that she counted that morning. She keeps going on and on about it, and is basically freaking out. I never saw her counting money that morning, but gave her the benefit of a doubt. So P and I are feeling very uncomfortable. None of us know each other, and we have been trying to be accommodating to each other to avoid any tension, but this is drama in the making and I don't know how best to go about it. I start trying to help her trace back her steps, I ask her if she spent anything when she went outside, but she says she just got coffee. I want to help her look for her money, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking. So I tell her I am sorry this happened to her, and that I hope she doesn't think I took it because P and I are the only people in sight. She said she was not insinuating that which was a relief for me. She goes into the bathroom and leaves the water running once again, she comes out crying and says she can no longer afford to stay in the hotel unless she gets some clients. I asked her if she still would like to continue with the shoot, she declines and leaves the room. P and I are very, very weirded out by her. At this point we feel like we clearly can relate more to each other than to her. Lacey had mentioned that she carries a weapon, and seeing that she is a bit altered we agree that we will play it cool for the rest of the weekend and try not to get on her bad side for our safety. We don't know her, and we don't want to find out more about her the hard way.
So Lacey walked out on the photo shoot, which is bad news for P since she has now lost one out of two clients. We carry on. Lacey later texts that she has booked some clients, and I am happy for her. She is out for the rest of the afternoon, P and I finish our shoot, we go for lunch, get souvenirs, etc. I come back to see a client. My client is disappointed that I will be leaving soon. I suggest that he see Lacey since she is more often in NOLA and give her his contact info, and I give him hers. The client came back to see me again on Sunday, and I asked him if he had worked something out with Lacey but he said that they texted a bit but then she suddenly stopped responding. He was disappointed and said that she was a bit shady, to which I didn't comment. I was thrilled to see him twice for the weekend (:
Yes, Lacey invited me to a casino. She was socializing with her clients, which is something I try not to do. Plus I'm not a gambler and I told her that, and I don't eat meat so I wouldn't like to go to Ruth Chris or whatever steak house. She knows this because I told her. Still she texted me in the middle of the night about hanging out, but I was tired and already asleep. She had her own room now, so we weren't seeing each other all the time anymore. I had to wake up early to take P to the airport. Lacey was kind enough to let us use her car for this, and I thanked her for it. By the way, we saw her makeup brush in her car, go figure.
She left me the key to her room and the spare to her car, but I encouraged her to take it back because I didn't want to be accountable for anything. I know she was just trying to be nice, but after everything that happened I was afraid something else might come up missing and I didn't want there to be any doubts of me having anything to do with it. She never accused me of anything, but I preferred to stay on the safer side. She took the key back when I asked her to, and borrowed another pair of shoes.
On Sat, Lacey texted me around noon to see what I was doing. She was now waking up and I had just finished going for a jog and getting ready to have lunch. She wanted to join me, and I encouraged her. I was very hungry after jogging, but I waited for her so we could eat together and catch up. I let her know that my best friend would be joining us for lunch, and he was very close by, so when she showed up she ordered and appetizer. I had already had one. My friend "C" was a bit lost and a bit in traffic, so I told her let's not wait anymore, lets get a table and eat (we were at the bar). We closed out and headed to the hostess, and as she was about to walk us to our table, Lacey announced to me that she was going to leave because she wanted to go shopping (all she ate was 6 oysters!). I was very disappointed, because I wanted to catch up with her and also because I had waited for her to eat! So she left, and we texted. I told her I would have eaten a long time ago had she not asked me to wait for her. So she came back and sat at the table with me and ordered another appetizer. She was kind enough to help my friend with directions through text. She nibbled at her appetizer but didn't like it and she excused herself again and left. I had not yet finished my plate, but at this point it didn't matter to me any more. I guess I had given up on trying to get along with her and overlooking her very strange ways. So C finally made it in, he ordered food too and we had a good time.
About C, he is not my pimp, my manager, or anything of the sort. Yes, he is a big guy and may seem a bit intimidating but he is GAY!! He is a diva! I have known him for about 10 years, and we are very close. He came to town not only to hang out with me, but also because he has his own business and had a client in town, which he went to go see.
Lacey was doing her own thing, I suppose, and started texting me about some clients and some appointments, including the one for doubles. I was agreeable and told her to give my info to the clients, etc. None of the clients that Lacey mentioned called me, which was absolutely fine with me because I was having a great time with C after he came back from seeing his client. The next day, I saw Lacey in the morning as C and I were heading out for brunch. This would have been an excellent time to confirm the doubles appointment if she still intended to have it, which at this point I was unsure because everything else had been so flaky with her. She didn't mention it, neither did I, and we went on doing our own thing. At 12:48 I get a text from the client saying he is my 1 o'clock for doubles and asked where we should meet. He called me and I explained to him that Lacey had not confirmed anything with me, and I had made other plans already. I was far from the hotel, in the middle of lunch, and even if I pulled a Lacey and left my friend hanging at lunch, it would probably take me about an hour to get back to the hotel. Nevertheless, I was not going to leave my friend, and we already had other plans to briefly go sight seeing before my next scheduled client. At this point, I could have tried to make arrangements to see the client, but now I have a new perception of Lacey and the thought of doing doubles with her is hardly appealing, to say the least. Lacey texts me about this, and she is clearly upset. I apologize to her for the mixup and I tell her my reasons, and I also text and apologize to the client.
Lacey and I were not going to work out as partners, and I knew this uncomfortable moment was going to happen at some point. As I mentioned earlier, Lacey had a weapon and my perception was that she was a bit unstable and impulsive. I am not a doctor by any means, and I am no one to judge, but I made decisions based on what I saw and what I thought was best for me and for the safety of those around me. My only regret was that our fall-out had to involve a client, that was very unfortunate.
Yes, I am relatively new as compared to Lacey and I learn a lot about this hobby every single day. My trip to NOLA was definitely a learning experience. I realized that I am doing quite well in Houston, and that I don't need to travel elsewhere to get clients. I also realized that I probably don't need a traveling buddy/doubles partner because again, I am doing quite well on my own. I can't attest for Lacey's success as a provider, but I had no problem booking my flight, P's flight, and my boutique-hotel stay for 4 nights, and still had money to spend and eat out at nice restaurants every day. Despite the fact that I only had 3 appointments, I had an awesome time!
Do I think that I am better than anyone? - no, I think we are all different, with different tastes, lifestyles, and preferences. Is Lacey within my taste/lifestyle/preference? - no, and I am sure I am not within hers. But it was worth a shot and I do not regret it.
About ECCIE clients, I never said they were "scumbags" (whatever that means, as you can tell from my post, my English is very limited
). I did say that most of my clients come from eros and that they are usually very nice to me. I have seen a handful from ECCIE, and they have also been nice, but I have also been contacted by several that I choose not to see because they are not within my taste/lifestyle/preference. Maybe they are more like Lacey's type, I don't know. I should probably send them her way (:
I do have one very nice ECCIE client who emailed me yesterday as soon as I landed and wanted to see me. He booked a room for us at a 5 star hotel and left me a very, very generous donation, more than double my asking rate. I was such a happy camper and the room was oh so pretty that after we parted ways and he left me with the room key, I called P to do yet another photo-shoot, so stay tuned for some awesome pics which will be posted very soon!
I realize that this is an awfully long post, but I promise I have now said almost all I needed to say about NOLA and I will not be commenting on this anymore. But just one last thing. P is working very hard in editing Lacey's few photos to send them to her at Lacey's request. After every thing that has been said and done, I think P is an awesome, awesome person for continuing to extend her kindness to Lacey and overlooking the fact that she walked out of her photo-shoot and called her out and insulted her race on this board. And she is so kind that she has even lowered her rates for Lacey to be able to afford her. I just don't know how you can be "ballin' on a budget" (Lacey's words) in this hobby, as popular as she is. I guess that's something one just has to ponder about.
Oh yea, and Lacey kept my shoes. They are black, dressy wedges with a sparkly bow right in the front. If she gets her pics from P you will see them there. They look cute on her too, I hope she enjoys them as much as I did the 4 times that I wore them. I guess I'll just have to go shopping...
Sigh... good night!
~Johanna
I really don't like drama, so I was going to just put the past behind instead of continuing to stir the pot... But since Lacey has done the honors I will go ahead and share my side of the story.
I also thought Lacey was nice over text and I had very high regards for her. She suggested a very nice hotel, and I thought it would be a great idea to do a photo-shoot there, since I had plans for that anyway. I mentioned it to her before going, and she agreed to have a shoot for herself as well. I flew the photographer in with me (who by the way is a GIRL and not a pimp or manager), with the mindset that the trip would be well worth it for her since she would be photographing two girls. She is very talented by the way (:
So the day of the trip Lacey tells me that she has had trouble booking any clients and I suggest that she put an ad on eros. My phone had been ringing with clients wanting to see me in NOLA before I even left. I kept sending them to her as they came, and I hoped that she would do as well on eros as I do. Anyway, she told me that she would not be able to afford a room if she got an eros ad. I found this very strange, because I couldn't picture anyone in the hobby as being financially unstable. I'm not one to judge, so I offered her to check in to my room. I called the hotel's front desk and had them add her to my reservation. Yes, I had this much trust in her.
She picked us up from the airport, and was very nice and hospitable as she said. Lacey treated us to dinner as payment for her half of the room, her choice, and I appreciated it very much. We went to Bourbon and into a bar. One of the local guys was chatting me up by the bar, and she was hanging out with the photographer (Let's call her "P"). According to P, she seemed annoyed that I was talking to him "like I knew him", so she decided it was time to leave. She came up to me and the guy ( he was a cutie pie, btw :P ) and said that we should go somewhere else. I found this behavior a bit strange, since i was clearly having a good time with the cutie, but didn't think much of it after that. I bid my goodbyes to the guy and we left.
All three of us slept in the room. She asked if it would bother us if she "caught up on some tv shows" (mind you, it was like 2am). We of course said courteously that we did not mind, but I found this behavior a bit strange again. I knocked out, but P said she could not sleep for a long while until Lacey finally turned the TV off. My point is, we were trying to be accommodating to her too. I guess some ppl sleep with the TV on, but if I shared a room with 2 other girls, I would try to be considerate, especially if it's so late at night. Again, we didn't make much of it at this point, but it seemed like her odd behaviors just kept coming.
Let me make a parenthesis here and point out that P and I are not long time friends or anything. She is the cousin of my best friend, I did one shoot with her in the past, and this was the second time that I met her. We were all getting to know ea other during this trip.
Anyway the next morning Lacey slept until very late, and even though we were up we tried not to disturb her. She is a sound sleeper, and we know this because her alarm kept going off and that didn't even wake her up, but it woke us. So P kept silencing it, but another alarm would go off within a minute or so. We of course don't have the code to her phone, so we just dealt with it. We silenced about 15 alarms before Lacey woke up (on her own) and mentioned that she had 75 alarms set up. We were very relieved that we only had to listed to the first dozen or so. Again, thought it was strange, but didn't make a big deal of it, just kept going with the flow.
So P is getting her equipment ready, and Lacey and I are getting ready for the photo shoot. I jump in the shower, and Lacey tells P to let her know when I come out, and she leaves the room. A bit strange, but no biggie. She would leave the room like this and come back every once in a while. I think she would go out to smoke, but I didn't really instigate because it's not my business. She would also go in the bathroom quite often, and leave the water running every time. She even announced one time that she needed a "private moment", so she was going to close the door to the BR. I thought this announcement was very unusual. Everyone needs a private moment in the bathroom when nature calls, but I can't remember ever announcing it in that way, and never met anyone else that did. They say a guilty conscience needs no accuser, that's my only comment about that.
So we went on getting ready. She forgot to bring eye lashes, and I brought some for her to have. She also forgot to bring heels, and we wear the same size so I laid out all the shoes that I brought and she helped herself to them during the shoot and for the rest of the weekend, which was fine by me. She was taking a bit longer to be ready, and she invited us to start without her. So P and I are taking pics. We are both Latinas. I am a native speaker, but P is american born, so her spanish is not altogether fluent. Yes, we said some things in spanish at this time when she was telling me how to pose. It wasn't a whole conversation ( as I mentioned, P is not completely fluent), just some words here and there, maybe a phrase.. we were having fun with it! I know it's rude to speak a different language when someone in the group does not understand, but like I said, Lacey was in the bathroom putting on makeup or doing whatever. When she left the room we probably spoke more spanish, but why should this matter? It was between us two, and it's a free country! When she walked back in, we spoke english again. Noone was whispering, and we were talking about the poses etc, this was very obvious (I'm laying half naked on top of the desk, P is holding a camera in my ... face... lol... catch my drift?).
Anyway, as we are shooting, Lacey says that she lost a makeup brush and she can't do anything without it. We had moved our things around for the photo shoot, so I get down from the desk and we pause the shoot and open all the drawers to help Lacey find her brush. It was nowhere to be found. I felt terrible because I didn't want her to be any more delayed so she could jump in to the shoot with me, but there was nothing more that we could do. We start shooting again, Lacey is finally ready and we start taking pics together.
We had ordered a bubble bath, and when room service arrived and we were taking care of the bill, Lacey seemed a bit confused about the money. We paid the lady, but Lacey had some other money in her hand and didn't know where it had come from. The room service lady and I pointed out to her that she had that money in her had prior to the bill. At this point, Lacey appears to be very confused and out of it. She has this blank look on her face and is staring into space not saying anything. I finish taking care of room service, and the lady has already left, she seemed as puzzled as I was about Lacey. I asked her if she was ok, and she tells me that she is missing some money that she counted that morning. She keeps going on and on about it, and is basically freaking out. I never saw her counting money that morning, but gave her the benefit of a doubt. So P and I are feeling very uncomfortable. None of us know each other, and we have been trying to be accommodating to each other to avoid any tension, but this is drama in the making and I don't know how best to go about it. I start trying to help her trace back her steps, I ask her if she spent anything when she went outside, but she says she just got coffee. I want to help her look for her money, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking. So I tell her I am sorry this happened to her, and that I hope she doesn't think I took it because P and I are the only people in sight. She said she was not insinuating that which was a relief for me. She goes into the bathroom and leaves the water running once again, she comes out crying and says she can no longer afford to stay in the hotel unless she gets some clients. I asked her if she still would like to continue with the shoot, she declines and leaves the room. P and I are very, very weirded out by her. At this point we feel like we clearly can relate more to each other than to her. Lacey had mentioned that she carries a weapon, and seeing that she is a bit altered we agree that we will play it cool for the rest of the weekend and try not to get on her bad side for our safety. We don't know her, and we don't want to find out more about her the hard way.
So Lacey walked out on the photo shoot, which is bad news for P since she has now lost one out of two clients. We carry on. Lacey later texts that she has booked some clients, and I am happy for her. She is out for the rest of the afternoon, P and I finish our shoot, we go for lunch, get souvenirs, etc. I come back to see a client. My client is disappointed that I will be leaving soon. I suggest that he see Lacey since she is more often in NOLA and give her his contact info, and I give him hers. The client came back to see me again on Sunday, and I asked him if he had worked something out with Lacey but he said that they texted a bit but then she suddenly stopped responding. He was disappointed and said that she was a bit shady, to which I didn't comment. I was thrilled to see him twice for the weekend (:
Yes, Lacey invited me to a casino. She was socializing with her clients, which is something I try not to do. Plus I'm not a gambler and I told her that, and I don't eat meat so I wouldn't like to go to Ruth Chris or whatever steak house. She knows this because I told her. Still she texted me in the middle of the night about hanging out, but I was tired and already asleep. She had her own room now, so we weren't seeing each other all the time anymore. I had to wake up early to take P to the airport. Lacey was kind enough to let us use her car for this, and I thanked her for it. By the way, we saw her makeup brush in her car, go figure.
She left me the key to her room and the spare to her car, but I encouraged her to take it back because I didn't want to be accountable for anything. I know she was just trying to be nice, but after everything that happened I was afraid something else might come up missing and I didn't want there to be any doubts of me having anything to do with it. She never accused me of anything, but I preferred to stay on the safer side. She took the key back when I asked her to, and borrowed another pair of shoes.
On Sat, Lacey texted me around noon to see what I was doing. She was now waking up and I had just finished going for a jog and getting ready to have lunch. She wanted to join me, and I encouraged her. I was very hungry after jogging, but I waited for her so we could eat together and catch up. I let her know that my best friend would be joining us for lunch, and he was very close by, so when she showed up she ordered and appetizer. I had already had one. My friend "C" was a bit lost and a bit in traffic, so I told her let's not wait anymore, lets get a table and eat (we were at the bar). We closed out and headed to the hostess, and as she was about to walk us to our table, Lacey announced to me that she was going to leave because she wanted to go shopping (all she ate was 6 oysters!). I was very disappointed, because I wanted to catch up with her and also because I had waited for her to eat! So she left, and we texted. I told her I would have eaten a long time ago had she not asked me to wait for her. So she came back and sat at the table with me and ordered another appetizer. She was kind enough to help my friend with directions through text. She nibbled at her appetizer but didn't like it and she excused herself again and left. I had not yet finished my plate, but at this point it didn't matter to me any more. I guess I had given up on trying to get along with her and overlooking her very strange ways. So C finally made it in, he ordered food too and we had a good time.
About C, he is not my pimp, my manager, or anything of the sort. Yes, he is a big guy and may seem a bit intimidating but he is GAY!! He is a diva! I have known him for about 10 years, and we are very close. He came to town not only to hang out with me, but also because he has his own business and had a client in town, which he went to go see.
Lacey was doing her own thing, I suppose, and started texting me about some clients and some appointments, including the one for doubles. I was agreeable and told her to give my info to the clients, etc. None of the clients that Lacey mentioned called me, which was absolutely fine with me because I was having a great time with C after he came back from seeing his client. The next day, I saw Lacey in the morning as C and I were heading out for brunch. This would have been an excellent time to confirm the doubles appointment if she still intended to have it, which at this point I was unsure because everything else had been so flaky with her. She didn't mention it, neither did I, and we went on doing our own thing. At 12:48 I get a text from the client saying he is my 1 o'clock for doubles and asked where we should meet. He called me and I explained to him that Lacey had not confirmed anything with me, and I had made other plans already. I was far from the hotel, in the middle of lunch, and even if I pulled a Lacey and left my friend hanging at lunch, it would probably take me about an hour to get back to the hotel. Nevertheless, I was not going to leave my friend, and we already had other plans to briefly go sight seeing before my next scheduled client. At this point, I could have tried to make arrangements to see the client, but now I have a new perception of Lacey and the thought of doing doubles with her is hardly appealing, to say the least. Lacey texts me about this, and she is clearly upset. I apologize to her for the mixup and I tell her my reasons, and I also text and apologize to the client.
Lacey and I were not going to work out as partners, and I knew this uncomfortable moment was going to happen at some point. As I mentioned earlier, Lacey had a weapon and my perception was that she was a bit unstable and impulsive. I am not a doctor by any means, and I am no one to judge, but I made decisions based on what I saw and what I thought was best for me and for the safety of those around me. My only regret was that our fall-out had to involve a client, that was very unfortunate.
Yes, I am relatively new as compared to Lacey and I learn a lot about this hobby every single day. My trip to NOLA was definitely a learning experience. I realized that I am doing quite well in Houston, and that I don't need to travel elsewhere to get clients. I also realized that I probably don't need a traveling buddy/doubles partner because again, I am doing quite well on my own. I can't attest for Lacey's success as a provider, but I had no problem booking my flight, P's flight, and my boutique-hotel stay for 4 nights, and still had money to spend and eat out at nice restaurants every day. Despite the fact that I only had 3 appointments, I had an awesome time!
Do I think that I am better than anyone? - no, I think we are all different, with different tastes, lifestyles, and preferences. Is Lacey within my taste/lifestyle/preference? - no, and I am sure I am not within hers. But it was worth a shot and I do not regret it.
About ECCIE clients, I never said they were "scumbags" (whatever that means, as you can tell from my post, my English is very limited
). I did say that most of my clients come from eros and that they are usually very nice to me. I have seen a handful from ECCIE, and they have also been nice, but I have also been contacted by several that I choose not to see because they are not within my taste/lifestyle/preference. Maybe they are more like Lacey's type, I don't know. I should probably send them her way (: I do have one very nice ECCIE client who emailed me yesterday as soon as I landed and wanted to see me. He booked a room for us at a 5 star hotel and left me a very, very generous donation, more than double my asking rate. I was such a happy camper and the room was oh so pretty that after we parted ways and he left me with the room key, I called P to do yet another photo-shoot, so stay tuned for some awesome pics which will be posted very soon!
I realize that this is an awfully long post, but I promise I have now said almost all I needed to say about NOLA and I will not be commenting on this anymore. But just one last thing. P is working very hard in editing Lacey's few photos to send them to her at Lacey's request. After every thing that has been said and done, I think P is an awesome, awesome person for continuing to extend her kindness to Lacey and overlooking the fact that she walked out of her photo-shoot and called her out and insulted her race on this board. And she is so kind that she has even lowered her rates for Lacey to be able to afford her. I just don't know how you can be "ballin' on a budget" (Lacey's words) in this hobby, as popular as she is. I guess that's something one just has to ponder about.
Oh yea, and Lacey kept my shoes. They are black, dressy wedges with a sparkly bow right in the front. If she gets her pics from P you will see them there. They look cute on her too, I hope she enjoys them as much as I did the 4 times that I wore them. I guess I'll just have to go shopping...
Sigh... good night!
~Johanna