So, What Did YOU Do This Weekend?

My first job was in fast food which is pretty typical for a teenager. I spent my Saturdays getting yelled at by hangry people if their sandwich had too little or too much mayonnaise. Most of my friends were also working on the weekends as well and there was something fun about seeing your friends at their job. If your friend was working in retail you would find an excuse to drop by their store and see them. And probably annoy them. On purpose.

It wasn’t unusual for you and your friends to talk about their jobs and you would likely realize that working at Starbucks or wherever wasn’t as easy as you imagined it might be. You would probably talk about, oh, I don’t know, some of the behind the scenes stuff that happened at work.

I loved learning about where my friends worked and what their day was really like. As I got older and jobs turned into careers my curiosity remained. Over time I had a better idea what the life of a musician or an IT person or a teacher was really like. I think it’s important to know how hard most jobs are. I think it can help create empathy for that person. Whenever I see someone scream at a cashier I wonder if that person ever worked retail before.

I still like visiting my friends at work. I know someone who works for the city’s maintenance and utility division and they invited me to their facility a few weeks ago. He proudly showed off all the trucks they use and the giant spools of telephone wire and the other equipment they work with.

I have little interest in giant trucks and the like but it was fun watching my friend talk about his work in a clearly passionate way. His work is important to him and what he does is pretty essential to keeping a city moving. I learned a LOT about fire hydrants and the sewer system and I have a new appreciation for the hard work, the unseen work, that a metropolis needs.

A few years ago the makeup artist I regularly saw did drag. Obviously they were AMAZING at makeup and it was so fun chatting with them about their other job. I learned about how much work went into a routine or in designing a dress and trying to make a name for themselves. Again, a new appreciation for that career was realized.

My femme life continues to open my eyes about different careers that my male life will never know. This past weekend was another example of that.

I spent a fascinating Saturday with my friend Sybil and the legendary Mistress Jean Bardot. And I know I might overuse “legendary” a lot but in this case the adjective doesn’t even begin to describe her.

Obviously her website is NSFW but my goodness if bondage is your thing please visit her site.

To be clear, I wasn’t dropping by as a client. I was a guest on the Jean Bardot Show, a web series that focuses a lot on kink (obviously). I’ll post a link once the episode is live. Promise.

In addition to filming, Sybil showed me around the studio. I was fascinated by everything I saw. Fascination is different than arousal, mind you. My imagination wasn’t running wild about being tied down to a hospital gurney or anything like that. I was introduced to a new world. A peek into something that I wasn’t that familiar with. This was the kinkiest field trip I had ever been on, lol.

As part of the video Mistress Jean and Sybil demonstrated some of the techniques they routinely use and I was the volunteer.

Again, not aroused at all. I’ve known Sybil for a while and there’s nothing really kinky (to me, anyway) about my friend fastening leather cuffs around my ankles. I GET that some people LOVE this stuff but this wasn’t doing anything for me. Between takes I was asking questions about, well, everything. We laughed and reshot bits and I dressed the part and played along.

For her part, Ms. Bardot was respectful, professional, charming, personable, friendly, and just lovely.

I learned so much about the life of a dominatrix and fetish model. SO many perspectives reshaped.

There are billions of people on the planet. Everyone has their own life and their own careers. I love learning about the lives of others whether it’s the life of an internationally renowned kink performer or a construction worker.

Thank you to Ms. Bardot, Soul Focus Studio, and Sybil for a fascinating peek into their world.

Love, Hannah