Saturday at 1, I packed up and drove 58 miles northwest to Annandale, which is just south of St. Cloud, to DJ a wedding dance.  This past week I had questioned whether or not it was worth it for me to keep DJing dances on a poll on ryanglanzer.com, and the overwhelming response was “Yes, keep doing it!”.  I make more money in one night of DJing than I do in two days at MB, if  I get tipped.  My two best tips are $150 and $140 for a single night.  However, if I don’t get tipped, it winds up turning into a $10/hr job and I have to be out driving in the dark in the middle of the night and missing out on my weekend. 

Last night’s dance went pretty well from the standpoint that people were dancing and having a good time.  There were no more than 100 people there at any point, and by 10:30 the crowd was down to 25.  At 11, just 7 people remained.  I figured it would be an early night where I could pack up and be home by 12:15.  But these stragglers kept dancing until midnight, getting their full money’s worth.  Then the bride and groom shook my hand and said “Awesome job!  You were great!  Have a safe drive home!” and left.  The wildly drunken girlfriend of the best man came up to me and asked if I had been “taken care of” with a tip.  I said no, and she ran out the door after the couple.  She came back with a $5 bill and a liter of Jose Cuervo. 

In the mean time, I missed out on Katie and Josh’s last night out in Minneapolis.  The whole gang was out at the bowling alley having a good time while I was out in the middle of nowhere by myself sweating my ass off in a suit playing the Electric Slide for seven strangers. 

If you ask me—definitely not worth it.

At the same time, it’s those times when I get $150 tips that do make it worth it.  I will probably keep doing it, just once or maybe twice a month at the most.  I have four events on the calendar that are for friends, or friends of friends—a fundraiser on the 22nd for a friend of Brian Gioielli’s, Alison’s wedding in July, Lauren’s friend Manda in August, and Joe and Krista’s wedding in 2009.

In the mean time, I am going to try my damnedest to make the most of my Sunday and hang out on the couch in front of the TV.