How I Ended Up in a Life-Changing Job

 Story time!

As mentioned in my first post, Writing Habit: Daily Post Challenge, there was this one job of mine which almost led me behind bars. The case is coming to an end and I think it's time to talk a little about it.

Here's another background review. I've been working since the year 2016 when I was in secondary school. Most of the time, I have a few jobs. The story started way back in the year 2022.

I was juggling three part time jobs while studying in university. I slept once every few days. To be honest, it wasn't easy but I think that it's actually fun and was a part of my growth that made me who I am today.

I worked at a barbecue restaurant as a part time waitress. Since I was new and didn't know much about the menu yet, my shifts were limited. I also worked as a waitress in a lounge bar. There were much more shifts I could work at in this job. Still, it's not available every day. When I didn't have a shift at the bar and the manager at the restaurant didn't ask for me, I would work at the factory. Sometimes, if my shift ends early at the restaurant, I would go to the factory. It was a night shift job so there wouldn't be any problem with time clashes. That was how I filled my years with jobs daily, with some days off to catch up on sleep or do my assignments.

I've been living that way for years and one day, precisely on October 10th 2022, things changed.

There's this colleague at the bar. He told me about a job he was at. It has something to do with gambling so the salary was quite high. I was intrigued. However, I couldn't bear to leave my part time jobs so I told him I'll think about it.

October 10th is Taiwan's National Day. It's a public holiday so people came out to have fun till early morning. The bar was packed. After my shift at the bar, I went for a "midnight snack" at a 24-hour Japanese restaurant nearby. At around 5.20 in the morning, after my meal, I cycled to the metro station.

It was drizzling so I cycled very slowly. At one point, I decided to cycle into the corridor to avoid the rain. Unlike the pedestrian path, the shops' corridor is made of tile. I wasn't sure if it was the u-bike's worn out tire or the slippery floor, I fell with a loud tire screech.

There wasn't anyone around at that time. I felt immense pain on my right elbow. The pain hit so hard, I had to hold my right arm with my other hand in order to stand up. With great difficulty, I managed to get the bike and myself up and continued on my journey to the metro station.

I've never broken a limb so I didn't know what it was like. I thought it was the normal sickness or pain that would go away after a good sleep. Thus, I jumped right into bed the moment I got home. I wouldn't feel the pain if I was asleep.

Of course it didn't work. I woke up not feeling any pain. I was relieved. It didn't last long. I tried getting out of bed but realized that I couldn't feel my right arm. I've never been so panicked. Where's my arm? It's right here but where's it? I was confused. I couldn't move a muscle. The moment I tried too hard, immense pain shot up right from my elbow.

I took a deep breath to calm down. After careful consideration, I decided to wait one more day to observe if a day's worth of house chores and another good sleep could fix it.

The next morning, holding my right arm with my left hand, I took the metro to a nearby hospital. At the hospital, I got an x-ray scan and confirmed that I had an acute bone fracture.The doctor asked me to tell him how it happened as he had to write a report. When he heard that everything happened very early in the morning the day before, he was bewildered. "You should've come earlier!"

I left the hospital happily, with an arm casting. At least I wouldn't have to hold my arm now and I looked more like an injured person. I messaged all of my managers to inform them of my injury. Then, it dawned on me. I'd be jobless until the fracture heals.

I immediately remember the gambling-related job my colleague told me about. It's an office job and all I needed to do was type and click. It seemed like the only thing I could do with this injury.

And ladies and gentlemen, that's how I ended up in a dangerous job.

I'll talk about how I was arrested another day.

Till then!