A little over five years ago, I was broke. I wasn't in debt, but I was barely getting by with part time jobs and little gigs. I fancied myself as a struggling writer, but really, I was just struggling. I searched the classified ads for another way to make some cash and found that the local Yellow Cab company was hiring. I had a good driving record, and they agreed to take me on with a lease agreement.

I got a business license, physical & went on a ride around for about seven hours with a cab driver, and I was off and running as an independent contractor. I agreed to two mandatory work days: Tuesdays & Wednesday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. I was allowed to walk in any other day on that schedule, but Tuesdays & Wednesdays were a must. I soon found out that twelve-hour cab days were quite exhausting, especially when you get up at 4:20 in the morning. Three days a week in the cab became my norm.

Slowly but surely, I began to make money again. My other part time jobs disappeared almost instantly, and what began as quick money fix became my bread and butter job. It was honest work for cash money. If there was no work, no one asked me to pretend to be busy. If I was tired, I could take a break whenever I wanted. If it was busy, I could hustle as much as possible. Days became weeks, weeks turned into months, months into years. Every week, I learned new cab lessons and became better at my job. Always two mandatory days, and I'd regularly pick up one more day (usually Fridays). Rarely would I work four days (except during Balloon Fiesta week).

Every six months in December & June, cabbies are allowed to change their schedule, but I never did. Ever. There was one December when observant hacks realized they could change their schedule to one mandatory day a week. I was not observant. After the deadline, the cashier asked me why I didn't switch to one day like almost everyone else. I said "Huh?"

After the big switch, many hacks who got the one day schedule stopped coming in any other days, and the boss got mad. The policy changed. Not only were Yellow Cab drivers not allowed to get one day a week shifts. They had to have three day a week lease agreements, unless they already had a better deal. I went from hoping for a one day mandatory week to thankful I still had only a two day week. By the way, if you didn't show up on your mandatory day, you had to pay the cab company fifty bucks plus tax.

Every six months, I would ask for a one day week, and they would refuse, always saying they I was lucky to have the deal I did (which was true). When I signed my new lease agreement in September for the fifth consecutive year, I once again asked, and they refused. Something strange happened though. I left my schedule blank because they said they would fill out the blanks as needed. When I got my copy of the lease back, they wrote that I had one mandatory work day: Tuesday. A little glee came over me, but it was short-lived.

When I went to work the next Wednesday, I was still scheduled. I went into the office with my lease soon after and asked what was up. The office lady said she wasn't sure what the deal was, but she would figure it out. The thing was that the lease had been filed already and couldn't be changed (I'd already paid my five dollar filing fee). She said she would write me a note when she figured it out.

Since it was October (the best month for cab drivers in Albuquerque), I had no intention of not working Wednesdays, so I didn't worry about it. I kept coming in on Wednesday, and I was still scheduled. I decided I would solve this mystery in November. During the busiest cab month, however, I was also rehearsing a play at the Equity Theatre in town. That theatre worked hard and fast, and I was pulling many cab days and acting nights this month. During Tech Week (this week), my body finally broke down on a Tuesday night. I ached all over, and my left arm was the worst culprit. I couldn't do another twelve hour cab day and four plus hours at the theatre at night without some serious rest. I decided not to go in on Wednesday. This mandatory day confusion would come to a head soon.

I got my sleep and felt like a new man the next day. I went into the cab office on Thursday, but the office lady was out sick for the afternoon. I checked with the cashier to see if I had been charged a no-show fee for Wednesday. She said she had a note saying that the office had made a mistake and I was not required to come in Wednesday anymore. Ta-dah!

It was a very roundabout way of getting what I wanted, but I finally got the one-day work week I'd had missed out on three years before. I'll still work two or three days a week in the cab (a man still has to make a living), but it's nice to know I have as much flexibility as a Albuquerque hack can have. Mandatory Tuesdays, and the rest is up to me. The best job I've ever had just got a little bit better.

Chris Jungle works whenever he wants & Tuesdays.