Today, I came across an article that highlighted people having unusual jobs.
The first was a girl earning money as a foot (or feet?) domina. She'd post foot pictures and then insult admirers in their DMs for money.
Quite unusual but not surprising. That's the OnlyFan's business model.
The other were a guy running around as a Mascot and a lady working as a cat sitter.
It made me wonder, outside of putting hats on Squids with Photoshop for my current job, what was the most uncommon job I ever had?
I was a waiter for years during high school and later in catering during my university days. Eventually, I also worked in promotion, promoting the Nintendo Switch during a big conference. At some point, I was even a brand ambassador for the sports brand Puma. So, if you need to know how to pronounce its headquarters location, you know who to ask.
But the most uncommon gig I ever had was as a Wi-Fi buddy.
The train company had just introduced free Wi-Fi on its long-distance trains.
And I signed up to promote that six days a week, for six weeks.
I would get up, cook lunch, pack it up, and go to the station every morning. I'd board the train in Augsburg, moving West over Stuttgart and then North.
In total, I'd spent nearly 11 hours every day on that trip going all the way to Kassel-Wilhemlshohe (terrible train station, windy af) and then the same way back.
Throughout, my job was simple. Wear my red hoodie identifying me as a Wi-Fi Buddy, look amicable, walk through the train - those trains are long - and help anyone who was having issues logging in.
Sometimes, the trains were crowded; sometimes, they were pretty empty.
It was a fun job, yet exhausting because spending so much time on a train isn't all that fun.
I developed a new respect for the train staff that had to do this full-time, and not just like me walking around in a red hoodie and being able to sit wherever or chat with whomever.
We often forget that it's humans behind these service roles, and it's not rare that they get all the anger when a train is delayed, even though they are the least to blame.
I've witnessed it many times.
I've sworn myself to never be that person.
I also got to hang out with the train staff, and sometimes, they let me do the announcements—telling people where we'd stop next, explaining that they could look for the girl in the red hoodie if they were bored (because I was), or to mind the gap.
Somehow, in these 6 weeks, I also managed to go through a traumatic breakup with an ex who made threats to my life and trashed my things.
Two of the staff I met I'd even get involved with romantically. Well, clearly that was a bounce-back act and somewhat also motivated in wanting to feel desired.
Both didn't live anywhere near where I did so it wasn't ever going anywhere. In the end, both got happily married with kids, so I didn't hurt long-term prospects there.
It was an interesting time, I think of it fondly despite all the trauma and processing happening throughout.
I got to see the other side of the train, the one where people are earning their living, and I must say 90% of it was amazing.
At least one of the people I met during the long train rides I am still occasionally talking to.
Once, he saved me when I was broke in Japan by lending me some money to bridge the two months until my next salary (I had switched from a job that paid at the end of the month to one that paid at the end of the next month).
It's crazy how life goes.
If I was offered some random job like that now, I think I'd take it. Just for the people I might meet. You never know, they might save you some day.
