The workday ended. Raj collected his things and headed for the hotel.
He checked in, set his stuff on the floor, and sat down to think.
Although his job was not the best or the most meaningful, he did not want to quit unless he was offered a better job somewhere else. That seemed unlikely, and even if he did find a fantastic new job, he was not eager to leave CalTech or his friends. Even though Sheldon drove him crazy quite frequently, he still found Sheldon's advice helpful and liked knowing Sheldon was close by.
Maybe he could moonlight. Maybe there was a way he could work at a second job in addition to working at CalTech. It might not make his life more meaningful, but at least he would be making more money.
At that point, Raj made his decision.
He would become an Uber driver.
Now he could have a cool name to describe himself. Rajesh Koothrapali, astrophysicist by day, Uber driver by night.
The more he thought about it, the better it sounded. He could meet new people, and when they were his passengers, he could converse with them one on one. He could easily pick his own work hours, so if he had to skip a night for whatever reason, he could. If he picked up any girls, they would be asking him for his services instead of the other way around. And even if he died without falling in love, perhaps his life would be more meaningful. He might save someone's life by giving someone like Sheldon who was not very good at driving an alternative option.
Raj did not have to wait long to get his first assignment. On Monday night, he took an old lady named Julie to a local supermarket and back home. It was a big help to her, because her car had broken down and there was more room in the backseat for her groceries than on a city bus.
Tuesday brought no requests. Wednesday did.
On Wednesday, he got two assignments. The first was to take a man named James to a local baseball game. He wondered why James did not want a ride back home. The second was taking a waitress named Martha home after a really long workday. At this point, Raj decided he enjoyed being a taxicab driver better than being an astrophysicist. He enjoyed that his life was more varied and unpredictable as an Uber driver when compared with his life as an astrophysicist.
On Friday, Raj finally brought up his second job to Howard, Leonard and Sheldon. Leonard made no comment. Howard remarked, "I guess that means picking up girls has a double meaning for you."
Sheldon's response was the most imaginative. "You new job is like playing the Sega Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi on an Atari 2600."
He gave five rides to five different people on Friday night. He wondered if Friday night would always be his busiest night. So he made a computer spreadsheet on his laptop to keep track.
After two weeks of being an Uber driver, Raj found that once again, Friday night was his busiest night. Now he had enough money to check out of the hotel and move into an apartment.
Raj got up early on Saturday, wondering what an entire day of driving for Uber would be like.
His Saturday was a day of waiting.
10:00 AM passed. No rides.
Noon. No rides.
1:00 PM. Still no rides.
2:00 PM. Finally, a ride request! And this individual, who went by the name of Kat, seemed very easy to please. He did not have to arrive to pick up Kat until 4:00 PM. Everyone else who asked for rides wanted him to be there in 30 minutes or less.
His experience with Kat would be an experience he never expected.
That experience comes in the next chapter...