Typical Day
"Get up," Jimmy screams to himself as the smartphone on his desk starts to ring. It's 7:00AM and he's gonna be riding dirty. That means he's got to get the car washed by 8:30AM so that he can get to LAX to get his first client of the day. He hits the snooze button. He's in for a long day, and needs every ounce of vitamin Z that he can get.
At 7:10AM, Jimmy's brushing his teeth and grabbing today's uniform out of the closet. It was yesterday's uniform too, but a little lavender-scented spray mist and it's good as new. He grabs a cereal bar and a protein shake for the road and heads out for a day full of celebrity sightings and Google mapping. His car/job sits in the driveway, last night's grime still coating the rims.
It's 8:45AM, and Jimmy is on his way to the airport. Los Angeles International Airport is a massive pile of every kind of vehicle slowly attempting to turn left until they reach their destination terminal. Jimmy reaches Terminal 3 in better time than expected. His first ride is a young gentleman of twenty-five. The dark shades in the early Southern California morning light give the impression of a long and unpleasant night before.
"Good morning, sir," says Jimmy as he holds the door open, seeing what comes next from a mile away. Saying nothing, the gentleman steps into the backseat of the four-door luxury sedan, takes out his phone, and begins texting somebody much more important than this driver guy.
Sighing, Jimmy shuts the door and says a quiet prayer that it please not be that kind of day.
By 11:30AM, the interior has already been cleaned and sanitized twice. Once from the first gentleman, who was kind enough to leave the previous evening's chicken curry in the back seat (at least he felt bad enough to leave a bad tip). The second time came when the real estate agent spilled her coffee all over the interior. Jimmy would have said that the mild braking shouldn't have caused so much to spill, but he couldn't get a word in with all the screaming and cursing.
Jimmy's stomach starts rumbling and he knows it's time for lunch. He stops at a soup and salad place around 12:00PM—there are only so many days in a row Jimmy can handle Chinese food. He's allowed to take up to an hour to himself for lunch, but he puts his limit today at half an hour. There's a protest downtown and he's got a pick-up at 7th and Spring, so he'll need all the time he can get.
"Have a good one, Slim Jim!" shouts Derek as he exits the back. It's 2:30PM, and a leisurely, chat-filled journey has brought driver and passenger to a gorgeous beachfront condominium in Santa Monica. Derek takes three steps towards the door, then makes a big show of turning back and knocking on the passenger window. He hands Jimmy what could only be described as a "fat stack."
"Almost forgot, thanks for the awesome ride, man. The pleasure was totally mine." Jimmy smiles and says thank you, and watches as D-Rock ambles his way into his sophisti-condo. His smile grows slightly bigger as he slides the crisp new greenbacks gently between his fingers.
He laughs when he finds Derek the Movie Producer's business card stuffed between the bills. It's funny, but Jimmy knows a good connection when it's riding in his sedan.
He gets home around 5:00PM, and takes a quick nap in front of the television. Take the night off, you say? Jimmy disagrees. He'll get a second wind and work a few very lucrative night-time hours in the City of Angels.
At 7:00PM, he's had a sandwich and coffee for dinner, and is already headed to answer a call. On his off days, Jimmy socializes like everyone else. When he goes out, especially if he's planning to go out, he calls for a cab or a ride-share, even if they are technically the competition. One DUI would end his career, and Jimmy doesn't really want to look for a new line of work right now.
Tonight, he's answering a call in the Hollywood Hills. It's the premier night for some mid-budget action movie starring Elizabeth Banks and the guy from Law & Order: SVU. Usually premiers are exciting business, but the couple he's picking up are two of the producers and they've decided to be fashionably late. This means that by the time Jimmy drops them off on Hollywood at 8:45PM, even the red carpet has been rolled up and stored in a utility closet.
It's 10:30PM as Jimmy parks in his driveway for the last time this evening. Finally able to unwind from the day, he takes a look at his Facebook newsfeed. A notification pops up in the corner, a message from his friend Henry:
"Sup dude, ppl chillin in the hills this weekend, u in?"
Jimmy knows that he would be turning down a lot of money if he didn't work on Saturday. After a minute of deep thought, he sends a reply message.
"Sounds good. be there after work. see u then."