Happy Hour (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 4

Technically I have four jobs. Which sounds worse than it actually is in reality.

Three days a week I work in a small independent gift shop in the west end. It's a 9-5 gig, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The shop is pretty quiet and actually most of the time I end up just sitting behind the counter by myself with a book until someone wants to buy something. I don't need to do a hard sell or anything which suits me down to the ground. I lasted half an hour in a sales environment shortly after I left uni. It wasn't for me at all. 

Two nights a week I work in a trendy gastro-pub, also in the west end. I tend to work Friday and Saturday nights there, which makes me popular with the rest of the staff as they might occasionally get those nights off with me always on hand to cover. I don't mind working those nights. The tips are good and I have Sunday, Monday and Wednesday to myself so technically I only do a four day week. 

Obviously I'm not counting my other two jobs though, but to be honest they're less like work to me as I enjoy them so much. My first is my travel blog, which mostly takes me around Scotland (and very occasionally further afield). I don't make a massive amount of money from it yet, but I do make a modest wage and get a good amount of comped trips too.

My second fun "job" is helping Paige out with her Instagram account, which doesn't make me any money personally but does give me a massively reduced rent on the flat we share. Paige is an actress and dancer, but has a decent amount of Instagram followers and likes to stand out. Hence the ballgown in Glasgow Green etc. Her photos get likes in their thousands and loads of businesses throw money at her to wear their lovely clothes in beautiful places.

Our partnership benefits her too as she often gets to come on my gifted trips as a plus one and have even more outlandish places to pose in. If you're ever driving in the Scottish Highlands and spot a pink-haired girl twirling around at the side of the road in a pretty dress, it's a good chance you've found Paige getting her photo snapped by yours truly.

So I do spend chunks of my days off working on social media projects but I genuinely love that. The gift shop and bar jobs are just a means to an end that I hope I'll be able to drop at some point down the line. 

It'll probably be a while yet though.

The day after the Glasgow Green "incident" is Monday, and we're heading west to Oban. A new hotel has invited me to stay in exchange for a post on my blog, and Paige wants an excuse to dance around McCaig's Folly for a Tiktok. I don't understand Tiktok yet but I'm sure she knows what she's doing. 

The hotel stay is admittedly a bit of a logistical pain as I'm working in the gift shop the next day; we'll need to shoot off at the crack of dawn to make it back in time. But I love the area around Oban and this was the only day I could make work with the hotel, so I'll just have to grin and bear it. 

After a brief stop for a lunchtime toastie in Tyndrum, we head along the A85. There's a couple of good stops en route for photo opportunities for both of us and we of course take full advantage of this. At Kilchurn Castle I snap some photos for an upcoming article I have planned about the most photogenic castles in Scotland, before capturing a couple of moody shots of Paige running towards the castle in a billowing dress. Her followers eat this stuff up. To be fair, it looks pretty good, and I don't just mean because I took the pictures.

Further up the road we swing a right and park at Taynuilt Pier, where beautiful views of Loch Etive can be found. Paige wriggles into a different dress in the back of the car and we go again. The weather is on our side today - dry, blue sky dotted with pretty clouds, and warm but not too warm. Trust me, in Scotland you don't want to let a day like this go to waste . . . This weather isn't the norm. 

When we reach Oban we drive straight up to Mccaig's Folly which looms above the pretty town. It's deserted, thankfully, like everywhere we've visited today. I leave Paige with her tripod to do whatever she's planning to subject her Tiktok followers to, and wander through to the viewing point. Resting my hands on the railing I watch a ferry make its way into the harbour, wondering idly what island it has made its journey from. 

I'm feeling out of sorts today and I know why. And I'm annoyed at myself about it.

It seems Chris is determined not to stay in my mental filing cabinet this time.

I told you he was contrary.