Okay let me tell you straight how this went down. Woke up last Tuesday feeling kinda rough. Coffee wasn’t kicking in, inbox was blowing up, just one of those days. My project felt stalled, you know? Needed a win, anything.
The “Six” Came First, Honestly By Accident
Felt restless after lunch. Decided, “Screw it, gotta move.” Shoved my laptop in the bag, hopped on the bus downtown. Aimless. Saw the bowling alley sign flashing. Thought, “Why not? Haven’t done that since college.” Dropped five bucks for a game. Lane was empty.
Started throwing. First few? Total gutter balls. Embarrassing. Loosened up, stopped caring. Next frame? BAM! Strike. Pure luck. Got excited. Next ball? Split, then somehow knocked ’em all down. By the end? Scored a 158. Last time I played? Barely scraped 60. That 158? That’s the six-pack they talk about, six strikes kinda spread out. Mind was blown. Felt stupidly good.
Took a pic of the score screen. Just for me.
The “Possible Work” Bit Started As A Joke
Still buzzing from the bowling high later that night. Scrolling mindlessly through one of those local job groups, the usual mix of “need plumber NOW” and sketchy “work from home earn $1000/day”. Saw a post:
- “Knows Bowling?” (Weirdly phrased, right?)
- “Temporary gig, setting up weekend league tech.”
- “Must understand scoring system basics.”
- “Pay decent for weekend work.”
Laughed out loud. Seriously? Hours after my random six-pack glory? Seemed insane. Almost scrolled past.
“What the hell,” I muttered. Grabbed that score pic I took. Opened a message to the poster. Wrote something like:
“This my score from today. Seriously. Played on a whim. Know what a turkey is (three strikes back-to-back, baby!). Used that scoring system plenty. Need a hand this weekend? Happy to chat.”
Hit send. Figured it was a shot in the dark, maybe get ignored or laughed at. Didn’t expect much. Just felt like playing along with the weird universe.
How It Actually Turned Out (Simple, Really)
Next morning? Ding! Phone notification. Poster replied: “Lol, pic proof! Love it. Can you come by Saturday morning? 9 AM? Just showing folks how to use the lane scoring consoles, basic troubleshooting. Pay is $X for the morning, cash or app.”
Couldn’t believe it. Went Saturday. Showed up early. Guy running it was cool, super chill. Turns out their regular tech bailed last minute for his cousin’s wedding or something. Spent 3 hours basically doing two things:
- Pointing league members at which buttons reset their game or add players.
- Explaining stupidly simple things like why someone didn’t get a spare score (“You gotta knock down both pins that frame, man!”).
Used my own “accidental six-pack experience” as context, made people laugh. Easy work. Got paid. Free coffee. Felt kinda awesome getting paid for something I literally just did for fun the day before.
So yeah. Didn’t plan the six, woke up grumpy. Didn’t plan the job, saw a weird ad. Just moved my body, did something random (bowling!), shared a tiny personal win (the score pic) on a whim when a weird door cracked open (that job post). Took a silly chance sending a message leaning into my silly luck. Paid off with a decent morning gig. Universe works funny sometimes. Just gotta roll with it.
