05/30/2024

 Did afternoon driving today, and then 2 trips at around 11:00 pm to finish off the goal.

Out of all the many conversations, I think the most common is about speaking different languages.  It happens almost every day/night.

Had a typical combo at the airport.  Dropped one off and picked up another one.

I have been doing a little fact-finding mission as I am out there on the streets.  It appears that Shell stations have a requirement to have Pepsi in those big-ass cans.  So far, every Shell has it and I will continue to verify.  I have also discovered that the same may be true for Murphy gas stations.  I am not as far along on that one yet.  CEFCO skewed my data as they did not have the cans before but yesterday I discovered that the one at Parmer and 45 Tollway has them.  And that is your useless information for the day.

Here is the first video on the blog.  Looking east across Congress Avenue.

05/29/2024

 Saw a HUGE guy with the most perfect uniform tan that I have ever seen.  I am sure that sun was saying WTF and was trying to keep up every time the guy stepped outdoors and started absorbing sunlight.

Picked up 3 people and one of them was in a wheelchair.  The person in the wheelchair had more than mastered the use of his wheelchair as when he came into the large driveway in front of the house, he was riding a wheely in it.  The 3 riders were scientists and the conversation they were having was one of a kind and interesting.  One of the riders asked one of the other ones what business was her co-founders in.  She responded that what they do is controversial but brilliant.  One of the guys in the back stated "yeah, that is the way it is.  You either end up a genius or in jail.  And those are the words for the day.

Saw this beautiful creature standing on the side of the road after I dropped off the first riders.  She was wanting to get across the road and join her 3 friends that were already on the other side of the road but some moron had stopped his car in the middle of the road to take pictures.

05/28/2024

 Every time that I am online it is one ride after another.  The demand continues to be constant.

A request came in from just south of downtown.  It was for an amount of money that indicated a long trip.  I was needing to get some gas and was going to stop at the first gas station that I saw as I was on my way to pick up the rider.  It was starting to rain as I was roaring down the I-35 frontage road.  I saw a small gas station and pulled in.  I didn't realize it at first but this was also the location where the rider was waiting to be picked up.  She climbed into the vehicle before I had stepped out to put the gas in.  I told her what I needed to do and she was okay with that.  By now it was raining hard and even though I was under a canopy, I was getting wet.  The gas pump was the biggest piece of junk that I had ever seen and I couldn't see the screen to do my debit card at the pump.  I ran inside to pay so I wouldn't have to mess with trying to see the screen.  Got the gas and jump back inside the vehicle to start drying off.  I started the ride in the app and it asked for the rider's PIN.  Just as I asked the rider for the PIN and she went to look it up on her phone, her phone died.  I had just purchased a new iPhone charging cable and we put it to good use.  After a moment her phone came back to life and we were able to obtain the PIN.  It was raining hard and we were moving at a slow pace.  At some point along the trip, the rider stated that there was a rattlesnake in the back seat of her truck.  She talked about how she believe that this was some kind of an indication that things were not right in her life.

And there is that fried food stinking smell again.  Nice young lady but needs to get that smell out of her uniform.

05/26/2024

Picked up a lady at the Shell station at 2222 and Mopac.  She said that another Uber driver had started the ride and then became upset about the amount of pay that he would be getting compared to what Uber was making off of the ride that was going to Lakeway.  He offered to continue the ride for $25 cash.  The rider stated that he was Cuban and could not speak English.  I gladly took her to Lakeway. 

A request popped up for $154 and upon looking further, it was a ride to Houston with the pick up even deeper into Lakeway.  I finally made it to the pickup spot and the lady that was going to Houston changed her mind.  The guy was cool and wanted to make sure I got some money for driving all the way out there.  He went inside to get some cash and while he was gone I noticed that the ride was cancelled after it had been accumulating a waiting fee.  The man returned and we agreed to just leave it at the $14 cancellation fee to cover things.  Now, I had to drive all the way back into town without a paying rider.

Then a request came in not far from where I was, thus saving the day by now having a rider to take back onto town.  First drop off at dirty 6th street at Coyote Ugly.

I had already received the next request and it was just a few hundred yards further up the street.  Had some good laughs and upon dropping them off I was sure that I was over $100 for the day so I had already set for the app to log off.  $99.50.  Crap!  Originally was going to stick with that amount but it just didn't set right with me, so I logged back in and immediately received a request.

I had a thought about how some people look stupid or ugly.  If they are an asshole, it just makes them a stupid ugly asshole.  If they are interesting to talk to and make you laugh, they can be fun to be around regardless of how they look or act.

05/25/2024

West 6th Street was amazing!  This is the way I remember it from before.  I still haven't dropped anyone off at "dirty" 6th.

Filled the vehicle up with 7 people for the first time in a long time.  Of course, it was a load of young men and all that goes along with that.  Including an argument that broke out over how good looking their daughters were going to be when they have them, and whether or not they would know or want to know if their daughter was "getting railed" by some dude.  I dropped them off and was only a few hundred feet down the road when a request came in for the address where I had just dropped them off.  One of the guys was leaving and when he got in the vehicle, he stated that the others were still arguing in the house.

05/24/2024

 I would have preferred to have started a little earlier today, but it worked out okay and was back home by about 1:30 am.

I thought I would be dealing with more drunks but there was only 1 and he was very polite and thankful for the ride.

I have noticed on multiple occasions, including tonight, how the upbringing of a young man shows in their manners and how they show respect.  To hear "yes sir" and "no sir" from someone that didn't look like you would hear it from, says it all.  It is not known who a person is until you talk to them.

Picked up a lady that was on the phone when I picked her up and it sounded like she was probably talking to her bestie.  There were a couple of things that she said that made me snicker under my breath, but I almost lost it when she started talking about some guy that had approached her at an event somewhere.  "He had that teeth thing going on.  I know he could do some damage to an apple".  The visual I got in my mind was way too clear.  Lol.

Picked up a guy that was wired.  He talked about the run of misfortunes that had occurred in the past 6 months that included the loss of his dad, his mother being diagnosed with cancer, and his best friend dying from bad fentanyl in his cocaine.  This was the first time I had had a conversation with anyone about the scourge of fentanyl and the conversation certainly brought forth a reality that I had not felt before.  He was headed to a strip club, so our conversation migrated away from death and more towards the art of a beautiful woman.  We stopped at a convenience store so he could get some money and go to the bathroom.  He asked if I wanted anything and I told him that a Pepsi would be great.  He returned and gave some cash to a homeless man that was walking in circles in the parking space next to us, then got into the vehicle and gave me the Pepsi.  It was a Cherry Pepsi and I had not tried that one yet.  I didn't open it until I dropped him off and I now know that I do not like Cherry Pepsi.  Pepsi is awesome, Cherry Pepsi sucks out loud.  It causes some kind of weird nausea in between my stomach and my chest.  Its nasty stuff.

Picked up a couple that was headed to an EDM event.  I didn't know what that acronym meant, and they said it was like a RAVE.  (I still looked it up when I got home to know for sure.  Electronic Dance Music).  A couple of times the guy had told the girl that she could just look through her drugs for something.  After several times, he said, oh, she is a pharmacist, and it is not like I am making it sound.  She laughed at the comment and stated that indeed she was a pharmacist.  They then asked about the craziest thing that had ever happened as an Uber driver.  There had been so many interesting things, and I went blank as they scrolled through my memory.  I ended up sharing one where the female passenger was coming on to me and they asked if anyone had ever got it on in the back seat.  I said that I never had, and the guy laughed and said of course not you just took care of that one lady from the driver's seat.  That brought out big laughter and then I did something that I had not done before.  I shared with them the fact that I had a blog and that was where all of my stories were.  I told them that some of the entries are boring but that some are really entertaining.  I stated that I don't use names of people and that I don't embellish the information, like referring to this ride as being a ride a gave to a "part-time Cuban drug kingpin" to embellish that fact that the girl was a pharmacist.  She got it and laughed loudly.  I verbally shared the URL with them, but they will probably forget all about it after the EDM pounds at their brains all night.  They did comment that they might get to see a story about their trip, and if by some miracle they do make it to this paragraph, I would like to say to them that I hope they had a good time at the event, and I hope that seeing their ride summarized into this paragraph brings a smile to their faces. 

05/23/2024

Had a full schedule today and did not plan on driving, however, I did a couple of hours anyway.  Only did 4 trips that brought in $51 including a trip that was longer than most somewhere on 71 several miles beyond the airport.

I found myself making mental notes of the way people talk and how that says so much about the dominant surroundings in their life. 

05/22/2024

 I have picked up and dropped off at many places where I had projects that Mainstream Construction Services was involved in while I was there.  It is good to see the ones that we did that still look good and also the ones that we were not awarded and how they turned out.

Lots of rides with Spanish as the preferred language by the rider.  Such was the case with a lady that I picked up that was going to her daughter's high school to pick her up.  This had to be the best mother daughter relationship that I have ever witnessed.  Even as they were switching in and out of Spanish and English, I was in awe.

An amazing conversation with a rider from the same high school as above.  I was very impressed to find out that she was a Junior in high school.  She carries a conversation far beyond her years.  Thanks, Kaitlan, for the conversation of the decade.

Three riders from high schools today.  The last one I picked up in a spot that I had picked up from before.  When I saw the name of the street (Rusty Nail Drive) I immediately remembered the previous ride.  I asked the rider if I had given her a ride on Monday.  She giggled and said yes.  I told her that this was only the third time in 9 years that I have had a repeat rider.

Picked up a gentleman in Hutto and we headed north out of town.  There is lots of construction in the area and he commented on how it all used to be cornfields.  It is a bit of a bummer that all of the fields are being taken over by humanity.  On the way back I grabbed a photo of the guy that cut me off in traffic yesterday (included below).

05/20/2024

What an event!  I don't know where to start.  I had decided that I wanted to push through and see where Uber had the maximum hours for driving set at.  I hit it.  12 hours.  33 rides - definitely a personal record.  

A few light trends.  There were 3 riders who had their vehicles in the shop and were on their way to pick it up.  There were 3 riders named Kevin.  There were 2 rides where I dropped off and the next ride was at the same spot.  One rider or riders gets out, and another group of riders gets in.  This happened at Terry Black's BBQ and at the Wal-Mart at 183 and I-35.

First time to be on a road with an 80-mph speed limit with a rider.  Tried twice to chase down a surge area for the first time in a long time but was interrupted by a ride request both times.  Was delayed by the same frickin' freight train 3 times in Leander and Cedar Park.  The traffic during the day was horrible.  After waiting to get around a trash truck in one neighborhood, I coined a phrase that described the challenges of the day.  "Trains, Trash Trucks, and Traffic"

Confirmed that I was in downtown Pflugerville in the middle of the night on the post titled 05/08/2024, when I passed through that same spot during the day.  Things don't have near the mystic about them during the day compared to at night.

The Uber app has become increasingly annoying in the way it moves to the next turn before you have arrived at the one you are about to engage.

Conversations about quilting with a nice lady.  She was one of the ones that had to go pick up her vehicle from the shop. 

Listening to a group discuss the breeding of dogs.  Apparently, it is illegal to breed Dachshunds in Germany.

Picked up a small group of people that were from a country in South America.  They were delighted to discover that I spoke Spanish and were more than curious about how I had learned to speak the language.  The gentleman that was paying for the ride was wanting to know how they could secure transportation with cash.  He said that every time he uses his card, the financial institution was sticking on a steep fee for converting the money.  I didn't want to, but I suggested a Taxi as they used to accept cash.

The most important piece of information gained from the day was that there is a Twin Peaks in South Austin that I did not know about.  There is a rule I have when picking up a rider at a Twin Peaks.  Two questions must be asked of the rider.  How was the food?  How was the scenery?

I received a request for a person named "A".  I mentally cycled through the possible types of people that would put that as their name and upon pickup, none of the possibilities in my mind were accurate.  It was a high school girl going home.  There was an awesome cow trail type of road going down the side of a slope at the top of the hill at Spicewood Springs above 360, to get to her house.  It was both daring and adventurous going down into the underbrush and the unknown.

I have come to detest the smell of fried chicken.  I think it is the oil that is being used but it smells like clothes that are dirty with fart smell.  To date I can only confirm that Raising Cane's and Pluckers fall into this category.  Today the person I picked up from one of the above establishments had that smell in his clothes.  I had a lady smoker as well that had the cigarette smell in her clothes.  Both instances required a 40-mph wind flush that messed up my hair.

On the last ride, I thought that I was going to provoke the rider into the next revolution.  The more we talked about the state that the country was in, the more he was talking revolution.  That transitioned into a conversation about having to see something to believe in it.  Of course, the subject of God came into that conversation, and he stated that he didn't want to offend me if I was a Christian, which I am, but he couldn't believe in something he couldn't physically see.  "I can believe in a paper bag as long as I can see it".  This was at the end of the ride, and he left the vehicle looking back and shouting "don't forget what I told you!".  Oh, believe me, I won't. 

05/18/2024

 There's that perfume again.  The one that smells like bug spray.

05/17/2024

 Onesie twosied, or should I say 5sie 6sied my way to $41 before I had to log off and go pick up my daughter from school.  Of course, while I was finishing the last ride a request came in for the airport.  It was a good rate but I would never make it in time to pick up my daughter if I headed from the Domain to the Airport and then back to Leander.

05/16/2024

Was not going to do a split and drive at night but decided to anyway since I was close to $200 for the day.  Accomplished the $200 and then some within a couple of hours.  3 "combos" at the airport among the mix.  

Many times, once we are driving away from the pick-up spot, I will ask how the rider's day is going.  I had picked up a lady at a restaurant and when I asked her how the day had gone there was a pause and then she said that it had not gone well.  I expressed how that was not fun and that I hoped that it would turn around.  There was another long pause and then she thanked me for my words.  It sounded like she was about to cry.  A few moments later she made a comment about how everything smelled after the rain and that it reminded her of the smell of the dirt at her grandads.  I then told the story of when I was a kid the adults would get all of the cousins together when it was time to harvest the potatoes.  We would all be given a bucket and when grandad would start down the rows plowing up the potato plants, we would all run like crazy to start gathering the potatoes.  It was like some kind of hillbilly easter egg hunt.  The smell of the moist dirt was always such a wonderful smell.  She was agreeing with every word I said.  I then stated that it was some kind of mind game child labor thing, but it was fun.  She laughed and then began crying.  I was sure that she needed a hug but when we pulled up to the drop off spot, she commented in disgust, "he's still here".  As much as knew that she needed a hug I had to put the thought of the gesture away as I was sure that I could only make things worse.  She didn't seem to be scared or fearful, but there was certainly something going on with a relationship.  I hope she has a better day and can laugh with tears of happiness instead of tears of sadness.

I am not sure if this qualifies as words of wisdom, but one of the riders was doing some major strategizing on the phone and stated, "80% of something is better than 100% of nothing."  The more I thought about it the more it sounded like some other comments that I have heard that kind of, sort of, maybe, mean something.  Allow me to share.

- 95% of household accidents happen in the home.  (I read this one on a list of statistics.  There were several more that were equally bamboozling.  I am also wondering where the other 5% happened to cause them not to be considered household accidents in the home.) 

- The fact that it is surrounded in mystery is why it is so mysterious.  (I was pissed!  I watched an entire show that was pitched as the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle having been solved.  The show concluded without solving anything and closed with this bonehead comment.)

- He graduated in the top 99% of his class.  (A friend was reading something humorous about someone and that was one of the statistics.  99% at first glance looks and sounds good but when you stop and think about it, that was practically the entire class, and he could have been almost last.)

05/15/2024

 Did another split shift type of thing today that worked out well.

The first group of riders today were very interesting to listen to.  They didn't talk about anything important but the manner in which they talked about various things was lively, respectful, insightful, and even humorous.  At one point in the conversation there was a phrase used that I had not heard before.  One of the group had not heard it before either and questioned their friend about what the phrase meant.  The explanation was that during a recent conversation one of the individuals engaged in the conversation was revealing how much they disliked one of the standard holidays and that it should be removed.  Another individual in the group that was talking about the holiday replied, "I understand what you are saying but don't cancel Christmas." That was to say that don't do something that might affect the masses that enjoy that benefit of something just because you as an individual do not like that something.  Pretty cool.  Kind of like the line in one of the Star Trek movies where Spock had gone into a contaminated area to make a repair that would save the crew.  As he was dying he said to Captain Kirk, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one."  These words are very applicable in the current political and social environment.  Society is getting so upside down because too much attention is being given to the ideas of illogical idiots (or should we designate an acronym of IoII for this?).

Another combo at the airport.  Drop one off, circle around and pick another one up.

Picked up a pair of ladies from Scoot Inn.  A G Flip and Kat Cunning show had just let out and both ladies said it was a good show.  They were having a great conversation and at one point were talking about a new pet dog that a family member had.  In a pair of comments, one of the riders said that the dog had been crate trained and then said that the dog sleeps with the owners.  Myself and the other rider busted out in laughter at the same time about what the sequence of those two comments lead the listener to believe.  That the owners sleep in a crate with the dog.  The other rider started laughing a moment later when she too realized how she had said that.

The last 2 nights when I am going to go offline once I drop off the current rider, requests start coming in like crazy.  I have to reject them so I can see the frickin' map for the current ride, plus, I am done for the night.  When reviewing the stats, it makes it look like I was being selective about the rides I accepted, something that I do not do when active, and it irritates me to see the rides not accepted number because I would typically be accepting all requests.

05/13/2024

I had completed a small amount of research last night on when the busiest times are at the airport.  Monday morning was one of those times listed.  Dropped off the daughter at school and turned on the app.  Sure enough, 2 trips to the airport with 2 pickups on the way out.  I am sure that it was chaos at the airport today as it was raining and there was lots of lighting in the area.

There was something small that was rattling in the car every time we hit a bump, and I could not find where it was coming from so I could stop it before it drove me nuts.  I pulled over and almost tore the vehicle apart trying to find the source.  No luck.  In the evening, I didn't hear it so all of those 4-letter words must of done something.

I am totally serious when I say that there was a lady at a bus stop on Ceasar Chavez that was standing on the sidewalk and had her back to the road.  With her back to the road, that means that her big butt was facing the road.  In this case, although her body was safely on the sidewalk at the bus stop, her big butt was protruding into the road.  Again, I am serious when I say that I had to steer the vehicle hard against the left side of the right lane, to keep from hitting her ass that was protruding out into the traffic.

Did 2 shifts today and I think that was the first time that I had done that.  The first shift, mentioned above, ended at about 12:30pm and the second shift started at about 9:30pm and finished at about 12:30am.  17 trips total.

05/08/2024

 Really late start tonight.  Possibly the latest ever at 10:30pm.  I wasn't expecting to go for very long, but the demand was good, and the ride requests kept coming in.  

At some point after midnight, I received a request somewhere in northeast Austin, possibly Pflugerville but I wasn't for sure where I was.  I had decided to end the night but went ahead and accepted the request.  I approached the traffic light at an intersection that appeared to be a downtown area.  As I proceded through the intersection, there was a man waving over to the location where the request had come from.  I pulled in and rolled down my window and confirmed that he was part of the group of riders and that the others were coming.  They didn't immediately show up, so he went up the nearby wheelchair ramp to get them.  There were 2 men and a lady and one of the older men was very drunk.  He was talking all of that drunk talk stuff, and I was playing right along with him as I invited to set in the front passenger seat.  One of the people in the back was having trouble getting a cell signal and made a comment about the provider.  Apparently that same company was the cable provider for the drunk guy and he started ranting about how his wife wouldn't pay the fuckin' cable bill.  The people in the back were laughing and keeping the tirade alive.  As we approached his house, the drunk commented that he didn't have a key.  He said he was going to have to go down the chimney like, ---- "what's that guy's name?"  "Santa Claus?" I blurted out.  "Yeah, like that fuckin' guy!"  I was rolling in laughter, then he said, "nah, I don't have a chimney", which was immediately followed by an outburst of "the bitch stole my fuckin' chimney!"  I was laughing so hard.  As he got out he was still carrying on but paused for a second, turned around towards me and said, "thanks, your a good man".  (I am still laughing)

The inside of the vehicle smelled like cigarette smoke as the drunk was also a smoker and even though he didn't smoke inside the vehicle, it still was full of cigarette smoke smell.  I had forgot to log off of the app as I was going to call it a night with $86.  A request came in and it was for over $20.  Looks like I was going to make my $100 after all.  I accepted it and then picked up speed so I could lower the windows and get the smoke smell out of the vehicle.  It was a dark road so I could not see what was off to either side but when I lowered all of the windows to get the cigarette smoke smell out, the smell of what was surely a thousand-acre horse farm and all of the horse shit smell that goes along with it, came rolling in.  Even before I could say holy shit, I had the windows all back up.  I made it to the pick-up and the rider was wearing some kind of burnt Pinesol perfume that promptly extinguished any concerns I had about any lingering cigarette or horse shit smells.  She was headed to the airport and I still was not sure what part of town I was in, so I just followed the app until we popped out at the tollway.  Dropped her off at the airport at 2:30 am and made sure that I logged off of the app this time, then headed straight home as fast as I could.

05/07/2024

 Only 2 rides today, but they were big ones totaling to over $114.  I was able to confirm the confirmation that the traffic on FM620 sucks out loud at 4:30 in the afternoon.  It makes for a very long trip from Cedar Park to Bee Cave, and an even longer trip from Bee Cave to Taylor.  Have a look at the accidental photo below and comment about where the location is.

I was remembering back in the traffic helicopter days in DFW when the traffic reporter for KEGL would always make a big deal when he would spot a car fire.  From one story that was told, I think they even landed the helicopter and took pictures.  There used to be a lot more traffic helicopters than there are now but this post is not about traffic helicopters.  This post is more in the direction of car fires! 

As I was heading east on 45 Tollway, I could see a barely visible column of smoke just past where 45 merges onto 130 Tollway going north.  The traffic was bad and was going slow.  The smoke increased from what could have been mistaken for truck exhaust, to something that appeared to be more serious.  As I reached the top of the ramp, it looked like the world below was on fire.  Then I saw the source of the smoke.  In the middle of a huge baseball field sized area was this little riding lawn mower that was engulfed in the fieriest hell you could imagine.  I didn't think there was enough flammable material on that thing to fuel the inferno that I was witnessing.  There is definitely going to need to be some sod, mulch, are a sculpture of some kind to cover up the black crispy hole that is going to be left once they move the molten carcass of that lawn mower out of there.

The last trip was a personal record for the most earnings in a single trip at $79.24

05/06/2024

The first request was from the H-E-B right up the street.  When I dropped that person and their groceries off, the second request came in.  It was from the same H-E-B right up the street.  Dropped off that person and their groceries as well.

Consistent demand on a Monday night.  Started out with a couple of short runs of $5 and $6 rides until I picked up the drunk British guy from downtown Round Rock.  He was quite entertaining and said something that was declared as the words of wisdom for the day.  “There is large shit, medium shit, and small shit.  You can’t forget about the small shit”.

I thought it was going to take longer to get to $100 but thanks to a Comfort request from someone in the crowd leaving the Greta Van Fleet show at the new Moody Coliseum, the night finished off nicely.  The trip was a surge trip with good distance and a great tip.  There were several tips tonight.  I was able to end the night and be walking into the Whataburger in Four Points just moments before midnight.

Almost forgot.  Very north tonight.  No south.  UT was as far south as I got, and Liberty Hill was as far north as I got.

05/03/2024

Fairly uneventful journey tonight.  Oh, and there was only a slight incursion to the south tonight.  Up Lamar and back down Lamar.  Dropped them off at West 6th Street and immediately received a request right around the corner that took me north, out of downtown to Mopac and Parmer.  I found it a little odd that the rider would move over from the right-side seat in the middle row, to the seat behind the driver.  I felt like he was trying to hide something or wanted to be out of sight.

I realized tonight that after a little over a week of escalated driving, I have yet to drop off or pick up from "dirty" 6th street (as it is sometimes referred to basicly the section between Brazos Street and Red River Street ).  

40 trips so far this week and they continue to average about $30 an hour.

05/02/2024

 Wow!  Ending up in the south prevailed yet again but this time in a major way.  Seguin Texas.  With that I can add Seguin to the list of cities that have experienced my ride sharing services.

Started at about 7:30pm after picking up my son at the train station and dropping him off at his apartment.  Pulled onto the street and the first ride came in, right behind me where I just left.  Picked up a young woman with her yoga pants, and yoga matt and dropped her off close by.  

A ride to the airport is almost always a good trip.  Upon dropping someone off, there is nearly always someone that needs to be picked up and taken from the airport.  When a pickup worth approximately $68 popped up, I almost broke a nail trying to acknowledge and accept the ride.  Yep, this was the ride to Sequin.  He was supposed to fly to San Antonio, but the flight was canceled, and he decided to fly to Austin and take an Uber from there.  With me being a willing participant in his piecemeal plan, we were on our way including Spanish as the preferred language.

As I began trying to work my way back north, I knew that there would be riders in the area.  After 2 additional rides in Sequin, I was able to make it to San Marcos where I had multiple rides including a group of young Hispanic females that were students at the university.  This type of group is always a blast.  They are always upbeat, telling crazy tales, laughing, and always include me in their conversations.  Good time.

I was able to make it to Buda where a couple of rides pulled me back south on I-35, but I finally made it back to Ben White and I-35 when the first request from Downtown came in.  Did about 3 rides from downtown and ended up in Manchaca with a couple of young ladies that were trying to order delivery and were describing what they were hunger for.  "I want a fuckin' patty melt", she said.  "I need a patty melt more than I need shelter and air".  Then as she is ready through the menu out loud, she says "oh, there it is, a patty melt." I was concerned about her ordering the correct type of patty melt and interjected, "I believe that you said that you wanted a fucking patty melt and I want to make sure you order the right thing."  This brought laughter to the vehicle, and they laughed the rest of the way to the drop off.    

This drop off put me in the area of the clubs along Menchaca Road.  I had 2 pickups there including the final one of the night/early morning.  There seemed to be more clubs in this area that what I remembered.  It used to be just the Moontower but that was over 4 years ago since I was last driving in this area.  Wow, 4 years.  A lot can change in 4 years and it certainly had. 

04/30/2024

Of course I ended up in south Austin again.  It happened by picking up 2 fun ladies from the HEB Center and taking them to Lakeway.  One of their mother's had recently passed and before passing had left tickets to a dance show.  They talked about the show itself being wonderful after the disappointments of arriving early and having to wait to get inside, then wait to get to their suite, then wait to have their food and beverages available.  For many years I have been intrigued by the different ways people use profanity.  Interestingly, profanity does not seem to diminish a person's presentation of themself if it is used certain ways.  I don't think there is a blueprint for how that works as it would be different for different people but a disgruntled scumbag loser using profanity would simply affirm their status as a disgruntled scumbag loser.  Likewise, a well-educated, well-mannered person using profanity would seem to be an almost tactful use of the language and not change any opinions others may have about them.  Anyway, I was proudly able to proclaim once again, and for the first time in about 4 years, that their Uber experience was also "F-bomb friendly".  Nice looking ladies, probably in their early 50s, that were slightly drunk, making the conversation all the more colorful and interesting.

I accepted a request out in the Manor area somewhere.  As the roads became increasingly isolated, I remembered requests from the past that had literally led me through pastures, some of which ended up in a successful pickup while others seemed more like a prank prompting me to decline the request and backtrack my way back to civilization.  Then a message pops up on the app that appears to be one of the driver default messages that says, "I am here".  This was odd.  Then a few moments later another message pops up that appears to be from the rider saying, "I am at the road in the middle of nowhere".  It almost seemed like the rider was communicating with another driver and I somehow was included.  As I arrived at the location I saw the rider in my headlights.  He looked a little rough and had a gas can in his hands.  I am thinking a million different things about what I am seeing and about what I am potentially about to be an accomplice to.  As I pulled up, I lowered my window and verified that he was the rider.  Turns out that he had indeed had an interesting (aka, rough) life, at least that was the case in the extended section that was shared with me without interruption.  The trip was to a gas-station up the road to get gas for his vehicle.  This was somewhat of a relief as I now knew the possible purpose of the gas can.  As we start to the gas station another trip request comes in, out here in the middle of nowhere, and at the same time he asks if I can wait for him at the station and bring him back.  I told him that I had accepted another ride but that if he was quick, I would not end the ride at the gas station and the app would continue tracking us and charging for the trip.  The app did indeed track our trip, including the return trip to the gas station when he realized that he had left his phone on the counter inside the convenience store.  Of course the inside of the car is smelling like gasoline and I am having crazy thoughts about open-flames and static electricity when we finally get back to where I can drop him off.  The moment I dropped him off I lowered all 4 windows and raced away at high velocity to get the gasoline vapors to escape and hopefully not cause a 911 call from the homes along the road due to smell of gasoline.  I am scrambling to send a message to the next rider who has been waiting through all of this, apparently patiently as I had not received any communication from him.  There was an almost immediate response that was only 2 words but with those 2 words, I knew he was not upset, and things were fine.  "Okay boss".