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".    

04/29/24

 Just like a girlfriend I had, my trips were going further and further south.  10 rides, starting close to Cedar Park, into downtown, and ending up in Buda.  People were everywhere!  It was so good to see downtown Austin moving again.  So much has changed since I the last time I drove for any length of time downtown.  New streets, streets completely gone, new buildings, and other buildings completely gone.

The rides came in one after the other and I didn't stop for a little over 2 hours.  I can remember when it would take me most of the night to get to $100.  Wasn't like that today.  

One of the rides early on was a multiple person ride (I don't even know what the fuck they call it now).  As we are navigating through the residential sections and then onto I-35, I had this sensation of being on a field trip and actually felt the excitement.  Something about the view and the time of the day triggered that.  I didn't want to share the thought with the riders.  They might request to be immediately dropped off in the middle of the freeway just to get away from this driver that is having teenage boy flashbacks.

A group of ladies from Canada was sightseeing and on their way to Amy's Ice Cream in SOCO.  They wanted to stop and take a picture at the "Greetings from Austin" mural that is at the corner of South 1st Street and West Annie Street.  It faces Annie Street, so we navigated our way around and parked a moment for photos.  There were 3 of them and before I went to help with getting a photo of all 3 together, I snapped the one below.

I eventually ended up in Buda.  Having to be back in Leander at a specific time meant that I had to turn the app off and haul ass back up north.  Made it with 8 minutes to spare.

04/15/24

 04/15/24

I kinda thought there would be at least 1 ride of someone going home from work or from a club.  That was how it worked out.

It felt good to hear someone say that they loved their new job.  A job taking care of older adults with Alsheimer's and dementia is not a job for everyone.  She was happy about it and wanted to share stories about it.  She talked about the ones that were living longer lives and what they had in common.  No sodas, of course no cigarettes or alcohol, and they didn't get all worked up about working out.  They went about their day in a casual manner and just enjoyed themselves.  One of the residents was about to have their 99th birthday. 

First pickup ever from the Haute Spot.  A group of 4 inebriated adults that smelled as such.  They started singing a Randy Rogers song and then wanted it turned on in the vehicle.  I fired up my Spotify and looked up the Randy Rogers Band.  They sang most of the way back.  Its always good to hear people singing along with a song.  This was a good trip both fun-wise, and money-wise.  They also gave a $13 tip. 

The last trip took me out to somewhere east of IKEA near the tollway.  I dont think I could retrace that path if I wanted to.  The only way I got back out of the neighborhood was that another ride was requested and the directions to get to them, got me out of the neighborhood.  Then they cancelled the ride.  I had already rolled down the windows to get the smell of cigarette smoke out of the vehicle.  The guy smelled like a human ashtray.  Maybe he was a superhero and that was his superpower.

  

08/05/23

 Had to do some stuff on the app to get going again.  It has been awhile and some things had changed causing me to struggle a bit finding my way through the app.

Had a few people finishing up dinner and going home.  Those are always nice.  Had a trio that made me remember a time in my life when there really wasn't any direction in life and I didn't even know it.  It kind of bummed me out thinking about how empty their lives were and they didn't know it.  I wanted to criticize them and tell them life does not revolve around alcohol and weed but then I remembered when that was a big part of my free time.  Friends, fun and laughter is great and is healthy, so my mind was in a challenging place, and I was glad to unload them although I don't believe that they were bad people.  I know that I wasn't a bad person when I was at that stage in my life.

The app glitched a couple of times, throwing me off.  I was headed to pick up a female and drove past the entrance to the restaurant where I would be picking her up.  I was setting at the traffic light scanning my options for getting into the parking lot that was on the other side of the on-coming traffic lanes.  I flashed a quick glance in my rear-view mirror and saw that no one was behind me nor about to be behind me.  The street had a heavy incline that I was setting at, so, I popped the gearshift into neutral and coasted backwards until I could make the left turn into the restaurant driveway.  I am sure that the 2 cars in the other lane were calling me a dumbass, just like I would be calling someone if I had seen them do that.

At the restaurant, the rider was an attractive Latin female.  She walked over to get in the car with a bag from the restaurant and a beer.  When she spoke, I could tell that she was a smoker and that initiates a whole chain of thoughts about her and her life.  Interestingly enough, we headed to her destination, that she referred to as work, with a stop on the way.  The stop was at a lingerie type of store where she lit up a cigarette as she walked to the store, and the destination was a gentleman's club.  My chain of thoughts had been right on the money.  

Now, nothing I said here is negative or positive.  Those who read this and mentally label it as negative or positive and then want to criticize my thoughts, need to be reminded that it was labeled in their mind as negative or positive to justify their judgement of the comments in their mind.  Not mine.

The last trip was a load of typical young college age guys.  On their way to a bar, cursing, but polite when interacting with me.  They always want to play their music on my system when my phone is already hooked up and already playing music.  Then the music that they play is usually horrible.  When they got out of the car at Buford's, I hauled ass away from downtown as I was not in the mood for messing with drunks and it was getting close to 11:00 pm when the rides for people going home start trickling in.

11/11/22

 It is amazing to me how many ride requests were coming in.  9 rides in 3 hours tonight and then when I went to transfer the money into my bank account, I noticed that somehow I had achieved a bonus of $110.  Nice little surprise.

Had a trivial nothingness first time occurrence of having to stop and wait for a train while on an Uber ride.

Very animated conversation with a self-proclaimed 40-year-old single working mom.  We laughed a lot about how much pain is involved on the morning after a night of hard partying.

All of the rides were in the Round Rock area with the last one being the first XL group of riders in a long time, that I dropped off on the east side of downtown Austin.  From there I turned off the app and headed home.

11/08/22

 Started at about 7:00pm and the requests were coming even before I had finished the previous ride.  It has been many months since I drove, and I was surprised that I ended up with 14 rides.

Those 14 rides included one young Latin lady, probably in her mid 20s that couldn't have weighed 75 pounds.  She had some nice smelling perfume, and it was very strong.  I couldn't imagine how she could have put on that much perfume for it to be so strong as she didn't have enough surface area to apply that much perfume to.  The first thing she asked me was if I spoke Spanish.  As always, my answer in Spanish was, "when it is convenient for me".  She laughed and requested that we communicate in Spanish.

One rider claimed to have a medical condition that caused him to talk like he was drunk and stumble around like he was drunk.  I suppose it is a possibility and I am sure the name of his condition is "Drunkashell"

05/27/22

There is just something about driving in bad traffic that just sucks the life out of me.  I am not doing anything physical and setting in a comfortable environment and it still feel like I have been fighting for my life.

I had intended on starting earlier in the morning to catch riders leaving the hotels and heading to the airport, but I decided to catch up on a couple of hours more of sleep.  Even after I turned on the app it was over an hour before I received a request.  As always, once they start, they don't stop and not a single one to the airport.  Thats what happens when you decide to sleep a little later although it was for a good reason.

The first ride was to Howard Station.  From there I was briefly bounced around in Pflugerville until a ride took me to South Austin and my first dose of the bullshit traffic for the day.  From there I ended up in Buda after a second dose of bullshit traffic.  Then a ride to the north for a third dose of bullshit traffic.  A ride that dropped off at Burnet and 183 was close enough for me to set home as the destination and start heading that way.  After dealing with the fourth dose of bullshit traffic, I was close enough to home that I went offline and called it a day, for now.

It was very encouraging hearing a young person speak with respect and confidence.  Especially when they talk about their success in the police academy and how they are working to join the National Guard.  No sir, yes sir sounded great when compared to all of the disrespect that we have been surrounded with for the past few years.  He and his friends were all going to leave Massachusetts and come to Austin Texas.  All his friends backed out and he did it anyway, alone.  He has taken control of his life and is achieving the things that he wants to take on in life.  This was the shortest ride of the day but was by far the most impactful.

8 rides, 10 people, 101 degrees, $97, 4 hours and 48 minutes, 2 curse words (from a rider), 1 seat adjustment, $20 pit stop for a "gas and go", 7 people in right middle seat, 3 people in left middle seat, 1 hydro flask tumble, and 1 gnat smashed and the windshield. 

05/10/22

 Add San Angelo Texas to the list of cities I have driven rideshare in.  Did one ride after an early diner and then another one later so I can get out of the hotel for a moment.  A whopping $12.00 but that was part of the plan.  I was attempting to get at least $30.00 on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or all of them, to pay for gas back to Austin.  As it turned out, I simply did not have time to drive any more during this visit to San Angelo.

05/05/22

Lately I have been on the rider side of the Uber service.  In most cases it comes out in conversation with the driver, that I also drive.  Throughout the trip I am comparing the way other drivers do things to the way I do things.  From those comparisons I can decide whether or not I want to integrate something I experienced into the way I do things.  Also, I can make sure I don't do the things that I experience that I don't like.  Not to focus on the negative but here are some things that have irritated me.

- The air freshener in the vehicle that smells like a urinal block in the men's restroom.

- A slow driver that complains about how fast everyone is driving.  The speed limit was 65 and this guy never made it above 60.  Sure, there is pay to the driver for the amount of time that a trip takes but it is not worth getting run over by everyone else that is driving at least the speed limit.

- Comments making fun at someone's luggage.  "That must be your wife's suitcase".  (WTF and no tip for you)

- This is a big one - A driver that sends a message asking if I can cancel the ride shortly after I accepted it, without any reason.  I know the reason.  They are running Uber and Lyft at the same time and received a request for a ride on the other platform that they want to take instead of mine.  This one really gets me riled up.  First of all, I have always made myself available to 1 service, I accept all rides that come in unless I am in a tense moment navigating traffic, and I represent that service well.  In my case it has always been Uber.  Secondly, a driver should never ask the rider to cancel the ride.  The driver is attempting to hide their actions from Uber by canceling the ride and they have a chance of the rider being charged a cancelation fee that would go to driver.  I have no way of knowing why this particular driver requested me to cancel the ride but by that driver not providing a reason why, the situation is suspicious.

At first, I answered the message asking if I could cancel the ride with "No".  "But you can".  However, my phone battery was almost dead, and it kept losing connection so I went ahead and canceled the ride so I could get home.  If a rideshare driver wants to cancel a ride, they can cancel the ride themselves.  A good driver would also send a message to the rider as to why they were canceling the ride before they did so.  

03/10/2022

Add Corpus Christi to the list of cities that I have driven rideshare in.  I didn't have much time so I only did 1 ride in the vacinity of where I was working.

The very moment I went online, a request came in.  It ended up being  student at a nearby high school.  I suspected he was an Uber rookie when he sat in the front seat and he was not wearing a mask.  These are both COVID related requirements that he would have known.  I didn't push the issue as I had my mask on.

I greeted him in English and he looked at me with a confused look.  He then said, in what sounded like perfect English, "I only speak Spanish".  Soooo, I repeated my greeting to him in Spanish.  He looked at me with the same confused look again.  I smiled and began the trip.  As we arrived at tje drop off location, he asked in Spanish if everything was good.  I didnt undetstand why he was asking me that and then he showed me a text message on his phone.  The message stated "ya esta pagado" which says in English, "it is already paid." Someone else had ordered the ride for him.  I then knew for sure he was an Uber rookie as he was not familiar with how the payment system worked.

All was well.  I went offline and drove back the hotel I was working at.

01/27/22

Add Waco and Temple to the list of cities where I have driven Uber.  Helped the lady load and then unload her laundry.  Picked up a nice elderly man from one rest home and took him to another.  Making the rounds I guess.

It struck me as both odd and brilliant that someone would build a funeral home right behind a rest home.  

01/07/2022

I have noticed that most times it takes a while to get the first request.  Then once the first one hits, they become almost continuous.  I started out with the errand of mailing a box that was already ready to go.  I had almost made it to the post office when the first request came in.  It took 4 rides before I finally made it by the Post Office.

All of the rides ended up being in the Cedar Park, Leander, North Austin area spanning from as for south as the Domain and as far north as Liberty Hill.  There have been very few times where this has happened.  It is more common to take someone downtown and then never escape.  I had 2 requests in Liberty Hill which was a first.  

Another first was a person's name that I had never heard before.  

Did about 4 hours of driving today.  Trips were shorter and it took a little longer to get the money I wanted for the day.

Had a family from Minnesota that said it was -20 degrees when they left this morning.  I stated that our 38-degree weather today was probably a heatwave for them.  This was the only group that was very talkative.  None of the other riders throughout the afternoon had much to say.

As I walked into the house, I had a random thought about how a caveman would go out during the day with the goal of bringing home dinner.  Upon his return he would step into his cave and announce to his significant other, Honey, I'm home! but in a grunting kind of caveman language.  He would hold up a malnourished, roughed-up, chicken-looking thing that he claimed to have killed with his club, but that in reality was already almost dead anyway, and he would present it as a trophy that the great hairy caveman had overpowered and brought home for dinner.  In my case, I step in the door after being "out there on the hunt", and say, "babe I am home" in English, hold up my smart phone to celebrate the "victorious hunt" and to signify the electronic equivalent of money that I can transfer electronically to my bank account, and we can go have dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse.  Quite the contrast and definitely evolutionary.

01/02/2022

 I knew I had missed adding another round of rides between Austin and San Antonio to this journal but apparently, I missed 2.  I can only assume that they were uneventful although they totaled to over $200 worth of uneventfulness.

Tonight, however, things were a little more interesting even though it was only for about 2 hours and 50 minutes.

I was temporarily bummed out when a rider received a call from a friend informing him that his young son had been hit by a car while riding his bicycle.  The boy was in the hospital and was unconscious.  His father did not know whether he was going to live or not.  I said a prayer for the child and hope that he pulls through.

Dropped off at several restaurants.  It made me hungry and thus made me cave in easier when my wife called and told me to come home so she could make me a sandwich.  Hooters, Higher Ground, 24 Diner, Eddie V's, Fogo de Chao.

I picked up a lady with a couple of young boys who I assume were her sons, or at least one of them was.  I dropped them off at Hooters.  Wish my mom would have taken me to eat at a place lake that when I was 12 years old.  Oh, wait.  There were no places like that when I was 12 years old and certainly not in the area where I grew up.  And my mom was anti-anything that was even remotely sexual.  It kind of makes me wonder how in the fuck I was conceived.

Haven't had many trips downtown since I started messing around with this again.  Tonight was a little different.  Made the trip from Jollyville to downtown and the trip took us up East 6th Street.  There was not very much going on there at all.  Compared to Sunday nights in the past, it was beyond sad.  The rider stated that many of the bars were bankrupt and that there had been a lot of changing of ownership.  He also said there has been talk of completely blocking off the street and making it pedestrian only.  He sounded like a person who was "in-the-know" but I have no way of verifying that.  After dropping the rider off I continued down West 6th Street and it was much more impressive.  It had a very good vibe in the air.

I had engaged in a good conversation about restaurants with the gentleman that was going to Fogo de Chao.  We agreed that there are lots of good restaurants in Austin and he stated it was because we all like that "hippie shit" that is everywhere here.  He also told a story of a $150 steak that a certain restaurant serves that is in no way worth $150.  He was on a first date with a lady, and she commented about the $150 steak.  He told her that it was not worth that price and guess what she did anyway?  I laughed and he stopped me saying that "wait, there is more".  He said that she only ate 3 bites of the steak.  At the end of the date, she said that she had fun and that they should go out some more.  He told her "NO" which offended her.  He then elaborated as to what one could expect in the future from a lady who only ate 3 bites of a $150 steak.  I must say that he made a good point as he presented his case to me.  Predicting the future from a $150 steak had never crossed my mind.

I had told my wife that I was only going to accept one more ride, but I did 2.  I am glad I did because the last one was a home run from the Hilton downtown out to some apartments behind Bass Pro Shops near the outlet mall in Round Rock.  It was the longest trip of the evening.

Stats: 

- 2 hours and 50 minutes driving

- 45 miles

- 7 trips

- $85.00 before late tips

- 5 Restaurants

- 2 Hotels

- 11 people

- 2 pieces of large luggage

- 1 four-letter word (wow, that has to be some kind of record)

12/04/21

 I can now add the cities of San Marcos, New Braunfels, and San Antonio to the list of places where I have done rideshare driving.

For a couple of months, I have had the thought of turning on the app when I was going to look at projects in San Antonio.  With the feature in the Uber app where you can program your destination and the app finds rides along the way, I felt like I could do that and it would not affect my timing of being at the project.  That is exactly how it worked out both on the way down to San Antonio and on the way back.

The summary of today's topics of conversation were - 

- Young lady that was being "kicked out" of her father's rental property so he could rent it for more money to someone else.  This actually turned into more of a mentoring type of conversation.

- Man who works at a place where they modify pickup trucks and is also part of the family's hemp farm.  We also talked about religion, ghosts, and extraterrestrials, all in the same conversation.  To mash all of that together, one could say that we talked about invisible stoned aliens in thou monster truck.

- Conversation with a nurse about the medical community, retirement homes, and hospice care.  She really likes her job

8 rides and $116 along the way to where I was going anyway.

10/08/21

 And today was the day.

I had no intention of driving today but on the way home from a job, I decided to wash the vehicle.  That lead to a full cleaning of the inside thinking that maybe this would be clean enough for doing some Ubers.  When finished cleaning I opened the Uber app and checked to see what was needed nowadays and basically as long as everyone was wearing a mask, all basic requirements are met.  

There was an active promotion of a $100 bonus for the completion of three trips.  Hmm, I can do 3 rides easily and take advantage of that.  I selected the home screen, the app had me take a selfie to verify identity, and the screen lit up with a map that was on fire with demand.  A request immediately came in and I was officially engaged with ride share driving for the first time since February of 2020.

I had completely forgotten that this was weekend 2 of the ACL music festival and the first riders were headed that way.  I had not re-subscribed to Sirius XM so I just put on a radio station for music.  It sucked for creating an atmosphere.  The music seemed out of touch for the trip and the two guys that were talking, assumedly the D.J.s, were just big dufuses.  I fired up my Spotify and found on of my playlists that would add some feeling for the ride to a music festival.  Hearing one of the girls singing along with a song on the playlist, confirmed that I had done the right thing.  I thought the traffic would be horrendous near the drop off point at Mopac and Barton Springs but it wasn't to bad and the riders wanted to jump out early and walk which worked for me.  Another request immediately popped up. 

The next pick up was not far away and they were going to the airport.  There was a little conversation about how difficult it has been to get an Uber since the pandemic.  Upon dropping them off, just as before, there was someone to be picked up.  Easy enough, I am already here.  That will get me the $100 and I am pretty sure the previous 2 rides were under Surge conditions so there is probably some good money from them although I had not been able to look at the earnings screen.

The app locked up and had us in limbo for a moment at Cesar Chavez and 2nd street.  I turned down 2nd street anyway as the customer had his app going and did the guiding for a brief movement until the Uber app caught back up with us.  I had already accepted the next request and had noticed that my phone was not charging.  I had already accepted the next ride so I took off hoping that it would last until I finished this one.  I went ahead and stopped the app from receiving requests, which is a feature that did not exist before.

It didn't take long to get that unique rider.  "You are about to go to the worst place you have ever been" he told me.  Okay but I don't think so, was my answer.  "Human trafficking, drugs, you name it".  He had many claims of how he had taken care of things in his community and involvement in helping take down notorious local criminals.  I begin to think he was probably full of shit when we pulled into the manufactured home community and said "there they are.  None of them even have drivers licenses because you can't get one unless you are an American citizen".  I just happen to know first hand that this is not true.  He told me what number his home was and asked if I could pull up the driveway for security reasons.  His home came into view and his home did indeed look like one of the worst places I had ever been.  The address was spray painted on the front wall and there were 2 broken down cars in the driveway.  I could barely get into the driveway and the only security threat I could see would be from getting tetanus from stepping on a nail or something. 

I left my mask on until I was a couple of miles away.  I was finally able to look at the earnings and was very pleased with what I saw.  The $100 bonus was indeed there and for 2 hours and 36 minutes I had earned almost $217.00.  A very good way to get going again after more than a year.

07/08/2021

I received an unsolicited phone call from Allstate wanting to quote insurance for my vehicles.  I let him talk and answered a few of his questions not having any intention of changing insurance companies.  However, the prices were great.  It was to good to be true so I had him run through everything again.  It was good, leaving some room for including rideshare driving insurance.  I asked about and was told that it could be included.  So we did.

Had to update a lot documents and agreements with Uber and I just checked my status.  All is approved and up to date.  I am 1 car wash away from hitting the streets again (when I have time).

04/17/21

The emails from Uber are increasing.  The are obviously pushing to ramp things back up.  I am still undecided about my Uber future although I did buy a new phone holder for the car today.

09/23/20

 I just discovered that Google tracks me most of the time.  I searched through the archive back to days when I drove rideshare and the mapping of the places I went was all over the place.  This would be expected of course, but it is crazy to actually see it illustrated. 

09/12/20

Vacuumed the vehicle for thr first time since I stopped driving with Uber.  It wasn't too bad but certainly needed to be done.

08/08/20

 As I was throwing business cards into the recycle container from two recent businesses I have been associated with, I discovered some business card from FARE when I drove ridesharing for them.  This prompted me to look in the back of my vehicle and see if the magnetic signs were still back there.  They were.  These magnetic signs came in very handy at night in helping the riders more easily locate the vehicle.  The signs are fairly large at about 2' wide by 18" tall.  When a rider would say that they couldn't see me, I knew that they were either blind as hell, stupid as hell, or lying out their ass in trying to work around the cancellation fee.  Anyone with eyeballs would not miss these signs.  The business card photo looks the same size as the magnetic sign photo below but that was certainly not the case.

FARE had office space next to the Four Seasons Hotel and if I ever needed anything from them I could just take a few minutes and walk down there from work.  They were very helpful in this respect but not so much in helping me work with the riders to insure they were happy with their ride.

Also included below is the first e-mail that I received from Fare, and the last e-mail that I received from them.  FARE was more expensive than the others and they made it clear that they were not going to be part of "the race to the bottom" with prices, when Uber and Lyft returned to Austin.  They were not willing to compete and the only advantage they had was the ability for riders to save their favorite drivers in the app and be able to request that specific driver in the future.  Of course the ability for that to function depended on whether or not that specific driver was online when the rider needed a ride.  It wasn't really much of an advantage as I was on multiple riders list and never had a rider specifically request me.  I  had already stopped rideshare driving when FARE left as my vehicle at the time was no longer what I felt comfortable transporting people with.

08/04/20

As someone who has been a rideshare driver for several years, I can certainly relate to the recent shooting incident in Austin that resulted in the death of a protester.  I have driven into downtown as festivals or events were ending and there are people everywhere.  You turn a corner and you are in it with no way to get out.  The protesters, being in their single-minded state, do not realize this.  I have seen multiple videos and read multiple articles of vehicles that accidently get caught in a protest and are forced to defend themselves against protester's aggressions.  That is when people, usually the protesters, start getting hurt.  

Being a protester does not automatically protect a person from being a dumb-ass.  All of the yelling and signs-on-a-stick, are not going to protect a protester, or anyone, from vehicles or bullets.  The protester has to shed the single-mindedness and be aware of their surroundings so they can understand what is going on, what their own body movements could be signaling, and what could be developing around them, to keep themselves safe.

Any driver should be aware of what activities are going on in the areas where they could be driving.  I can say that Uber has been good about posting events although I do not know if this event was posted as I have not regularly been on the app.  Regardless, there are resources that can be reviewed before starting to drive so that a driver is aware beforehand of what may be encountered and does not become a dumb-ass driver.  I have seen plenty of those out there.  (12/14/19 post)  They can't even park their vehicle in an empty K-mart parking lot but they think they are qualified to drive in downtown Austin during rush hour or on a Friday or Saturday night.  (before the pandemic)

Everyone should understand themselves, what they are doing, and what is going on around them so that they don't do dumb-ass things.

  

07/22/20

I guess it is safe to say that I am refusing to let this blog die.  I still hold on to hope that one day I will be able to return to the streets in the middle of the night.

In my never-ending job search, I came across a job at Hertz for a Maintenance Manager.  Obviously this is maintenance on vehicles and is not exactly what I have been doing for the past 35 plus years, but it may be close enough.  I adjusted my resume to reflect my early days in hotels when we also had to manage the maintenance to the guest transportation vehicles.  I also included my days of driving a truck and at working for the highway department where I also had to coordinate the maintenance for that.  Of course I included my time as a rideshare driver as well, including the stats that are easily obtained from the Uber site.  That was another reason that made Uber so inviting.  Helpful data was there and available.  Obtaining this same information from the other 2 companies I drove for while Uber was gone, Get Me and Fare, was limited.  Here are the stats

- 4.5 years as an Uber driver so far.  Technically, I am still activated on the platform.  It is also important to note that even when Uber was "gone" from Austin, they remained active in the surrounding areas.  I actually did several rides for Uber in the areas of Cedar Park and Round Rock during that time period.

- 1,369 rides for Uber

- 4.97 Satisfaction Rating.  It stayed at 5.0 for a very long time.

- $14,436 driving for Uber

- $226.56 driving for GetMe.  I knew it wasn't much but I thought it was more than that.

- $3,482.55 driving for Fare.  I had signed up for GetMe and Fare at about the same time but was able to get processed through GetMe first as they did not require a review of the automobile by a mechanic.  Immediately afterwards I received a call from Fare.  The caller had a voice like "Puddy", the guy that played Elaine's boyfriend in Seinfeld (Patrick Warburton) and the conversation went like this.

Fare, "when are you going to start driving?" 
Me, "as soon as I get the vehicle reviewed by a mechanic." 
Fare, "can you do it soon we need some drivers?" 
Me, "lol, okay.  I am surprised to receive this call."  "I will get going soon." (I am still laughing to myself because of who he sounds like)

You have to know the voice I am referring to or there will be none of the intended humor.

- 71.5 miles was the longest trip.  Corsicana Texas to Garland Texas.

- $75.00 approximate highest earning single trip.  The one from Corsicana was $73.76 but I believe there was one with GetMe that might have been a few dollars higher.  The GetMe ride was a group of bikini-clad females leaving Lake Travis and going to the Residence Inn on 4th street.  Just in case you were wondering who the riders were and what they were wearing.

07/07/20

I never took many pictures while rideshare driving.  There wasn't time and many probably would not want to be photographed.  Plus, the phone was already in use with the rideshare app.  Here are the only ones that were taken.

The first one was a very common sight when going through downtown heading North on Congress Street.

The second one was mentioned in one of the posts.  After dropping off the rider, I drove up on someone selling lemonade on the sidewalk and stopped to get some.  This was out past Leander off of highway 183 almost to the intersection of 183 and 29 near Liberty Hill.  There were only a handful of times that I made it out that far on that side of town.

Photo number three is also mentioned in a blog post.  I do not like pets in the car but was always accommodating to the riders.  This one was well behaved even when his owner left him with me for about 10 minutes while he went into the bank to get money so he could recover his car that had been towed.  This was in the Lakeline area and the drop off was almost to the airport.  I had to stop and clean the dog hair out of the car after the ride and THAT is why I don't like animals in the vehicle.

The last one was a picture of a property for sell in Round Rock or Georgetown, by a realtor friend of mine.  I posted the photo on Facebook, prompting a brief exchange of pleasantries between us.

That is all.  More than four years of driving and these are the only photos that I took.

07/03/20

I gave a friend a ride to down south of Austin yesterday and that was the closest thing to an Uber event that I have had since I stopped driving several months ago.  It was, in a sense, a rideshare type of ride but it was not an "Uber" ride.

The latest update from Uber discussed earnings averages of the drivers.  The information stated that they were averaging $20.00 an hour which I thought was pretty damn good especially considering the situation.  There were a few nights that I only made it to a $10.00 an hour average but not very often.  I usually ran more towards the $30.00 an hour range.  The update also shared rider demand information.  It was not a surprise but did further deepen the sadness felt about downtown as the information and the accompanying map showed that most of the demand was in the Round Rock area.  No indication of any demand in downtown.  Before, there would be so much demand in downtown that the area on the map in the app would be such a deep red color that it was almost black.  Red of course indicating a very high demand.  Its just sad.  The soul of downtown Austin is gone.

06/09/20

I was attending an event that was only a few miles from downtown so I decided to make a quick pass through downtown.  It was going to be the first time I had been downtown in a couple of months.

"I should not have done this," was my first thought as I exited the freeway and could already see and feel the sadness.  I could see the indicators of the protests that had been taking place including the barricaded police station.  I turned onto 6th street and observed what appeared to be an abandoned town.  There was no one.  The bars and restaurants were all boarded up and the inevitable tagging had taken place.  Businesses closed, no one in the cafes and restaurants, none of the usual foot traffic from all of the office buildings, hotels and restaurants.  No scooters, no taxis, and no Ubers.  The only activity was around the construction sites.  I turned on Red River to get towards Caesar Chavez street.  As I passed the Fairmont I could see people setting inside at what appeared to be a restaurant.  That was a little encouraging but a very far cry from the quantity of people that would usually be seen.  I turned right on Caesar Chavez and headed for Mopac.  I had seen enough.

The contrast to what downtown was before, is saddening.  Downtown is dead.  I sincerely hope that it can be revived and that the vibe that was always in the air before, can return.  I can now say with 100% certainty that there will not be a big rideshare demand for some time.  I had stated with optimism before that I would continue rideshare driving once everything returned to normal, thinking that normal would be in a matter of a couple of months at the most.  That simply cannot happen.  I wont say "impossible" although I probably should.

It is very likely that this will be the last entry in this blog.  It is unfortunate but I can say that it was interesting and fun.  It made a lot of stories, in fact, the only thing I regret is that I did not start doing the blog sooner.  When reading this blog, be sure and click on the older dates as well.  I noticed that those don't always expand out so they can be selected for reading.  There is a lot of stuff spanning several years.

Thanks for reading and I am hoping that this is not the end although its nice to know that every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

05/19/20

I just updated my profile on LinkedIn by putting an ending date for driving with Uber.  I had to do that so it would show further down the experience list and allow my last hotel job to show higher on the list.  As it currently  stands, the last ride I performed was on January 30th, 2020.  I will also be cancelling the rideshare insurance tomorrow.  No need in paying $60 a month when I am sure that I wont be needing it for a while.  The intention is for this to only be temporary but it may be an extended type of temporary.  I would certainly rather be driving and sharing experiences with the riders.

04/03/20

I just opened the Uber rider app.  They are out there.  There were 6 in this area.  I cant beleive there is enough business out there that would make it worth the risk of being exposed to the virus.

03/20/20

I had slowed down my driving due to a hurting shoulder that made it extremely uncomfortable while driving.  Just when that was coming around this damn virus thing started becoming an issue.  I wasn't in a hurry to drive thinking this would soon pass.  This is not going to pass soon.  It is bad and is going to alter the way we live our lives, possibly forever.  The alteration could be for the better or it could be for the worse.  I am optimistically hoping that by the end of May, we will know.  Once this does pass, I anticipate a very high demand of rideshares as people will feel the freedom.  As long as I do not fall victim to this intruder, I will be there with the app a blazin'.

With that, I will close out this journal entry with the hope that the next entry will be one of liberation, celebration, and fascination.

01/28/20

I needed to get out for moment so I turned on the app.  Within 5 minutes I had a request.

Picked up some ladies at Moonshine in Avery Ranch.  A conversation about some of the shows they had all been to broke out.  That conversation then focused down to Bon Jovi and the timelessness of the band.  I had to interject myself into the conversation and share my exposure as well.  Bon Jovi and Ratt, probably about 1984 or 85 ish.  Fun conversation.

01/26/20

I was picking up in Pearson Place at Avery Ranch.  The destination popped up and in one of those moments of random and unexplained outbursts, I blurted out COAST TO COAST MOPAC STYLE!  The trip appeared to be from one end of Mopac to the other which is what prompted the outburst.  Of course as we got closer to the destination and the map was zoomed in more, I could see that we weren't even going to make it to Slaughter.  Fortunately for me there is not a way for rhe rider to select "dork" when they rate the ride.

01/23/20

Many of the posts that I have left begin with an insinuated expression of joy for a trip that is going downtown.  Today, upon picking up the riders and seeing where the trip was going, I cringed at the downtown destination.  It was still early enough in the evening that traffic was going to be horrendous.  The riders were aware of that and away we went.  With the exception of short sections of 183 and Mopac, it was horrendous.  It was like the beginning of the movie Office Space without the old guy and his walker.  Instead of the old man, there was a more sinister critter making light of my lack of velocity that I was experiencing.  There were several times I looked out the window to see a skinny mosquito-looking insect flying up and down and all around.  It would zip ahead of me slightly and then zip back to the window.  I think I could actually see its eyes looking at me with an expression of "c'mon slow poke.  Is that all you got?"  Then it would fly ahead only to return and look at me again with an expression of, WTF dude.  I hope I splattered his skinny little butt all over my windshield once I finally got up to speed.

Once I dropped the riders off at Terry Black's BBQ, I immediately put in my home address to start working my way back home.  Before I even made it back to Mopac I received another request and although it took me to the south, the rider was heading north taking me about halfway home.  The app was directing me along one path and the map was showing another path.  By the time I figured out what was going on I had passed the exit and then it corrected itself leaving me on a path to be taking the rider on a longer ride.  I apologized to the rider and explained what had happened.  She strongly assured me that all was fine and that I should not worry about it but I was determined to put forth some form of an effort to fix the error.  I came up with the idea to turn on Google Maps and plug the destination address in to there.  Once that was done and Google Maps was tracking my location and directing me to the destination, I completed the ride on the Uber app so it would stop charging the rider.  I had explained to her what I was up to and she again told me that I should not worry about it.  I did it anyway and at the drop off let her know what I had done and apologized again.  As I was about to get onto the ramp to 183 from Lamar I noticed a tip had been posted.  It was from the rider and the tip made up any of the savings that I had gained her.  I smiled and stated out loud that she definitely wanted me to know that she was okay with the issue that had occured.

I made it home without any more requests and turned off the app, missing out on a $3.00 bonus by getting 1 more ride.  It could have easily been a $150 night but I am beat down for the day.

01/11/20

So I discovered that Corsicana does have Uber coverage via the Waco area.  I turned on the app to start grabbing the rides but after an hour, there had been NOTHING.  I turned on the rider app to see how many other drivers were out there.  There I was, all alone on the map.  I zoomed out to about a 90 mile radius.  There I still was, setting in the middle of a sea of no one divided only by the multiple lines representing asphalt laden vehicle paths.  Maybe its the colder weather.

We were playing dominos when it happened.  A rideshare request in Corsicana!  It took a while to accomplish the pick up and then, upon starting the ride, I was pleasantly surprised to see a destination in Garland Texas.  Going to have to stop for gas and the rider was okay with that.  This was going to be my longest ride since I have been driving for Uber or any of the others.  The previous record holder was a ride with Get Me (while Uber was not in Austin) and it was from Lake Travis Volente area to the Marriott Courtyard downtown.  Possibly one from downtown to Georgetown but this one would out do them all.

Surprise Dallas!  I'm back!  Unexpectedly so, but here I am.  Upon dropping off in Garland I had immediately set my destination for Corsicana but I was Northeast of downtown Dallas so I was expecting several rides as I worked to get back to Corsicana.  My expectations became reality.  

The app had me picking up at an Applebees that was not there.  I was able to text the rider and they told me that they were across from Target.  No Target anywhere in sight.  I quickly opened the Google Maps app and typed in Target.  The first one on the list  was on the same street that I was on so  I selected it.  There it was on the map about a mile away.  Also indicated on the map was Applebees, right across the street.  I pulled up right as the rider was asking if they should get a different Uber.  From there we had an awesome conversation all the way from Rowlett to Garland.

I used to work in this area.  The hotel had a different name and things looked a little different but all was recognizable.  I don't miss it one damn bit.

I took a young lady down to Henderson street near downtown.  I didnt know that area was there and there were people everywhere on a 33 degree night.  I was briefly stuck in a repeating cycle for this area and it was a bit difficult to navigate with the activity levels and road construction.  There were some very nice femalescapes to enjoy which made the pick ups in a difficult spot, more bearable. 

I dropped the last riders off near American Airlines Center and that was far enough away to break the chain on Henderson.  From there I zipped through downtown Dallas in a world record time and roared onto I30 at Elm street, which lead me around to I45 where I hit light speed and was gone.  See you next time Dallas.

Turned off the app at Ennis and went to Wal-Mart to get a head of cabbage for Charlie.  Will get some more gas after I wrap up  the night with a number 21 at the Whataburger on I45 in Ennis Texas at 2:30am.

01/10/20

Finished getting the vehicle serviced in Round Rock and headed out to .near Hutto to return some rental radios from work.  Turned on the app at about 10:30am and got a request just a few minutes later.  This was a young man that worked at Sonic and was very enthusiastic about his job.  He shared with me the various specials and other things they regurlaly have going on and we ended up talking about management where I provided some quick advice.  Good rider and it turned out to be the only one for the day.