Playing Catch Up

8/15/18
On the way home from gaming, I figured it is quarter to midnight so let's see if we can snag a quick Lyft or two before going home. Now, my rule is to usually be in by midnight or close to. But the ride that came in as soon as I crossed into downtown Bethlehem was from 19 ish looking kid who was 18 minutes away in Nazareth. As a Lyft driver, you have 15 seconds to decide whether or not you're going to accept a ride request. So in 15 seconds, I decided that if I was the closest driver at 18 minutes away at close to midnight if I refused this kid could be waiting by a dark Walmart in the rain for God knows how long. So I accepted the ride request and headed over to Nazareth to pick up this nice young man who is starting his second semester at Northampton Community College next week. He hopes to move to Tennessee to continue at the University of Tennessee for engineering. I didn't think I'd get another ride on the way back from dropping him off at Easton but sure enough a few minutes later another request came in. Looking at the clock it was well after midnight but figuring I was out already and not tired I might as well. It turned out he was just a nice man who wanted a lift down to the bar to pick up a six pack and then drive him back home. It's a heck of a thing to be sitting outside of a gentlemen's club at 1 a.m. I locked the car doors until he came back. On the 2 minute ride back to his place he told me how he worked at the airport and his wife, a phlebotomist, wanted to continue her education so that she could make more money but was freaking out financially because of the cost of more education. I told him the midterm elections are going to be the most important election yet because the people we elect will directly impact the future for people like she and I (me as a teacher with 10 years teaching experience and a master's but with wages stagnated). I dropped him off at home with his six pack and bless his heart he gave me a $5 tip for a $5 ride. #uplyfted

8/11/18
Lyft! Where you meet interesting people! A lovelorn young man who misses his Pakistani boyfriend, and a lovely lady who gave me a $10 tip for a $4 ride because she was afraid to walk the 3 blocks home and got all panicky because she had some trouble finding me in the mess of people outside the bars. I promised her I wouldn't leave until I found her.
The young man of about 24 shared a particularly sad story. He had had a lover, a man he misses very much. The lover was Pakistani. This reference is made due to the cultural implications later on. The rider said that his lover's father thought they were just friends. He had no idea his son was gay. Now, I'm not up to snuff on my Apple knowledge, but apparently an Apple user's devices are linked and share information. Well, the father of his lover decided to go through his son's IPad and found pictures from his son's phone that apparently appeared there because the devices are linked. Yes, they were those kind of pictures. The young man went on to describe how his lover's father lost his mind. Being apparently conservative and religious, he packed his son back off to Pakistan where he forced him into an arranged marriage.
Poor boy. He loses his lover, and his lover loses his life to a woman he has never met until their wedding day and is expected to have a life with her that conceivably he does not want. And he's expected to do it out of respect for his family.
I currently choose to live the rockin' single life where I walk around my house in my underwear, drink wine whenever I want, and binge Twin Peaks or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I cannot imagine losing the freedom to choose my own life, let alone my own love. Count your blessings, children.

8/9/18
What I've learned so far now that I'm over ten rides in:
1. Water is much appreciated by riders during the summer and after a night of drinking. I keep small bottles in the pockets of the organizers on the back of the driver and passenger seats.
2. Sanitizer and tissues are godsends. If you want to keep your car clean, keep your passengers clean.
3. Don't be shy about telling them you're a new driver. That way, if you make a mistake they're more likely to be forgiving.
4. Some people just can't be pleased. A young lady who was in a strop with her man (who was higher than a kite if I care to hazard a guess) gave me a 3 star rating because I went up and around a block so I could pick her up on the right side of the street and she didn't have to cross. I believe she was angry with her boyfriend and just wanted to punish someone. It just happened to be me.
5. If you are a female driver, carry pepper spray. Rather, carry gel because as another driver/ blogger says, it won't go all over you and your car if you ever have to use it.
6. Let me qualify number 5. Ladies, the crowd changes after midnight. If someone is there until the bar closes, they are hardcore. Possibly skunk drunk and prone to stupidity. Can we handle it? Yes. Do you want to? Answer that for yourself. My answer most nights is hell no.
7. Sick bags. Haven't had to use them, but they're necessary. You won't always get the chance to get over to the curb for the rider to get sick outside the car. Be proactive. Sick Bags for a Good Price
8. Don't drive around forever looking for a ride. It's not worth the miles. Do the research. Look for venues with events. Find the bar district in your area. Locate the closest airport, bus terminal, and train stations. Travel hubs. If you want this to be effective, you can't be wasting gas driving around all over town looking for rides. Didn't get much? It happens. Go home and give it another shot on another day.
9. Don't cancel the ride after you've arrived. Make them do it. They will try to get you to so they don't have to pay a fee. A rider called after I arrived and told me she had a child, but no car seat. She said the child was two years old. In PA, that's illegal. If you can't leave a PA hospital with a newborn without a car seat, you can't take a child who requires a car seat if the rider doesn't have one.
"I work long hours, I can't be carrying no car seat with me!" Well, you're the parent. If you want to take a chance with your kid's life, that's your prerogative. I won't be a party to it. But being inexperienced, she asked me to cancel the ride and I did. Rookie mistake, but small compared to the one I could've made by taking a child in my car without a legally required car seat.
10. Don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes will be made. Life is nothing if not a learning experience.

8/8/18
Kesha sang at Musikfest. Downtown was wall to wall people! They were walking in big groups down the sideswalks, walking out between cars, and gods help me they were walking into traffic from all directions to get to where they parked. My rider was young. From her profile pic, I could tell that she was maybe 20 if she was a day. I go around the back of the SteelStacks to the Lyft/ Uber pick up area, and it was packed. There were police, guys directing traffic yelling at cars, and at least 10 rideshare drivers in the traffic circle trying to pick their riders out of the crowds leaving the concert. I am not a Kesha fan, but damn does she draw a crowd! I had my rider on the phone. I've gotten into the habit of just automatically calling them as soon as I arrive. I was trying to describe my car, I had my four way lights flashing, but there were so many people crowded into the drop zone that we just couldn't see each other.
"What if I can't find you?" she asked in frustration after a few minutes.
"Don't worry," I assured her. "I am not leaving until I find you. I might get arrested, but I will find you!"
"Ok, I'm walking toward the edge of the curb now. I have a big glowstick. I'm waving it!"
"Is that you jumping up and down with the pink glowstick?" I shouted over the crowd as I saw this tiny glowing figure bouncing up and down from across the traffic circle.
"YES!"
I opened the door, got up on Eve's running board, and waved like a lunatic.
"Back in your car!" a man with an orange vest and even louder voice boomed.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted my rider to see me!" I apologized.
Here comes this very young lady all by herself with this huge glowstick wearing skinny jeans, a rain jacket, and a relieved looking smile. She had not found any friends to go to see Kesha, so she had gone by herself. She starts her next semester at college in a few weeks.

                                          Not a Kesha fan, but I love this song!

8/4/18
If I learn nothing else from Lyft driving, at least I have a growing mind map of Bethlehem and Allentown! And that trying to find your riders during Bethlehem MusiK Fest is challenging to say the least! That is an ocean of people, holy cow! I felt like I was back in Beijing. The biggest challenge is that the app doesn't always put the pin in the right place. It dropped the pin back on Founder's Way by the entrance to the SteelStacks, but the rider was up on 3rd St. at the corner. Musik Fest is pretty strict on where Uber and Lyft can pick up and drop off, so I was in the designated drop zone which is a traffic circle at the SteelStacks entrance. I called my rider, a young 20-something lady whom I could tell had had a good night. She was getting agitated because she couldn't see me. I assured her that I would not leave until I found her. I kept describing the car, and finally I opened my door and stood up on Eve's (my Subaru Crosstrek purchased on All Hallow's Eve ;) running board phone in hand looking around for this person. Then I see her. A lovely, 20 something young lady pelting down the sidewalk toward the car phone to her ear.
"Oh my god, is that you running toward me?" I laugh it looks so ridiculous.
"YES! Thank God, I see you!"
I see a man about ten feet running behind her.
"Is that your boyfriend that you're outrunning?"
"Yeah, he's not important," she giggles breathlessly.
"Aw, we might want to take him along," I cajole.
They were a very nice, happily inebriated couple. We had fun conversation, and they left a generous tip. #uplyfted

8/1/18
Started Lyft driving tonight! Only had 4 rides, but I'm just learning. It was fun! Met a builder in town for a project at the mall, a mom and her daughter on the way home from Chuck-E-Cheese, warehouse worker who overslept and needed a ride to work for the night shift, and a very nice young lady working at a local strip club. That was three hours that were very interesting! My first ride was the builder, and I truly thought I was going to have a panic attack until I found him. Note to self: Lehigh Valley Mall is a big place, but not really. Second note: It's okay for a kid to eat their cotton candy in the car, but have sanitizer on hand. Third note: Strippers work hard for the money.