Uber stories

So it's occurred to me that maybe I should start writing down some of my Uber "moments." You know, significant events, interesting riders, strange happenings and whatnot, while driving for Uber.

I signed up as a driver around the middle of November 2017, however it wasn't until the beginning of this year that I took it very seriously. And I use the term 'seriously' seriously loose. My present goal is to make at least $100 a week. I usually do that in 2-3 days of driving, mostly during the day. I would likely make more money if I drove on Friday and Saturday nights, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go there.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
I had my 100th ride just last week. I was driving Friday night while Jane was at a church event. My last ride of the evening was for three young women going to the "gay bar." They were feeling no pain when I picked them up, and one in particular was trying to make it as obvious as possible she was a lesbian (um, and it was already fairly obvious). But this was not only my 100th fare, but what was more interesting was that the address they had was for where the gay bar USED to be. I drove to the abandoned building fitting the address they gave me, asked where it was they were wanting to do, and I was like, "Oh, well I know right where that is." Fort Wayne doesn't exactly have a lot of known gay bars, but they thought it was funny that the Uber driver knew where it was. Whatever. They were fun, and it was a memorable 100th ride.

I also had my 50th 5-Star ride last week. I've only had one rider that gave me less than five starts (four), and most - apparently about half - don't bother to give a rating at all. It's ironic because drivers have to rate every rider, but riders don't have to rate drivers. Whatever. I'm not sure what significance it carries, if any, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt to have a higher rating.

INTERESTING RIDERS
I would say the most interesting rider I've had (or at least most well-known) was probably the time I picked up one of the singers for Trans Siberian Orchestra. I believe it was Kayla Reeves. She/they were staying at a downtown hotel the day before their show in town, and I gave her a ride to a tanning salon. She did not look like she does in her pics - I think she had on sweats and her hair was pulled back - but she was very nice. The way I found out she was a singer was because when she got in the car she sounded somewhat hoarse, like she had a cold. I offered her a cough drop and she said her voice was always like that because she was a singer (plus she had just woke up). I asked who she sang with and she told me. She said she was known more as the "rocker" girl. Of course I messed something up on the app about halfway to her destination and it shut it off, so she got an extra cheap ride. I hadn't been driving very long at the time. Anyway, that's about the extent of it.

STRANGE HAPPENINGS
I suppose there have been a few quasi-interesting riders, but no one too our of the ordinary. Two of the more memorable ones were: The first night I drove late I got a request to pick a guy up in the Motel 6 parking lot (by the truck stop). I then dropped him off in the parking lot of the Rang Dong Asian grocery store. This was probably around midnight, so it just seemed a little strange.

The other 'character' I remember was the lady from Canada. She was staying with her son and for some reason decided she just needed to go to a hotel during the middle of the day. She couldn't remember the name of it, but my app took us to a Comfort Suites. She didn't think that was it, and they didn't have a reservation for her. So we went to another hotel and she didn't have a reservation there either but just booked a room. Then she tipped me with a $10 Canadian bill. She thought my grandkids would like it. It was very pretty, but it would cost me more to change it into usable money that it's worth, so it's basically just a piece of paper to me. She seemed a little on the eccentric and strange side.

OTHERWISE...
I'm sure there have been more things I should have written down but they've been replaced in the memory banks already. Most of my pick-ups are either to or from the airport, people needing a ride to or from work, or the grocery store, or out to eat, and that sort of thing. Some sit in front, some in back, and it doesn't seem to matter if it's male or female, young or old.

So, that's about all I've got for now. I will try to do a better job of posting things as they occur in the future. Mostly it's pretty boring though.