Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! I've really missed blogging and I know that i haven't kept up with my All The Goods, All The Rods and All The Creatives for some time. I think that those were amazing times when I was working on those but now it's time for something new. I'm going to try hard to keep on top of this one (yeah I know, you've heard that before and we all know how WELL that turned out, right?).
Anyway, it became very apparent to me that it was time to start writing about my adventures as a rideshare driver. For those who don't know what that term means, it's those folks that drive for Uber, Lyft and many others. It's those folks for whatever reason heed the siren song of the road and can't seem to get enough. That's the category I'm in at the moment.
So, a bit of background about me...I live on the West Coast of Florida and am a woman 'of a certain age;' Okay, not ready for the crypt yet but I've passed my halfway mark and I',m determined to make the other half as interesting and glorious as possible. I have lived in the Tampa Bay area for almost 35 years, having moved here in May 1983. I could almost write a book about the changes since. But I don't think that I have that kind of time but I might change my mind...or not. Moving along...
For the past 35 years, I have worked in corporations. I've worked in many industries, from graphics to mortgage to healthcare to finance and beyond. My first job here was a telemarketer for a funeral home/cemetery and my job was to call people (this is the days before Auto Dialer) and say this "Good morning this is Kim from All Faiths Memorial Gardens, you have been selected for FREE grave space at our facility!" OMG, cringe-worthy to be sure. Yeah, who doesn't want to be on the receiving end of THAT type of call? Yeah, sign me up! Yowsa! Luckily, I wasn't doing that for long because I sucked at making those calls and really didn't support either the script or the idea, so the owners liked me and made me a gofer and an office chick were I stuffed envelopes and took care of mailing. From there, it was Trader Publications and then forth. (But that's another blog for another time.)
Currently, I am looking for corporate work but I am also doing rideshare full time now and it's been quite interesting. It is never dull. I get a lot of this from friends and passengers alike-
"Isn't it scary driving strangers in your car?"
"Aren't you ever afraid?"
Okay, to answer that, no I am not afraid. I don't live in a world of fear. If I subscribed to that mentality, I'd never leave the house. I have OFTEN had men as riders, some from the worst sections of this city and ALL of them have been nothing less than respectful and dignified. Granted, I'm not driving in the middle of the night where a lot comes into play, drunks or people just up to no good. And yes, you can get the random crazy at twelve noon but that hasn't been my experience.
I drive for Uber and began this as a part-time gig in 2016. I have had a love and hate relationship with this. I think though to be fair, what brought me around and changed my mind about it was that I have been doing it more on a full time basis now and it's opened my eyes a lot. I am getting better at it. I love the customer service aspect of it. I love to help people and I love to talk to people. Granted, not everyone wants to talk and that's cool. But some do and I have not had a shortage of interesting riders.
The idea for doing this blog came about Wednesday night as I drove back from Ocala, FL. Ocala is mostly known for its horses. There are MANY ranches there where racehorses and thoroughbreds are bred, trained and other things. I picked up a lady groom who had landed at St Pete Clearwater Airport and was going to Ocala. That is a two hour trip, about a hundred miles from the airport. I jumped at it because the longer the distance, the more the miles, the bigger the payout.
I drove out of Clearwater in heavy Rush Hour traffic and once past Tampa city limits and onto I-75, the traffic lessened a bit and it was a gorgeous ride all the way up. One of the best parts of driving, is that I get to see things that I would normally never see in a lifetime. Despite having lived down here this long, there are places I have yet to explore. I dropped my rider off a bit north of Ocala and it was nothing but wide open space and hills (probably one of the only areas with hills in this pancake-flat state). Gorgeous landscape up there. I'd say it's good for retirees that want to stay out of the bigger cities. I have a friend who lives there and she missed the bright lights and big city feel of down here in Tampa Bay.
As I drove back in the waning sunlight, the traffic was a dream until we intersected with I-275 and then we're into Tampa traffic. It struck me at how at peace I was, despite the long distance and the traffic coming and going.I LOVE to drive and my favorite vacations are road trips. I have friends that go on cruises and I've had riders that cruise all the time and they all try to convince me at how great it is but I don't see the appeal for me. I want to be where I can control what I see and do, preferably with me driving. I don't care about midnight buffets and Broadway shows on demand on a floating palace. That's just not my thing. But give me a long trip, preferably out of my city limits and I'm as happy as a pig in slop! I guess I'm just a born explorer.
So, I intend to check in and also take photos of some of the things I see while out and about. Yes, of course, not while driving, silly!
Thanks for stopping by and checking out this new blog!
(Palm Harbor, FL, Oct 2014)
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