I didn't drive today as I had had a few craft beers I had bought... Unfortunately I picked up a migraine and missed the "party" my family was at, but I truly believe it was a smart idea not to drive 15 miles...
The reason for this blog today was to give Honda some kudos - they gave an opportunity for riders to get home free on the Uber platform... for 2 hours, after the final whistle, if you used the promo code "HELPFUL" you would get your entire ride on Uber for free... I have not seen an update but as of 1 hour after there had been 10,000 riders who had taken advantage... Unlike most of the "Helpful Honda" campaign you didn't need to own a Honda... I believe this was a fantastic display of corporate responsibility.. Honda didn't want you to drive your Honda (or any other car for that matter) home from the bar/friends home you attended Super Bowl 50...
Sad to see the Panthers loss, the Bronco's D was insane!!!! Cam Newton needed some Preparation H as the defense was like hemorrhoids in his pocket... Nice win Broncos and nice win Honda - your campaign gets huge kudos in my book, I will consider your vehicle line when replacing the Avalon...
BTW, I was disappointed from the commercials this year for the most part - Uhmmmm, Puppy Monkey Baby?!?
#UberOn #Helpful #WellPlayedHonda #Honda #RideDrunk #PuppyMonkeyBaby
Jeff
Monday, February 8, 2016
Sunday, February 7, 2016
2 Rookies dont make a right! or is it rite? or Write?
Tonight is about the Rite of passage, the right hand turn and the Writing of a ticket.... You can make 3 right hand turns to make a left, seems silly however sometimes it faster - while that wasn't the right hand turn I was referring to, it kinda describes my day today, a bit silly to say the least... Before I proceed, I finally got approved for advertising - I haven't seen it yet, but please let me know if it seems too invasive - speaking of advertising, I have new codes as well for both new riders and new drivers... let me know if you're interested in either....
So without further ado, drum roll please....
Fare 1 - Uber - An elder Indian lady (was going to say Dot, not Bow and Arrow, but that would sound racist I think) from Southern India visiting her engineering grad student daughter at CSUF. Nice lady, very kind but we had a bit of a language barrier - she said "Music?" I turned on KEarth 101 and she started jamming to Phil Collins... the 30 Min drive to south Irvine was nice but very quiet... We arrived and she placed her hand on my shoulder and said something I couldn't understand, she was full of smiles and it felt like a good thing so I said thank you and headed out...
This was my rite of passage moment... first time I couldn't really communicate with a rider but was still able to get her to her destination and feel as if she was thanking me for a safe ride home... She could have been saying "you drive like crap" but I prefer the former...
Many of you are familiar with the Irvine area, I was close to the Sand Canyon / Alton Pkwy exit on my last drop - Alton is a wide street with a 50 MPH Speed limit, I was in the number 1 lane (farthest to the left) - I dont recall the cross street but I had Uber ping #2 up so I was close to Jamboree and all of a sudden this Porsche Cayenne decides to make a right turn and go to the far lane in front of me... Should I have been in my truck there would have been damage, but the Avalon is a very nimble car - I jumped 2 lanes to the right and controlled an over steer skid that scared the crap out of me... Fortunately there wasn't much oncoming traffic so I had some time to correct the direction of the car... The Cayenne actually pulled over thinking I hit the curb... I pulled along side and the driver asked me if I was OK, very courteous, I said aside from scaring me to death it worked out OK - no damage, no problem... He apologized profusely as he didn't see me... My guess is he was on his cell phone....
Fare 2 - Uber - Jon - Pickup from the most ridiculously designed strip malls in Irvine - took us 10 minutes to get out - quick run to UCI - he and his friends had their faces glued to their phones the entire ride home, so not much to say... the back passenger did hand me a $1 tip however which was a nice gesture...
I forgot to mention earlier, I had stopped to grab a redbull and saw a Carolina Panther's hat on sale so I grabbed it and was wearing it all night... I was pretty amazed at how many Bronco fans there are.... LOL
Fare 3 - Lyft - Picked up a nice couple just off back bay - they got in and she began to tell him that she was having sharp pains in her abdomen... He had her describe everything and it surely sounded to me like appendicitis... I was an EMT for 3 years, a Wilderness Emergency care tech and am currently member of local CERT teams so I start to go into emergency mode and offer a ride over to Hoag... He said, dont stress it, she gets like this every time she drinks... I asked what she was drinking and he said Coors Light... I then thought back to my family, I have 3 people that I know are Gluten intolerant - mentioned that and he said "Good diagnosis, Dr., I've been telling her that since we met but she wont buy it, maybe hearing your second opinion now will make her listen" turns out he was a 3rd year med student over at UCI.... Upon dropping them off he shook my hand with a $5 bill and said - "I'm impressed".... Not sure how to take that from a 25 year old but the tip was appreciated... Oh, he also said GO PANTHERS... LOL
Fare 4 - Uber - Mary, Such a sweet lady, a widower at 62, her husband recently passed away from pancreatic cancer... F\/(k Cancer!!!!! He was a F14 pilot and flew thousands of sorties, yet cancer took him from her, not the Jet she feared... The ride was a short one, right by the pier in Newport - she exited the car and said go Cardinals..., she was a bit tipsy but I understood...
I headed to the pier to chill for a moment and honestly mentally re-coop from that ride... I love it when riders share their stories but some hit very close to home - I cant even begin to think of how cancer has injected it's poison into my life, 2 moms and a father in law... again F\/(k Cancer!!!!!
As I chilled on the pier I watched a father and son pull in a sculpin... The son reached in to grab the fish bare handed and the father slapped his had away - the father did this out of fear and love, (Or the desire to not have to go to the ER) - the sculpin has a spiny fin that will easially pierce the flesh of a hand and will inflict a large amount of pain and suffering... He dropped the fish to the ground and hugged his son - it was a nice moment to see... Actually I needed to see that due to the mood I was in!
After a while I picked back up where I left off - Grabbed a corn dog and a lemonade and got an Uber Ping...
Fare 5 - Uber - Kim, All the way down by "The Wedge" I picked up Kim - she was a sweetheart, dressed to the 9's not wanting to go out but her friends from college were in town... a quick run up to Staggs...
Fare 6 - Uber - 2 couples, they offered me a doughnut... I love doughnuts so took them up... YUMMMMMM... A quick run up superior and dropped them off in the same complex I used to live in....
I was starting to get a bit tired and I actually have good plans for tomorrow seeing some family so I figured I'd head home... As I bee-lined to Fullerton I saw my area was in a 3x surge so I went online, sure enough I found a 5x rider going from Brea to Anaheim... Way too good to pass up...
Fare 7 - Uber - Daniel, picked him and his friend up near the Mall - they were headed to the Ultra Lounge... I did this run last night so I knew the back way in... Really long story short we headed out, I turned right on Randolph right by the PD, as we passed the mall I got lit up by a patrol officer. He came to my window and asked if I knew why he stopped me... normally I would but in this instance I couldn't figure it out so I said "I honestly don't know", it was then things got funky - he said I made an illegal U turn, however I had not made any... I informed him I had a fare and was online - he expeditiously took my cards and came back with a ticket... Daniel, good dude tried to talk the officer down, stating our exact route but it wasn't happening... Once the arguing began I shut it down - "I'm online and need to get my fare to their destination, if there is nothing further you need from me I ask if I am free to go" The officer said yes so I followed up with, "If you'd like this to hold up please join me in court, Uber logs my entire trip from request to drop-off, I will have evidence that proves I did not do a u-turn..." He said see you in court... The rest of the trip was Daniel being upset by the ticket and his friend trying to calm him down... He gave me his number and said, "Dude, I'll be a witness" - I told him I didn't need it, technology will prove my innocence - we're in a day and age that not only was Uber tracking me, my dash cam was recording everything - it's a slam dunk! I pulled up on the backside of the Ultra Lounge and pointed them in the right direction - he gave me his card and let me know he had my back, I appreciated it... He then handed me a $20 to say for the gas to court... I refused it but it was in my back seat as I pulled away...
I was pretty much over driving at this point, I mean really how many rights do I need to take in one night... Tomorrow I plan on enjoying the game, maybe I'll drive, maybe I'll uber myself home...
GO PANTHERS!
#UberOn #RideDrunk #NoRightTurns
Jeff
See the entire blog here: http://uberjeff.blogspot.com/
So without further ado, drum roll please....
Fare 1 - Uber - An elder Indian lady (was going to say Dot, not Bow and Arrow, but that would sound racist I think) from Southern India visiting her engineering grad student daughter at CSUF. Nice lady, very kind but we had a bit of a language barrier - she said "Music?" I turned on KEarth 101 and she started jamming to Phil Collins... the 30 Min drive to south Irvine was nice but very quiet... We arrived and she placed her hand on my shoulder and said something I couldn't understand, she was full of smiles and it felt like a good thing so I said thank you and headed out...
This was my rite of passage moment... first time I couldn't really communicate with a rider but was still able to get her to her destination and feel as if she was thanking me for a safe ride home... She could have been saying "you drive like crap" but I prefer the former...
Many of you are familiar with the Irvine area, I was close to the Sand Canyon / Alton Pkwy exit on my last drop - Alton is a wide street with a 50 MPH Speed limit, I was in the number 1 lane (farthest to the left) - I dont recall the cross street but I had Uber ping #2 up so I was close to Jamboree and all of a sudden this Porsche Cayenne decides to make a right turn and go to the far lane in front of me... Should I have been in my truck there would have been damage, but the Avalon is a very nimble car - I jumped 2 lanes to the right and controlled an over steer skid that scared the crap out of me... Fortunately there wasn't much oncoming traffic so I had some time to correct the direction of the car... The Cayenne actually pulled over thinking I hit the curb... I pulled along side and the driver asked me if I was OK, very courteous, I said aside from scaring me to death it worked out OK - no damage, no problem... He apologized profusely as he didn't see me... My guess is he was on his cell phone....
Fare 2 - Uber - Jon - Pickup from the most ridiculously designed strip malls in Irvine - took us 10 minutes to get out - quick run to UCI - he and his friends had their faces glued to their phones the entire ride home, so not much to say... the back passenger did hand me a $1 tip however which was a nice gesture...
I forgot to mention earlier, I had stopped to grab a redbull and saw a Carolina Panther's hat on sale so I grabbed it and was wearing it all night... I was pretty amazed at how many Bronco fans there are.... LOL
Fare 3 - Lyft - Picked up a nice couple just off back bay - they got in and she began to tell him that she was having sharp pains in her abdomen... He had her describe everything and it surely sounded to me like appendicitis... I was an EMT for 3 years, a Wilderness Emergency care tech and am currently member of local CERT teams so I start to go into emergency mode and offer a ride over to Hoag... He said, dont stress it, she gets like this every time she drinks... I asked what she was drinking and he said Coors Light... I then thought back to my family, I have 3 people that I know are Gluten intolerant - mentioned that and he said "Good diagnosis, Dr., I've been telling her that since we met but she wont buy it, maybe hearing your second opinion now will make her listen" turns out he was a 3rd year med student over at UCI.... Upon dropping them off he shook my hand with a $5 bill and said - "I'm impressed".... Not sure how to take that from a 25 year old but the tip was appreciated... Oh, he also said GO PANTHERS... LOL
Fare 4 - Uber - Mary, Such a sweet lady, a widower at 62, her husband recently passed away from pancreatic cancer... F\/(k Cancer!!!!! He was a F14 pilot and flew thousands of sorties, yet cancer took him from her, not the Jet she feared... The ride was a short one, right by the pier in Newport - she exited the car and said go Cardinals..., she was a bit tipsy but I understood...
I headed to the pier to chill for a moment and honestly mentally re-coop from that ride... I love it when riders share their stories but some hit very close to home - I cant even begin to think of how cancer has injected it's poison into my life, 2 moms and a father in law... again F\/(k Cancer!!!!!
As I chilled on the pier I watched a father and son pull in a sculpin... The son reached in to grab the fish bare handed and the father slapped his had away - the father did this out of fear and love, (Or the desire to not have to go to the ER) - the sculpin has a spiny fin that will easially pierce the flesh of a hand and will inflict a large amount of pain and suffering... He dropped the fish to the ground and hugged his son - it was a nice moment to see... Actually I needed to see that due to the mood I was in!
After a while I picked back up where I left off - Grabbed a corn dog and a lemonade and got an Uber Ping...
Fare 5 - Uber - Kim, All the way down by "The Wedge" I picked up Kim - she was a sweetheart, dressed to the 9's not wanting to go out but her friends from college were in town... a quick run up to Staggs...
Fare 6 - Uber - 2 couples, they offered me a doughnut... I love doughnuts so took them up... YUMMMMMM... A quick run up superior and dropped them off in the same complex I used to live in....
I was starting to get a bit tired and I actually have good plans for tomorrow seeing some family so I figured I'd head home... As I bee-lined to Fullerton I saw my area was in a 3x surge so I went online, sure enough I found a 5x rider going from Brea to Anaheim... Way too good to pass up...
Fare 7 - Uber - Daniel, picked him and his friend up near the Mall - they were headed to the Ultra Lounge... I did this run last night so I knew the back way in... Really long story short we headed out, I turned right on Randolph right by the PD, as we passed the mall I got lit up by a patrol officer. He came to my window and asked if I knew why he stopped me... normally I would but in this instance I couldn't figure it out so I said "I honestly don't know", it was then things got funky - he said I made an illegal U turn, however I had not made any... I informed him I had a fare and was online - he expeditiously took my cards and came back with a ticket... Daniel, good dude tried to talk the officer down, stating our exact route but it wasn't happening... Once the arguing began I shut it down - "I'm online and need to get my fare to their destination, if there is nothing further you need from me I ask if I am free to go" The officer said yes so I followed up with, "If you'd like this to hold up please join me in court, Uber logs my entire trip from request to drop-off, I will have evidence that proves I did not do a u-turn..." He said see you in court... The rest of the trip was Daniel being upset by the ticket and his friend trying to calm him down... He gave me his number and said, "Dude, I'll be a witness" - I told him I didn't need it, technology will prove my innocence - we're in a day and age that not only was Uber tracking me, my dash cam was recording everything - it's a slam dunk! I pulled up on the backside of the Ultra Lounge and pointed them in the right direction - he gave me his card and let me know he had my back, I appreciated it... He then handed me a $20 to say for the gas to court... I refused it but it was in my back seat as I pulled away...
I was pretty much over driving at this point, I mean really how many rights do I need to take in one night... Tomorrow I plan on enjoying the game, maybe I'll drive, maybe I'll uber myself home...
GO PANTHERS!
#UberOn #RideDrunk #NoRightTurns
Jeff
See the entire blog here: http://uberjeff.blogspot.com/
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Is it REALLY worth it?
Sometimes, like tonight when is slow and I'm online for 30+ minutes without a rider I truly do ask, is it really worth it? It's at that point I consider going home, but what is there for me? Not much, a couch that I'll sit my butt on and watch TV until the wee hours of the AM on a Friday night... All of my friends are out of town, I'm low on fundage so I'm not going out and ultimately I realize, driving is a great stress relief from the week... So I drive...
Tonight was super slow but I got a few longer rides that made up the new lower pricing...
Fare 1 - Uber - Picked up 2 Ladies after rolling through a DUI Check Point on YLBLVD - Officer didn't even stop me however everyone else had to show a Drivers License - this was more than a DUI Check Point, even the sign said DUI / License check point ahead... Good on them, get the unlicensed off the road too! So I picked up 2 ladies and ran them down to the Clubhouse - 2nd time in 2 days, it's odd how that works... They hopped out and the bouncer came up and asked me if I had any promo cards, wasn't sure what those were so he explained it - referral codes... He ran out of the last drivers and enjoyed sending people home in Uber rides when they were drunk... Something I need to look into, a simple QR Code that signs a user up under my account - genius! Office Depot here I come!
Fare 2 - Lyft - A Cool couple that were at a Ducks game "After Party" in Placentia, a quick run - she kept yelling at Siri to "Shut Up Bitch" - she was sitting on her phone - I could tell he was embarrassed, next time I heard it, I said "ask her what day it is" she did and a moment, "Damn, I didn't know it was Friday, Babe, why are we going home already???" His response was priceless - "Because I'm not paying for you to barf in a rideshare and I felt a wheelbarrow was inappropriate..." I wonder who's on the couch right now?!?
Fare 3 - Uber - Joe, a mild mannered Hispanic guy who was very generous to his friends (Pickup in DTF) - We had multiple stops... We first dropped off his homie, then his girlfriend - he then said damn, I'm hungry - can we stop for some tacos? normally at 1:30 I'd say no, but I could tell he needed some and I was pretty hungry too... We stopped at Taco Boys, he then said what do you want, I'm buying - I could go for a beef taco, he said allright then, be back in a second... dude bought me 4 huge tacos while I stood off to the side and had a cig... He came out just after I finished and said no other Uber driver had ever let him stop there after a night in DTF... It took 10 Min so I understand why but when we got to his place, he palmed me a $6 tip and said thank you... I dont know how much the tacos cost, I'd guess about $2 each and then a $6 tip - Joe made my night! I still have 1 left I'm staring at :)
Fare 4 - Lyft - Nicole... This is why I drive, ok that seems cheesy, but seriously, she made a good call... She and her 3 friends went out for the first time in a while - none of them felt fit to drive so they called for a Lyft. She had parked her car in the structure so it would not be towed and realized she was too inebriated to drive home... I pulled up to 3 very good looking 20 somethings :) - they hopped in and we drove to Nicole's home in Pico Rivera - about 20 miles... While 1 of them fell asleep the other 2 had to have been the coolest riders I ever had - never have I had the entire conversation where I was involved for 20+ miles... It was then we arrived and everyone realized that one of the other girls forgot her jacket which had everyone's keys in it - I sat by to see them hop in through a window... they waved and I was on my way home - didnt want to be a B&E accomplice but was happy they got in safe...
Jammed home and am now with my butt on the couch - at least I;m tired...
#UberOn
Jeff
Tonight was super slow but I got a few longer rides that made up the new lower pricing...
Fare 1 - Uber - Picked up 2 Ladies after rolling through a DUI Check Point on YLBLVD - Officer didn't even stop me however everyone else had to show a Drivers License - this was more than a DUI Check Point, even the sign said DUI / License check point ahead... Good on them, get the unlicensed off the road too! So I picked up 2 ladies and ran them down to the Clubhouse - 2nd time in 2 days, it's odd how that works... They hopped out and the bouncer came up and asked me if I had any promo cards, wasn't sure what those were so he explained it - referral codes... He ran out of the last drivers and enjoyed sending people home in Uber rides when they were drunk... Something I need to look into, a simple QR Code that signs a user up under my account - genius! Office Depot here I come!
Fare 2 - Lyft - A Cool couple that were at a Ducks game "After Party" in Placentia, a quick run - she kept yelling at Siri to "Shut Up Bitch" - she was sitting on her phone - I could tell he was embarrassed, next time I heard it, I said "ask her what day it is" she did and a moment, "Damn, I didn't know it was Friday, Babe, why are we going home already???" His response was priceless - "Because I'm not paying for you to barf in a rideshare and I felt a wheelbarrow was inappropriate..." I wonder who's on the couch right now?!?
Fare 3 - Uber - Joe, a mild mannered Hispanic guy who was very generous to his friends (Pickup in DTF) - We had multiple stops... We first dropped off his homie, then his girlfriend - he then said damn, I'm hungry - can we stop for some tacos? normally at 1:30 I'd say no, but I could tell he needed some and I was pretty hungry too... We stopped at Taco Boys, he then said what do you want, I'm buying - I could go for a beef taco, he said allright then, be back in a second... dude bought me 4 huge tacos while I stood off to the side and had a cig... He came out just after I finished and said no other Uber driver had ever let him stop there after a night in DTF... It took 10 Min so I understand why but when we got to his place, he palmed me a $6 tip and said thank you... I dont know how much the tacos cost, I'd guess about $2 each and then a $6 tip - Joe made my night! I still have 1 left I'm staring at :)
Fare 4 - Lyft - Nicole... This is why I drive, ok that seems cheesy, but seriously, she made a good call... She and her 3 friends went out for the first time in a while - none of them felt fit to drive so they called for a Lyft. She had parked her car in the structure so it would not be towed and realized she was too inebriated to drive home... I pulled up to 3 very good looking 20 somethings :) - they hopped in and we drove to Nicole's home in Pico Rivera - about 20 miles... While 1 of them fell asleep the other 2 had to have been the coolest riders I ever had - never have I had the entire conversation where I was involved for 20+ miles... It was then we arrived and everyone realized that one of the other girls forgot her jacket which had everyone's keys in it - I sat by to see them hop in through a window... they waved and I was on my way home - didnt want to be a B&E accomplice but was happy they got in safe...
Jammed home and am now with my butt on the couch - at least I;m tired...
#UberOn
Jeff
Friday, February 5, 2016
Thirsty Thursday....
So let me back this up one day to Wednesday... My colleague's truck engine blew up so I offered him my truck as a loaner, I cant drive both, he needs a vehicle to work... Soooo I jump start my truck that had sat for close to 3 weeks and start to pull out - It always feels odd going from the truck to the Avalon but the steering felt difficult - I hop out and sure enough yet another cracked sidewall... parked it back and broke the news... Sucked... I told him I'll work on getting a tire because 2 weeks of no car for him will destroy him financially renting a car or taking unpaid time off... So I drove...
Fare 1 - Uber - Chris, from the Clubhouse to the Coon - nice older retired dude that has his daily bar rotation... He gave up a $2 cash tip for the 1.5 mile ride... Thanks Chris!
Fare 2 - Lyft - A HS Junior going from his study group in YL to his home in Placentia - they're working on a 1920's silent film for a history class... Cool kid with a strong head on his shoulders - about 6'5" tall plays V-Ball for my Alma Mater, EHS...
Fare 3 - Uber - Literally across the street, Barbara, a recent UCR grad headed to an Ultra Lounge by Down Town Disney... Yeah, that's about it, she was quiet...
Fare 4 - Lyft - Lexi, A young half dressed co-ed, had to be barely 18 had the mouth of a trucker but had a super petite voice, was kind of ironic to me... a quick run to her friends apartment but got the "sound byte" of the night from a phone call she had... "Ok, but no one leaves until I'm blacked out" - oh boy - my dad is probably shaking his head at this point saying, "You can relate from Colorado, right?!?" This poor girl needs to FIO...
I probably paid for 1/4 of the tire tonight... not sure why I'm trying as hard as I am to help my colleague however as of late I feel as I'm the only one in the CO that gives a crap... That being said, I'll be back out tomorrow and Sat night!
#UberOn #RideDrunk
Jeff
Full Blog can be seen here: http://uberjeff.blogspot.com/
Fare 1 - Uber - Chris, from the Clubhouse to the Coon - nice older retired dude that has his daily bar rotation... He gave up a $2 cash tip for the 1.5 mile ride... Thanks Chris!
Fare 2 - Lyft - A HS Junior going from his study group in YL to his home in Placentia - they're working on a 1920's silent film for a history class... Cool kid with a strong head on his shoulders - about 6'5" tall plays V-Ball for my Alma Mater, EHS...
Fare 3 - Uber - Literally across the street, Barbara, a recent UCR grad headed to an Ultra Lounge by Down Town Disney... Yeah, that's about it, she was quiet...
Fare 4 - Lyft - Lexi, A young half dressed co-ed, had to be barely 18 had the mouth of a trucker but had a super petite voice, was kind of ironic to me... a quick run to her friends apartment but got the "sound byte" of the night from a phone call she had... "Ok, but no one leaves until I'm blacked out" - oh boy - my dad is probably shaking his head at this point saying, "You can relate from Colorado, right?!?" This poor girl needs to FIO...
I probably paid for 1/4 of the tire tonight... not sure why I'm trying as hard as I am to help my colleague however as of late I feel as I'm the only one in the CO that gives a crap... That being said, I'll be back out tomorrow and Sat night!
#UberOn #RideDrunk
Jeff
Full Blog can be seen here: http://uberjeff.blogspot.com/
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