A few Friday’s ago I picked up a regular customer in Blaine. He’s the one who wants to build a wedding venue on his property. I did research for the man, so he could figure out what permits he needs for his large project. He is technically in the county and requires Whatcom County approval for what he needs to do. Anyway I won’t bore you with permits and regulatory jargon. Let’s talk about what this man does for his country. A UAV drone pilot. I used to think all UAV pilots are in a bunker away from the front line, but it’s the total opposite. They sit in the middle of a C130 Hercules and control the drone. His fill in was in Africa on a surveillance mission recently and was shot down by an RPG. Everyone had died from the plane crash except the UAV pilot. Debris and shrapnel had injured him and was currently in hospital recovering. I’m sure that bloke has severe PTSD as a result of seeing death and destruction first hand. Him, the only survivor out seven people. Horrible. What a devastating blow. I couldn’t help but wonder, where in Africa did this happen and why did I not hear about this mission? It must’ve been top secret and kept quiet. A failed mission with drastic consequences. My passenger was heading to Afghanistan and was supposed to be swapping out the other UAV pilot. Even though the guy wasn’t killed I’m sure he’ll never be the same again. As much as I find military hardware fascinating and probably know more than most people about the specifications of a machine I simply think the money could be put to better use. The second Iraq war alone has cost the United States 2 trillion dollars. Troops are still there and Saddam Hussein is long gone. My passenger paid me handsomely for the ride to the airport. He asked me if I wanted to be his driver for wedding venue when it eventually opens up. A shuttle service for all the wedding guests. I said maybe. A lot can change in a few years.
My next passenger was the wife of a rapper from Florida. ButtaMuzik. He occasionally plays at the Wild Buffalo and is gaining a huge amount of support locally. The lady in the back works as an optometrist. We discussed her husband’s music career. Humble beginnings that could turn into a worldwide sensation. I hope so for their case.
Listen And Watch Butta’s Latest Music,Performances, and Videos!
The website for ButtaMuzik.
Now I went to a job interview after this dropoff. It worked out perfectly and I nailed it. February I’ll be starting a new job delivering medical supplies. I will still occasionally uber when I need more cash, but it will be a full time job delivering oxygen tanks and medical equipment to people. Who knows I might meet interesting old folks that have some fascinating stories.
After the interview I journeyed to the airport and amazingly didn’t have to wait too long. I drove up to the arrival terminal and yelled the name of the rider. A lady moved her phone back and forth. I placed her bag in the boot and drove off with who I thought was the right lady. It wasn’t. Less than two minutes down the road I get a message on my phone saying I picked up the wrong passenger. 😒 I turned to my rider and asked for her name again. Mortified, she responded “my name is Siobhan”. “That’s definitely different to Denise, do you want me to keep driving or take you back?” She looked at my mirror and said “please take me back, my actual uber driver is calling me and messaging me”. I retorted with “I did say the name when I picked you up, fair dinkum”. Sighing and turning around I couldn’t believe this happened. Part of being a good uber driver I have always made sure I didn’t run into this problem. It still bloody happened! It’s almost like a right of passage or something. My real passenger had canceled. So now I was to get no customers.
After dropping off confused rider. I rolled away to find my next customer. Ping! Oh well look who it is? The lady who couldn’t wait for me to turn around. Denise. The woman who informed me of the mix up in the first place. I picked her up and she was extremely thankful I turned around.
Next passenger works at Port of Subs. I see what they did there. A sandwich shop with a mean title. Well played CEO, well played. Following I had a construction worker off to deal with one of his cars. The internal wiring had been chewed by rodents. Never heard of a vehicle being damaged in such a way. Good luck with that!
Ping! Whose going to be next? But two students, one with aussie dad. Who enjoys the local pub a tad too much. With a bunch of students and a real estate agent that lost their uber. They literally thanked me for finding them. I found them where they were supposed to be. Wasn’t complicated at all. Some idiot uber driver couldn’t find them and booked me instead. Their loss my gain.
A Mexican lady who used to work at the Silver Reef Casino was my next customer. She also used to do social work prior to working at the casino. Claiming it was the most rewarding job she had, but with not very good pay.
Next was a bloke from Phoenix Arizona and a psycho. I mean a psychiatrist. One student who joined his mates for a ride in my car was totally obsessed with Australia and wanted to hear my slang. In fact he’s going to use fair dinkum and strewth.
More students…yep it’s drunk hour. In fact one bloke almost puked in my car but kindly opened the door and unleashed hell on the asphalt in the carpark near his residence. His lady friends helped him. Ahhhhhh yes you could hear the chunder cascading out of his throat onto the ground, spraying, splattering. It was rather disgusting, but better on the ground than in my car.
Now this next couple was my last of the evening, but the story that unfolded shocked me to my core. One passenger out of the two is a nurse and works at a non profit hospital called St Judes. The CEO is apparently a millionaire and approves surgeries on patients who are close to death, so that the surgeons and doctors can practice their operating skills. There’s no need for the patients to go through these surgeries at all. In fact the survival rate is slim. Then they bill the family a ton of money, which they have to pay by law. It literally costs the grieving family thousands of dollars for unnecessary surgery! Oh it made me so angry that people’s lives are being funded by death dealers. They don’t care about the patients well being only money! They should train their surgeons on their own dime, not the family who is going through hell. This unsettling revelation made me even more utterly disgusted with the American health system. Something needs to be done.
A total of 13 trips for Lyft and 12 trips uber. Next is another Friday. Archaeology has been busy lately.
