Tales From A Lyft Driver, Vol. 2: Money Does NOT Buy Happiness...

According to my handy-dandy LYFT app, I've been driving part-time for about two-ish (maybe three?) weeks now. And out of those two (or so) weeks, I was down for a good portion of last week due to school AND down a good portion of THIS week due to having tires that refused to stay inflated. Still, with aaaalllll that down time, I've managed to make some fairly decent money.

Over that time period, I've had at least 38 complete and total strangers in my vehicle with me. Sometimes it was quite dark outside and other times I have been in fairly unsavory parts of Oklahoma City. Oddly enough, though, I've never been afraid. Oddly enough, I've been more concerned that the passengers (a large number of them young and female) would be afraid of me. Don't worry passengers, I may be a large guy, but I'm just a big teddy bear. :-) As I mentioned in volume one, it has been a pretty interesting spectrum of passengers that get in and out of my car. While I am no sociology expert, I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express last nigh...wait, no I didn't. lol. I like to think of myself as a somewhat-seasoned veteran of human observation (a fancy way of saying that I like to people-watch). My sense of empathy and compassion makes it really easy to relate to people and see/feel where they are. I'd also like to think that I'm pretty good at reading people.

One of the biggest impressions that I have been getting from my passengers (if you couldn't tell by the title) is that money does not necessarily make you happy. I have picked up some shabbier dressed individuals from some really questionable apartment complexes, but they are just as happy as can be. Other times, I pick up people that (I know I'm judging a book by its cover) that seem to be fairly well off and are choosing to Lyft PROBABLY because they plan to drink... but those people that are more well dressed, from nicer areas of town and all those other things that would make you stop and think "hey, this person has money," so far have been the less friendly of the bunch. They don't really care to talk much, and if they do, they tend to be in sour moods. The times that there have been more than one of them in the car, they tend to be fighting or bickering with each other.

I know that a lot of other circumstances could play into the moods, attitudes and behavior of people more than just their socioeconomic background... but, just in general, those have been my observations. Just because you don't live in the posh part of town, wearing the best clothes and you (apparently) don't have a vehicle of your own... doesn't mean that your life can't still be friggin' fantastic. This is more of a reminder to myself more than anything. Just because something isn't working out the way society tells you it should, doesn't mean you can't still be happy and grateful for life. I know my life has taken some weird twisties and turnies throughout my 33 years, but I'm grateful. I may not be living that ideal, picture-perfect life, but it's mine. And I wouldn't change ANY of it for the world...

Tales From A Lyft Driver, Vol. 1: The Adventure Begins...

Many moons ago, I decided I was going to try and be a driver for Lyft, for a little extra cash. My intentions were honestly pure, but much like everything else in my life, it took a backseat to my addiction. I would SAY that I was off "Lyfting," but I definitely wasn't. I had even managed to convince myself that this wasn't a financially viable solution, so I abandoned it all together. That makes as much sense as NOT showing up for work and then being confused as to why you never got a paycheck. But, then again, a lot of the things that I thought about back then didn't make a whole lot of sense...

So, when the job situation took a hit a few weeks ago, Lyft was one of the first ideas that popped into my little noggin on how to resolve the problems at hand. The parents, however, were very skeptical. They were still under the impression that I had been legitimately trying to Lyft and just wasn't getting any business. Oops. I obviously told them the truth about what had been happening. The little lightbulbs of understanding lit up above their heads as they said "aaaaahhhh!!!!" and nodded their heads.

Despite not having to work until the afternoon on Tuesday, I took Mom into work, and clicked the Lyft button to the "on" position and hoped for the best. Tuesday was kinda slow, but I didn't do it non-stop like I should've. I was nervous and unsure about how it would go. I didn't log back in again until Thursday morning, and it was a LOT busier... but again, I felt like I got distracted by a few outside sources. I still made fairly decent money.  I accepted a few rides on Thursday evening, but crashed and burned (not literally) from exhaustion.

TODAY (Friday) was really the first day that has me pretty excited about the prospect of being able to make some legit money through Lyft. I started in the morning, with a pre-scheduled pick-up with a VERY talkative girl who proved that she was apparently quite comfortable with me. That was evident in the fact that she shared a LOT of information with me regarding her and her family's health history. Like... stuff you wouldn't (and/or shouldn't) share with a total stranger. The rides continued, and seem to alternate between VERY talkative and the awkwardly quiet.

I think the financial portion of Lyft is (obviously) appealing, but I think the personal aspect of it is even more attractive. In the three short "shifts" that I've worked Lyfting, I've had legitimately every type of person across the spectrum. Black, white, gay, straight, redneck, frat boys, blue collar workers, Nichols Hills socialites, and everything in between. I think my favorites are those people who are just simply wanting to get home after a long day at work or just need a ride to get to the grocery store. These are people that are just living their lives, they just are in a spot where they don't have access to their own vehicle. Even while I'm trying to wade through my own drama and difficulties in life right now, I can't help but feel incredibly blessed to be in the position that I am in today. Hopefully I can make the day a little bit brighter for these people, whether they want to talk or just want a quiet ride home from Wal-Mart, I'll do my best.