Uber Money and Mexican Food Trucks

 

I play this game with myself just before I pick up a rider. I try to guess where they’re going based on the time of night and the location I’m picking them up. It never really works.

 I got a request yesterday from a guy in Broken Arrow who was at a vintage toy shop. First off, vintage toys is a thing? I must really be out of it. Is it like when a thrift shop charges you $45 for a used Van Halen tee from 1989? I showed up and the guy had two bags stuffed full of goodies.

I didn’t ask him what he bought or what he paid since I didn’t have a baseline for what old toys go for. I assume every business is a racket until proven otherwise. Is that too cynical?

It was a short ride to his hotel. He was in town to film a documentary. I didn’t get a chance to ask him about the film or how long he’d been filming. The ride was short and didn’t net much fare. He made up for it by giving me a cash tip. That was decent of him I thought. Often I wish for longer rides with interesting people. He was from California, working for a local production company. Our conversation was sadly brief. I wanted to know what he was shooting, the name, subject matter and a little insider info about the business. Maybe next time, he was focused on his toy shopping spree and seemed pleased. 

I had a local business owner that was a bit tipsy. I picked him up from a downtown restaurant after a few (maybe quite a few) cocktails. He was riding back with a buddy who gave me a nice tip after I dropped them both off in a swanky part of town. I recognize the neighborhood as one of my regular spots to jog through on early mornings. I only live about 3 miles from there and as such, run through the attractive neighborhoods and dream a little. Both men seemed to be long time friends by the way they jokingly called each other derogatory names.

There is a conference going on this weekend at Clay Clark’s Jenks studio. Clay is a local entrepreneur and funder of quite a few conservative causes. General Flynn and Sidney Powell are here, as well as a few nationally recognized names. I picked up a younger guy (mid 30’s?) at a hotel near the turnpike and headed for Jenks. I could tell right away this guy was different, sure of himself. He noticed I wasn’t wearing a mask and said “I can see you’re a freedom lover”. He asked if he could sit in the front, I obliged and he asked me I was available to drive all day on Friday. He needed a driver to shuttle him around all day. He was worried he couldn’t get an Uber if he got too far out of town which is a legitimate concern. We never approached the subject of money but I’m sure he would have paid me over what I made with Uber.

I couldn’t do it though. I had work with my regular job but I would’ve liked to help him out. He said he was speaking but I didn’t get a sense what kind of conference it was. I checked the Thrivetime website but the page wouldn’t load. He is a holistic practitioner (he said doctor) from California who, I guess, came to some notoriety through a Youtube video that was picked up by the Hodgetwins.

I dropped him off just as the party at the Riverwalk kicked off. Wealthy patrons in sharp clothes shaking hands and taking pictures. 

Some evenings I drive between BA and Tulsa on the way to a pickup for longer than the ride actually lasts. It’s disappointing because I only get paid for the actual ride, not the trip out or back. This leaves me accepting only close rides. Anything over10 minutes is potentially an out of the way pickup. But I take what I can get and some nights, like last night was a lot of long trips out of the way.

I’ve noticed a significant uptick in the number of Mexican food trucks in the area; call it an unexpected benefit of Uber driving. Most are near the Mexican area of town but not all. As a huge fan I’m going to start taking them down one at a time. I might have to put a ranking system together for each one, best tacos, burritos, quesadillas and so on. It’s not a great idea considering I’m losing weight and my diet is more under control then ever. But, this is a target rich environment for Mexican food.

Choices.