I drive part time for Uber. Everyone is fascinated by that. Now that I’m retired it seems to be the most interesting thing about me!
The most interesting things to me are the economics, the product fit, how it results in a driver strategy and such. That’s very hard to write up, to articulate clearly, so for now, I’ll just share interesting fares.
Background: I had my first ride in January, 2025, but didn’t drive much (I still had a real full-time job). My goal was $25 per hour. I didn’t know anything about costs or allowable deductibles (they are considerable). I assumed my costs were close to zero, since I drive an electric car and have solar panels. I started driving more after retirement of course. I do 8-15 hours a week. It’s concentrated on Friday – Monday on airport trips but I’ve done a bit of everything .
Volume I
May 29 2025: My first repeat customer. Antonio was going home from the Walmart nightshift. I also got my 100th 5-star rating. That is out of 104 ratings from 205 rides, most people don’t bother rating.
May: I drive two young guys to Alpharetta. The whole way they are talking poker. Of course I listen in. Finally I’m forced to interject, “Of course you have to call! At worst it’s a coin flip!” We talk cards — one of them is part owner of Showdown Social, a new restaurant with daily poker games. Excellent! I went a couple times. They have high tech sit-and-gos with sophisticated RFID table and cards and a dealer. Fun place.
June 2025: When he walked towards my car at the Uber pickup at the airport, I had to catch my breath. He was striding towards the car looking like an athlete or model, he was just ridiculously handsome. For a few seconds I sincerely thought that 1999 Brad Pitt was my passenger. Of course he wasn’t, but he wasn’t far off either. You forget how the extremely pretty or athletic people emanate an aura until you’re around one and feel it.
His name is Rusty Joiner. Rusty was discovered by a modeling scout in Atlanta and soon found himself “hanging out and working with Julia Roberts and all of those folks, it was unreal!” He then turned to Hollywood. You know him best as Blade, one of the Purple Cobras (bad guys) from Dodgeball. When I picked him up, he had just wrapped most filming for a show he was doing. He plays a gym owner in a mockumentary style show somewhat based on his own, but also playing a character somewhat like The Rock. Rusty was dog tired from filming all day. Besides filming and starring he was doing multi-hour workouts both mornings and nights to keep his physique up. This was his first time back home in weeks.
Rusty was about the nicest guy I’ve met. I suppose part of that is the job, and part of that is why he got the job, but either way a real genuine sweetheart. A man of faith and family first, fame and fortune second. Goddamn that guy was good looking.
