In the sports world there is a saying that a team that is winning a lot is not as good as they look and a team that is losing a lot is not as bad as they look. After watching my NY Giants football team lose again Thursday night and for the 18th time in the last 22 games, I was trying to focus on those words of wisdom.
But we really aren't a part of the sports world. How does that translate to the real world of life?
FRIDAY:
As a courier during the week, Friday is almost always a busy day with Monday being the slowest day. Usually, the busier it is the more money I make, so I do prefer busy days. However, Friday was very slow, even slower than Monday and I was annoyed that I couldn't finish the week off on a good note. I decided there was no way I was going home making so little money. I was going to "Uber" for a few hours after work which I don't think I've done on a Friday.
Before I finished I had one stop of five boxes that should have been an easy,five minute delivery, but turned into about 40 minutes. The address number was 505 and I found it easily. No one answered the door, the phone number I had was wrong, and it didn't look like the right place either. After I confirmed the address with a neighbor, got another phone number and left a message and left a note on the door, I circled around the street to make sure there wasn't a second 505 number. If I didn't deliver the five boxes I would make 10% less that day and I'd have to unload the boxes and then load them again on Monday.
Frustrated, I headed south and pulled over and looked online for the name of the place. It was listed under a real estate office and when I called they told me I had the address wrong and it was 1505. I turned around and drove ten minutes back and finally found the right door. It was on the second floor so I had to carry four large boxes up the stairs with one small box.
It was an older couple and the wife ran a business out of her home. They had been in this rental place three weeks since their house was flooded in the hurricane.
FINAL SCORE: I felt a lot better knowing that I got the office equipment to them today and I was very grateful that I was going home to my own house. And, I made as much money "Ubering" as I did as a courier on Friday.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY
My last ride early Saturday evening was three guys in their twenties going a short distance to a bar/restaurant. I got home at 8 pm and just after 10 pm I got a call from one of the guys. His friend may have left all his keys in my car. I told him I'd run out and check and call him back. I found the keys, but when I went to call him back I discovered it was an Uber number. They had connected him with me without giving him my number.
I spent the next two hours trying to get Uber to contact him again and let him know I have the keys and I was willing to get them to him that night. Since their customer service is only permitted to do a limited amount of things, I got nowhere. I lost a couple hours of sleep and finally on Sunday afternoon I was able to get the keys to its rightful owner.
It was a frustrating day and I actually went four hours without getting a ride which is unusual. However, my last ride of the day turned out to be the best ride of the weekend. I picked up a 17 year-old high school student near my house who needed to go 30 miles north for competitive cheerleading. Since she was graduating in June I started giving her advice on getting scholarships and telling her about the amazing job our youngest daughter, Marisa did and how she did it. We talked about a number of things including how to overcome her nervousness at public speaking and I told her some of my public speaking stories in addition to how my kids and wife are very good at it too.
Since it was her first Uber ride I told her that she will be disappointed in the future since none of those future rides will be as informative and entertaining as this ride. That of course got a laugh, but the ride suddenly changed when she told me she was all her Mom had. When she was a baby, her Dad and brother both drowned. She wanted to go to USC for fashion design and make her Mom proud.
As I was dropping her off I wished her luck and told her, "I hope you get to USC." She said to me, "Thanks so much for your advice, I'll never forget you."
FINAL SCORE: My frustrations with the day really didn't seem very important anymore. This ride turned out to be most money I made on any ride for the weekend and I got a $5 tip on top of it.
LAST THOUGHT: Despite some bumps in the road, it really was a very good weekend. I think my Dad will want to know this: when will the Giants start winning football games since they are obviously not as bad as they look?
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