I know this one has been a long time coming, but sometimes, life gets in the way of the creative process.

On Saturday, the weekend of Memorial Day, I had eight total fares and started kind of early and was able to end before sunset since the totals were pretty good for the day. It was around 9:45 am that I logged into driver mode and my first ride request was from none other than Artie, my gay boy regular. I was eager to see him to find out how he had been doing on his diet and wondered if I would be able to notice any weight loss visually.

Artie was still half-asleep when I picked him up and told me we were first going to the bank, then hitting up Jack-in-the-Box. He unabashedly admitted that he had blown his diet, but was proud of the fact that he wasn’t drinking soda…as much. Haha. We had an interesting discussion about lining up people we knew to slap them one right after another and agreed that being an octopus would be the most efficient way of slapping them. What can I say, we have a very active imagination when we’re in the car together.

That Saturday there was a big Craft Beer Festival happening at the University, so I knew that fares to and from would be many. My second fare came from “Kyle” and his girlfriend who would be attending the beer fest. I told them I had gone to last year’s festival and was hammered before 4:00 pm so I felt okay about not going this year. Kyle offered up that he was an insurance agent with State Farm and that if I ever got into an accident with passengers, that I shouldn’t tell my insurance I had passengers with me. Not sure if that’s some sort of insurance trick or what, but considering I’m going to have to start carrying “rideshare coverage” on my policy as of tomorrow. Otherwise, I will likely not be covered while in driver mode.

My next fare was pretty boring. “Shaun” had just been grocery shopping and needed a quick lift home. He just had a few bags that he put in my trunk and explained that he was taking his kids to a birthday party for the day. No Craft Beer Festival for him.

When I pulled up to my next fare’s home address, I was not the only Lyft driver on the block. A group of about 8 friends had called for rides to the beer festival. “Carson” was my co-pilot, however, he did not actually ride in my car, but three of his friends did. It’s funny how when multiple people ride with me, I usually only know one by name unless the other passengers either introduce themselves, or I just pick up on it based on the conversation in the car. So me and these three strangers talked about beer. Our favorite beers, our least favorite beers, and what beers they were looking forward to tasting at their eventual destination.

As I dropped them off as close to the front entrance as possible, the lone female passenger passed me a five dollar bill before getting off the car. I expressed my utmost gratitude because it’s next to impossible to get tipped out by a fare who doesn’t actually ride with you and was on my way.

While I was en route to the festival with my last fare, a friend of mine had text me to find out where I was because she and three of her friends were at the bar waiting to head to the Rock & Country Music Festival which was happening across town from the beer festival. I text her that I was heading her way and to request the ride when I was around the corner from her location so it was certain that I would get the request.

Her request came through and this was the first time I had ever given a ride to a close personal friend! Jess manages two different bars and was with the her employer, his wife, and what I assumed to be a co-worker. They were already buzzin’ and ready for the festival. It was only about an $8 ride, but Jess’s employer, Thomas, gave me a $5 and Jessica tipped well on the app. Again, people in the service industry who rely on tips are always the best tippers.

As the afternoon waned, the requests started coming in from people needing to be picked up from the beer festival. I grabbed “Robby” and his buddy from the festival and they were in a hurry to get home because they had ordered the UFC fight between Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier and were going to be hosting some friends. Our conversation turned to dads and how as kids, we used to mock each other about our dads being better at something than other dads. Robby’s friend said his dad was better at getting drunk at softball games and cursing out the umpires. He wins.

Once Robby and his buddy were safely at home, I immediately got another request from the beer festival. It was “Jim,” the electrician I had driven on Cinco de Mayo. When I pulled up to the only exit from the beer festival, mostly everyone except those working the event had already left. I called him to find out where he was. He was slurring his words and I couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying to me aside from a mumbled “coming right now.” As I was speaking with him through my cars Bluetooth, I happened to look in my side mirror and see a thin guy with a hat on and a phone to his ear stumbling along the temporary chain link fence that surrounded the festival area. He leaned his back against it and nearly took a nasty spill on the grass, but was able to catch himself with the grace of toddler learning how to walk. He got in my car with a shit-eating grin and apologized profusely for how hammered he was as I took him home. I can only imagine the horrible hangover he had Sunday morning.

My final fare of the day was a nice couple in their 30’s who were heading downtown for dinner and a few drinks. We passed by a construction site on one of the main thoroughfares in town and they began speculating what was being built until “Cory” noticed the sign that said it was a future site for a Habit Burger Grill. I told them I had never been to one since we don’t have one in town. Cory gave a glowing recommendation and we started talking burgers. 5 Guys and In-N-Out are always in everyone’s top 5, but when I told them about Slater’s 50/50 in Huntington Beach, neither of them had ever been there. I explained that their patties are 50% beef and 50% bacon, and that was enough to trigger Cory’s determination to eat there when he was in Huntington Beach the following weekend.

By the time I dropped off Cory and his female companion, I was ready to call it a day. Cash tips and the combined fares were enough to tied me over until the next time. I was able to spend actual Memorial Day with my own friends having some great food, with great company, and playing an intense game of Catchphrase. The entire weekend was enjoyable for me without a doubt.

It’s been a month since that weekend, and boy have I given a ton of rides since then. More than 50, that’s for sure. Expect another blog post this weekend because there’s plenty of stories to tell.