It was June and summer was just beginning. My two high school kids were finishing up their school year and I was trying to figure out what to do with the summer. I took a look at our finances and decided I needed to make some money! I did not want an other job that I would “have” to drag myself to. I did not want to paint as I have done from time to time. I simply hate to paint. So, in all my infinite wisdom I decided to drive for Lyft.

I had never ridden in a Lyft or an Uber. So why not drive? I watched a couple YouTube videos and thought, why not? As it turned out I absolutely love driving complete strangers around town. You meet all types of people in all types of moods doing all types of things. From the out-of-towner in for work to the local simply needing a ride to work. So before long I was hooked and my summer was suddenly full.

I would think about Lyfting while at my day job. I was anxious to get home then get on the road. The excitement was real. The money was real. The time spent behind the wheel was real. The miles that racked up on my car were real. I kept track of all my expenses, miles, time and income to make sure it was worth my while. And to my surprise it was. I was quickly making a nice side gig income whenever I decided to turn on the app.

My primary times to drive were weekday evenings and weekend mornings. I generally stayed away from the late night scene. Though “they” say that is where the money is. It is also where most of the problems are. So I kept to my times, it worked for me, both financially family wise. I did do a couple late night, bar closing nights. But, honestly, didn’t benefit from the “surge” or “primetime” enough to pay for my loss of sleep.

So that was my summer 0f 2018. I doubt Bryan Adams will write a song about it, but it was fun and it was a learning experience. I laughed a lot. I had interesting discussions. I was able to share a little piece of peoples lives. I also learned when to just keep my mouth shut.