Tons of Money Ventures on 11-11-17

I guess 11-11 is a lucky day!

Today in dank money land while logged into Uber, I started driving at about 4:50pm. My first hour and a half of rides were all surged and then I got a ride to Des Plaines from the Ogalvie train station. I ended up getting an Uber Eats order that took about an hour because the restaurant messed up the order (and gave me a free soda) and I stopped for gas and to the bathroom before picking up the food. It was also almost a 15min drive each way and I got mildly lost on the way there because I had no idea where then place was and had to make an educated guess. At least they gave me a $3 tip. I then ended up at Lake Forest College/Lake Bluff. When I ended up getting to Lake Forest College a second time, I ended up getting a ride to Schaumburg with 3 football players and a female who I talked to about life for awhile. The subsequent ride after that, I went from Schaumburg to the loop for a nice long adventure. By that time I needed to pick up my roommate friend from work as it was almost 11pm. As I was about to turn my app off, I received multiple 1.7x surge pings because a concert just got out at the Chicago Theater. The very last ping ended up being a 1.7x surge fare long trip 45+min ride and I decided to take it (sorry roommate friend). The ride ended up being $52 from the loop to the Naperville train station because these young parents had to get home and not spend as much on a babysitter even though the Uber ride cost more than waiting an extra hour at Union Station. Thanks guys! That was my biggest fare in awhile! I was going to go home, but didn't want to drive home from Naperville without a passenger and turned on my destination filter. I ended up getting a ride from downtown Naperville to further east in Naperville and decided to head home with my destination filter still on. I was driving home and got a ping in Lombard. As I'm pulling up to the condo complex, I drive around twice until I find the right place. I eventually get there and wait for the passengers for awhile. As I'm contemplating canceling, 2 men walked into my car. It was one of their birthdays and I took them to a strip club in Stone Park. As I pulled into the rideshare drop off area, a nice elderly man asks me how many people I dropped off and proceeded to tell me how you receive $10 for each person you drop off. He also gave me a bunch of free coupons to get free cover for entry into the club. After receiving a $20 bill, I turned my app off at around 12:50am and got home around 1:30am. 

What a day! There were a few times Uber and Lyft were turned on simultaneously, but Uber got me a ride first. No airport rides. I drove 8 hours, almost 200 miles and 3/4 tank of gas. I ranged from Lake Forest to Naperville, received some tip money as well, and made over $250 before gas. One thing I realized driving is that I'm paying close to the amount or more in gas than my rent. What the actual fuck? Anywho, time to relax. I earned it! Until tomorrow, oh so lovely road! 

Thinking About the Epic Money Misadventures on 9-5-17

Today and yesterday were my first couple of runs with handing out my business cards. Thanks to all my passengers who took them!

This morning when I was driving rush hour, I had just finished a brief job hunting session while sitting in the O'Hare tnp lot where you wait for a ride out of the airport, drove home some passengers who didn't speak much English, and thought about my job woes. The next passenger named Tim entered my car and said he had an IT job. I asked him what job he had and he said he was a systems analyst with a bunch of certifications. I would get some certifications, but definitely can't afford those right now let alone the infinite car maintenance I'm going to need. I ended up complaining about my job woes because I have been feeling very lost in regards to my career path and am stressed out about not making enough money/barely making it by. What I gained from the conversation besides trying to make myself feel better about my current situation is I should maybe make an appointment with a career counselor. The next passenger (group of passengers because it was a family and I talked to the husband) had just finished his military service and now works as border patrol. Back when I was in college, I had random thoughts of possibly joining the military, but was not informed enough of what the military truly entails and decided to put those thoughts on the shelf. Today, they were revisited because he told me being in the military can be a lucrative career, you get paid, you get tax breaks, health benefits, you have to be in good shape, and most of all, it would get me unstuck from this sticky money situation. I began feeling even more lost about my career misadventures and almost cried in front of him (luckily I was wearing sunglasses anyway). After my conversations with this kind man, I have decided I need WAY more information about the military if I even hypothetically want to join because I don't even know which branch I'd join. He did tell me the Air Force and the Navy are the most laid back. I've thought about the National Guard too, but I have no idea. This thought is going back on the shelf once again.

As the day progressed, I began spawning motivation from talking to my passengers. The very last passenger I had before ending my day was a ride to O'Hare for the fourth time and I began telling her about my rideshare storytelling blog. She made me realize how I need to take 5 minutes of my day to realize what I am thankful to have. For example, I made a pitstop at the River Road Rosemont McDonald's and saw a truck pull into the gas station with a flat tire and was thankful my car is in one functioning healthy piece. I am also thankful to have my health. She told me a story about how a lady she works with has a 2 year old son with a blood disorder where his blood doesn't produce white blood cells, had to have 2 stem cell transfusions, and has been in the hospital for 106 days straight. I'm thankful to have never been in the hospital in my adult life (or very much in general). I was then telling her about how some illnesses are induced by stress and I need to chill out and not let my stress win so I can stay healthy. I was telling her about my 2 most recent blog posts about passengers who I drove away from and laughed and how a drunk lady inspired me to stop focusing on money and bills all the time because I wouldn't ever be happy if I blew off people who really matter and to go see my parents. I will probably see them soon! Right before I dropped her off at the airport, she took a business card and went on her way.

After talking with this last lady, I decided I had driven enough and decided to go home and stay home. When I realized I had some extra time and was still pretty awake, I figured out the answer to my job woes is that I need to keep job hunting and find a job so I don't have to drive my poor grandma-aged car into the ground from rideshare driving and can have a steady paycheck again, thus, eliminating my monetary woes. When I finally had a moment to check my emails, one of the companies I applied to for a technical writer (which is the primary job I want) had responded to my application. Now is the time to solve the puzzle! Off to my job hunting ventures!

Passengers Who Inspire Me

1. One of my passengers on Friday night (9-1-17) who was ironically very drunk inspired me to want to see my parents more and not focus on money too much. She told me her mom died at age 10 and she wishes she had a mom and to not take my parents being alive, together, and healthy ish for granted. She's right. My mom had texted me last night when I was busy driving and texted me again just now. I decided that after my billmergency is over and I don't have to worry about bills for awhile, I should go see my parents... at least every once in awhile (and in the next couple days)!

Passengers Who Get the Middle Finger From Me (As I Drive Off and Laugh)

1. Welp, I had to give someone the finger for the first time in awhile yesterday (9-3-17) and it was pretty funny. I was in a pool ride and already had 2 men in my car and was going to go yoink the 3rd passenger (a female). I've had more issues with belligerent men, but my golden rule is to respect me even if you're drunk at 8pm on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The person called me and was being pretty rude, but I was stuck in traffic and the GPS may have had me pick up other people instead of her, which is why she may have been waiting a bit even though my GPS didn't say so. I eventually pull up next to her, blocking traffic and getting honked at, and wait for a solid 3 minutes. She calls me again, yelling into the phone and I'm like, "get in the car???" She then starts yelling at herself while my current passengers tried to flag her into the car. After a bit longer of hearing her yell at herself, the men told me to drive away from her. I agreed and drove off as she yelled "what the fuck". I laughed and they high fived each other. Bye bitch! ;) ;) ;) No rude people allowed!

Misadventures of Driving in Chicago at Night as a Young Attractive Female

1. The epic misadventures of Rebs in Maywood: I picked up some dude at about 1:30am who was likely stoned out of his mind. It was a 5min Lyft line. About 2min into the ride we get stuck at a freight train. We talked for a bit and he asked to come in the front seat. I was like sure why not. Then he starts asking me questions about sex, which is a very uncomfortable subject for me. He then starts asking me questions about me and liking black dudes/black dick and I told him I don't judge on skin color, but have never dated a black guy. We eventually get to his place and he asks to do sexual stuff and smoke with me. I don't give my passengers sexual favors and hookups aren't my jam. He then pulls out his dick like 3x asking me to do stuff with it. I tell him no it makes me feel uncomfortable. He asked what if he did the favor to me and I told him I wasn't down. He asked me to touch his dick and I said no. He asks me again and I again tell him that sexual situations make me uncomfortable. He also offered me weed and I said no. Then I mentioned sexual encounters scare me, which is mostly true, and he finally left and got the message. This was after about 10-15min of sitting outside his apartment. After all of this was over, I had super peemergency (needing to pee and get to a bathroom within a few minutes or else) and in Maywood, there's nothing open 24hrs nearby. I had no choice. For the first time in several months, I had to pee in an alley. When I was putting my shorts back on, another car came up  behind me and only my underwear were on. I jumped into the car and fled immediately. As I was jumping in the car, people were coming outside. Whoops! Glad no one saw me... I hope. Needless to say, that wasn't fun and hope stupid idiots don't harass me for sexual favors anymore while I'm focused on making money. No thanks and goodbye. I gave him 1 star!

2. The saga continues and it is fucking MONDAY MORNING... I pick up some dude named Jason at about 4:30am for an Uber pool ride from Oak Lawn/Bridgeview and bring him to Burbank for a 15min ride back to his house. He has a Mercedes and his own business. Cool. He's cute. Also cool. I tell him about my broke misadventures and how it's been slow all day and have needed to work a lot. I also told him I was creeped on 3 hours prior. This fucker offers me 100 bucks to have sex with him. As desperate as I am for money, I spent about 10min finding ways to nicely tell him no, including pulling lies out of my pocket. I then said I'm not down to meet anyone right now and he got mad and left. He got 1 star too. Goodbye turd muffin I don't feel like prostituting myself. No thanks! He also was likely drunk or on drugs... I'd rather deal with 6 loud drunks calling me Becky... I need to stop driving at night...

What It's Like to Drive for UberEats

On Tuesday (6-6-17), I completed my first UberEats ride. At first I didn't know what to expect, but the steps in the Uber app are less confusing than I anticipated.

First, when you're driving around and logged into the Uber Partner app, you'll see a request pop up as "meal". You accept the request the same way you accept a normal ride. You drive to the restaurant and the order is waiting for you (unless the restaurant is randomly closed). You pick up the food and denote in the app your food has been picked up. Then, you swipe the green bar to start the delivery and you drive to the person's place of dwelling. After that, you drop off the food to the person, denote in the app the food has been successfully delivered, and swipe the green bar to complete the trip. Unfortunately, unlike regular delivery drivers, Uber passengers (or users) generally don't tip, so don't expect one.

At least with UberEats, you don't have to deal with drunk people! Be careful though, a downfall is to be careful where you park or stall, because you can possibly get a ticket if you do it wrong, especially in Chicago!

Stay safe, everyone and happy Uber driving!

Fares Over 50 Dollars

1. I drove a couple home from Alinea to Johnsburg and they gave me 20 dollars as a tip. This was also a 75 dollar and my longest and largest fare! They also just spent 1750 dollars between the two of them! The woman talked about relationships with me and the man fell asleep in my back seat from his wine. It was also 1:30am on a Friday night! This happened August 2016!

2. My 48 dollar ride was a ride from the south loop to Markham, IL and the person ordered an Uber XL for themselves! This happened sometime around November 2016!

3 (and 4). I took a nap when I had planned on driving and started at 2:30am. Whoops! My first ride ended up being from the Belmont Red Line all the way to the Pingree Grove Metra Station in Crystal Lake on a 1.1 surge 55 minute Uber ride. Thanks for the 54 dollar ride right off the bat. Two rides later, back to Midway Airport from Crystal Lake for 73 dollars plus a 10 dollar tip for about an hour Lyft ride! It's 4:40am Saturday morning now and I don't have to go back empty. Sweetness! :D This happened on May 27, 2017!

5. After I went from Schaumburg to the loop for a nice long adventure, by that time I needed to pick up my roommate friend from work as it was almost 11pm. As I was about to turn my app off, I received multiple 1.7x surge pings because a concert just got out at the Chicago Theater. The very last ping ended up being a 1.7x surge fare long trip 45+min ride and I decided to take it (sorry roommate friend). The ride ended up being $52 from the loop to the Naperville train station because these young parents had to get home and not spend as much on a babysitter even though the Uber ride cost more than waiting an extra hour at Union Station. Thanks guys! That was my biggest fare in awhile! This happened on November 11, 2017! 

Chicago Tourist Places and Adventures to Recommend to Passengers

*Go on an architectural boat tour
*Go a walk down the mag mile
*Go to the Bean and Millennium Park
*Go get some deep dish pizza (from Lou Malnatis, Pequods, Parlor etc.)
*Go to the Green Mill and listen to some jazz
*Go to the Rosemont outlet mall and go shopping
*Go on a bus tour
*Go to Chinatown
*Go to Navy Pier

My View on Tipping Your Uber of Lyft Driver

When you get into a taxi or go to a restaurant, there's some kind of hidden expectation to where you should tip your service staff. The receipt for a restaurant bill has a tip line and in a taxi ride when you swipe to pay it displays amounts you can tip. Although Uber and Lyft drivers don't live off tips, it's always appreciated due to providing a service for others to enjoy. With Lyft, you can at least tip in the app and with Uber, I sometimes get handed cash tips (there should be an option to be able to tip in the Uber app too, many have complained to me). We the drivers drive our butts off in order to get our passengers to their destination safely. I'd say managing someone's safety directly and providing an experience is tip worthy. You don't "have" to by any means, but it would make someone feel appreciated if you handed them a couple extra dollars and said "thank you". Something like that would keep me motivated, that's forsure!

I've Driven Full Time For Uber and Lyft for Over a Year: My Testamonial

I've been living the freelance and Uber life for about year and 3 months and I don't feel like being a full time driver is such a good idea anymore...

Back in the day when I first started in January 2016, both Uber and Lyft had "guaranteed hours", which meant if you drove at prime time hours and acquired a certain number of rides, you'd get x amount of money per hour, generally ranging from the mid twenties to mid thirties per hour. That's a lot per hour! Several months later, that ended up going away and "surge bubbles" for both Uber and Lyft began, meaning if you picked up a passenger from a certain area, the fare would automatically be surged a certain rate (usually 1.1 or 1.2x, sometimes more). These surge bubbles definitely make less money per hour than the guaranteed hours. The more I drive, the more I feel like I'm making less money per hour. I went to averaging somewhere in the high twenties per hour to about $13-17 per hour (I drive in Chicago). At least the passengers are pretty cool, I like talking to people, and I end up on plenty of crazy adventures. I also get to explore new territory of Illinois while not being stuck at a desk all day. However, it gets to be a bit disheartening when I'm driving people to their fun activities while they're hanging with their friends and I wish I could do the same.

Not only do I make less money per hour than I did earlier in my driving ventures, but the commission given to Uber and Lyft is pretty hefty (25%), plus, on my 2004 Toyota Highlander, I spend 35 dollars every 2-3 days (sometimes even 24 hours) in gas. Not only that, but I've spent thousands of dollars in repairs and put thousands of miles on my car (about 100 or so per 8 hour shift). I basically feel like I'm barely turning a profit after overhead expenses are said and done. I only end up having enough for bills and that's it. I also generally drive during peak hours and weekends (and sometimes Sundays) and figured I'd be able to make more of a profit, but I guess not...

Rideshare drivers are supposed to be free, but the only way to make a decent amount of money is to spend countless hours on the road... probably more than 40 hours per week if you really want to make money. Since I do other freelance work, I drive 25-40 hours per week (sometimes more). I definitely don't feel like I make ends meet. I have enough for bills and that's it. My food and gas end up going to credit cards and my car repair credit cards are maxed out. Some people may have better luck than I have, but I'd rather only drive part time. Less miles on my car, less overhead, and I know I'd have financial security if I drove in conjunction with a full time job. I do not feel financially secure on just a rideshare salary.

Lately, I've been using both Uber and Lyft and lately they have been getting close to the same number of rides. However, even though you can tip in the app with Lyft, people are still stingy and I feel like I get handed cash more often with driving for Uber.

I do not feel free. I do not feel happy due to making subpar money and barely being able to scrape by (I like driving and taking to people a lot more than sitting at a desk). I feel like a slave to the road because if I don't drive enough, my bills won't get paid. It's quite the precarious situation to be in and I don't recommend it to any of my friends unless you have no job and no other options. Do not buy a car just to rideshare drive. I already had my car which I'm currently driving into the ground. I hope to get a full time job and use ridesharing to pay off debt and student loans (and fund my summer fun). Since I'm struggling to make ends meet, all my focus goes into making money and I don't have time to pursue my passions. I'm lucky I had time to write this blog!

So if you want to be a rideshare driver, drive part time unless you have no other options and are desperate for money like me. Then you can barely get by for awhile. Best of luck and happy hustling!

3-21-17 Uber Ventures: Casino Craziness

Originally posted on Instagram and copied here!

I ended up on the far south side in Pullman/Roseland, then Hammond, Indiana at the Horseshoe Casino. I've never been there before and had peemergency so I figured I'd give myself a grand ol tour while I'm at it. On my last stop, I wanted to check the buffet and upstairs out and run into this beautiful floral sculpture. As I'm snapping photos to put on Instagram, a lady's glasses fall off and her man asks me how to distribute an epi pen. I was the only one around and had zero idea how to use it. Then the lady wanted an ambulance, so I made my first ever 911 call. Security shows up to the scene and I wait to make sure the lady is ok. She begins puking. Gross! The ambulance and security arrive super fast because security didn't realize I called them. Tehehehe. The lady is ok. As we're waiting the security guard begins hitting on me and asks for my number. I was tempted to give him a fake number because this dude looked 15 years older than me and I wasn't interested. At least he was being nice and respectful. He wasn't creepy. I give him my number and am not gonna answer his call. But why does being a good samaritan mean getting hit on by the head of security? Weird... At least there's faith in humanity and nice men around. When I'm ready and know it's right I'll pursue, but for now I'll go home with a gold star, pretty pics of flowers, and knowing the right man will come along who I am interested in mutually will happen at some point! That's about the most story worthy thing that's happened to me on my Uber ventures lately. I made excellent money today with straight rides. Time to go home!

***blogger.com/rebsuberdriver
***www.facebook.com/rebsuberdriver

What it Feels Like to Drive Too Much

Someone I was driving home today said that driving for Uber is like a drug. It affects your life and relationships. I feel like it affects my life because I always feel the itch to drive and make money no matter what. I feel like I'm addicted to money because I want to escape the struggle game. It affects my life because I sometimes stay up til messed up hours or even pull allnighters just to make enough for bills. I don't sleep due to the stress of money sometimes. I barely get to see my friends because I have to drive a lot of hours to make enough money to live. I also drive weekends because that's the best time to make fares. Because I drive late, I don't get to chill with my roommate friends at night/for dinner because I'm hustling. I'm always tired. I always feel the need to hustle and all I want to do is breathe!

What a Bad Day of Driving Looks Like

*I've been waiting for one last ride by Midway airport and have had 0 luck for an entire hour. I'm serious! I even drove around the perimeter of the airport, through the lot 3x, and sat in the queue area with 1 driver ahead of me with both apps open the whole time. Fuck this noise I guess this is a sign I should go home, go to sleep, and try again tomorrow! Ripppppp! This is one of the worst days of driving I've had in awhile and I had both apps open the whole time. I guess it was just dead today. Lesson learned. I should drive earlier and not end up on a night owl venture all the time (generally 10pm to 4amish). Happy Wednesday/Thursday y'all! (May 2017)

*Other bad days of driving are when you make equal to $10 dollars an hour or less due to it being dead or have multiple rides that are more than 10 minutes out of the way!

*Bad days also consist of having both apps open and not getting a ride for more than 15 minutes at a time several times throughout the day...

Tips 20 Dollars or Greater

1. I drove a couple home from Alinea to Johnsburg and they gave me 20 dollars. This was also a 75 dollar and my longest and largest fare! They also just spent 1750 dollars between the two of them! The woman talked about relationships with me and the man fell asleep in my back seat from his wine. It was also 1:30am on a Friday night! This happened August 2016!

2. I drove a girl from Crystal Lake to Hoffman Estates and her friend who requested the ride gave me 20 dollars for delivering her safely. This was a few rides after my trip to Johnsburg too! This happened August 2016 at around 3am on a Friday night!

3. A drunk dude gave me 27 dollars (in several increments of handing me money) because I waited for him and took him to Popeyes for drunk food! I'm sorry you and your girlfriend were fighting that night! This happened April 2017 at around 1am on a Saturday night!

4. This wasn't really a tip, but I was at the gas station getting gas and caffeine and a random person came up to me and asked for a ride under the table from the Irving Park and Pulaski Mobil station to a bowling alley less than 10 minutes away on Foster and Northwest Highway and gave me 30 dollars for my patronage. This happened April 2017 at around 9pm on a Sunday night!

5. I was waiting at O'hare for 20 min waiting for a ride, left, and picked up 3 drunk guys in a Lyft Plus and drove them towards Irving Park road and Milwaukee. I talked to them a bunch and one of the guys handed me 20 bucks. They also asked me to hang out with them too, but I said no! It was almost 4am on a Thursday night! This happened on 5-19-17!

6. On 8-4-17 I was doing a late night short drive and gave a lady named April a ride from Norridge to like 15min away elsewhere in Chicago. We were talking about jobs at O'hare and told her I was in between jobs and needed more than 11.50 to survive. She told me to apply to Aerotek, but no luck on my end because I've already applied. Then, the ride was over and she was like "I hope this helps" and randomly gave me 20 bucks for a ride that felt super short. I almost cried, especially after 2 bad days in a row and having a bill due tomorrow that I'm scraping money for. Thanks lady!

7. Epicness hath happened today (9-13-17). I was outside of Christina's bar by my apartment about to do my first Lyft ride of the day. I get there and wait for about 5 minutes when the person who requested the ride said he got it for his friend who's drunk and not wanting to leave. He goes back in and tries to get his drunk friend to leave. Five minutes later he comes back out, says his friend isn't gonna come out, and hands me a 20. That made me happy indeed. Thanks dude!

The Struggle is Real

Welcome to the 4am episode of Rebs's Rockin Rants! Because I can’t sleep!

The struggle is real... my slogan for quite some time now, especially as a young lady in her mid 20's wanting to be a full-time freelance gig master. As a full-time rideshare driver at 3am on a Friday night/Saturday morning, I should either be driving for Uber (or Lyft), sleeping, or going out. Instead, I feel like contributing to society by writing a story because I am way too physically and mentally exhausted to operate a car and don't want to hurt myself or others. If I could make money just sharing my stories or have this story turn into a million dollars, that would be awesome, but one can dream, right?

Right now, the job market is a pile of poop for me. For reference, I graduated from college a few years ago with a Web Development degree, got a job in my field, realized it wasn't for me, left my sinking ship job, and am trying to switch career paths to something writing-related. I have had tons of trouble getting a new job or many freelance gigs. It may be lack of experience, it may be because I am a very eccentric person and need a certain type of environment to belong into, who knows. Either way, I have been incessantly job hunting since September, 2015 and in between jobs since the end of January, 2016. It is now just about August, 2017 and am still standing strong with no "actual" job. I decided not to count how many interviews I've had (because it's a large number probably well over 30 by now) and every rejection or not call back I receive, I throw it away and keep going. 

A quote I've recently written for myself is, "shoot for the stars, even when you feel like you're falling". Right now, I surely feel like I'm falling. I often post Facebook statuses of all of the rejections I've received for failed attempts to land a job, followed by a "hello world, help me find a job" post. I refuse to give up. The struggle exists of not being able to find a job in any field. The struggle exists because I am in between jobs right now, even though it was my choice and I don't have any regrets. I took a risk and I am currently living in it. With the job market being no good, I've been willing to have countless interviews for roles outside of my field of college studies (ex brand marketing, content writer, technical writer); I sit in a room being bombarded with questions and pray I am able project my best self to these people while dressed to impress.

The struggle exists because I now run into occasions where I wonder how I'm going to be able to pay all my bills... and somehow pull it off every time. I even had to ask my parents for help a couple times in order to pay my rent and health insurance. Thankfully, they were able to help me. If I was in the opposite money situation, I'd help anyone in a heartbeat. I hope to be able to return the favor to my parents soon, and I am working my tail off to be able to do so!

Even if I'm struggling money-wise right now, I am lucky to have a roof over my head. I am lucky to have my health. I am lucky to live with 2 people who give a genuine crap about me who I love to pieces. I am lucky to live in Chicago. I could go on for awhile, but I am still wealthy; I may not be wealthy with green pieces of paper that only represent a number, but I am rich with life experiences and knowledge. I still make time to perform and have "somewhat" of a social life. I haven't totally tossed all my hobbies to the side, even though I have had to make plenty of sacrifices lately. If you don't sacrifice, you won't win! However, if you have a roof over your head and loved ones who love you back, you are currently winning at life. 

In order to succeed, all you need to do is be a good person and be you. Do your best. That's all you can do! Driving for Uber isn't too bad anyways because the customers are nice, mostly talk to me, and I get to interact with people instead of being alone! A lot of them tell me their life story and I feel that's interesting because I gain knowledge of what the world actually is and means. As much as I dislike driving, I would rather do that than have nothing at all and lose my independence. I refuse to give up until I have what I want, but I also need to live in the present! In order to continue my winning adventures, I will remain thankful for everything I have! In due time, I will find my golden ticket job! Live with no regrets, and you will continue to win the game! Meanwhile, I'll keep on driving and find my chosen path!

Time to go to bed!

There is a video for this too, which I self-recorded on my computer. Enjoy the video too :)

Video Link: CLICK HERE!!!

Epic Uber and Lyft Ventures: 3 Months Into My New Life

It's about my 3 month aversary from being free from my corporate job and hitting the road. I surely took a leap of faith, but these adventures have surely proved to be worth it. The amount I've learned about myself and life is enormous.

I feel like I've had to do more adulting since pulling my parachute. Since I'm no longer employed by a company, that means I had to get my own insurance. We never learned any of this stuff in high school or college. To top it off, my parents didn't teach me either. I was all on my own, floundering cluelessly through the deep blue sea with some destination in mind. Several hassles and phonecalls later, I finally obtained an insurance which hopefully doesn't prove to be a piece of junk. It's definitely gratifying to accomplish these tasks on my own.

Obtaining freelance gigs is rather slow, but I am being as persistent as I can. I've obtained some income from other sources and hope Senpai notices this blog. I haven't really seen any other people execute this idea and I'd like to be the first. A lot of people think it's impossible to make it as a blogger and solely an artist, but I want to make it as possible as it can be. One of my passengers told me how being a ridesharing driver can be the new waitress job. It sure feels like it! On the other hand, with being single and having more time to "follow my dreams" as they say, I've been able to feature at more places for my storytelling and now even my flow arts/dancey light shows. If anyone wants me to feature as a storyteller, flow artist, or motivational speaker, contact me at rebecca.duxler@gmail.com - also looking for freelance writing gigs too (copywriting, blog contributions, technical writing, user interface design, social media, and I can even cook for you!)

Time and money do not grow on trees either. I've definitely had to be more selective with how I use my time and who I want to be my friends. I luckily have 2 friends at home who I see virtually every day unless I'm out of town, so at least I'm never alone. I also have to make a schedule for myself instead of running from 9 to 5... it's still a work in progress. I don't make as much money, but I'm still able to pay my bills. Using my Uber driver code, mvsja, will help me get a few extra dollars. Liking me on "Your Friendly Neighborhood Uber Driver" will help Senpai notice me more. I've also had to really learn how to take care of myself. At least I've had time to do that with being single.

Not all riders are "bad" and I haven't had any issues with creepers. I've heard of a couple other people having that issue, but I guess my bubbliness keeps them away. Otherwise, I'll put my black belt on and sayonara. I have had a few sloppy people and had someone almost puke in my car. Thankfully, I knew how to abort that happening. The lesson learned was to never drive on drunk holidays. I should just celebrate them or drive earlier in the day to avoid sloppy o'clock. The gps craps out in the loop, but I always ask for directions. I've had a couple of negative passengers or ones who have fought with their significant others, but besides for one bad egg who was super drunk and yelling at me over the phone where two females walked into my car instead of the rude man, I've had few bad eggs. I've also had to go to the south side a bit, but at least I get to see the entire city while semi fearing for my safety at times. Never enough to make me afraid to drive. I always have my friend lifeline at home who drives for Uber and Lyft too. I've received a few tips, which make me smile at the appreciation I feel. The biggest thing I've learned is more humility, especially when dealing with people. I've learned about even more walks of life than I do when I engage in my nerdy activities. Not only that, but making less money and directly interacting with people motivates me to project a positive attitude onto others even more than I already do and constantly realize how we are all human and equal no matter how much money we make. I can definitely say my happiness is tenfold, but I definitely had to learn money management as well. Making less means spending less.

Change isn't easy, but necessary! I have no regrets career changing while having no family to take care of. My friends are like my family and I'm glad I have a large support backing for my decision to shift gears!

All in all, I'm still making it with a smile, semi gracefuly adulting, and spreading the love with my stories and light shows. Happy almost May Flowers everyone! You can do anything you put your mind to. In the end, I will always be the brave warrior!

Life As A 20-Something Rideshare Driver

Ranting, the verbal activity I seem to do the best at… but it sometimes annoys my friends, so I generally keep it to myself.

A common theme that comes up in my life is how to find yourself as a twenty something and function as an “independent” adult. Something you unfortunately need to do as an adult is pay bills. I left college with almost zero knowledge of money management, a skill I wish was taught in a remedial college course.

When I graduated from college, I thought I wanted to be a Web Developer, get a job, stay there forever, move up in the ladder, and go from there. Not so long after I started my job, I was certain I was a bit too free spirited for Corporate America and needed to be in a place where I’m able to create. I did everything in my power to keep the job alive, but my will caved and I decided to jump out the window, with my parachute in tact, thankfully knowing where the ground was. I knew I was going to get screwed over at my job and marked on my calendar the day I knew would be the end of the road. Leading up to that day, I did everything in my power to get a new job. With no luck, one of my dear friends I live with told me my car would pass an Uber inspection and criteria and should become a driver. As reluctant as I was to do so, I did my research, gave it a test run, and felt decent. A few days before my “doomsday”, I knew being a driver and a free bird were in my fate, and handed my manager a 2 weeks notice letter.

Fast forward 8 months of being an Uber Driver and I am officially ready to throw stones and look for something else. The first thing is I feel like is slavery still exists. I don’t mean the stuff you saw 100 years ago; it’s more under the table. People are so damn greedy; the head honchos only want money and productivity. If you’re not wringing everything out of yourself and not making enough money, you’re not doing well enough, was a major theme of my last job, and even ridesharing. For starters, I have to pay for my own gas and repairs, as well as they take 25% of my fares right off the bat as a “commission” to them for using their service. Lately, I’ve had days where I’ve made as little as $7.50 per hour, which is less than the legal Chicago minimum wage. Thankfully, that’s pretty rare, but I’d drive overnight, drive myself into not sleeping, drive myself into depression and isolation, and drive my knees and energy down the toilet. I’d be out as many as 29 hours at a time, just to make sure I “make it” to my next bill payment and have a little extra for groceries. I have to wear a knee brace while driving because with my car, you have to push harder on the gas pedal; lately, my other knee has been starting to give me trouble too. I have barely been able to see my friends lately, including the ones I live with (it’s been a bit more under control now though). Those I am close with, I would bombard them with texts of how tired I was, how shitty I felt, or some sort of stress or anxiety-related thing was bothering me. Thanks for bearing with me, guys! I’ve had to decrease my attendance at open mic nites, karate classes, my “nerd” group called, “Belegarth”, everything, just to pay my bills and get by. I even created an “emergency fund” when I knew I was forsure going to leave my job, which I recently exhausted all of it.

But here I am. I am still willing to search for a better opportunity for myself, still willing to drive and do what it takes to make money (and still paying all my bills on time), and I am even here today. For that, I am successful!