"DRIVERS IN SAN DIEGO"

I've been driving for Uber since the end of November. Based on my personal observations and experience, Female drivers SUCK! Please allow me to explain. I've seen too many females: putting on make up, TEXTING, speeding up to prevent other drivers from merging, etc... You all belong on public transportation not behind the wheel of a potentially deadly weapon! Allow me to break it down. Make up: You are not sitting in a spa chair! You are sitting behind the wheel of a 3,000+ pound vehicle! Get your freaking ass out of bed 30 minutes earlier and put your damn makeup on at home! How beautiful do you imagine you'll Look with blood running down your face after it breaks the windshield? Not to mention the innocent drivers around you that you're putting at risk! Selfish WITCH! Texting: What the hell is so important that you are putting innocent lives at risk instead of watching the road? NOTHING! Let me clue you in. Keep in mind the following only applies if your phone is secured in a holder. There is a feature on phones today called talk to text. It involves the built in microphone on phones these days. It requires no typing. Learn how to use it or KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF THE KEYBOARD WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING! Preventing others from merging: Okay real life situation from a few weeks ago. I'm on the street that runs by University HS. There was some last minute work being done in the right hand lane. Right at the intersection of the light where you turn into the school. As such, there was a last minute arrow directing traffic to merge left. Just as it was my legal turn to merge over, this young girl in a black Audi (wish dearly I had the plate to post) decides to speed up, pushes in front of my car, forcing me to stop or hit the cones! She proceeded to turn into the HS leading me to believe she's a new driver with Daddy's car. Listen up sweet cheeks, lucky for you my car being out of commission for repairs would have been a bigger cost than teaching you a lesson. Believe it 100% you would have been guilty if I'd allowed you to hit my car. Smarten up young lady or the next driver you act so aggressively towards may not be so nice! Guaranteed Daddy's money isn't going to buy a suspended license back! Karma is coming baby! Okay this last part applies to all. There is a magic little stick on the steering column. When you push it up or down, a blinking light magically appears at the front and back of your car that lets others know your intention to either turn or switch lanes. Most mornings, I forget to add my special mind reading powder to my coffee thus in using this magic little stick, you just may avoid causing an accident and thus huge headaches all around. Such an easy thing. Little effort. One last thing, if you enjoy the last minute cut overs, instead of planning ahead and getting in the proper lane, it's not my job to allow you to cut in. If you miss your exit...Tough crap! Now let's all try to be a little less selfish on the road! Safe driving!

"THE RIDESHARE FROM HELL"

After spending time with family and friends in MA it was time to come home. In August, I placed a RIDESHARE ad on Craigslist. I was contacted from Joe F. who was traveling home to Jacumba at the beginning of October. He quoted a cost of $500 to which I politely declined and wished him good travels. A month later he again contacted me and lowered the cost to $400 which I accepted. The plan was to leave on October 10th. He explained that he was hauling freight for someone in Houston TX that he'd contracted with from www.youship.com and that we would be stopping there briefly to unload. That was fine. We spoke on the phone approx 2 weeks before and he seemed like a goofball but, harmless. Although, he mentioned he had "high anxieties" I put aside this comment and that I would soon come to regret. The Tuesday before we were to leave, he called and proceeds to inform me a long winded description of a repair that had come up with his rv. During that conversation, he asked about the possibility of my paying anything extra. I very politely and firmly replied, "No! The deal was for $400 that's what I'm prepared to pay you! If there's a problem with that, tell me now, I'll buy a plane ticket and fly home." After a little hemming and hawing, he agreed our original deal would stand. October 9th at 9:00pm my cousin drove me to Merrimack NH where I was to meet up with Joe. We packed in my stuff and he proceeded to fill me in on his exhaustive list of rules. One of which was I was not allowed to use the bathroom. He didn't want to deal with any waste but, his own. I was assured the truck stops would have shower facilities($12)and I knew that we'd have to stop and walk the dogs, so I accepted this inconvenience. I blew up my air mattress and settled down for the night. I put my earbuds in and pulled up something on Netflix to fall asleep to. Suddenly he emerges from his bedroom, headlamp glaring. Apparently there was an alarm going off which was indicating an lp gas leak. He asked me if I'd done something?! WTH?! I laid there in fear as he threw a hysterical tantrum trying to figure out what the problem was! He said (among other stuff) I just don't see this working out man! I'm getting ripped off! Etc... He finally managed to reset whatever the problem was. I admit this whole scene had me scared shitless and if I could have easily gone back to MA, I would have. He sort of shut up and calmed down when he saw that I was near tears. Assuring me that we'd work it out. He blamed his horrible behavior on being tired, stress, etc... I finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning at 3:30 I awoke to his freaking headlamp blinding me. He explained that he couldn't sleep and would like to get on the road. I got up and proceeded to fold my blankets and deflate my bed. Now unlike this guy, I wake up slowly. I don't jump out of bed on hyper speed ready to jabber away. Apparently, my monosyllabic answers set him off AGAIN! He starts ranting and raving AGAIN! During this psycho episode he mentioned money. Now the deal was $200 at the start and $200 when we arrived in San Diego. I gave him the $200 I had in my pocket for him and he once again apologized for his horrendous behavior. We get on the road. That day I camped out and napped on the couch of the rv. I was exhausted and the violent swaying of the vehicle made me feel sick. Little did I know this was pissing him off and I'd hear about it later. Anyways, we arrive at the first truck stop in Virginia. He let me know that he's going out for a run with his dog. My innocent question of how long set him off AGAIN! I had not been made aware that I was not welcome to be in the rv from the time we parked until bedtime! Soon he was going off AGAIN! This time his psycho babble included accusations that I was treating his home as a hotel (excuse me, a $400 hotel room would include bathroom privileges), he mentioned that my lying on the couch bothered him. That he'd expected me to be sitting in the passenger seat, etc...Once again, his out of control anger brought me to tears. At this point, I asked him to return $100 Of my money and I would be out of his hair. He found this to be a ludicrous request on my part. He acted like driving one freaking day(10 hours) had earned him $200! So later on, I'd inflated my bed, laid down, prepared to watch something on my phone, tune him and the trying day out and drift off to sleep. Suddenly the alarm from the night before again went off! I alerted him and he came in from outside. Again he had the balls to ask me if I'd done something! I'd like to mention that he was insinuating that I'd used my vape and had somehow caused this to happen! No Mr. Asshole, I think your damn pot smoke would be more likely to be the culprit! So he starts investigating, again getting extremely blown up and having a melt down. Suddenly he realizes, the day before he'd used the stove and when the first burner hadn't lit, he'd used the other, HE LEFT THE OTHER ONE IN THE ON POSITION! He could have freaking killed me! STUPID PSYCHO ASS PIECE OF TRASH! The next day he began pressuring me to give him the other $200! This idea totally freaked me out. His erratic behavior, his constant insinuations that he was getting ripped off, etc...I didn't trust him at all. After I called a friend and explained what was going on, she made a suggestion that I have him sign a receipt which stated "Paid in full..." So I told him that's what I would require in order to pay him in full. After asking me where I'd gotten the idea and learning that it was advice from a trusted friend, he agreed. I also asked for his word that he would stop screaming at me, stop threatening to drop me off somewhere, etc...So we get to the gas station, I go in to pay $200 for the diesel and my card was denied! Twice! ATM denied! Knowing I had plenty of money, I dialed the bank and discovered that it was simply the bank being cautious with my account. My debit card being used in different states in a short period of time required me to confirm my identity and problem solved! We get back on the road and he says, "I almost freaked thinking you had scammed me" Good thing one of us was capable of sane, adult behavior! See Joe, not every freaking situation in life requires a childish, emotional freak out! The next day we were heading into Houston to drop off the freight he was hauling. There was no ac in the cab and after a nap, I woke up feeling sick. I unbuckled and got up to get my monster drink I had placed in the fridge. He asked what I was doing and I explained. He asked me to check the bathroom door(the one I had no access to) I looked and having misunderstood his request said it was closed. He started screaming at me AGAIN! Apparently I was supposed to understand that he wanted the damn thing secured via a lock bar on the bottom. I did it and started making my way to the front. Feeling overcome by the unbearable heat of the rv, trying to maintain my balance in a swaying vehicle that was traveling quickly on the freeway. The asshole asks me to get 2 bottles of water out of the cooler behind his seat! Let's keep in mind, I had paid this piece of shit $400 in full for a service. Yet this asshole continued to act as if he was doing me a great service! So I stopped to get the water however, the look on my face set him off AGAIN! He began calling me names including Lazy bitch! That was the last straw! I freaking snapped! I screamed back! Pointing out the fact that I had fucking paid in full for a service. That I owed him NOTHING! Was not obligated to do one damn thing for him. We had a deal. I'd fulfilled my part, etc...I also brought up his obvious mental issues and that he severely needed help! He kept screaming F&ck you, you psycho c***, etc...I yelled back "Not in your wildest dreams you stupid asshole!" Finally, feeling ashamed that I'd slipped to his level, I put my earbuds in and ignored his continued remarks and attempts to keep it going. I basically ignored him the rest of the ride to Houston. Eventually we get to the guys house and Minnie and I finally get out of that stifling hot oven! No ac and the dickhead wouldn't even open the window to let in air. He put the shade down on his side but, I was out of luck. The good news, I had no need to pee all day. I sweat everything out of my body. Later on the way to San Antonio the bastard says I can sleep in the cargo trailer that night! Take it or leave it! Sleep in a cargo trailer with no windows or airflow? With a 4 wheeler and a jet ski? This is what I paid this psycho asshole $400 for? Needless to say, I was not about to sleep in his dirty ass trailer. When we arrived in San Antonio, he basically locked me and my little dog out for the night. I took a shower and hung around in the truck stop till about 12:30 however, when a patrolman came through, I was told I couldn't have the dog inside. So I spent the night sitting outside the rv while the pot smoking, psycho bastard slept in his bed. The next morning he delayed letting us in and when he finally did, in response to Minnie having a healthy drink of water, the psycho said, "you poor abused animal! I should call the humane society for you" I swear I would have made sure his dog was the one removed. As scared as his dog gets when he's screaming, I have no problem believing that he abuses that poor animal. Anyways, throughout the day he started acting like a human being again. We were driving towards Tucson AZ and I was thrilled that it would be my last night with this piece of human trash! We were making great time until the 10 west in Benson, AZ the traffic came to a dead stop. Stranded for 2 hours. We discovered later that it was due to a traffic fatality and also a hay truck fire. Later on when we were finally on the move again, all he could bitch about was how inconvenienced he was. I mentioned the poor man who'd died and he had no empathy whatsoever! It was all about him. Shaking my head! The 5th morning I awoke with a lighter heart! Knowing I'd be meeting up with my friend within 6 hours at the casino in Campo and traveling the last hour with her was just the medicine my head and heart needed to make it through. WARNING: If you know Joe Flaherty in Jacumba, CA and he has a white German Shepard, hauls freight for you ship, drives a Country Comfort rv, if he offers you a RIDESHARE, think long and hard about it! He's FUCKING PSYCHO!

"BY ALL MEANS, JOIN THE SHEEP"

An open letter to any and all drivers the following may apply to. To the driver who passed me on the right and cut back over in front of me, be my guest. No reason to be aggressive with your driving. During rush hour traffic if you prefer to be one of the sheep, I really have no worries about it! Remember the old story about the tortoise and the hare? I simply choose to be the tortoise. I'd rather slowly coast along, instead of joining the sheep, piled up on each other, tapping the brake every few inches of travel. It makes more sense to me that, driving at a slower speed without frustration trumps the stress of stop and go traffic. So, no need for aggressive maneuvers. I'm sending a friendly, virtual smile and wave to you. To summarize, I promise not to feel smug thinking about the money I save on brake jobs and the stress I miss out on by driving my way during rush hour. How about you tone down the frustrated bitch routine. Deal? Great! Have a Nice day now!

"SCREW UPS"

Yesterday I was driving down an unfamiliar street in Oceanside heading towards the freeway. Just as I'm approaching the on ramp, I realize I'm not far enough to the left. Do I; (A) Cut over at the last moment, cutting off everyone who's in the correct lane waiting their turn? (B) Stop, turn on my blinker, block forward moving traffic, hoping someone will let me cut in front of them? (C) Continue on until I'm able to make a u turn? Wait for it...Sound of buzzer. The correct answer is, (C)! My screw up, mine to fix. Read and learn fellow drivers. I screwed up and I fixed it without bothering any other driver on the street! Imagine that. Simple solution that took a couple of extra minutes. No big deal. Then, the other situation of the day. I'm on the freeway. Traveling/passing in the number 1 lane. Traffic is moderate but, moving fairly quickly. Suddenly this stupid bitch apparently decides she needs to jump from number 2 lane over to the number 1. Problem is, she doesn't signal nor, look. Three guesses as to who was using the spot right then? That's right! Moi! Just as our cars are even I see her coming into my lane, millimeters from hitting me! Yikes! I lay on my horn and thank The Lord she was able to pull back into her own lane! Scared the heck out of me and life flashed quickly in front of my eyes! I think I had an angel sitting as my copilot. Moral of the story? When we miss our turns, etc..., let's fix our mistake in a way that doesn't inconvenience other drivers. Before we change lanes, let's ideally look and then signal. At the very least, LOOK TO MAKE SURE THE LANE IS CLEAR! The life and property we save may very well be our own! To the dumb ass who came so very close to hitting me? I hope you learned an important lesson that you never forget! If you didn't, do the rest of us a favor, cut up your license and use public transportation. You're dangerous and have no business driving a car!

"ON THE ROAD AGAIN"

Well I wasn't driving for about 6 months. Sad to say, not much has changed! just the other day, I'm in the number 3 lane, cruise control set to 70 and it happens. Some moron decides to cut over in front of me! Do they keep up the flow? No! Since they're traveling at a slower speed, I of course, must take off the cruise control and adjust my speed. The worst part, there was no one in front of them! How I wished at that moment I was driving a junk car. Can you imagine the look of shock on their face if I just slammed them like a bumper car? Bet they'd never pull that cut off $hit again! Hah! I think driving in a Demolition Derby would be the perfect hobby for me! Also WTH is up with drivers entering the freeway at city street speed? Come on people! It's common sense, get up to freeway speed before you merge in! For goodness sake, you aren't just putting yourself in jeopardy but, every driver around you. I tell you right now, if you caused me to wreck because of your stupidity, I'd probably be tempted to knock you into next year! If you're afraid of the freeway then please do the rest of us a favor, keep your ass on the city streets! We'll be okay really. **Sigh** I guess it goes to show, it's true, "Same old $hit, different day!" One thing that's undisputable, a vehicle and the ability to drive equals freedom! Public transportation might get you from point a to point b however, there's nothing like driving yourself! So even with all the morons out there, it's GREAT to be mobile again!

"DAYS LONG GONE"

I remember the summers of my childhood. Many years, the last two weeks in August, we'd head off to New Hampshire and my Uncle's cabin. It's funny how those car rides have stayed with me. I remember learning how to play 20 questions. My Dad singing. Also we kids had our "99 bottles of beer on the wall, Old McDonald, I've been working on the railroad, etc..." With 4 kids there were lots of arguments to go around. Of course, we certainly asked the age old question, "Are we there yet?" Dozens of times. These days when you pass a family vehicle on the road, more than likely, the kids eyes are glued to a DVD screen. I understand the concept. Put on a movie, keep them quiet (hopefully) and out of your hair. IMO it's a sad substitute. Aren't kids bombarded enough with technology in their daily lives? I had some great conversations with my Dad during those car trips. Whether he was telling me jokes, trivia, or singing, I had his complete attention during those trips. Looking back, those moments mean even more to me since my Dad passed away 14 years ago. Those car trips were bonding moments and now are great memories. So I guess my whole point in getting sappy is, what will your kids look back on some day? Do you make time in your busy, daily world to simply have fun with your children? Are there no distractions? No interruptions? My Dad worked hard taking care of us. He usually came home very tired. Looking back, vacation time was so special because it really was a relaxing time to hang out with my Dad and just be. I wouldn't trade my priceless memories for any movie on DVD.