2023-05-18 - 9:33 a.m.

I was very pleased that I could call a ride using the Wait and Save Feature just 10 minutes before I ended work and actually had a ride there 15 minutes later- PERFECT timing, for about $5 less than I had been paying by scheduleing ahead of time.

I gave the driver a bigger tip than any other to date.

AH I just ran a tip calculator and feel good to know I was not being a super cheap tipper.
I have give just $2 on avg. Once only $1 and the last ride gave $3

I was just kinda rounding in my head and never ran the numbers.

The first ride I took cost a bit over $15 and then I noticed the rate kept going up til it was a bit more than $21 when prescheduled. I think after tip I was paying 20 to 25 on AVG. I had figured on $20 on AVG so the rate increasing just cause I was pre-sceduduling irritated me.

It was $15 and change last night; with a $3 tip.

If I keep landing rides for 15 and change or 16 I think I will increase the tip as I felt like it was kinda being cheap

Defintely informed by me selfishly not wanting to use all the money earned on transportation to get to the job!

I mean its a $14 an hr job. And I am working a 4 hr part time shift. So after taxes I felt like it was just dumb to be paying too much for transportation. BUT THAT IS NOT FAULT OF THE DRIVER and MY CHOICE TO TAKE THE JOB so yeah
I have to not be a cheap tipper.

Seriously

I tipped the silent driver who did not talk to me the most. HA HA

The bros driving fancy cars who picked me up in the BMW or whatever.... I got one BMW and some other fancy car.... honeslty just got less.

I mean I should not judge.
But the dude who told me his whole life story in a 15 minute ride got the lowest tip. A cabbies sob story when the guy is making $180K a year and doing this on the side cause he is supporting some in laws living for free and is trying to get out of the house cause he has not set a boundary to kick out the freeloaders so they are impacting his marriage....

um

I should not judge

But hell it was a bit of TMI for a simple ride home.

It was funny to me

That dude and the other who apparently don't want to go drink at the bar over a scotch to vent and let it all out; instead become drivers and then use the passengers like the bartender...
HA HA

Hey to each his own. I should not judge. I heard stories. I did not judge in the moment of course. I listened. I empathized.

BUT I realized later I did not tip as much as for the silent resepctful dude wearing a mask who played pleasant music in a clean car.

And I guess after reading how much to tip drivers I am a bit embarassed at having been a CHEAP tipper. I am generous for other service workers. What is is about a driver that makes one take them for granted? I mean it is a thinking thing-
a perception thing.

For me-
wondering why I did not percieve it up front as obvious to tip a driver as it is to tip a rest server?
OH but I just recalled one issue for me-

I like the feature of NAME YOUR OWN TIP
I tend to then be generous BUT it actually IRRITATED me that I knew I saw that on the first few rides; but on the recent rides that option was not there! It only gave the button for 15% 20% or 25%. The very fact of that CUSTOM amount not being there really got me irritated!
HA HA Small thing to get mad about.
BUT I did!! I thought it was super pushy. I got so irritated I think I felt insistant on the work around of then NOT tipping intially and then going BACK into the app to find the driver and later tip the driver. BUT then when I tipped the driver I know in my stubborness and being irritated that I could not choose the amt I only tipped $2

Cause I wanted to name the amt! Not be told how much to tip.

That is so stupid.
Cause it is not the fault of the driver.

But honestly that built in telling me how to tip just triggered my own inclination to be defiant and not want to be told what to do! So juvenile I know.

Yeah I think that is why I was a cheap tipper when looking at how to tip drivers. I did not really know and I just did not trust the companies themselves.

Honestly I think I should start carrying cash. Reading out there some Lyft drivers are suspicous the tips are all being passed on.

And now I know $3 should be the standard tip for my ride. More if it is an exceptional experience. ( Like the guy who offered snacks! My first ride to work had water and snacks the day my car died and I caught a Lyft when at the side of the road and parked the dead Kia. I did thank him and grabbed a few of the small candies which I gave to my coworker in thanks as was 10 min late. Heck there were even bite sized chocolate in there! Hell I should go back and find that driver and tip retroactively now!)

Oh for the Kia update:

Yesterday was just a georgous day outside. I took the bus into town to pick up my fixed laptop. $75 for the cleaning of it! There was LOTS of dust on the fan- that was the only issue. I like the shop I brought it to. Good guys who do good work.

Worth it!
I then enjoyed sitting in town with a cup of coffee. Opened all my work emails- to have nothing to work on; which was just fantastic actually considering the georgous day.

Worked on church thing... just one small thing which I of course had to obsess about for hours.

I mean I wanted to know WHO ARE these folks asking for money for the Special Collection upcoming. Yeah I had to dig deep...

I couldn't just prepare a 1 minute pitch to ask congregration for money

NO I had to do full research and know every damn thing I could possibly find about the church run org collection money for their Mission arm

and yeah of course they are a good org.

*Most of what they seem to be doing in recent years was lots of on line resoureces. Makes sense. They kicked up the on line education componant. Triannual conference supporting youth ministry as well. But the piece of the Special Congregation going to At Risk Youth in reality is only 10% of the Special Collection-

this is the kinda stuff I want to know; cause you know what-
I would rather give my cash to the group that is actully supporting a clothing closte where teen homeless can show up and get clothes etc; and hygiene kits... and stop in for a safe space to hang if their parents kicked them out cause they are gay for example.

I want to support the actual mutual aid groups.

It was kinda interesting - total aside here; but interesting to hear of an old professor who has run a safe house for years for kids kicked out based on gender identity.

My graduating teen has become close with this old prof-
So at graduation heard of him as he published a number of books in his field and also the most fun thing-
a family memoir about his mother.

Which I enjoyed reading as looking at the gifts the students gave that kid after their student teaching and the graduation gift from the old prof.

I think the guy is in his 80s now. He still has a safe house where young folks come stay when needed.

And no he is not a creeper. I mean my kid would know
as would the OTHER child of mine who graduated from the same college.
He is just a really good hearted man who wants young people to be safe who are different and may have a hard time otherwise.

He is more like a monk than anything else I mean bonafide- for real.
Queer comes in many flavors; as do other's sexuality
and I get the sense this guys is just honestly kinda non binary aesexual
never chose life partner
nor much interest in that kind of relationship
but a geekly very focused prof who is obsessed with his own work
and cared about his students

He has been at a number of Universities over the years- NYU I think was one for a number of years...
and I think he just ended up giving a safe place to first one student in need... then the word got out
and I think he quietly helped kids who needed that over the years wherever he was.

Its like this one professor has a whole network of these once young people who are now adults that are his family.

It was remarkable to hear

My kid wanted to go celebrate Graduation with this chosen family , to stop by his place and hold an actual tea party. Seriously this kid does like alcohol no mistake- but also likes tea and my kid's thing was really to hold tea parties in the dorm in the past year.

It was fun to see my graduating senior had found their tribe. I mean they had a great relationship/friendship with their roomie and others in the dorm.

All the queer kids-
you know the type
the openly flamboyant; or visibly queer
and the ones who are just non binary and adrogonous
some lesbian, some not- just not interested in being classified and want to only be seen for their person not gender

That seems to be the thought behind my kid, this particular one
(and others in my fam)
who just don't want to be put in a box

Don't want to be viewed with limitations and constraints that so many societies put upon GIRLS or WOMEN

I feel like that is the crux of the issue for them all

Don't limit and see
"just a girl"

I think of the song by Gwen Stephanie from years ago...

Yeah I think my kids just want to be able to enter a space and do their thing.

I am sure mysogony has been influential in their becoming who they are; in their use of they
the years of hearing awful things spoken about me.

The older ones recognized it ( of the four) that there was an overt message that feminininty was not accepted
it was bad

Anyway-
Main point being here I intended to make was that it was such a georgous day. I enjoyed a lovely cup of good coffee with a ham and cheese croissant in town for breakfast and worked on the church thing ( following the money.... the org for the Special Collection is not rated in Charity Navigator...)

Then just READ a really wonderful book. I love reading memoirs and while walking to drop off my computer the day before came across a little library and picked up a book called Three Mothers Three Daughters Palestinian Women's Stories

which is SOooo Good.
I am just really enjoying it.

I had also picked up a few poetry books the day before at the used book store in town I enjoyed visiting. ( I could not resist! Jane Kenyon, Rafael Campo ( likely cause thinking of my Cuban poet friend here who lives in DC; and the cuban poet friend in Buffalo); and Richard Hamasaki- as the three poetry books that just caught my eye

I do this. I walk into a book store and browse and inevitably even if not intended feel compelled to buy some poetry books. On occassion only one but if a used book store more often a few.

I so enjoyed reading them the day picked those up. But it was the memoire that is really pulling me in now! *and yesterday

So it was such a lovely day sitting on the porch in a rocker working on that volutneer thing and then reading.

I eventually thought I wore out my welcome and almost left... but instead just left the porch and settled at the back of their building in one of those plastic adorondeck chairs still using the wi fi! HA
And there ran into an old friend. It was so nice to catch up-
the son of a long time resident at the Assisted Living who I was bonafide friend with ( both him and his wife). They had invited me to join them out
I never could make it.

It was just so nice to catch up and then chat with him for quite a while.

He asked if I go there often

NO - have not; but as working in town a few days a week I said likely will be stopping in more often as it is the coffee shop I like in town. Turns out is is his stompin grounds.

He and his wife are truly awesome people.

Then I decided I was hungry and really should hang somewhere else

so found the Chinese restarunat for Lo Mein for a late lunch

AND
made a call to Kia Headquarters. It was so lovely out that after sitting on hold inside the lovely restaruant after felt like work out that welcome; I moved to the bench outside

and for a good hour READ while the hold music was low on my phone repeating over and over and over again...
the one same jazz tune not recognizable to me

Though I am sure if I ever hear it again I will know its now familiar tune

HA HA
though not its name

What an awful fate for a good jazz song to be the maddening repeated one playing when on hold with customer service after your car died due to manufacture defect.

I did talk with someone who said I had to talk to the appeal dept (or some such?) it was escalated- my request for warranty repair POST warranty miles cause it was a known issue LONG before- while still under the warranty but not taken accountability of prior DESPITE the knowledge of it.

I have to prove the knoweldge and avoidance

SO after another almost hour- was on hold while that 2nd person called the local dealer

Who honestly can only say what he sees in the record

and what I told him

And the current service dealer can not see the LACK Of documentation

the fact of the existing problem way back when being ignored OR COURSE can't SEE history of that

just the history the dealer did document BUT the current service manager can say YEAH it did fail the rod clearance test and yeah it is showing the defect in engine that is normally covered when under 150K mileage

SO the lady comes back on the phone and says to email HER all the service records I have from anywhere
any that would show the record of the known issue of engine and show the codes preexisted the 150K and then she will review it all to make a determination. She said she needs that-

SO in other words
there is STiLL HOPE that with all the records they might take accounability.

Will see.

So I have to gather all the paperwork. Called my mechanic to leave a message to see if they have records to- just in case I am missing anything.

Honestly it was so lovely out I really enjoyed sitting there reading.
Kinda was glad no work came in that day from my clients.

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