Author: Phil

Sometimes you get a ride that makes for an interesting story; it could be comical, raunchy or enlightening. This was a ride that was….human.

I get a ping to go pick up a ride that is 45 minutes plus, it never says how much more than the 45 minutes but I just guessed it was going to be a San Francisco run. Most of the ones I get like that during that time of the day are.

This was not to be the case, not two seconds after I accepted I got a call from one of these third party request companies that help people get rides form Lyft. Usually older people that do not have cell phones use these companies. They tell me that this ride is going to be a three hour ride……! And they ask me if I was willing to take it, the last two people declined the ride after they arrived to pick him up. I do not know what the policy is about this but that is a real dick move, because if someone is requesting a ride like this you know that they are in a bind.

This was also not the first time I had gotten a request to go to this town from this area. So, not one to back down from a challenge, I take it. Turns out that my rider was an older gentleman that came to the hospital from Merced for his pre-operation visit. He is having a kidney removed in two days….ouch! He cannot drive, recently totaled his truck and no one in his family was able to take him, or pick him up! My man is just not having a good day, or year as it turns out. Just to help you understand what type of ride this is, this is a screen shot of the ride there:

It is 3 hours from Palo Alto and then it’s a 2 hour drive home! This was going to be one hell of a fare!

So, he jumps in and we are off. Right away I know that this is going to be interesting, he is a talker! I will not give details, private conversations about life, family and shared experiences are to be held between those two people. But I will say I know that he loves to fish, how to cook fish every which way to Sunday and that he HATES snakes. There was no more than 10 seconds of silence the entire ride, and by no means that is a complaint! I have had long rides where the passenger said NOTHING! I always gauge the level of conversation within the first few seconds of any ride I give. And this guy….was not shy about what he had on his mind.

It was because of this talk I made the decision to take the kids camping, just the boys this time. I have taken Lucas out but this will be the first all boys camping trip. We are going in about 4 weeks so it gives me time to get my fishing license and get all the gear up to par, get maps and make plans on what we will be doing that weekend. Time is running out, we are always battling time and even short little trips like this will never be forgotten. Life should be more about experiences and time well spent than anything else. Make plans, go to that restaurant that you have always want to go to, set a goal even if it’s a small one, live life before you are 10 years down the road wishing you had of done something.

You can never get back yesterday but you sure as shit can make plans to take tomorrow!

(Stock photo of charcoal found on the Internet)

So there we were….at a summer house warming party. Nothing to out of the ordinary; coolers full of ice and drinks, people walking about, tables all set out with various food stuffs and a grill that seemed to be already manned; or so I thought!

As man rules dictate you go to the grill and make small talk with the man at the helm. You do not bogart, you do not give advice and you definitely do not touch…..unless it is painfully obvious the man with the Scepter of the Grill does not command the power.

As I watched him try to light the charcoal I could see that if I did not try to respectfully try and help out our food was going to taste like lighter fluid. He graciously admitted he had no idea what he was doing and even apologized for handing off the grilling to me. For me it was not an issue, I actually like doing this.

I have made many mistakes using charcoal so I would not boast to being an expert but I do know a thing or two. I did not see a charcoal chimney so I just used the grill itself to get them going. Step one: put all the charcoal in a pile in the center on the bottom grate. Step two: add lighter fluid and light. Step three: keep the flames going until almost all of the coals are white. Step four: spread the coals out, put the top grate on and close the lid.

And like I said I am no expert but this time it all came out perfectly; this is definitely a solid notch in my man card!

Life has been just plugging along. The kids are back in school, I am now on the morning schedule (0530-1330) and wife is still doing the wife things.

I am not a morning person, it literally takes me more than an hour from waking up to getting in the car. I am in bed by 2100hrs and up by 0400, and I hates it, loath it and have strong dislikes for it! But…..I am out early, absolutely no traffic coming or going, they gym is just about empty and I can even squeeze in a nap sometimes. So in all, the early shift is not all that bad.

I have been doing my Lyft thing, but I do need to get on that hump a bit more aggressively. I have a disease and the only cure is money money money! Nothing much to really report in the realm of passengers or crazy stories. I was playing with my ‘FindMyPhone’ app the other day and say that I was right next to the Apple UFO!

I would love to see the inside of this place! But I have no skills that Apple would want so I guess I will just have to do what all the other plebs are reduced to….looking for videos of it on YouTube! And yes there are a few, and yes I live vicariously through YouTube and Google Maps. I have taken many virtual walks through Cranford New Jersey, Bayway Elizabeth NEw Jersey, Baton Rouge Louisiana and even random streets in Mexico. I advise anyone with some time to kill to use Google Maps to go back and visit any place their little white van has gone to!

And like I said above, life has been plugging along. Weather has been good, getting my routine reset and everyone is in good health. I am still here playing with my webpage, still not sure what to do with. But playing with it none the less, I use Instagram and Facebook more than anything. It’s cheap, easy and fun….what else can one ask for?

What is the meaning of life? It is a topic that people will debate until the end of time and the simple answer is: Whatever you want it to be.

For me it has always been being a dad and my family, close and extended. Being a dad was all I have ever thought about being in life. I have never really had a end goal in the ways of what I want to as a career, and I still do not. I am a 43 year old boy, I have a good job and that is all I will say about that. It does not define me in any way other than it is what I do to afford food, home, vacation and retirement.

The thing that will always be with me is my family, and as I flounder through this world I am reminded that I have no idea what I am doing. And I am ok with that, I do my best and put my all into what I do.

I keep tons of pictures on my phone, and I love looking through them constantly. I smile and reminisce of the time that picture was taken. And this is part of why I created my first blog and why I wanted to continue it on the next level.

I love sharing my life, it is my mission to make the most out of the little time I have on the blue planet. Live more, work less. Document the good, let the bad be what it is. Take pictures of everything, smile more and enjoy the time you have. I hope to inspire other to do the same; blog your travels, take pictures and share. We will read if you post.

This weekend me and the wife unit stopped at the rose garden and just took pictures. The kids were at home, they did not want to come out shopping with us ha!

We stopped and smelled the roses, we had tons of things to do but this was more important than adulting. The meaning of life….stopping to smell the roses even though you do not have the time to.

I often publish my post before they are fine tuned or edited…..because I can. I do try to reread my stuff but I am always missing my mistakes, I will leave it up to give the grammar nazis something to work with! Ha! Happy Hump Day!