Deer Diary, This is Why I Drive

This will be my third week driving for Uber/Lyft, but mostly Lyft. Uber is confused right now as I opened a driver account in Portland, Maine, and for some reason they are taking a long time to make the switch. Anyway, I'm more than okay with just being a Lyft-er. Uber is not the only one confused. I've had many people look at me in disbelief when I tell them that I am a driver. And it's not because I feel the need to explain myself, never that, it is because I want to. This is why I drive.

Money. As much as I'd love to be rolling in it as a yoga teacher / model, I'm not, currently. Things got very real a couple of months ago and I had to take action. Driving has always appealed to me. I'll get into that later, but it checked a lot of boxes. I could do it whenever I wanted. I could fill the gaps, when I wasn't teaching or shooting, I could drive. I would be my own boss. I've never been one to feel okay with working for someone else. The bonuses are real. The first week, after just 10 rides, I got a $400 bonus. That was a beginner bonus so it won't happen again, but they continue to run promotions as incentives. You can drive during the prime time in the prime areas and make a considerable amount more. I pull in about $200 extra a week after gas, and I only drive for a couple of hours in the mornings mostly, and maybe 4-5 days a week. It takes care of my living expenses. If I wanted/needed to I could make that and then some on a Friday night... I saw the value in making money on my way to make money as well - I just turn my meter on and insert my job/teaching destination and take people along my route. It's just savvy. I also can't be parked in my neighborhood for three hours every Wednesday and Thursday, so I might as well just go online.

Secondly I love to drive. I'm also good at it. I've been driving long, I mean LONG, distances ever since college at the University of Georgia, driving back and forth home to Indiana, then from Miami, then Chicago, then from NYC, then from Maine, and then of course across the country. After about 10 months of dri