A Mass Of Humanity

In addition to needing tires (h/t to @cattyfantastic for the recommendation of a place cheaper than the dealership) to the tune of ~$950, someone gained access to my debit card and tried to put a fraudulent charge for $30 on my account. Luckily, the bank caught it and declined the charge before ever letting it hit my account.

Now I have a new debit card which started out to be a quick and easy process but devolved into the opposite of quick and easy.

My sister is having a really bad day which means I get to have one too. The good news with her is she is slowly realizing she needs to go into a care facility.

I hate having to take them to the dealer for repairs.

The slow leak caused by a puncture can’t be fixed. They recommend four new tires. They also recommend I pay ~$1,100 for the tires.

TL;DR: Crazy shit happens during full moons. Even if the moon isn’t exactly full for another 13 hours.

After this morning’s adventures, which began at 3 a.m., I will not drive on the day of a full moon unless the sun is shining.

In my 10 plus years working for the Red Cross in disaster preparedness and response I came to fully believe that wacky shit happens during a full moon. Also, weird shit happens on Friday the 13th. I should have applied my beliefs in the power of a full moon to ride share driving.

Last night, Saturday, I picked up two reservations to take people to the airport. Airport trips are typically well paying and more people tip going to or from the airport than on non-airport rides. Just FYI, only about 25% of people tip on regular rides.

The first pickup was scheduled at 3:45 which means I have to be online 30 minutes beforehand. I got online at 3 a.m. and instantly got a ride that was near my house, paid well, and the drop-off point was not far away. I could complete this trip and still make it to my first airport reservation which was 15 miles away.

I get to the pickup and get messaged by the rider that he’s on the backside of the apartment building, which of course was not well lit. Three guys come out of the apartment and they’re in no hurry to get in my car. Finally, one guy approaches my car with what is probably all of his worldly possessions, which includes a portable crank generator and his bicycle.

I open the rear hatch of my Subaru Outback so he can load the bike and his other belongings, which fill up the car with room for him to ride behind me.

Off we go.

We get half way to his drop off when he’s on the phone with what I think is his girlfriend. He offers to have us pick her up and come with us. She is about three miles in the opposite direction. I tell him to add a stop in his Uber app and we’ll go get her. He’s not the one who booked the ride and one of his two cell phones isn’t working and he doesn’t have the number for his buddy in the phone that is working.

I pull over as we try to get something worked out because I don’t want Uber to think that I’m taking this guy on an extended trip to increase the fare. Finally I say to heck with it and just go pick her up. My airport pick up is canceled and I keep accepting new rides thinking this ordeal will be over soon. It isn’t over soon and I had to cancel these well paying rides as well. I turn off accepting new trips because I realized this is going to take a while.

She’s hanging out in the parking lot of a convenience store with another guy. This guy wants to come along with her because “She’s my bitch.” I’m not sure at first if that meant his girlfriend or he is her pimp. Luckily because of all of the guy’s possessions there is only room for her. After five minutes of back and forth conversation she finally gets in and off we go. To a street with no street lights.

Thankfully they unload without incident and I go on my way.

I then get a message from Uber saying they noticed the trip was longer than expected and took more time than expected. The message said if I do this on purpose I’ll get fired. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get ahold of Uber support on the phone, because everyone wants to do support through AI, and explain what happened. They understand and document the situation and make sure I get paid for the extra time and mileage.

This lasted for 8 hours.

New glasses. Who dis?

First time wearing glasses full time. They are progressive bifocals. My distance vision is pretty good, the small print requires 2.5 magnification.

I’m not laughing anymore.

The Universe decided to give me some special reminders of my age today. Both of my knees and ankles have arthritis. It’s been manageable up until today. The first sign of bone on bone pain in my left knee almost kept me from walking 20 feet from my car to my front door this morning. Hopefully, the Voltaren arthritis cream will help with this until I lose a couple hundred pounds.

Then I got my hair cut at a national chain. When I went to pay, the stylist rang me up for a senior haircut. Ouch. Judging by the amount of gray beard hair I left on the floor she cannot be faulted.

My annual physical was last Wednesday. The headline is I lost 20 pounds since about mid-March. That’s water weight that was taken off with a diuretic plus, I started the weight loss drug Zepbound. The other good news is a CT scan of my heart and aorta show there’s nothing of concern. My dad had problems with his aorta so I stay on top of it out of caution. Blood pressure was good, for me, but it still needs work.

Last Tuesday I got my teeth scanned for my two partials which will replace the two teeth I had pulled six weeks ago. I also got approved for a small dental loan so I can get a root canal and a crown at the end of this month. Plus, some money left over for a cleaning.

Living with my sister continues to be difficult and is very stressful for me. I’m also stressful for her. After a heated conversation she decided she would go to a nursing home. I backed down because it felt like I was giving her a death sentence. She opted not to go. We need to get her a new hospital bed because hers broke. She’s been living in a lift recliner in the living room, which is not ideal on multiple levels.

Therapy is going well. Especially in terms of all the issues with my sister and in particular her nursing home decision. It’s so good to have a great therapist and a great PCP.

Rideshare driving is going well. I had my first vomit situation last week with a premie at 5 a.m. Premie is my nickname for college kids under 21. I avoid the “take the drunk college kids home from the bar at 2 a.m.” shifts so I can avoid vomit in my car. I was prepared with a car-sized trash bag and his aim was true. My car stayed clean.

Beltane refers to the Celtic May Day festival. Beltane falls each year approximately halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

“On May 1, we celebrate what began as the ancient Celtic holiday of Beltane. ... It started at sundown April 30, when, according to Celtic lore, the evil spirits that had wreaked havoc on humans since Halloween had a last fling before the dawning of May 1 cast them into their annual six-month exile. The night of April 30 is still celebrated, especially abroad, with bonfires and revelry.” — Deane Morrison, The Owatonna (Minnesota) People’s Press, 26 Mar. 2026

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day is "Beltane" https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2026/05/01/