Behind the App

Stories shared between a driver and her many Lyft Passengers

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This is Kelsey. In recovery Everyone should do 12 step

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Chelsea_on_paper Wedding signage Business analyst Going to a wedding in Cabo! Interning with a wedding planner

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This is Liang! He's studying computer software at USC. We had a fun talk about gaming and augmented reality 😆🙌🏽

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Anthony recently moved here from San Diego. So of course, I gave him suggestions for all the best food and drink places in town 😊

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Ola From Nigeria via LA. Studying computer science. Got in my car and said, "just had the worst meeting." "Well, go ahead and vent!" I said 😆. We had a really nice chat, added each other on Facebook and will probably hang out one of these days

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Cari was in the same car with Cathi (thanks Lyft Line!). She's super sweet and was heading to an informational interview with someone she met while networking. She'd like to get a job as a Production Assistant. I was super interested by how she got this meeting because I've been really feeling the need for a mentor in my field (wedding planning) but was struggling on how to get in front of someone. Cold emailing just seemed so desperate! She went to an event and after one of the speakers caught her attention, she just jumped at the opportunity to introduce herself. This was mind-blowing to me. First of all, so obvious! Second, I've done this before but never followed up 😑. So she's inspired me to get my butt out there and network 😊

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Cathi, my fellow star child 😆✨. She's working for an interior design firm as a jr designer. Sounds like a really cool job! They do mostly hospitality (designing hotels). She lived in Germany, went to school in Ohio, and is now working in LA. Her parents are both financial advisors, so they don't really get the whole creative job thing, but they are thrilled that she's got a job with benefits 😉

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Denis - pediatrician from NY, visiting and here for a conference. We rode together for a solid hour and talked about his work, his wife and son, living in NY, thinking about moving to SoCal, what's Long Beach like (clearly I'm a big fan). My favorite insights - for Denis, becoming a father has made him a better pediatrician. He has a one-year old and realized pretty quickly that some of the things doctors tell parents to do are actually a lot harder to put in practice. The example he gave me was sleep training. Doctors, including himself, tell parents that by 4-5 months you should just let the baby cry it out when going to sleep so that they can learn how to self-soothe. "But I only lasted about five minutes hearing him cry. It breaks your heart!" He says it makes him a better pediatrician because now he can empathize better with his patients' parents. Why did he choose pediatrics? "Medicine is really interesting, but you've got to like the population you're serving. I like kids, and it's nice that you can be a little silly, because kids are silly." He says its super rewarding to be able to be a child's doctor for a long time, tracking their progress and watching them grow up ☺️

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Here's Richard! Drove him to work yesterday. He works in accounts receivables for a fueling company. "You wouldn't believe how many huge companies don't pay their bills." That comment made me feel way better about my own bills 😉. He's good at his job but wants to get into Audio engineering. Something I'm vaguely familiar with from using Midi control in theatrical lighting. We had a fun conversation, even though I missed two turns 😬 (it was early and I hadn't had my coffee yet! Lol)

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This is Tiff! Shortly into the ride it came out that she used to work for Disney and so did I! We started talking and reminiscing about the awesome parts about working for the Mouse. The company is kind of intense, but the people really make the experience. It's pretty rare that I meet other people that worked there so it was really fun to get to talk about it. She doesn't work there anymore but hopes that when she gets a car, she'll go back. I'd be interested in returning as well, but I made the mistake of not returning my costumes, so they wouldn't hire me back 😬

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This is Aisha. Not only did we have a great talk but we were cracking each other up on this ride! The night before, she went to a concert in LB and saw Salt n Peppa, along with some other 90s artists. She said it was a great show but it was right on the water and she started feeling under the weather today. Her plan was to go home, take some cold medicine and pass out! We talked about all the interesting people I meet driving, like the Federal Customs Agent and how I use those opportunities to ask questions about their experience. I shared with her what I learned from that guy (how searching is often a result of recognizing patterns more than biases). Then I asked her what she does. Here's where it got interesting. She works for a company that sells endoscopic tools and technologies to hospitals all over the world. In fact, her company is so exclusive that you have to become a customer before you can get access to their product inventory. I asked her what the craziest tech she's seen. Apparently, the company has a show room with all of the newest and advanced tech. She says, it won't be long before robots are doing surgeries. The show room has an entire wall that's a touch screen panel that streams whatever the cameras are seeing in the body and the doctor can move parts of the picture around and zoom into different parts. Feels like the future! She has a nursing degree and is hoping to get a position in a hospital representing the company and ensuring the surgeons have everything they need. She tells me that she just turned 40, to which I reply (without thinking), "congratulations!" She starts laughing and says, I don't get why everyone says "congratulations!" I'm just living 😂😂😂❤️❤️

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I liked Lauren the moment I saw her "beautiful dreamer" top. She's got a warm spirit and an openness that draws you in. She works in Vegas as a cocktail waitress and was heading back after a trip visiting her boyfriend here in SoCal. We talked some about her experience in Vegas - it's not quite what she expected. The money isn't amazing and it's more cut-throat than what she's used to. But she's not a quitter and will stick it out for the rest of the season. She just really missed her boyfriend. I do hope to run into her again ☺️❤️

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This is Megan, she's a physical therapist and I drove her pick up her car (repairs). She's super sweet and we talked about some of the fears people have with driving for Lyft and Uber. Like you never know who's going to get in your car. As a woman driver, I feel as though I need to take the same precautions as a girl anywhere else in the world. Keep your eyes open and trust your gut. Know what's available to you to use as a weapon, and probably carry a taser or mace. I don't like it, but it's reality. I can also choose to carry my own energetic power, not be intimidated by people and speak up when something isn't right.

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Just dropped Kendall off at work. She's super sweet and just moved to Cali a month ago from Green Bay Wisconsin! She really loves her job in HB. A great view and the company really takes care of their employees. Seems like those companies that really nurture their human resources are able to cultivate really dedicated staff members. She had a degree in Business Management and plans to work and surf this summer. 😃

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Drove Daniel to work today. Guess where! In-N-Out!!! I got to ask a few more questions I was curious about. Like, if you work there, do you do all the different tasks? Cutting veggies, cooking, drive thru? He said, only level 7s can do all the jobs. He's a level 2 right now which means he does veggies and helps other associates with their tasks. He really likes it. Something about working and being busy gives him purpose. In-N-Out takes care of him and so he takes care of the customers. Their 2 primary rules - 1. the customer is always right. 2. If the customer is wrong, refer to rule 1 😆 The more I learn about this company and their employees, the more impressed I am. Taking care of your employees, providing a quality product at an affordable price, is totally doable. Way to set the standard In-n-Out. Oh! Also, did you know they can get 30-35 cars through the drive thru per hour??

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Just picked up Chris from the airport. He spent a few too many days in Vegas 😆. Both for fun and work of course. He tells me about his wife, and their orthodox wedding in Romania 2 years ago. Then we get on the topic of languages and how Romanian is kind of a mix of Italian, Portuguese, and a hint of Spanish. Never knew that! Told him how I think language is fascinating especially the ways in which it can shape culture. Think, "machismo" in Spanish and how language shapes gender norms. Told him how I have a BA in women's studies, then he tells me this hilarious story of how he took a women's studies class in college thinking it would be a great way to get laid😆. "Let me guess, you were slaughtered in that class" Him - "yep" lol UCSB - sex, love and romance 😏

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Lots of work drop offs today. Robert and I got to talking about Long Beach, then Hamburger Mary's and then both of us gushing about Shakespeare! I told him that he should at least one time, make his way to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival in OR. Definitely a worthy bucket list experience! Perhaps he'll take the train up to Portland 😄. Theater is like a recharge - to bring us back to humanity ❤️