After a slow few hours on the road this afternoon, I was about to head home and get back online for some job searching. I was slow on the switch though and picked up a ride. At first, I was fairly happy because the lady I was to drive came out with a suitcase which usually means SFO and $$$. This was not the case.
After loading her two, very hefty suitcases into my trunk my optimism was dashed when my phone informed me we were headed to Pacifica, not SFO. Great, a ride out of the city, to the wrong side of drive time traffic only to get stuck with no one to take back to the city. This was why I wanted to head home.
With my passenger already in the car, I had no choice but to head south. After making a wrong turn in a futile effort to avoid some of the traffic and finally getting back on course, I settled in. Rides like this can be kind of awkward. This was going to be a 30 min plus trip and with a literal stranger in your car 30 minutes can be vary painful if they have no conversation in them. I finally got some luck in this aspect.
As a slow start in my settling in for the drive I asked my patron, "Mind if I turn on NPR? If you weren't here that is what I would be listening to." Bingo, we have liftoff. "Yes!" she replied. "I love NPR." Things are looking up.
The current show on NPR was doing a piece on past Vice Presidential candidates. They mentioned Geraldine Ferraro, of whom my patron was a fan.
She was a nice Australian expat and we spent the next 30 minutes in great conversation. Just another example of how serendipity and bay area charm can lead to some good vibes and good conversation on the road.
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