Slow Night

Slow Night

I am sitting in the office of my second job without much going on tonight. To facilitate a quicker return to Georgia, I have taken on a night jib on the weekend to earn a bit more money - one of those "every little bit helps" sort of things. Given the nature of this job, I figured that I'd like it, but the extent has changed. If I could make ends meet working this night job, I'd give up my day job without a second thought.

The company is called "Zingo," and they have branches in several cities, but they actually started in Athens, Georgia. They are on-call designated drivers that will take you home in the event that you, shall we say, have a little too much fun at the bar or the club (small wonder that they started in Athens . . .). There are similar services in many places, and one can certainly call a cab to get home, but the question then becomes this: "What do I do with my car?"

Depending on the hour, the options are usually the following:

1: Try to find a friend still awake and willing to come pick you up and take you home. If you can find two, maybe you'll get your car home too.

2: No one is available (or willing) to pick you up, so you call a cab. The cabbie takes your money and takes you home, but your car sits in the parking lot.

3: You try to drive yourself home. Given your - ahem - "compromised" mental state, this has great potential to end badly. Driving skill or lack of law enforcement prescence notwithstanding, it's just a supremely bad idea to risk it.

Zingo's methodology in picking up customers is a bit different because we aim to get both customer AND car home in one trip. Whereas some companies use two-man teams in chase cars, Zingo's drivers all use tiny Diblasi scooters to get around. This particular type of scooter collapses into a suitcase-sized package that is then stored in the customer's trunk. We take the keys, drive them home in their own car, then scoot off to our next destination from there. Check out "www.zingoaz.com" to see more on how the process works (cut and paste - my HTML skills are teh suck).

We cost a bit more than a cab fare (I had a 25-mile run that cost nearly $100 last night, for example), but one gets a lot of convenience out of the package: the customer gets home safely, and there is no need for a second run in the morning because their car is already home with them. Some new customers get hung up on the price issue, but one must specifically remember what's at stake from a DUI standpoint:

Here in Arizona, first time offenders get slapped pretty hard: for a BAC above .080, one can expect 10 to 180 days in jail (depending upon the severity), approximately $1,800.00 in fines plus court costs, and a suspension of one's drivers' license for 90 days. Conviction also results in required substance abuse evaluations and probation for up to five years, with an Ignition Interlock Device being required in one's car for 12 months. It all depends upon how one defines "acceptable risk," I guess.

At least a few of you are likely thinking, "That's a little bike - it can't move very fast." And you'd be right - the little 50cc two-stroke engine goes from 0 to "swift jog" in about 30 seconds, and the bugger shakes, rattles and rolls like a small, unbalanced washing machine, all while making a half-inch drop in the pavement feel like I'd jumped the thing off a rooftop and stuck the landing. Add to the mix the fact that a kid on a ten-speed would probably give me a run for my money on a flat surface, and those of you who know me can safely imagine my frustration on the road. To counteract the obvious lack of performance, every trick I have learned as a motorcyclist is being put to a new use. Constant situational awareness, working knowledge of the side streets, liberal use of the bicycle lane, and conservative use of the sidewalk have kept me alive so far and will continue to do so For the forseeable future (that last maneuver is technically illegal in Arizona, but I'm sure the local PD wouldn't begrudge me some sidewalk space on a two-lane road for the sake of speeding up traffic flow or to dodge some oblivious geriatric in a Buick).

Brittany will shortly be joining me on the job by taking the incoming calls and dispatching drivers, which will be nice. She's picked me up on a few long rides to keep me from having to scoot back a long ways, most recently from Chandler to Scottsdale, which is roughly equivalent to the distance from Grayson to Norcross - doable, but not much fun with a 25 mph top speed and zero suspension. When the lead guy heard that she was picking me up, he offered her a job. It'll be nice to have her get paid for that, and will help us get closer to be able to move back to Georgia next year.

It's nearly 1:30am now, and I've done just one run, so it's about time to go home. If nothing else, tonight has taught me that it is possible to write a blog using only an iPhone. It doesn't pay well, but it keeps me occupied.