#like are u telling me u believed sentinel. would be correct about this

[bumbleblurr]

so ready to stop reading this fic and throw it directly into a paper shredder bc they portray bulkhead as dumb

[padme-parker]

Collide / Anakin Skywalker x Reader (Chapter 6)

[a Star Wars x Avengers crossover]

Summary: You go to Onderon and meet someone you’ve been longing to see. Another call to home ensues and hearts get broken.

Warnings: angst, maybe cursing, I can’t think of anything else. oh and bad plot lmao

WC: 4.0k

A/N: this isn’t proof read so it might be scuffed. 

read chapter 5 here

C O R U S C A N T

After the nightmares began, Anakin was rarely around, only making you more susceptible to the dark side. You truly did want to tell him about what had been keeping you up at night, but how were you going to contact him when he was never around and the connection the two of you shared was seemingly cut off? You weren’t able to feel his emotions nor feel his presence. It was as if he had blocked you off, almost like he was dead, but he wasn’t. You knew that he went on more campaigns as he was barely spending time in the temple, wanting to stay as far away from you. And if the two of you ever were in the same room by sheer luck, he pretended that you didn’t exist.

On days where both Anakin and Obi Wan were gone, you trained with a girl named Xin. In a way, she reminded you of the mandalorian Sabine: intelligent, strong, and creative. She was skilled with her lightsaber, but also greatly skilled in hand to hand combat, making her an excellent training partner. When all three of them were gone, you spent time learning binary after shortly being gifted a droid. R2-KT, or Kaytee as you liked to call her, accompanied you on your walks around the Jedi temple, often telling you random facts about it or Coruscant.

As time passed, you noticed how the council became weary of your presence. After noticing the color of your saber, which wasn’t hard to miss, the Jedi Masters seemed to focus their attention on you whenever you were in the room with them. You would have liked to believe that you had begun to earn their trust, but you understood their cautiousness towards you. Hell, you would’ve probably reacted the same way if someone came to Earth using a big stone hidden in the middle of nowhere claiming that the fate of the universe rested in their hands.

The halls of the temple were empty- excluding the sentinels- as you roamed around with Kaytee at your side. It was still so surreal being in the Jedi temple. Six months ago you were on Earth, spending time with your family. It seemed so long ago since you were first introduced to Star Wars.

You were foreign to the concept of bonding, spending time with your peers. After spending almost 17 years in foster care, you learned to not attach yourself. To become cold, detached, and observant of your surroundings. With your arrival to the tower, it became a shock to you when you found out that the team spent time together willingly. Some nights they played games like Uno and Cards Against Humanity. You would always sit in the corner and watch them, not comfortable enough to be engaging with them in such a way like that. On the nights where they watched movies, you would always sit in the furthest seat away from the group. It stayed like that until Peter started coming to the bonding nights.

Due to the fact that he was still young, he stayed with his Aunt May. Only coming to the tower to help Tony with his projects. So it was a surprise to see him there, but you couldn’t help feel more comfortable knowing that someone else your age was there.

“So, what’re we watching tonight?” He asked. The team let out a couple of groans, unsure of what they were getting into. “How about we watch Star Wars? I bet you those two grandpas haven’t seen it yet.”

“Hey! Watch it, Peter.” Steve said, putting his hand over his heart to feign hurt. All it took for him to apologize was one glance at Bucky. “Sorry Mister Winter- uhh James- Bucky-- no. Sir Barnes. And Steve.”

He goes to sit down, but before he does, he takes a survey of the room. He notices you sitting alone on the couch, “Hey, why don’t you come sit closer?” He asked. You shake your head, telling him that you were alright where you were. “What about you? Have you seen Star Wars?” You quickly shake your head, you see Peter’s eyes widen and he takes off to sit in the empty spot next to you.

“OMG. WHAT? How have you never seen the movies?”

“Not everyone has the privilege to have a normal childhood. I just so happened to be one of those kids.” You informed him.

“Right, sorry.” He apologized, his hand awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sure you’ll love the movies though.”

Peter was right. After watching A New Hope, the team had retired to their respective rooms, but the two of you had stayed up all night finishing the movies. After watching all three trilogies, you had a new found obsession, especially for a certain Skywalker. Even though some people thought that Anakin was a bad character, and sure the script was really bad, you really did love him. So when he betrayed Obi Wan to save Padme, your heart couldn’t help but break. Poor man was so whipped for the pussy :( I guess you could call it to die for.

Although your time on Coruscant was limited, you did your best to enjoy it. The six months you had spent here so far had been a gift. The environment was truly mesmerizing, and you wanted to share it with Peter. You tried not to call him often, the time difference was just slightly confusing. While six months might’ve passed for you, it had only been a month for your family back home.

You were broken out of your reverie by the buzzing of your holocom, requesting your presence in the council room. Making your way into the room, you told Kaytee to wait by the doors. You stood in the middle of the room with your hands clasped behind your back, waiting for them to address you.

“Nice to see you it is.” Master yoda said. “A task for you, we have.”

A task? What could they possibly want you to do? There was no way they’d be sending you on a mission, they never did.

“We want you to travel to Onderon. They are celebrating their liberation from the separatists. I don’t know why but Anakin and Obi Wan would like for you to be present-” Before Mace can finish his sentence he is cut off.

“I believe what Master Windu is trying to say is that they would both like for you to experience what our galaxy has to offer.” Shaak Ti answered for him. “There will be other Jedi there too, but you will be traveling on your own.” She said. “Oh, and please keep in mind, this celebration is also being held in remembrance for Steela, their fallen leader.”

“Understood, may I leave now?” Master Yoda gave you a nod, allowing you to leave. You made your way to the hangar, Kaytee following close behind you. Well, it looks like it was time to see Anakin again.

-

O N D E R O N

Your journey to Onderon is short, but you take the time to fiddle with Kaytee. Cleaning her up to make her look presentable. Weeks after you were gifted the droid, you took the time to fix her up and reprogram her to your liking. With the touch of a button, you could make her record a hologram, send her your location, or gouge out someone's eye if needed. You truly did love your droid, and you thanked the stars that Stark taught you how to code, program, and build trinkets of your own.

Kaytee lands the ship with a heavy thud, “I know you're excited to see Artoo, but we need to be careful with this ship. It’s not ours.” You told her, and in return you get a series of apologetic beeps. The door opens with a hiss, you signal for Kaytee to follow you. Stepping off, you notice all of the other ships outside of Iziz. It was like all the entirety of the galactic senate was here, which you really didn’t doubt. You felt out of place in your Jedi robes. People were arriving in magnificent, mind blowing outfits. Gowns with tails that trailed far behind them and tuxes with flowy capes. This ball was going to have it all.

The bustle of the market only intensified with the oncomers. You had to make your way to the temple before you got distracted. By the time you reached the temple doors, the crowd lessened, or so you thought. Entering the temple, you were greeted at the sight of hundreds of people. You felt blood rush to your cheeks as people began to turn and stare at you. Screw the Jedi Council for not giving me a nice outfit to change into. Just as you were about to turn around and wander through the market, you heard your voice being called out. You tried to find where the sound was coming from, only to get confused and jolt your head around violently as if you were a loth cat.

“Alyra! Over here!.” Your feet began moving on their own accord. As if you were being drawn to a presence. You come to a screeching halt in front of.. Anakin, of course it's him. Why am I not surprised that the force has literally brought me to him? Along with Obi Wan, R2, and Padme. Oh my god, wait, it’s Padme. I could kiss her right now if I wanted to. But I won’t. That would be weird, won’t it. Kissing her in front of her husband, who is my-

“Alyra, are you alright?” Obi Wan asks, breaking you out of your internal ramble.

“Yeah, I was just...trying to take all of this in. I’ve never seen anything like this.” You responded, pretending to look around the temple.

“It seems like you space out a lot.” He jokes, a smile on his face before he realizes no one else is laughing. He rolls his eyes before continuing, “Anyways, welcome to Onderon. This is my good friend, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo.” He turns to face her while he introduces you to her. You hold out a hand, expecting for her to shake it. Instead she walks up to you and takes you within her hold. She hugs you tightly, you can feel her protruding belly.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you! Anakin has talked a lot about you.” Both you and Obi Wan furrow your brows at the mention of Anakin speaking of you. Padme is quick to notice this and corrects herself, “I mean of what he’s mentioned to me about you today. Right, Ani?” She validates.

“Yeah, only good things though.” He testified, avoiding your gaze. It was weird that he was mentioning you to his pregnant wife, what was there to talk about? Not to mention the fact that he had been avoiding your presence for months now.

You squinted your eyes at him, “I could only hope so, seeing as though we haven’t spoken in awhile.” you accused. What in the world is he up to now?

You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he tries to come up with a comeback, before he can utter a word, he’s interrupted by Padme.

“C’mon, let’s go to your room and get you changed.” Once again, you furrow your brows.

“Changed, what do you mean changed?” You ask her.

“What, did you think I’d just let you roam around the ball in those ugly Jedi robes? Come, I’ll let you borrow one of my dresses.” She drags you away by the arm, Anakin and Obi Wan shouting at her. Something about Jedi robes not being ugly, you couldn’t really hear with Padme’s giggles silencing them. Kaytee let’s out a giggle of her own as she follows you, Artoo’s personality rubbing off on her.

Padmé all but practically throws you onto your bed as she ushers one of her handmaidens, Teckla, to bring the dresses into your room. Teckla wheels in a rack filled with elegant looking dresses, along with a bunch of different heels. All looking like they could snap your ankle in half if you walked the wrong way. The first dress she hands you is body conforming up until it reaches your knees, from there it fans out creating a mermaid gown effect. While the dress itself was very beautiful, you thought of it to be too plain for an event like this. You and Padme both share a look before agreeing that this was in fact not the dress.

However, the next dress she hands you is a proper ball gown. You slip it on, taken aback by how heavy the dress was. She walks up behind you to tighten the corset of the gown. She does her best to tighten it up without hurting you, but you can’t help let out a wheeze as she gets closer to tying it off.

“Sorry, as much as I love this dress, I also hate it. I’m so glad I’m pregnant so I don’t have to feel it stabbing me at every given chance.” She said, breaking the silence.

“How many months are you?” You asked.

“I’m six months along now, almost seven.” She finishes tying up the corset before stepping aside. “What do you think?”

“Well, it certainly is fit for an event like this and I do think it’s beautiful. But it’s crushing me with every breath I take. I feel like if I sit down, I won’t be able to get back up.”

“Right, well I can fix that.” This time she takes her time picking out the next dress. She lets her fingers brush across the different fabrics, stopping at one that caught her eye. “Here, try this one!” She suggests. By the look on her face, you can already tell that this is the one. The dress is flowy and soft looking. You step into the dress, pleased to find yourself correct. It feels like you have nothing on. Padme helps you zip the dress up, along with clasping together the leather pieces. The light blue tulle layered over the dark blue, almost purple material complimented your skin tone. The dress had a deep v-neck, showing off your cleavage. Right below your collarbone laid a strap of leather, connecting to either side of your thick shoulder straps. From those straps, a thin piece of tulle was stitched on, giving you two separate mini capes for your arms. Aside from a strap of leather covering your spine, the dress is completely backless. It feels like you could go frolicking in this dress. Who am I kidding, Padme probably went frolicking in this dress with Anakin.

“So, what do you think?” Her tone is hushed, as if she was trying to figure out whether you hated or loved the dress.

“It’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” You respond. “Kaytee, what do you reckon?” The droid let’s out a series of delights beeps, showing her contentment towards the dress.

“Great!” Padmé says before ushering you into a chair. “Now, we're going to do your hair and makeup. So sit still.” For once in your life, you shut up and sit still, allowing Padme to work her magic.

“Do you know the gender?” You asked, your question breaking the silence, and while the atmosphere wasn’t exactly awkward, it wasn’t comfortable either.

“Oh no, I’d rather not. It’s not like it matters to me anyways. As long as my child is happy and healthy, then so am I. But it’s ironic because I haven’t been to a check up yet.” Padme gently pulls your hair back, leaving two pieces in the front to frame your face. It was simple, not taking any attention away from the dress.

No check up? Maybe that’s why Padme didn’t know she was having twins. “So you haven’t seen a doctor or a medical droid yet?” Your eyes follow her as she pulls makeup out of her bag, her collection vast.

“No, not really. I don’t have very much time to myself due to the fact that I’m a part of the senate. But I do my best to make sure I stay healthy for my baby and me. I also just want it to be a surprise.” Padme finds a foundation shade similar to your skin tone and blends it in.

“What if you have twins? What will you do then?” You probably weren’t supposed to be asking her questions like these, but you couldn’t help it. Maybe you should’ve asked why she had so much makeup instead.

“Well..” She sighed while blotting powder all over your face. “..I suppose if it happens, then it happens. It’s the will of the force.” She finishes powdering your face before moving to your eyebrows. Padme takes an angled brow brush and begins to fill them in, giving it a naturally fuller look.

“So, you believe in the force?”

“How could I not? I work so closely with the Jedi, I’ve seen what you guys have done. The father is very close friends with the Jedi.” Padme said, implying that the father was in fact a Jedi. It felt like you were intruding, but then again, you weren’t necessarily forcing her to tell you this. You had only met her moments ago and she already trusted you enough with her secrets.

“Really? I thought the Jedi weren’t allowed to form attachments?”

“Oh… we weren’t really together. It was sort of a one night thing. But he’s going to be in the child’s life.” She covered up.

The conversation went on like that for a while before Padme announced that she was finished with you. After finishing your makeup and adding some finishing touches to your hair, she finally stepped aside, letting you see yourself in the mirror.

The second you saw yourself, your mouth fell open in shock. You looked absolutely ethereal. Padme kept your makeup very natural to bring out your features. She also added small, white flowers into your hair. You excitedly thanked her and got up to hug her as a way to show your gratitude.

“Shall we get going now?” She offered

“Oh, if it was alright with you, I was going to stay behind. I have to contact somebody.” You asked

“Of course, I’ll see you later then.” She said before gathering all of her belongings and leaving with Teckla. As Padme arrives, Anakin notices that you weren’t with her.

“Where’s Alyra?” He asked her, eager to see what she would look like out of her Jedi robes.

“She said she had to talk to someone.”

Meanwhile, in your room you were getting ready to call Peter. Honestly, you had no idea if you had connection on Onderon, but you were about to find out. Taking off your necklace, you were pleased to see the green light, indicating that you were indeed connected to the bridge. You scroll through your contacts before finding Peter’s name. You hit the dial button and wait for it to connect.

-

E A R T H

Peter is sleeping when he gets a call, the bracelet on his left hand vibrating. He thinks nothing of it and almost declines the call. That is until he realizes it’s you calling on the bracelet he had designated just for you. He jumps up from his sleeping position and quickly answers your call. Peter can’t help but let out a gasp of awe the very second your face pops onto the hologram.

“What? Is there something on my face?” You move closer towards the camera and inspect your face, only to find no flaws.

“Nothing...it’s just been so long since I’ve seen you like this.”

“Like what?” Your eyebrows scrunch together, the confusion clear on your face.

“All… dolled up.” Peter’s response makes your face blush a hot red. You let out a shy laugh as your hand comes to rest at the back of your neck. He was right, it had been so long since you’ve felt this pretty. It felt good, for once you had felt good.

“Thanks, Pete. It feels good to be in something other than Jedi robes.”

“Not that I’m saying you can’t be dressed up like this, but exactly why are you so dressed up?” He pondered, he knew it wasn’t like the Jedi to go about their duties in exquisite gowns.

“I’m actually on Onderon.” You pan the camera towards the view outside of your window. “The Jedi have invited me to a celebration of Onderon’s liberation. But also in memory of Steela I believe. I really wish you were here with me. I still don’t understand why they couldn’t have sent both of us.”

“I miss you too, but you know I have a duty here on Earth.”

“Duty? So did I Peter!”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that. With me being Spiderman-”

“It’s not like they don’t have any other superheroes. I mean come on, admit it! You know more about Star Wars than I possibly could. You should be here with me.” You huff out before changing the subject, “Anyways, how are you? Did you end up fixing things with MJ?”

“I’m fine, but no, we didn’t. We both agreed that we’d be better off as friends. Besides I’ve already moved on.” He confessed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. It’s now or never Peter, you’ve gotta tell her.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your split. But hopefully you and this new person will work out-”

“It’s you.” He says, abruptly cutting you off. Peter watches you tilt your head as your brows scrunch together again.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s you,” He repeats, taking a deep breath before speaking again, “It’s always been you. I didn’t realize it until you had left… I didn’t think I could miss someone so much.”

“Peter…. I don’t know what to say.” You uttered out,

“Please, say something- anything.” He begged, hoping he hadn’t just ruined years of friendship. Peter watches as you open and close your mouth, searching for the right words.

“...I can’t.” You say as you shake your head. “I can’t be with you, Peter.”

“Why? Is it because of my age? Come on, Y/N, I’m only two years younger than you.” He pleads

“It’s not that. You’re just not the right person for me, Peter. I know it in my very soul.”

“Oh yeah? And who is, Anakin?” He taunts, he can feel his eyes water as he watches you look away from him. “No freakin’ way. You’ve got to be kidding me.” Peter lets out a scoff.

“You’ve got to understand Pete, I love him. I really do.”

“NO! You don’t love him. You’re just obsessed with him. You think you can save him but you can’t! No one can! You can’t change his destiny.”

“What do you even know about love? You can’t tell me who I can and can’t love. It doesn’t work like that. You know nothing about it-”

“I LOVE YOU!” He screams, breaking the silence in his Queen’s apartment, surely waking up May. “Why isn’t that enough?” Peter watches as tears slowly stream down your face as he lets out a few of his own.

“I’ve got to see this out until the end, you know that Peter...I could only wish that it was enough, but it’s not. You’re like a brother to me, don’t do this to me. To our friendship...I’ve got to go now.”

“No, you don’t get to leave again-”

“I’m sorry, goodbye, Peter.” You end the call and Peter is left staring at the wall, mouth hung open in shock. He couldn’t believe this just happened to him. He faintly makes out the sound of Aunt May knocking on his door.

Without waiting for a response, she cracks open his door. She takes notice of the tears falling off of his face and closes her mouth. Aunt May is silent as she makes her way across his room, holding her arms out for him. Peter gratuitously accepts her embrace, his sobs muffled by her clothes.

No words are spoken as Peter cries his heart out, never in a million years did he think you’d be the one to break him.

--

collide tags: @deepcollectionmagazine​ @amesstm​ @haileyybird​

[ecotone99]

[MF] Uber Driver Testimonial

I signed up to be an Uber driver after I heard Jimmy H––– speak about an opportunity for people unemployed, underemployed and between careers. What’s great about Jimmy’s program is that when I hit my 500 rides he gets a payout. What’s also great is that for every person I sign up, coach, and track on the Partner Dashboard, I get a payout when that person hits their 500 rides. I don’t take a portion of my protege’s money so it’s not a pyramid scheme. I encourage all new Uber drivers part of Jimmy’s system to journal their experience driving for Uber. Email your testimonial to me for a chance to win a nice prize and be featured on Jimmy’s website.

I used to be self-conscious when driving college students. When you drive Uber you are either a driver who drives nights and weekends (you might have a day job) or you are a driver who drives during weekdays (you probably do not have a day job). When I drove college students during the weekday I often imagined saying to them “don’t be like me kids” or “I have a degree but you never know where life will take you”. It occurred to me I should be able to express a good and noble reason for driving Uber to myself and students or young professionals that press me. I settled on telling the truth: I was a disabled veteran who drove to get out of the house.

One time I drove a couple to a hip-hop concert at the Great Park. While we were in the car the guy said I was the best Uber driver he ever rode with because I checked my blind spots. Since I started driving for Uber I have greatly improved my driving skills, reinforced good driving habits, and developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These are driving rules that I follow by default and only alter if there is a special circumstance like an emergency. Some basic examples of my SOPs are: 1) stopping at yellow lights unless the abrupt stop would jar my passengers, 2) making a full stop at every stop sign, 3) checking both ways twice, 4) using owl vision through intersections, 5) driving a bit slower than normal, 6) knowing the exit before getting on the highway, 7) driving with the windows up and the A/C on, 8) driving with no radio on, 9) only talking when spoken to or when asking follow up questions.

I’m wondering if I will still be able to drive for Uber after December 31st because of these new laws California passed. I don’t know about you, but I’m taxed like a contractor and not an employee!

Like an airplane pilot going through their pre-flight checklist, I have SOPs that I go through before I start driving, when I pull up to the pickup point, after I drop someone off, etc. First I make sure I can stop somewhere close to the pickup point out of the way of traffic. I park the car and turn on my blinkers. Next I unlock the doors. I make sure the dome light turns on when the doors open. I roll the windows up and turn the air conditioner on. Last I text the passenger using the app telling them that I have arrived. While I wait I keep an eye out for hazards and the passenger. If I notice the passenger has bags I pop the trunk, get out, and help them.

On the road I’ve noticed an increase in a phenomenon I call Honk Backs. Let’s say that one driver lingers after a light turns green and the car behind them honks. A Honk Back would be that first driver honking back in indignation (after they were honked at). I have yet to do a Honk Back and feel it is beneath the dignity of most drivers.

Not too late one night I drove an inebriated Korean man home. I had the strange desire to convince this guy that I had Korean friends and that I liked Korean food, which are both true. We talked about some Korean dish being real good and the best place in South Korea to get it. Later in the conversation I named my three Korean friends. I even got into how I liked Korean women a lot. He asked me to clarify. That’s when I knew I had talked too much. He then went on a polite tirade about how stupid the Chinese were and how they were buying up all the land and making prices go up.

When I started driving for Uber I believed I needed to get to the pick up point as fast as possible and that people wanted me to drive as fast as possible. Neither beliefs were true. People want to be driven safely. People appreciate slower, defensive driving when they have never driven with you before. I tend to show up earlier than expected at the pick up point and I often arrive safely at the destination ahead of time.

My father brought up to me today that the founders of Uber did something lavish with the money they got from their IPO. He said that it wasn’t fair while the average Uber driver struggles to make minimum wage. I told him that if it wasn’t for Uber I would be unable to pay my bills and it was great it was so easy to be legally employed by them.

I always thought the best drivers on the road (aside from racer drivers, stunt drivers, etc.) were truck drivers. Truck drivers are the titan sentinels of the road. Their driving skill is a testament to the number of hours they have behind a wheel. The legends of the Uber road are drivers with over 10 thousand rides. Can you imagine someone who has driven more in the last 3 months than you have in the last 3 years?

One night I drove a big Indian guy from one house to another. The whole ride he was on the phone talking in a low, deep voice, very slowly, in that Barry White style, but in Hindi. I imagined he was talking to the woman I was driving towards though I never saw who was in the house. I thought this dude had some game and was good at talking to the ladies. A few days later it occurred to me that what made this guy sound so smooth was talking slowly in a deep voice. Now I speak in a deep low voice to people that ride with me and I have received more pats than average.

Uber sent me a message in the App saying that I am covered by insurance as soon as I turn the App on. I’m sure it’s just for car insurance and not health insurance. I doubt they would cover me in a crash but it’s nice of them to cover damage to my car. It’s likely just liability coverage in case I maim or mangle.

One day I took a Black woman to the train station. She was older than me, but gracefully aged, and she wore a long dark dress with a floral print. She was the talkative type, which seems to be about 1 out of 25 people. By this I mean she was the type of rider that talks the entire drive. I’m happy to oblige and make smart conversation with people like this. She told me a story about how Condoleezza Rice lived back in the day when racism was really bad and her dad had to protect his family from attack by Klan members with his shotgun. My passenger said that she liked the idea that people in a country should have to serve in the military, that way they could learn to use guns and know more about what it means to send citizens off to war. She lamented that people in the government were tying to takeover the presidency. She also told a story about how her older relative was welcomed into the home of a family that wound up showing them an emerald green cloak and hood worn by certain leaders of the Klan. When we got to the train station she thanked me for the ride and I told her I would share her Condoleezza Rice story.

Tips make up about 10% of my Uber wages. Keeping my car washed and vacuumed, dressed in slacks, dress shoes, and a button shirt, freshly showered and shaved, helps increase my tips. It seems that people treat me based on the quality of my clothing. I would guess that tipping is done out of a sense of obligation (I tip you because you have earned my respect), and secondarily out of genuine thankfulness.

I don’t understand why gas prices are high in California even though we are energy independent thanks to Donald Trump.

I noticed some passengers give directions and make requests of me, and some passengers are quiet as a mouse though I drive miles off route in the wrong direction. I noticed the former tend to be from affluent neighborhoods and the later from poor neighborhoods. Meekness and humility seem to be more prevalent in Santa Ana while assertiveness and disagreeableness are more prevalent in Newport Beach. This reminds me of an article I read saying there were two types of parents that took their kids for a checkup: 1) parents that encourage their children to ask the doctor questions, 2) parents that tell their children to be quiet in the presence of the doctor.

I picked up a Muslim family and dropped them off in a nice gated community. There were two women wearing hijabs and an elderly man who had a speaking impairment. He seemed to make grunts of varying range and timbre to communicate. It was an unfortunate ride because along the route I made a left turn when I should have gone straight (it was a bizarre intersection foreign to me). The elderly man began grunting, confirming my mistake. I needed to make a U-turn at the next intersection to get back on track. It turned out it was illegal to make a U-turn at this intersection. I was already in the left turning lane though. I felt I owed it to this family to risk the illegal U-turn even though getting pulled over would be the absolute worse thing that could happen to me or my passengers, aside from a crash. Sometimes we succumb to the rush of the moment. After scanning for cops I made the U-turn when the light turned green. The truck behind me honked. When we got to the guard house at the entrance to the community I rolled down the windows and presumed to talk to the gate guard and give the guard the home number that the app had as the destination address. It turned out the house number I gave was not correct. The female passenger behind me told the gate guard the correct house number and had to give a name repeatedly. That day I learned to just roll down the windows and let the passengers talk to the gate house security.

It’s January 2nd and I am still able to drive for Uber. I guess they satisfied whatever requirements they needed with the state. I know that the future of Uber will be driver-less cars. I know that when I drive I am helping program Uber’s AI. I know that my function as a driver for Uber will be obsolete one day and that I am helping to expedite that goal. I do hope to drive for Uber in my old age when I’m retired so that I can get out of the house and stave off Alzheimer’s.

​

https://chasedmandes.com/uber-driver-testimonial/

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