09/13/2026
Random story....
This weekend, I was sooooo irritated....I'm a Sag so you know it takes a lot to have my flabbers gasted...
I flew LAX-NAN-SYD...
I ordered an Uber at the airport to go to my hotel here in Sydney. The Uber driver says he's there at the pick up. He's not. At this airport the Uber has a slot number where they must park. I can clearly see the vehicle in the lot across the street just sitting there, making no effort to move to the pick up point. I wait because sometimes drivers don't want to pick you up for various reasons. I was in no rush because my hotel check in was at 3pm so I got all day. I said to myself...this is ridiculous. I took pictures of what I thought was my driver just sitting there parked in the lot and not moving. I sent him a message saying I didn't see him and was there any traffic (I know there was no traffic, I was being ). He sat there and read both messages. Did not move...but he cancelled. I was hot and pi**ed off because I sat and watched other customers get picked up and my supposed Uber just sit there and do nothing. I was slightly defeated and I needed a quick moment to find another ride. I sat down and decided to contact Uber because this driver essentially wasted my time and my money. Now I didn't lose any money but time is money my friends. I sent a message to Uber explaining what happened. They apologized and they gave me a credit. PROBLEM.....the rates now were even HIGHER than what I was originally billed for so now I am furious.
All of a sudden.....I saw the driver pull up to Uber 11 spot. That was my spot...where I was originally standing.
He picked up another passenger. Passenger with far more luggage than me...i.e. surf board plus his bags. Passenger looks nothing like me.. tall, white, possibly Australian. I don't know. I got this weird feeling. Is this why Vederalale didn't want to pick me up. It must be because my purple bag wasn't a surf board. Is that it? People always ask why Black people assume stuff is racist and this is one of the reasons why! My mind is racing because I am like, did I not get picked up because I'm a big beautiful Black woman? I don't know...but I went back to Uber and sent another report saying what I saw the driver do. Now I don't know the reason but he should have cancelled immediately instead of just sitting there watching. Uber responds back to me saying drivers are supposed to be professional and that they have put this in his driver account review. They also say they are looking into it and users who do certain things can have their access removed. Kicks rocks with no socks and sandals on...blah blah blah...
I don't know fam... I don't know.
I sat there and waited until the surge pricing was over. It took some time but rememeber, I have all of the time in the world!
The price goes back down to what I initially paid with the first guy so I order the Uber. I get a guy in a very nice, super clean Kia Carnival van. He rolls up, gets out of the car, smiles and helps me put my luggage in the vehicle. He gets the door to open and I hop in. He's super cool, making small talk and somehow tells me he's Fijian. Alllllll is well with the world. He asks me if I like cava and we start talking about certain things in Fiji, places and the fact that Fiji Day is coming up. I tell him I should bring him some cava and he jokingly laughs and says if I bring it, he will drive me anywhere I want to go in Australia. I laugh but I'm literally going to bring it...only if it passes immigration lol..
You know, the first driver really had my gears shifted but I had to remember that sometimes travel doesn't always go smoothly BUT you sometimes have to take a quick PAUSE, REGROUP and not let anyone STEAL YOUR TRAVEL JOY.
Perhaps there was a reason the other driver refused to pick me up. I ended up connecting with someone else on their culture who was pleasant and didn't have any reservations about taking me to my destination.
Onward I go......
