Good Morning.

I am taking an actual weekend off. There is no driving, no work, no Uber, no nothing for these 48 hours.


I am rather stunned by the rapidity of the change. It was a mere three weeks ago that circumstances at my now former job took a sudden and dramatic negative turn. I very quickly sent out a few resumes, and as it turns out - literally the first job I applied to - called back within 24 hours and I was very quickly hired.

Longtime readers of this space know my work history. It had been relatively stable up until the "Great Recession" of 2008. Ever since then, it feels to me at least that I've been bouncing around. Temping here, contracting there, finding something I thought was suitable but then tiring of it, and a host of resume-killing disjointed jobs.

But then there is the trolley. I wasn't there long, only three years. But as I posted elsewhere, it turned out to be the best job I ever had.

A certain privileged cretin that duped more than 50% of this nation to become its president is directly responsible for killing the entire tourism and hospitality industry. Maddeningly, sadly, and with few options to remain employed over last winter, I walked away from that job with tears in my eyes.

Going from the best job I ever had to one of the two worst places I have ever worked turned out to be a shock to the system. I managed as best as I could, but as I have told a couple of the managers that were actually interested in why I quit - "When I felt myself slipping, and my customer service skills eroding, I decided that I refused to stoop to their level [meaning the dour and uninspired 'drivers' that I worked with] and I can no longer work in these conditions."

Yes, this is pride in my work on display. Something that only a handful of other drivers at that shop even showed the slightest inkling of. I told Mrs. TriSec repeatedly - it should be a point of pride that all of my guests love me, and tell me that I'm "the best driver they ever had". But instead I was disgusted by it. Things I do as a matter of course, ordinary customer service, and things like being on time, driving cautiously and calmly, and the most basic principles of transport (greeting passengers, assisting guests that need help, treating wheelchair riders with calm and courtesy) - this was seen as something extraordinary, and illustrated to me how deeply uncaring and indifferent the rest of the driver corps actually was.

In any case - it feels like that shop is on the verge of collapse. I was one of three drivers to quit in a three-week period (being the first one), and I have heard that they don't have enough drivers now to run all the routes. I saw with my own eyes a couple of managers out driving this past week, so I know the rumors are true. This is no longer my problem.

I go back to healthcare on Monday. I worked in the industry for decades, and have been on many high-profile projects for various companies in the Greater Boston area over the years. But it's always been on the payor side, or for a middleman. Monday, I work on the provider side for the first time in my life.

It's a good-looking, and good-feeling job for me at this time. Initially, I'll be working the front desk, and greeting and registering patients at the office. But that's just a tease. The doctor I'm working for has visions of me becoming her practice manager, and that's no nebulous promise. I was in the office yesterday morning getting some of my computer access and logins, and all the places in the systems we were testing all were practice management roles (billing, chart access, patient records, etc.) So I know she is serious about this.

Best bonus? It's a mere 6 miles from home. It is back within bicycle distance, and is equally distant between three MBTA Subway stops and a stop on the commuter rail line that goes to Waltham, so this will be easy to go back and forth. (Oh, we're still getting that motorcycle later this month. )

But I will say this. For all the ajita that last place gave me....when I pulled in and parked my bus for the last time last night, I did pause and look at it thoughtfully for a moment.

I do not know when, or indeed if, I will ever drive for pay again. It was never about the driving; it was all about the toxic corporate atmosphere I worked in. Actual driving was fun to the end.