Ubering with Joseph

I've had an interesting development with my Ubering.  The evening rush wasn't working as well as it had been, so I decided to try mornings again.  And the first day I picked up a guy just a couple of blocks away, going to Hollywood.  His name is Joseph.  He Ubers to work every morning, and upon hearing that I lived close by, he proposed an arrangement whereby I pick him up as my first ride every morning.  He'd suggested it to another Uber driver who wasn't interested,

Now, I've had a few customers (and friends) ask if they can request me specifically, and I usually politely explain that it's not possible to request a specific driver.  And it wouldn't really make sense, as once I get my first customer in Burbank, I could end up anywhere in L.A.  Plus, one of the nice things about Ubering is that I set my own hours, and I frequently adjust my schedule.  So the likelihood of me being available when someone wants me isn't very good.

But difference here is that he's close by and he leaves for work at the same time as I do.  So I was reticent for a few moments, but then agreed to it.  I park outside of his apartment each morning so that I'm the closest driver when he hails an Uber.  And it's been great for my Ubering, as I get a decent fare into Hollywood, which is almost always surging (higher fares) when I get there.  So my mornings have been decently profitable.

But I wondered what was in it for him.  He's a nice guy.  Married with kids, nerdy, works doing software stuff.  He's not a great conversationalist ... I'll bring stuff up or comment on things we're passing and try to be my charming self, and he engages to a degree, but you can tell he doesn't have terrific social skills.  When he starts the conversation, it's almost always something about Uber or the drive.  So, its not like we're laughing and making jokes and playing off of each other.  And if not me, then he can easily get another Uber driver each morning.  So why the desire for the same driver each morning?

It was when he told me that he has a photographic memory that it clicked for me.  He's Sheldon.  And apparently I'm Leonard.  They're the roommates on the Big Bang Theory.  Sheldon has an eidetic memory (which is similar to photographic except photographic pulls up images while eidetic can pull up entire experiences, as Joseph explained it to me) and relies on Leonard to drive him to work every day.  He could get there another way, but he just likes and feels more comfortable with the consistency.  And I think maybe Joseph is similar.

So, it's been interesting getting to know someone with such a completely different personality.  Because he's a perfectly normal guy with the wife and kids and job and everything.  I think he just views the world through a different lens than I do.