I’m Hudson. The family gets the first ride.

Corporate layoffs are an effective way to rearrange your plans. At 51, I added Uber and Lyft to mine. I’m a businessman and entrepreneur, and I needed a way to fill the cash gap. Wilmington is home. I already knew my way around.

What I didn’t know was how much attention this job would take. You’re watching the time, the next offer, where a trip leaves you, and whether the afternoon still works. I have a real appreciation for drivers doing all of that while learning the city—or working in a second language. I get to bring a hometown advantage to the job.

At home, we have a Brady Bunch kind of arrangement. School, practices, games, work. Everybody needs a ride, and “I’m free this afternoon” requires supporting documentation. Putting the family trips in one place helps me see the windows when I could actually drive for pay. Before I can plan a shift, I need to know who needs a ride home.

I formed an LLC for the rideshare work, too. Once I started treating it as a business, I wanted business answers. What did I earn for the whole shift? Which part came from tips? Which part depended on a bonus? The reporting frustrated me enough to start looking more closely at my records and at tools that might make sense of them.

Uber and Lyft run the marketplace. I’m responsible for making my hours add up. That arrangement gives me plenty to think about. I’m using AI to help work through my records, and I’ll publish the methods and the questions here. If I’m using a hypothetical example, I’ll say so.

Music is the enjoyable part of this picture. I like listening to artists with upcoming shows in Wilmington. It gives passengers and me something to connect over, and my family likes learning who’s coming and when. I’d rather hear a few songs before the show than discover the artist the week after.

This is my corner of the internet for the driving, the family logistics, the live music, and what I’m learning along the way. Hudson is my pen name and my perspective from the driver’s seat: what I need, what I’m trying, and what the results actually show. The work and the crowded calendar are real.