Free as a bird

12.00 ready to get going, woke up so tired don’t know till what time I’ll feel like working till today.

12.05 I order a toasted sandwich at my local café, as I didn’t eat anything at home it should tide me over until 3.30, when I can get round to eating something.

12.06 I turn on the apps, Uber Eats and Bolt Food. While I’m eating I get an order.

12.10 I pick up the order from Fei He, a Chinese restaurant close to my local. It wasn’t ready yet.

12.16 I take the order to a shop in Bela Vista shopping centre. The customer’s a nice lady.

12.24 sign off on the order. I go to Colombo, where I can get two orders at the same time from different apps.

12.35 I get to Colombo

12h.0 I switch on my fake GPS location.

12.55 an Uber order comes in from Poke House restaurant.

13.08 I get an alert that the food’s ready, a very important and useful feature business owners don’t use much.

13.09 pick up the order

13.12 I take the stairs since there’s no escalator, and I think about the number of times I’ll do this today...

13.14 I get to my bike. Like a ritual, on goes the cap, the motorbike helmet, phone in its holder. My other mobile without an order goes on the dash as there’s no other place for it.

13.16 I make the delivery to 14 Avenida do Colégio Militar. A student building that’s always ordering, I know where it is by now so I don’t need the GPS.

13.22 I sign off the Uber order. At the same time I get another Bolt for the Poke House, my GPS still set to Colombo as if I were there.

13.26 bike parked, helmet locked up and I take the stairs again.

13.35 I come out with the Bolt order and leave the Uber set to this location in the hope of more orders.

13.38 I repeat my bike ritual and next stop Damião de Góis street.

13.50 I ring the bell and wait a full minute, which is a long time to wait for someone to open the door for me. There’s no lift so I walk up 4 flights of stairs. Delivered, done, I set the GPS to Colombo. Back on the bike.

13.55 on the way to Colombo I get an Uber order from H2.

14.00 I arrive and head in.

14.30 full of delivery guys waiting for their orders, I walk out late with mine. I pick up another Bolt from Wok to Wok which came in while I was waiting for my Uber.

14.40 I walk out with both orders.

14.50 I sign off the Uber for Telheiras, while I’ve yet to put the Bolt through on the app, where as far as the customer’s concerned, I’m still waiting at Colombo. I get it started and head off to Monsanto.

15.10 sign off the second order and set the GPS to Colombo where an order comes in from Wok to Wok.

15.20 I get to Colombo and in comes an Uber from McDonald’s.

15.40 I walk out with both orders. Bolt to Pontinha and the other to Avenida do Brasil. On the way to Pontinha, I ride over a pothole and the mobile on the dash goes flying. Cracked screen, wouldn’t you know it. Still have two orders to deliver.

15.53 sign off the order, get another one and rush off to Avenida do Brasil.

16.10 sign off the order. Since I’m close to home, I swing by and pick up a cable to charge my iPhone because it doesn’t last long. It’s a chance to eat something and put my feet up till I’m back for dinner.

18.20 I leave a bit early to grab a coffee.

18.30 I fill up the tank with 10 Euros.

18.40 I get to Colombo, and sit for a coffee with Verônica. Mobiles on the table, plugged into the Power Bank, apps on and GPS set.

19.03 I get an Uber order for a McDonald’s.

19.10 Bolt order from Burger King. There, you have to wait in line to scan a code for them to start making the food, you can imagine the number of delivery guys waiting. Same at McDonald’s.

19.35 I walk out with the two orders from Colombo.

19.40 I get to the address and the apartment number I was given. I call the customer who doesn’t pick up, to I send a message via the chat and switch on the clock. I call one more time as I’ve another order to deliver. I’m there for something like 10 minutes trying to get through and sign off if I can’t make the delivery.

19.55 the customer calls saying she’s at a different address, I was given the wrong one by accident. I had just 3 minutes to make the delivery after already waiting 15 minutes for her. And the new address was more than 6 minutes away, besides holding up delivering the next, and I wouldn’t be paid for the extra running around. I get her to send a message via chat and request a refund from Uber, I keep the order which I don’t get docked as I did what I was supposed to. I sign off the order, put it to one side to eat later on and head to the second delivery.

20.03 I arrive at the second, the woman’s not happy because I took so long, I explain it was because of dropping off another order, she takes hers from me and doesn’t even say thank you. I sign off, and go back to Colombo.

20.10 climbing those stairs an Uber order from Guacamole comes in and another for a KFC on Bolt, where I some bump into other delivery guys, and the conversation is always basically the same – orders are down, how am I gonna pay my bills this week? - what’s your order? Where’s it for?

20.25 I walk out with the two orders from Colombo. At KFC I had to put in the order because they check, at Guacamole I could leave it until I was almost done with the Bolt first.

20.34 at the lights I take the ring road, when I’m turning into the avenue, a car cuts me off at high speed and turns right, another second and it would have been nasty, how can people take a bend so fast? For what it’s worth it’s times like this that I’m reminded I should pay more attention than I actually do. Something could go wrong at any moment.

20.40 I sign off the first order in Brandoa. Start Uber. I set Bolt to Colombo, one mobile on the dash, the other in its holder telling me where to go. Ping goes another order, I accept, and stuff it into my pocket.

21.00 sign off the second Telheiras order, the customer took his time opening both doors, kept me waiting as always.

21.04 get to Colombo. Climb the stairs heading to KFC. An Uber comes in for a McDonald’s.

21.20 I walk out with both orders.

21.27 sign off the first order in Amadora. A building full of well looked-after plants like a beautiful jungle, shame I didn’t take a photo.

21.40 sign off the second order in Campolide. What a run-around today.

21.50 I get to Colombo, on the way back I stopped at a café to get myself a water, I was dying of thirst. Wait for another order.

22.10 an Uber for a McDonald’s. Bolt still set.

22.18 I head out with the order.

22.23 I sign off, it was at Colégio Militar.

22.27 I get to Colombo. Nothing’s coming in so I go to the supermarket. As I’m paying I get an order.

23.01 Up I go to pick up an Uber order from Vitaminas.

23.10 I sign off the order to Fernando Namora. A very nice lady who greets me with a smile. She gave me a tip for 3 Euros on the app.

23.16 I go up to the food court, open Whatsapp to look at my messages, phones on the table apps on.

23.30 an order for a KFC on Uber.

23.35 I head off to Amadora with the order. I get a Bolt for a KFC from Colombo.

23.40 I get to Colombo.

23.45 I head in the direction of Lumiar.

23h54 I sign off the last order of the day.