drunk monkies

Upon witnessing my apparent suffering, a passenger explained to me that back in her country people often mix ginger in water and then boil it and afterward they add a little lemon and this substance is known to boost the immune system. She said that her husband and kids hardly ever get a cold even in Winter and it should help me with my allergies.
And because I care, I'm going to try it out so you don't have to.

Thank you. You're welcome. Shut up.

lawnmower massacre

Looking up from my newspaper I noticed a man dressed kinda like a priest walking toward my cab at a pace faster than could be considered normal, and with big thick silly glasses and a crazy grin. Crazy bastard shorted me 50 cents.

Later, three nutty Icelandic women were laughing hysterically in Icelandic for an entire 20 minute ride. They could've told me what was so funny, or at least given me some free ice.

happy father's day

Had my mojo working today: didn't even get out of the parking lot at work when a lady of South Asian origin waved me down and asked how much to North Station. I said thirty seven and the amount seemed actually to hurt her. There was pain in her face as she said okay lets go but she continued asking me for a discount for quite some time after that. I said no about 6 times and she stopped asking but I wish I kept the argument going because it was fun.
When I returned from Boston my next fare was a lady at a super market who was tremendously grateful to see me because there was a really creepy guy sitting on the bench. "How creepy, where is he?" I asked.
Nodding "Right there on the right" she said and I have to admit as creeps go he was right up there.
Drove a nice lady from Lethbridge Alberta out to the Hilton. She is a consultant for the health care industry. There is no one quite as evil as a consultant for the health care industry but she was pleasant to me and heck she deserves to make a living.
Later I was driving John to North Weymouth when a police car spun around and pulled us over. I started getting my license and taxi license ready thinking maybe i ran a stop sign or whatever but the cop comes around the right side and shines his light on John. He looked him over and said thats not him, sorry for the inconvenience and waved me on. Apparently someone ran from a stolen car and got away from the police. No worries. The BPD always gets its man.

The past weekend was very special for two of the greatest people on the planet:
Happy Fathers Day Dad, I love ya!
And, Happy birthday Kevin -- Your party was awesome buddy!

Peace and loving kindness to all of you.

Too Much Monkey Business

As I type this nonsense I'm having a Del Monte Fruit Natural Tropical Medley for a snack and I know what you're thinking: Damn Rick, ain't ya got no cookies? Well, ya. I do but its eating healthy for me now. One day at a time man.
After the sun had set last night it cooled right down and it felt almost magical out there and with the windows rolled down I prowled the streets in search of victims (whoops) i mean customers.

Early in the shift there were some business people to be driven to an office building for their important little meeting. Of course, the world would come to an end if there weren't enough business meetings because Lord knows there is business to be done.
Soon enough though some other people came along: A waitress headed to work to start her shift and then a young lady going to the Amtrak Station heading back to New York. She was talking to her mother on the cell phone and then suddenly hung up on her and I said "Poor Mom!"
She looked at me and said "What?! You should hear her! She's so annoying!"

Then I picked up a girl who looked just like Lindsay Lohan so I said you know, you look just like Lindsay Lohan when she was still cute. She said yeah a lot of people say that.
A while later I took two ladies, one from Australia and one from New Zealand. They're with a tour group and they went to meet some friends for dinner in the North End. We talked a lot about this country and how much they liked it. Big and wonderful but they found themselves amazed at how backward we are in some areas of society such as the level of poverty, the health care system or lack thereof and the war. I told them we're working on it. Hopefully we can regain the respect of the world in November.
Next there were two Indian gentlemen headed to Punjab, an Indian style restaurant in Quincy. Punjab is a State in northern India in case you were wondering. I went later to bring them back to their hotel and they said it was very good. Just like home. I should check it out sometime.
My last fare of the evening were two folks that I had met the day before. This time they tried to sell me on some internet scam. They said they'd make me a millionaire but they needed $500 to get me started. Sounds like too much monkey business for me to be involved in.

Fifty

I had a nice relaxing three days away from work but today it was back to reality. My family and friends treated me to a very special day on Saturday for my birthday. I'm very grateful to have them, it was a wonderful time.

The Cup

The Red Wings won The Stanley Cup last night. In case you don't remember what that feels like watch this:

Annual Report

Well jeez its been a while since last we chatted and what can I tell ya'.

Lately I've been dispatching instead of cab driving so work is more about trying to manage job stress than meeting people with interesting little stories to talk about and pass on to you, the reader.
Of course, everyone has a story and the drivers that I deal with every day are no exception. Much like snowflakes, they're all different. I'm considering writing a series of driver profiles that will include complete psychological evaluations so be on the lookout for that soon.
Anyway(s) that stress that I mentioned there a while back, is mostly under control. There's a lot of tension now because the police are conducting their annual cab inspection on Friday so management is in panic mode.
But I am impervious to theses waves of panic. Because of my magic underpants.

Goodnight ya bastids.