Verschönerung

First fare today ~ lady says she only has two bucks. Okay come on get in what the hell who cares. The next one was a six dollar ride and by the looks of him I didn't expect any tip but I was wrong in fact he reached deep.
C'est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell.
Two more short fares both senior citizens ~ ten percent off. Then the big one ~ a forty dollar job to Brockton.
Grabbed a sandwich at Dunkin Donuts ~ bacon, egg and cheese on a wheat bagel. Untoasted. I like to taste the soft bread. Its too crunchy when they toast it. Never toast anything that's what I say.
Back to work. Some college kid after a job interview. People are never so relieved as after being interviewed. What a horrible thing to have to go through. Maybe I'm exaggerating. Followed that up with a 12 dollar run ~ a Hindu dude from the Korean Market to the hotel. I should have been Hindu but its too late now.
A young couple from out of town to the station. Tried to sell them on a "nice quick ride" into town but they didn't go for it. Can't blame a guy for trying.
Sitting there for a minute in the station getting organized etc and a guy walks up ~ wants to go to Brighton. I told him that's fifty bucks flat plus the tolls but that's way to much. Take the train I said, you're right here (subway station) but he took the ride half way. Not everything or everybody makes sense all the time.
Three workers from the Cheesecake Factory ended my day and I was exhausted from not sleeping very well the night before and driving up from the Cape in wicked heavy holiday traffic.
Someone said I seemed deflated.

unspecific fruitlessness

Saturday is always a bust. And that leads to a busted weekend. Getting home from work at 3:00am causes a chain reaction because all I really want to do is sleep all day Saturday. I try very hard not to let that happen. Doing something, any activity will stop a likely slide into depression. I decided to go to a movie ~ picked one that looked interesting. It was playing in Cambridge giving it an added bonus ~ the act of going to the city which is really an activity itself, is it not?

There was horrendous traffic on the expressway and it became apparent that I was never going to make it there in time. That's alright man, the movie was just one idea. There's millions of things to do on a day off.
Through modern technology I came to find out that a friend at work had been fired over a matter of eleven dollars. I guess feelings were hurt and the F bomb started flying ~ it escalated like Vietnam and the jobless rate in Massachusetts increased by another fraction.
I started to think maybe I should go over there and drive a cab for a shift. Some extra cash, maybe a few laughs and in the process try to smooth things out between my terminated friend and our detestable employer. I hung around the office for a while but business seemed slow ~ instead of a taxi I got back in my own car. Still without a plan drove around town a bit digging the sunshine and the music on the radio. Sat idly in a parking lot facing the street and the tracks watching cars and trains, generally feeling good at least about being out of the apartment. Watching the world. Watching the wheels go 'round and 'round and sipping my iced coffee.

I rung up my recently dismissed cohort and we decided to go to a movie after all. He vented some frustration which is cool ~ I like to listen. It's a hobby.
The movie sucked.
I went home, cooked up some supper and watched Little Miss Sunshine on cable (Don't apologize Olive, it's a sign of weakness)
Well, what am I supposed to do now? Goodnight and thanks for reading my continuing non-adventures.

dad

Drinking some Gatorade and thinking about my Dad in the hospital. He had a knee replacement on Wednesday and for some reason they can't give him as much morphine as necessary because of something to do with the anesthesia. I hope he's comfortable and sleeping. I hope they start cranking up the pain stuff. Looking forward to seeing him Sunday at the rehab hosp.

It is now 24 hours later and Pops is doing much better.

trying to smile

Went to work today like I always do, like I have since my first paper route in the 5th grade. My work has always been menial. Nothing of great importance to society. The world would have been just fine without me but I kept going back to the warehouse, the sub shop, the lumber yard, the taxi yard. Almost every day. Almost always on time. I'll never be able to retire because I've never made enough money to be able to save any of it. Just enough to live. That's my fault. I think I'm probably intelligent enough to have had some sort of 'career' as so many millions have and will but maybe I lacked something else. Some competitiveness. Assertiveness. Such wonderful qualities.
I love driving a cab because it lets me meet people I never would have met otherwise. I've talked about this before but its on my mind. I stay at this company because its what I know how to do.
I'm not built for the brand of negativity that permeates the dim lit offices of my company and its tearing my soul and my mind apart.
The company has taken on the paranoid personality of its owner.
Today, there it was again. The negativity. It feels like a living thing. It feeds on fear. I wanted to run but I walked to my car and went home. Just for a few hours. I have to go back in a while.
I'll shut up now.
Some people have 'real' problems.

6,777,126,643 (people on the planet)

You should hear the messages my boss left on my voice mail the other night. He was drunk and he was saying how mad he was at me. I was called things that I'm pretty sure I've never been called before. Terrible crazy things. Well, I learned a long time ago not to pay any attention to anything he says.
In reality, this man is mad at himself. His soul is mad. He's getting crazier with each passing day. The butter is slipping off of the noodles.
I wish him, and everyone in the world, peace and loving kindness.
I'm going to begin working every other Saturday night to help boost my economy. It sucks because I truly like my weekends but I'm gonna get myself a vacation this Summer. Somehow, some way. You'll see.

Happy Birthday BFD

bohica

At work I have been dispatching of late more than driving. It's Like being a waiter for a while and then going into the kitchen. I wish it would get busy. Come on now peoples get out there and take a cab. Sometimes it feels like a 'cab night' doesn't it?

Its kind of funny but I just simply haven't been thinking about anything at all lately. Its like being in a constant state of deep meditation with the mind cleared of all conscious thought. Seinfeld was a show about nothing and so is my life. I don't feel particularly happy or sad or anything at all.
I moved my bed against a different wall to make the room more agreeable. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
There are endless cable channels but I'll be damned if there's anything good to watch. Probably I'm just not trying hard enough. I should read a book but man I don't think I can wrap my head around anything just now.
I've been counting calories. I lost count yesterday.
What's up with the Red Sox? Is it too early to be worried or concerned? What's the difference between worry and concern?
Mommy make the voices go away. Just kidding.
Hey, I just had a thought.... okay its gone. Phew that was close.
No but seriously, isn't the news mind numbing lately? Is this the way the world is going to be from now on? How can anybody criticize the new prez this early in the game? Everything is Fubar thanks in large part to the previous owners.
I'll be right back.....
Sorry about that I had to get something from the car. I like the night. Its so calm and still but with an element of danger. It would be nice to sit outside and watch the sky for a good long while. I just finished this painting. Its a little weird but so ain't yo face.

necessity

After a horrendous night last night, today was non stop.
The day started with a couple to the airport heading to Las Vegas. I think the Mrs. was a little embarrassed at her husband's inclination toward profanity. His speech was peppered with malediction revealing his ignorance and immaturity. That doesn't make him a bad person. I hope they have a safe and memorable getaway.
Picked up some boring business people at the airport headed back to the office after a 24 hour Chicago excursion. Next I was dispatched to South Shore Hospital to pick up a woman who is a regular rider with us. The first few times I had her we talked quite a bit but now she's always quiet. She's going through some very hard times because her ex husband has decided he'd rather be in prison than pay child support.
I had to switch cars because mine had a bad tire. A slow leak that wasn't slow enough. If you took all the parts from all the cabs in the company you might be able to build one nice car.
Cruised on down to the mall and found two ladies from California going to the Hilton. They can't wait to go home because its so cold here. I looked up the weather in Los Angeles and found that it was 66 degrees. Exactly 17 degrees warmer than here. Crybabies.
After them I picked up a dude at a local watering hole. He was hammered but a happy drunk. He asked me if I had any cocaine (fresh out) and then kept trying to pass me his bottle of Jack Daniels.
"Come on take a sip, just a sip!" Weren't those Lady Dianna's exact words to her driver that fateful night in Paris?? Anyway, the good news is that this gentleman has had his license suspended for life. Life! Ha ha! Wow.
Next up was a sweet little Asian girl, she told me a little about her home town in the Northeast part of Thailand close to Laos. I said it sounds very beautiful. She giggled and thanked me. Her English is less than perfect and my Thai is even worse so it is very possible she thought I was saying that she herself is very beautiful. An awkward moment indeed.
Later there was an older woman and her husband and they needed to get to the hospital. Its pretty common for folks to call a cab when they actually belong in an ambulance because its just so much cheaper and this was one of those cases. It seems she had fell out of a tree and landed on a chain link fence. This happened a few days ago and only now that the pain is intolerable did she decide to get checked out. She was off and on screaming so I drove as fast as I could. It was a free pass to speed because if I had been pulled over I could simply have said "Stand aside officer, this is a medical emergency! Escort us if you care!"