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.

Resurrection

Tonight was my first night back driving after two weeks on the desk and it took a while to get back into the groove.

There was the usual assortment of humanity:
A young nurse going to work at a hospital and talking the whole time on her cell phone with an x-boyfriend telling him over and over about 10 times that they could be friends but that's all. Apparently he was very persistent.
There was the man traveling to New Jersey to work on installing systems that remove unwanted junk in the air in old buildings. They call that mechanical engineering.
There was the guy from Los Angeles with a ticket to the Celtics game saying he hopes there is a Celtics-Lakers final because although LA has been at or near the top for some time, its not the same without having the Celts to hate!
And then there was the lady in her pajamas who decided at the last minute to go home to her apartment rather than stay at her mom's house. She hoped her pajamas didn't bother me. I don't mind pajamas in fact I'm quite in favor of them. Once a week everyone should be allowed to wear them to work. Lets say Monday.

Flapping moth in slow motion:

Rain

First thing today I looked outside and saw that it was raining, just a little. Like a runny nose. It bummed me out. Hell, I knew the forcast but it was upsetting anyway. I left home early to do some errands before work and I wanted to get there early to make up for being late yesterday. Work sucked but I won't even try to express the amount of suckness i had to endure because you all have your own problems and you certainly don't need to hear mine.

I stopped at Dunkins and I thought it was about time I tried out the new pizza they have there. It wasn't bad at all. I'd get another one. Maybe a hundred.Who remembers the snow storm that occurred 31 years ago today? There was around a foot or so on the ground in the morning but I made it to work anyway and when my friend and I started toward the door someone came out waving frantically and saying get out of here man because they're going to close down for the day if not enough people show up! It didn't take much convincing on his part and we spun outta there! Greatest feeling in the world!

This is where we worked:

Will Dispatch for Food

I'm dispatching for a few weeks because the regular guy is in hospital. He's doing okay but he needs some time to rehab, so there i am. My good friend Benny said it best when he said "its like being a waiter and then going into the kitchen". 'Spatchin' is more stressful than driving a cab. More responsibility. I like it for a change of pace. I think I'm pretty good at it. Its all about keeping your cool when you're 7 calls behind and some of them have been waiting over a half an hour and some are regular customers and some are important accounts and 4 lines are ringing and 3 drivers are calling on the radio and 2 other ones are lost or missing and someone else has a flat tire in Methuen in a blizzard.

Last night a lady called to inquire if it would be alright to have an animal with her in the cab. Thinking she meant either a dog or cat I told her it was okay unless the thing might puke or something and she said oh no no nope. It is a dog. But the thing is, there is also an alligator. Its okay. Its in a box. Very safe. Even the dog is more dangerous.
Ma'am you'll have to call back during business hours and speak with the manager because I'm quite certain that I do not have the authority to make that decision. Thanks for calling.

An ugly match tonight between the Celts and Cavs but a win is a win man. Click here for the Cleveland perspective.

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Thanks going out to the Boston Bruins for a great series. Game six at the Garden was as enjoyable a hockey game as I've seen in 20 years. We were going crazy where I was watching.

In a city saturated with winners, the B's have put themselves back on the sporting radar and man next year we'll take it to the next level.

Taxi driving is like a box of chocolates.
I drove an Indian dude to the airport for a flight back home to Mumbai. Mumbai used to be called Bombay but they changed it. He's flying through Amsterdam which is a pretty wild place to hang out but he can't leave the airport unless there's a delay or something. I wished him a safe journey.
Later I had an Aussie couple just going to one of the local hotels. Ya gotta like that crazy accent.
I started to get bored because work was slow and my mind started wandering and thinking about leaving early. Mister Dispatcher Man said I could take off. Stopped at Subway on the way home for a turkey sandwich. Sandwich is also a town on Cape Cod and it is spelled the same way.
I'm taking tomorrow off, its supposed to be at least 80 degrees. Nice.

Human Cannonball

Mary is a nice ole' gal that calls us from the old timers home almost every day to go out either to the bank, CVS or the packy but mostly just to go out. Today was packy day so off we went and on the way she told me about some kind of problem she's having with her ears. From what I could understand there had been some sort of procedure leading to considerable discomfort now. She remarked that she hadn't seen me for a while and asked how i was and I said I'm doing okay and what a nice day but she thought I said I'd just had an x-ray and she became more concerned, leaned over and whispered oh my is everything alright? Yeah I'll be fine.

Then Billy sent me down to pick up someone named Marcia from Talbots corporate offices in Hingham.
Arrived to find two gentleman waiting neither one of whom looked like a Marcia but these days who knows. Ya just do what ya gotta do and keep your mouth shut.
(what the hell am I talking about?)
A little later I grabbed a fare at Logan Express going to Canton. He saw the name on my hackney license and said hello Dick, I'm Nick. I said hello Nick and if you call me Dick again you'll be walking to Canton. (just kidding dad)
Thought I was impressive with my knowledge of all things Canton but even a mutual acquaintance in Marty Badoian wasn't enough to warrant more than a 15% tip.