As I sit watching the news each day, I keep wondering - will I get the call? My brother and his wife are both in the U.S. Army Reserve. She is a Major and he is an NCO. They have an 18 month old son, who I adore and she is due in Dec with the second child. She is currently activated, but fortunately due to her pregnancy is stationed across town and comes home each night. She occasionally has to travel for 2-3 days on military business, but for the most part remains in the city. My brot...

I have a low tolerance for drunks with no money who fail to mention it. I got a call to a south side address at 3:30 in the morning. My first attempt to find them resulted in a no-show . I called the customer who told me that a dunk woman had asked them to call, and that he was probably walking north from the address. I soon received a message on the computer that she showed back up at the caller's house, so I turn around. Her destination is a good distance away - roughly ...

I am a trusting person - some say too trusting. More times than not, it has bitten me in the ass (or maybe we just remember the poor outcomes because of the sting?), but I still hold on to faith in people. I was driving near downtown early the other morning (6am or so) when a woman hailed me. I stopped the cab and she got in. She asked me if I was going to the south side, to which I (as would most cab drivers) replied "I can." (You know - it's your dime !) That's when she replied, "I...

THIS BLOG IS INTENDED FOR AUDIENCES THAT ARE MATURE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS. THIS SITE MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC DETAILS (MAYBE EVEN PICTURES!) OF SEX, VIOLENCE, DRUGS, ACTIONS WHICH MAY BE ILLEGAL OR DANGEROUS, CRAZY DRIVING, GRATUITOUS TIPPING AND/OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I SEE OR EXPERIENCE IN OR ABOUT MY CAB. NONE OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS BLOG IS INTENDED TO INSTRUCT, RECOMMEND, DEMAND, INSIST, OR OTHERWISE COERCE ANY PERSON AND...

computer (SEE: MDT ) fare Passengers in or waiting on the taxi. A customer. The cost of the cab ride. farebox fare box (SEE: MDT ) GOA (SEE: no-show ) G one O n A rrival. MDT M obile D ata T erminal. Also referred to as 'the moneymaker'. The computerized dispatching system component mounted in the taxi that displays fare information including: Fares available by zone; Special messages from the dispatch supervisor; and The ...

Normal 1 24 2004-08-01T12:38:00Z 2004-08-01T13:02:00Z 1 1 1 9.2720           This is essentially a test of Microsoft Word’s ability toformat HTML.   I can honestly say it israre that I utilize this feature, and when I do, it is primarily for thebenefit of someone else.   My auntsubmits a monthly column to a website using this feature and routinely hasissues.   Iprefer writing code myself, because Word adds a large amount...

I went to work around 7:00pm to get a cab and work a 12 hour shift. The only cab available when I arrived had an inoperative meter, so the cab was pretty much useless. I waited around, and finally got a cab at 8:45. I waited 1 hour and 45 minutes, which by comparison is a short wait. I have waited over 5 hours at times to get a cab (on weekend nights). The cab I received had come out of the repair shop earlier in the day, and the supervisor had double checked it's status before issuin...

One is human. My housemate is a college student who will graduate after fall quarter with a BA in art education. She and I have known each other for about 5 years, and this is the first time we will be living together. She is a wondeful friend - like another sister. She comes complete with a cat and a kitten. At present we are also caring for another kitten, so we are surrounded by felines. My housemate has a plaque hanging in the kitchen - Creative minds are seldom tidy ...

Don't worry about wiping your feet. As I sit at the 7th gate of hell, it becomes obvious why I hate it here. The carpet was probably a solid color at one time, but that was before the previous tennant's pets and children were obviously left unsupervised for long periods of time. These children had time to eventually cover every wall. It is a wainscot for a kindergarten classroom with animal shit added to the carpeting for comfort. Carpet is so absorbent, just like a towel, if no...

The sights and sounds of a major midwetern city get even more unbelieveable after dark. I have been a cab driver for about 3 months now, and already have enough stories to fill a few chapters. In training, the underlying message was 'expect the unexpected' and 'seeing is beleiving followed by a therapist'. Seriously though, this is one of the most interesting jobs I have had to date. Since I don't sit waiting at the posh hotels for fares - I get the leftovers. The runs nobody...