WAKE UP!!!!!

Ok, so i haven't written for a week or two, sorry fans i've been working WAAAY TOO much!

saturday night 2 weeks ago, or should i say sunday morning, i came upon a car that was flipped up on it's driver's side. I looked behind me.....no one... i looked all around, nobody was there but me. it was quarter to four in the morning, so i immediately stopped my van and called 911. the dispatcher asked me to stay until the cops came, i agreed even though i was on my way to pick up a good customer. i knew he'd understand. i ran over to the car to see if anyone was hurt. i don't know CPR (i should learn) and i know that you aren't supposed to try to move someone who's hurt. i didn't know what good i would be. maybe the last kind voice a person could hear before dying. i thought the worst! i couldn't see anyone through the wreckage, but i could hear someone crying so i just started talking " hello are you hurt?" i said. a girl's voice said "no" then i asked "is there anyone in there with you?" she said "no i'm alone. I fell asleep at the wheel!" I replied "oh i'm so sorry! i'm glad you're ok. the ambulance is on it's way" she had been sitting there for over half an hour alone and scared.

HOLY SHIT!! i can relate........working 12 hour shifts is hard. sometimes if i want to do something other than work, i have to sacrifice sleep for it. then towards the end of the shift i'm getting really tired, almost on auto pilot. VERY DANGEROUS! this was an "awakening" for me, because i was feeling like that ALOT this night. i didn't get to sleep for 3 hours after i got home. just layed there thinking about her and what it would be like waking up out of control about to hit a tree. FUCK! from now on i go out of my way to get at least 7 hours of sleep. I believe everything happens for a reason. there are 2 reasons I came down that road.... to save her, and to WAKE UP!!!

Merry Christmas everyone.

Good hospitality

ahh i love saturday night... i picked up three young guys going downtown. i saw this lady flaging me down. it was cold. i said "what do ya say boys should we give her a ride? it's up to you" they're like "is she cute?" i don't know let's see...we pull up and i could see her adam's apple. a mans voice comes out of her "oh nevermind" sorry boys.

then i picked up this older lady dressed like a movie star. when we ppulled up to a light and she noticed in the car next to us was a very attractive guy about my age, 20 something. she flings her window down and says " you are so cute i want to pinch your cheeks" he was in dis belief and thought she was talking to his girlfriend. no honey its you...i love it when cute guys don't know they're cute.

i have to say hello to one of my readers, so i'll say it by reminding everyone that "chevy out pulls everything" thanks cowboy.

it was almost the end of my shift when i picked up this girl and about 5 guys. she rode shotgun. one of they guys was trying to convince these two chicks to go with them and they declined. he was really cute and they were missin out! i thought i might help him out by saying out loud "oh goodie! all for me!" girls work off of jealousy and challenges. he thought i was hitting on him. common mistake for a young guy. "no i'm tryin to get ya laid hon!" too bad for him it didn't work. perhaps NEXT time he sees her. cruisin down the freeway listening to some good tunes with a full load of drunk boys and this really nice chick who was engaged to one of them, when they invite me in for a hot cup of herbal tea! that sounds really nice!! how often does someone offer that on a cold nite to a cab driver?!? it was the end of my shift so of course i went in and stayed a spell. and they tipped me VERY well. nice kids. thank you!

Un-Lucky

I was sent on a call to the Lucky Buck. a place where they play texas hold-em. Two guys going to pleasanton, the next town over.I don't think they even knew eachother. two different stops. I explained to the men that it was $20 for each fare. they were drunk and thought i was trying to take advantage of them. they said "no you can't charge us double...we're both going to pleasanton" i simply said that is the price. take it or leave it. the men agreed that they would both be dropped off at the same location. that works for me so it's only $20 and i decided to collect up front since these guys were giving me problems and i didn't want to get burned. On the way there they started talking shit to me saying i was gonna rip em off, calling me all sorts of names. I NEARLY PULLED OVER ON THE FREEWAY AND KICKED THEM OUT!!! i wish i had because when we got there one guy got out but the other one stayed in and said "take me to hopyard rd." "ok that'll be $20" he said "i'll give you $10" "no sir that's not the price" he wondered what would happen if he called me right back to start a brand new fare. I said "sorry sir i can't pick up outside of livermore i can call you a pleasanton cab though" with a pity smile. he did not want to wait for another cab and insisted i take him around the corner now. i wasn't going anywhere without $20 in my hands. the man was very argumentative and so i asked him to get out. he refused. i threatened to call the police. he still didn't get out. while on the phone describing the man who wouldn't get out, he reached over and SLAPPED ME!!! i told the girl on the other end, and he slapped me again and bailed!! i followed him in my van until the cops came. i think he spent the nite in the drunk tank........asshole.

Who's awake at this hour? Tweakers and me........

Tonite I picked up two couples with thick english accents and took them downtown for dinner. They were amazed at how many houses put up christmas lights. I guess it's not that big a deal on that side of the earth. I told them about all the neighborhoods that really do it up, and suggested they take a drive around our town one night and see them. Later when i picked them up they had had a couple of drinks and loosened up a bit. they said "take us to see the lights before you take us home please" it was a slow night, nowhere i had to be, and i was kind of in the mood for a nice relaxing drive around the residentials. "sure thing" i said. and so we did. I was a bit dissapointed as we were cruising the hood off college ave. when i was a kid we used to pile the whole family in the station wagon to see he lights there and every house in the area a good display. this year not so bright :( only one in about every fifth house did their yard. pooo.. so we went on... i said they sould check out deacon dave's place on Hillcrest, thousands and THOUSANDS of lights, it's so bright you can probably see it from space! you can walk through his yard and it tells a story about christmas, every year is different. and every year he breaks his own record for the number of lights. SPECTACULAR! They wanted to go there now so i took them.



Too bad it doesn't open till tomorrow! i really hate it when you talk something up so much and then it turns out to be a dissapointment. I hope they see it sometime.the fare came to around $30. they gave me $40 :) excellent tip! thanks!

FINALLY the end of my shift! the middle of the night, i'm gassing up at the AmPm on S. Livermore ave., and this guy, totally tweaked out of his mind walks up to me and asks for a ride, i didn't make that much money tonight, so an extra 10 minutes for a couple bucks?? WHY NOT??

i took him to a street off Rincon ave. we just drove by, the house was dark. we stopped at another AmPm on Rincon and Pine. I don't know what he did in there, but it took a long time. the time is now 20 after and i'm tired and pissed because this fuckin tweaker is cutting into what little sleep time i get. he comes back, tells me i'm pretty (buttering me up) and we continue down rincon ave. to another street just off the main road. all dark. I don't think this guy realized it was the middle of the nite and that most people sleep. he said "take me to the motel 6" so i got him there as fast as i could looking forward to going home. when we get there, the fucker says "i ain't got no money" WHAT???? FUCK YOU!! i just waisted 45 minutes and about a gallon of gas on your ass!!! and you ain't got no money????? do me a favor.....next time take a walk.

DON'T FUCK WITH LIVERMORE POLICE!!!!

Anyone who takes a cab in our town knows about the "town car". No stickers, Kick ass stereo, tinted windows and a smooooooth ride. It always feels like a privelige when i get to drive the town car. I guess around the holidays livermore hires some out of town cops to help them out and they didn't know the car or me.

Well on one saturday night, I picked up some "grown adults" from chili's who little did i know had caused a disturbance. i packed em in. I was the only one belted. A little ways down the road RED AND BLUE LIGHTS!!! pulled my ass OVER!! they thought i was part of the disturbance. After I explained to them I was a "designated driver" and had nothing to do with it, they wrote me a ticket for no seatbelts.... desperate.

On the following wednesday night I got pulled over AGAIN!! This time I was in a marked taxicab......speeding, wich is nothing new to us drivers. nothing new to the police either!! wierd! they usually just let us do our jobs. well the uniformed jack-ass(not his real name LOL!!) wrote me a ticket!! :( I like to fight my tickets, but this is different...i could lose this one and ruin it for others. i guess i'll just pay. Traffic school here I come!!

So for however long it takes to get them off my back, I must only BEND the speed laws not drawing attention to myself. No more town car. Amber is a good girl.

The cops are EVERYWHERE and they're pulling EVERYONE over this season. even one beer will get you a wet and reckless, wich i've heard is just as expensive as a DUI.
drive the speed limit and if you're drinking, call me...i'll get you home a little slower than unual, but home is better than jail. AGREE???

Catching up

I haven't written for a while, because I've been busy working 12 hour shifts, and getting a day off here and there. My days off have been used for MOVING!!! I just moved into a house and all my stuff is in boxes. every day it gets a little worse having to dig into boxes to get ready for work and throwing everything everywhere in a rush!!

so here's the breakdown: 24 hours in a day, minus 12 hours of work, minus 8 hours of sleep, that leaves 4 hours of amber time. (usually spent commuting) I don't see an end in sight especially with the holidays comming around *ugh* But I will try really hard to keep you all updated on the crazy cab confessions.

over the last couple of months i've had some pretty interesting characters. I picked up this guy at a golf course who needed a ride to the side of the freeway to get his broken down car. when i arrived at the pick-up point there was a very unhappy woman whom i assumed was his wife. when they got in he said she wasn't his wife, but it was ok with his wife for him to have a girlfriend. (YA RIGHT) so we get on the freeway and normally when you break down you try to merge to the right. well this guy's car was on the LEFT SIDE OF THE FREEWAY!!! i drive a toyota van (no balls!) so the guy tries to start his car which ain't happenin considering no mechanic has been there to fix it and his girlfriend is on the phone with her pimp (i think) sayin "he aint got no money, i'm gonna call his wife, I gotta get outta here!" meanwhile i'm on the left side of the highway almost late for an appointed pick-up, and the van is gettin rocked by the speeding cars in the fast lane! when he finally gives up they asked me to take them to the bowling alley which i did. I must say she is the prettiest escort i've ever seen. probably a size 6, half black woman, with bright green eyes that show right through to her soul. here's to you doc!!

the funniest thing about working the weekends is this: if i start at 8:00Pm, around 9:30 we start getting calls from the usual party crowd. the guys all smell good, and the girls look all pretty with their hair done and the shoes and the make-up. they're all happy and excited to get out. around 1:30 we start picking them up from the bars and taking them to their houses. when they get in their all loud and obnoxious, some of them want to puke, and the girls have no idea who these guys are they're making out with! LOL! so they all get dropped off at places other than their homes!! about 6:30 or 7:00 you get calls like this: in a small voice "um, can you come get me? i have no idea where i am" so eventually i find the poor girl sitting on the side of the road freezing her ass off. her hair is a mess, her make-up is smeared, has no idea where she left her purse, and there is this look on her face that only says one thing. "if my daddy only knew where i didn't know i was!!!"


the saturday before haloween, i got to hang out with several of my regular weekend customers and two of my best friends ever! i had the night off and was NOT going to waste it!!



DRUNK SAILOR SINGIN KERAOKE!!!


MELISSA THE PRETTY BUTTERFLY



ME AND FRANCES GETTIN DOWN ON THE DANCE FLOOR!!

however, all good things must come to an end..... and i was back to work the very next day!

Had to work on the real halloween, but i got to waer my sailor costume :)

TODAY I picked up this young girl who looked very troubled going to the greyhound bus station. she told me she was from kentucky and had come here with another girl who got messed up with heroin and so she ditched her and ended up in our fabulous town! she met this guy who offered to help her out until she could find her way home. she stayed with him in his hotel room for a couple days and all seemed good until this morning. she said she woke up with his penis in her face and he wanted her to suck it. when he was leaving for work he said "tonite you're gonna be my woman and you're gonna make me money the way a woman should" so she called me and had me get her outta there before the bastard came back. poor girl. she's safe now, going home to her mom in kentucky.

The Nicest Compliment for a Hack

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time sleeping on a car ride. I'm always thinking the worst and can never seem to feel comfortable enough to relax and sleep. Only exceptional drivers can roll me into dreamland.


I worked the early morning shift again and picked up a guy that needed to go about 15 miles. When we got on the freeway, I looked back and he was sleeping like a baby! I thought maybe this was an isolated incident and that the passenger was just tired, but it happened again! My very last fare went about the same distance and she too fell asleep! THANKS GUYS! That is the HUGEST compliment to me! :)

FYI:
In China, if you burp in a restaurant it's considered a compliment to the chef.

Curious Minds Have Questions

OH YEAH! here we go! Saturday nights are great fun! we got 3 cabs patrolin' the town, pickin' up responsible people who don't drink and drive. I just love the feeling I get when I think of how many lives I save just doing my job :) I have had the pleasure of getting to know some rowdy fun folks and would surely miss any of them if something were to happen.


I picked up a bachelorette party this night. A group of very pretty girls one being the bride to be wearing a veil with glow in the dark penises on it. SO CUTE! and I will be the first to admit when I do something stupid. As they were getting in I was on the phone with dispatch. I didn't look back to see if they were all in ( I thought I heard the door) and I started moving a little bit! WOAH! HANG ON THERE! no one was hurt, but I sure hope there aren't any hard feelings. I promise to be more careful. This job is a multi task environment and precision is key! and it's a skill that must be acquired


About an hour later I picked up a small group of twenty somethings all guys one girl I think. One of them asked me if I read the Bible and was familiar with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. I've only read the parts that interest me, but I do know that they were two cities that were destroyed because they were sinners. The guy's question was.....


"What did the people of Sodom do that was so bad as to have sodomy named after it? And why was Gomorrah spared that kind of shame?"

I really didn't have an answer for him. Anyone want to shed some light on the subject?


Dictionary.com's definition:
sod·om·y (sŏd'ə-mē)
n. Any of various forms of sexual intercourse held to be unnatural or abnormal, especially anal intercourse or bestiality.


Hmm.. basically anything that's not human vagina to human penis sex....*thinking a sec*... does that mean that glow in the dark penises on a veil is like advertising sodomy?


Strange subject I know BUT CURIOUS MINDS HAVE QUESTIONS!

Hard Work and Dedication Rewarded......... ;-)

I really hate working early in the morning, because i'm such a night person. The morning shift starts about 3 or 4 am. I'm usually awake at those hours, but that's because i've been up all nite. If i need to work the morning shift Iwould have to go to bed at 8 or 9 the night before. That's really hard for me! Imagine having to go to bed at 2 in the afternoon.


So, my first ride was an airport run, at 4:00 am. Despite the un-natural feeling of being awake at this hour, I was pretty happy to be working. The guy i picked up was going to Honolulu (lucky bastard!) and everytime i hear somebody talk about Hawaii, I picture the palm trees, the beaches, and the warm breeze........ahhhh. Life is just a little slower and more relaxed there. When you call a cab around here, and the driver says he'll be there in 15 min. that means he'll be there exactly 15 or 16 min. later. In Hawaii, if anybody says 15 min. it's code talk for "I'll be there when I get there, I have to stop and smell the flowers on the way" This way of telling time is totally acceptable there, but here however......time matters, and so do our clients :)





On the way back fron San Francisco airport, I was rewarded for my tortures with a beautiful sunrise. This picture was taken on the flat stretch of the San Mateo bridge heading east on 92.


All the smog from the valley makes for a nice display of pinks and oranges with blue between the clouds. My camera phone messes up colors, so this pic doesn't do it justice.





Here's one I took that same morning coming up and over the Castro Valley grade on 580. Pretty!

Perfect Day?

This doesn't feel like work! Monday i started early evening with a call that was 10 min. out of town, which normally would be a real bummer having to leave the area and miss out on several in town calls, but as i was heading to the freeway i got 2 more calls from the same area all coming back this way. i was hoping the night would continue like this and it did. I was dispatching myself, the calls were steady, and i didn't have to ask for back-up. perfect timing all shift long.



at the end of the night (4:30 am) i went to gas up and got to see our friendly graveyard am pm clerk. here's a word or two of advise: if this guy ever asks you to help him with a project for school, say NO! tickle torture anyone? i guess he's supposed to tickle people and write a paper on the results. i don't know how it happened, but what started off as a simple gas purchase turned into my worst nightmare! i haven't been tickled like that since i was a kid! arms flailing about and screaming...(i thought i might pee)... VERY STRANGE..... and childish behavior caught on security camera!...i keep thinking it might end up on you tube or something. that would really suck....lesson learned. although i doubt something like that will ever happen to me again. whew! exhausting.

I guess I can't have a perfect day after all.

HOP IN MY FRIEND...... The night is young!

I decided to drive a taxi last year when i didn't have a job, needed money real bad, and knew someone who was starting a brand new taxi business. I had no idea this kind of job paid so well!

I had to quit for personal reasons.

for the past year, i went back to bartending for a while, sat around doing nothing for a while...... I felt like a caged animal, so i began working with them at a veterinary hospital. I love all animals, and love working with them. this job was alot of fun, but not much money.

$8.50 an hour might be enough if i already had a full time job somewhere else, but i always missed driving.

Last saturday I ran into my old boss at the taxi company. If i hadn't been drinking i might not have had the balls to say "hey i really need a job........." The boss said "I really need a good driver.....call me tomorrow :)" my heart fell into my stomach! Can i really have my job back after i fucked it up so many ways?!? I made that call and i had my job back faster than i could talk about it. Tuesday i renewed my permit, and wednesday night i got my feet wet again!!!

This is the beginning of the end of my problems!!!!!! Only happy Amber from now on!!!

SO, HOP IN MY FRIEND......TURN THAT FROWN UP-SIDE DOWN..... THE NIGHT IS YOUNG. I PROMISE TO MAKE YOU LAUGH!!!