9/26/08

Hawaii House

My brother and I got back some estimates on things needed to be done to the house to get it up to par versus comparable rental houses. The list is long and quite expensive and thus very intimidating.

Demo-Removal $3500
Materials $4500
Plumbing Fixtures $750
Plumbing Labor $3200
Electrical Fixtures $1200
Electrical Labor $12600
Electrical Permit $750
Appliances $4500
Drywall $3500
Roofing $19750
Carpentry Labor $22000
Windows $18750
Floor Covering $8000
Painting $10000

WTF? The house is so f*cked up, a flippers dream. So I ask you, my friends, since I have nothing keeping me in Las Vegas, except my job, should I move back to Hawaii and try and fix up my childhood home? You guys would be welcome to come out and stay for a week or so.

9/20/08

Peter Schiff on Anderson Cooper

The shit hit the fan this week my friends. Is the Greatest Depression coming? 15% unemployment? Hyper-Inflation?

9/18/08

TAXI NEWS

This dude died last week. I would see him around the yard from time to time... one of the old timers.

FOTD XL - Roxanne S.

Most weekdays, coming out of the yard at 345-405, I'm able to pick up an open call. I'm willing to go to any part of the county, except the east side, for a ride. Yesterday was the first day in awhile there wasn't any open calls. blah blah blah anyways... I drive towards the strip and here a 'call out' (a call where anyone can respond, and the closest usually gets it) at the Tahiti Village for a van and I was only 5 minutes away and I go an grab it real quick. Knowing they're going to the airport , I hear another call at flamingo & durango ... so I ring in and get that real quick .. so anyways .. I get $50 on the book in the first hour ...

It would be 3 1/2 hours before I get another ride. I took 3 rides however they were all no go's. I'm very flippity floppity, when things are going well and I'm getting rides it's great, but when there's just a little bit adversity I get down quick... feeling like I want to quit working for the day. LOL

Which brings us to Roxanne, I got her call around 845, coming right after 3 consecutive no go's ... I call her cell and it's voice mail ... I call again, leave a message .. same thing. So I call dispatch and tell her no way I'm going down there... Anyway this lady doesn't call back for over 2+ hours, wondering where her cab is.

I've picked her up once before. She was at the Seven Hills Surgery Center in Henderson, she was out there to get her cataracts removed? and to be able to see again. She was really depressed, yo - she went there thinking that they'd cut her up real quick and that she would be able to see again. The Doc declined to do the surgery due to her blood sugar count and she was sent home blind as a bat. And then she has to wait 150 minutes for a ride!

UPDATE: So the point of this story is that up until I gave this chick a ride I was feeling like crap. But there's not much worse than going into the doctors assuming that when you get out you'll be able to see again after many months and years --- only to be told that you're still going to be blind. Imagine getting your hopes up like that!!!!!!!! AND THEN having to wait for a fucking cab for near three hours.
So after chit chatting with her I began to feel better. :( = :)

9/13/08

Overslept

My one day off became two when I woke up 9 minutes after I'm supposed to start. My friends, this is pathetic, watched 8 movies, ate 2.25 lbs shrimp, 1 steak, whopper combo, 4 candy bars, 12 cans coke, bagel & lox, and about to get some chicken nuggets... what a waste. FYI

Rambo (2008)
Baby's Mama
Fool's Gold
Definitely, Maybe
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
There Will Be Blood
August
The Forbidden Kingdom

The surprise of the weekend was that Rambo kicked some serious ass.

9/11/08

FOTD XXXIX - Handi Van III

"This guys is in a wheelchair and he has tons of crap and I don't feel like helping him move." I pull up and this guy in a motorized wheelchair is waiting for me by the street. I stop and park and he says that he has some stuff to put in the van and he points near the front door. There is so much shit I was like WTF WTF WTF WTF. Easily six plastic storage bins, a dresser, plus three duffel bags plus untold other shit that I can't see. I'm like, "yo, I am not in the mood to carry all of your shit and load it into my van for you." And he's like, "there's really not that much stuff" and I'm like "yo, I can see the shit right there in front of the door, son, and I ain't moving it" and he's like "I can walk a little bit" (LOL) and I'm like "hold on" so I called it into dispatch and asked for permission to leave this moFo "Hi&Dry".

I hear back, "we're not a moving company, if he wants someone to help him move he can call U-Haul", and with those words, I got out the cab, told this young man to call "A-Cab", after all they specialize in "West" Vegas and they too have handi vans... but there was no way in hell that I was helping him move.

The End.

9/10/08

FOTD XXXVIII - "We Make It Rain"

Maybe I'm bored, but it is definitely rare that I come across three somewhat memorable fares in one day. Today was the day. Coming out of the airport I took a call at Pecos and Wigwam, in Henderson. I'm looking to snag a ride either back to the strip or the airport. I get over there quick and he is indeed going to the "strip", but first by WaMu first. He gets back in the car and he's like "ok, I have bad news for you". I'm like "let's hear it, friend" and he says he wants to go to the Rhino but that he's a VIP so I need to drop him off in the back.

He goes on to say that he's somehow associated with Harrah's "upper-management" and that he's meeting his boss and a client over there for drinks. He tries to drop some names of the GM's and bouncers at some of the strip clubs around town but they don't mean anything to me and all I can do is say "really" or "oh". In response to him saying that he's a VIP, I remark that he's must of had "a few" dances over the years .. and to my surprise he says that he's not into it and that he treats these clubs like other clubs (drinking and meeting gUrls).

"You see in Las Vegas you go to these clubs like Tao, or Pure and you have to pay a lot of money to the bouncer outside just to get in, and these fucking bouncers have such an ego and an attitude, then you have to pay $18 for a drink or thousands to get a table and bottle service. You buy women drinks and it's too noisy to talk to them, you end up spending a lot of money and going home alone. You see at these strip clubs (in the afternoon when it's not busy), you can hang out get some drinks, it's not crowded and the women come up to you. They sit down and you can bullshit with them and have some laughs... now don't get me wrong I've had sex with strippers before but I don't go there trying to pick up on them, I just go there to hang out and entertain clients. Now personally I don't like to get lap dances, they don't do anything for me, but I will always buy some dances for my clients... think about it, how many memorable dances have you had?"

me: "I can think of one, she had like triple F's"
"so you ever go sit down by the stage and throw some dollars at them?"

"Oh, we make it rain, yeah we make it rain"

-Anyway this guy has me drop him off on the side of the building, which is neither the back "vip" entrance or the front. He did pay $55 for a $42 ride, however something tells me he just didn't want to pay the $30 cover for arriving in a taxi. Not quite sure though.

FOTD XXXVII - "Burnt over 95% of his body"

My second call of the day was to pick up a company charge and take them to the airport. I get out there early and meet up with a young kid (in a wheelchair) and his grandmother. They are flying to Reno to go to the Shriner's Hospital. This young eight year old kid was burnt over 95% of his body in an apartment fire when he was three years old. He was such a delight to give a ride to. He has no right hand, no toes and the scars from those severe burns all over his face and body.

Imagine the pain he has felt over the years, yet this dude was laughing and interacting with me along the way. He likes to sit by the window in the airplane. A quick story his grandmother told was that when this guy woke from a medically induced coma (immediately after the fire), the first thing he said (three years old) "can I have some water please.", "thank you" -Imagine a three year old saying that in their adorable voice (as mimicked by his grandma) saying that shit to you yo... It'll make one cry... so she said that the nurses there have taken great care of him ever since.

They were going up to Reno to get his new leg braces.

FOTD XXXVI - Triplets From Poland

Yes. It is true. Today I gave a ride to triplets from Poland. I haven't felt inspired recently to write these ... it takes something like this to "wake me up", something truly inspirational. With 15-25 fares a day, six days a week, each and every week ... all these fares kind of melt together and become a blur. NOT THIS ONE FRIENDS.

It's funny, I got the call to go out there, I called them up to confirm and see what their destination is, and 'Alexandra' answered and told me the airport. I tell em like 12 minutes, and get there in 15. When I arrive, I call again to have her come out and she doesn't answer. So I go knock on the door (which I rarely do) and the door opens and KApOw! A true knockout..Tall, racked, blonde, beautiful, I grab her bag and she follows me to the car, I put her bag in the trunk and she says two others are coming out also .. "We're triplets"

"WHAT????? REALLY?????"


ZOMG WTF JGTFO



And out they come. To keep it short and sweet, they're going to San Diego for a corporate gig.. they play the violin. We had plenty to talk about I guess, me being from SD and also liking the violin and as I put it ... "especially when triplets are playing the violin." But obviously they've heard it all. I knew immediately that for once, instead of writing FOTD's filled with hatred and rage I was going to bust it out ... so after a quick google search (triplets violin) I discovered the mysterious trio and am now ready to reveal their identity to the world via this blog... Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you for your viewing pleasure The Alizma Triplets.

On Carson Daly. . .


. . .And them singing their own remix song. . .


Scene from one of my favorite movies, "The Red Violin"


This is Kasper Weiss


Gypsy Scene

9/2/08

FOTD XXXV - Freeway Fatality

I'm cruising down the I-15 just like we did back in the day in San Diego County... EXCEPT this I-15 is in Las Vegas and I'm going to pick up a ride. It's kind of funny cuz I felt nada for this dude (I'm jumping ahead). I guesstimated driving near 35K miles and not seeing different random acts on the road. Back to it, I'm in the fast lane going around 75 when I see a shoe in between the first and second lanes... I say to myself "That's strange. . . a shoe in the middle of the freeway. . .I wonder where that came from HOLY SHIT!!!"

WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IN THE CENTER DIVIDE I SEE A HUMAN BODY. HE'S LYING ON HIS LEFT SIDE WITH HIS LEFT ARM STRETCHED OUT AND HIS HEAD LYING GENTLY ON HIS OUTSTRETCHED ARM. HE'S NOT ALL FUCKED UP AND I DON'T SEE ANY BLOOD SO MAYBE HE'S SLEEPING I THINK.

And then he disappears as I fly by him... for a split second I think of stopping but as I drive by I see other cars that have stopped and are backing up to possibly assist or look through his pockets before the ambulance comes. My first impression was that he was some kind of homeless guy but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how he'd of gotten into the center divide.

I call it into dispatch and go on to pick up my customer. They end up closing most of the freeway down for two plus hours as well as the Tropicana and Flamingo on ramps. I remember remarking that it was a shame that all this traffic was due to some "dead homeless guy". So by the time I get home it's all over the news, that this dude was on a motorcycle, trying to outrun the police, when he crashed off the Tropicana off ramp,falling fifty feet to the freeway below. It's amazing that I came up on him within minutes of him landing on his face. Seeing him flailing through the air is not a visual that I'd like to have for the rest of my life.

Which brings me to my old friend and roommate Russ who too drove off an overpass like this and fell fifty feet to the center divide, shattering every bone in his lower half of his body. Luckily he had the rest of his work truck "surrounding" him to "protect" him from death. Something tells me though that Russ would of survived this one too.

PS: Oh yeah, I forgot the ride I was going to pick up ended up waiting outside of an apartment complex, sitting on some type of utility box, at 930am wearing her club clothes from the night before. She and her bestfriend/girlfriend came out to Las Vegas to meet up with a guy she knew. They were hanging out with him for the last four days and she had sex with the dude multiple times and as she put it "enjoying the total Vegas experience." At 730am the guy asks her friend if she wants to go on the balcony and have a cigarette. Her friend and this dude end up having sex on the balcony! This poor chick all dressed up and feeling like shit with a plane leaving in three hours and having to check out of the Hard Rock in ninety minutes just saw her "bestfriend" and her "man" having sex on the balcony.

I tried to "comfort" her but was DENIED no less than five times.

FOTD XXXIV - JGTFO II

I usually get the cab between 345-410 and I'm out hitting the streets. Usually I hit the radio looking for calls and most days I can pick one up coming out of the yard. On the days that I can't I'll go down to the strip and stage at one of the hotels and 'zone in' that area.

So I'm at the MGM and am 10th up or so when I get there, I go ahead and stage in the 230 (number 2) while I wait for a ride. When I get 4th up I get a call from a new personal named "Sierra", she called and said she and three of her friends are waiting for me at Orleans and they want to go across the street to Seamless (strip club). So I'm like MAN THAT'S THE SHIT! As I get across the strip, I get a call from dispatch that there's a call for me right near the MGM, now at first I decline saying I have a call to go to, but for some reason (being greedy, or never wanting to turn down a call) I take the call and flip a bitch and pick this chick up.

She, as all potential hookers do and say, when you pick them up they say let's get out of here FAST. She's going to Harrah's .. so we head over there and we pull in and the fare is $8.07 ... at the same time Sierra calls and says where are you??? We're waiting ... how long does it take??? ... so this hooker says she's meeting someone by the valet and I quickly realize that this HO might not have money?

DO YOU HAVE MONEY FOR THIS RIDE?
-No, The person I'm meeting is going to pay for it, can I use your phone to call him?
(I hand her my '619' phone and she calls and gets no answer)
WHAT'S THE NUMBER I'LL CALL HIM ALSO?
(I call from the '702' and he does not answer for me also)
LOOK WHAT KIND OF BULL SHIT IS THIS? YOU GOT INTO MY CAB WITH NO MONEY? I HAVE TO GET OF HERE, I'M IN A HURRY? HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE?
-I don't have anything.

(now i'm calling this chick a hooker cuz i'm still pissed at her, her 'look' was hippy chick that will suck your dick! LOL) anyways...

YOU'RE FUCKING LUCKY I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT OTHERWISE I'D HAVE YOU ARRESTED! JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY CAB YOU SLUT!!
-I'm sorry, i'm sorry.
DON'T EVER GET IN ANOTHER CAB WITHOUT MONEY TO PAY THE FARE. JUST GET THE FUCK OUT!

--------------------------------------

Okay friends, in hindsight this is crazy behavior by me. Next time it'll be more controlled.

-I'm sorry that you don't have the money for the fare ma'am. This is your lucky day, I have another pick up that I have to do so the sooner you get out of my cab the quicker I can pick up my next ride. Have a nice day!

ALSO - I call sierra back and the total wait time from when she first called me to when I pick her up is 21 minutes. When it should of been 7 minutes. Plus Sierra is so hot beautiful etc... she just moved into town from Cali. no friends etc.. I picked her up - I gave her good taxi - she called me back and I risked it all. Long story short, I pulled up and she and her friends were waiting where they said they were, they got in she sat in front (and she was smoking!!!!!) I literally drove them 250 feet across the street to seamless, they got out and got in the club and I got $80 for dropping them off.

JGTFO II

8/23/08

FOTD XXXIII - Two to the Penthouse Club

It's about 515am and things are slowing down. Since starting at 4am I have three lame as rides and am now on the nut at the Venetian. I am zoned into zone 230 because a driver, 'Chuck' always takes a cab back to the yard (he calls in at 510 and the call usually hits the board ~530) on the days he works (Sat-Wed). Chuck is the man, it's a $13.39 ride and he ALWAYS gives $20.

On the nut and these two guys come up to the cab, the doorman opens it up and they say "Penthouse". Having never dropped off there before I am not sure if they give the full fifty or twenty (after 4am) but am ready to find out yo. Not two minutes into the ride, Chucks call comes on the board (524am) and since I am str8 up gangSta I try and float the ride by dropping off these dudes and picking up Chuck ASAP. We get to Penthouse and I let these dudes out, now usually after they go in and pay I go in there and collect the DOJO.

These Mother F*ckers take forever at the cashier and over the next ten minutes I poke my head in there a few times and see if they've gone in the club yet. By now it's 541am and I can not wait anymore. I offer to sell the rights to the two guys to a Yellow Cab driver waiting outside for $20 but he hems and haws.. I take one final peek inside and those fools are still by the cashier .. so I say "fuck it" and take off to go pick up Chuck. I get to chuck by 549 (which is as late as I've ever been out there), to make it up to him I tell him his ride is on me today (I've picked him up maybe 15 times in the past and since switching over to the 4-4 shift I'm in better position to get him daily).

I tell him the story, apologize for being late. He basically calls me a dumb ass for not waiting to get the money ... of course I agree. I drop him off he insists on paying at least $15 for the ride .. to which I accept. He also tells me to go back to the club and see if I can get that money. Since it's literally around the corner form the yard, I jet over there .. sweet talk the cashier .. and she confirms that the AZN driver from Yellow came in and claimed it as his ride and he got the $100. Tough break, but I knew it was a long shot anyways. However to salvage the trip out there.. I asked to use the bathroom, which is in the club.. so I saw some nice breasts on the way in and on the way out.

Tits.

8/19/08

FOTD XXXII - Gay Flag

A Flag is someone you pick up on the street or other place that is not at a taxi stand. Flags are good and bad. For one you don't have to wait staging in line to pick one up, you just pull over in a safe place off the road and load them up. However it is technically illegal to pick up a flag, in the past it was found that 80% of the assaults / robberies on taxi drivers were a result of drivers picking up flags. As a result of making flags illegal, assaults have dropped off some 90% from their high a few years ago.

Anyways, it's midday and it's slow out.. I'm driving in the service alley that runs behind Flamingo, Imperial Palace & Harrahs when I see this guy with luggage and he's flagging me down. As a rule of thumb, if they aren't drunk, flags are safe to pick up within the resort corridor. So I pull over and he's going to the airport. Before he gets in he yells for this dude to come over by him. The guy doesn't come over and I ask if he wants me to wait and if he's also going to the airport. He says it's cool and we can go.

So I ask him what airline and he tells me Virgin America, I was like yo man I heard good things about that airline (typical small talk bullshit that I engage with every single passenger) and this dudes like, to be honest with you it's like a Gay New York Disco. What do you mean, I say, and he says that the color scheme, the stewards, etc all gave him that impression. blah blha blah blha

So I'm like who was that guy, and he says it was his date for the weekend and that he caught the bus out here from Los Angeles.

"So how did it go?"
-"It was terrible, he was a FOB, and it was hard talking with him."
"Too bad, so you guys going to see each other again?"
-"No way, he thinks we are but there's no way I'm meeting up with him again."
"Man poor guy. He's going to be thinking about you all the way home on that bus and you're not going to think of him at all on the flight back."
-"Ha! You're so right. I'm already making plans for when I get back."

GG FOB

8/14/08

FOTD XXXI - JGTFO

This better be good right? My day shift runs from 4-4 and night from 4-4 so it is important to get the car back to the yard by 355. I took my last radiocall at 318pm. I call to confirm and Lydia answers.

"Hi, this is Jeremy with the taxi for Lydia"
-Ok
"Are you still waiting for the taxi at 625 Shadow Ln?"
-Yes
"Ok, I'm two minutes away, I'll see you soon. Where are you going to"
-Southwest
"Are you in front of the building?"
-I'll tell you when you get here
(click)

I get over there in three minutes and she's waiting in the front entrance. She's an above avg looking slender AZN chick and so I'm ready to chat her up a little... she gets in the front seat and tells me to go the freeway. She tells me the cross streets of Flamingo and El Capitan (~$30 ride that will put me over $400 for the day) and we head out. On the freeway, traffic starts to back up by Spring Mountain so I tell her it's best to get off and head up the road. On the way, I offer to turn on the radio and she agrees, and I tell her to go ahead and tune it to what she likes.

She chooses 90.5 FM which after listening to some of the lyrics is a Christian station. No big deal, my aunt listens to that. Anyways this chick doesn't say shit the entire way. She does have a wedding ring on though, since I picked her up across the street from a hospital and at the county health building, I let her slide a bit cuz something bad could of happened to her. After 22 minutes I reach El Capitan and turn left and cross Flamingo.

"Do I go straight?"
-(silence)
"Look you haven't said a word all ride or given me an address. I'm driving a taxi which means that you give me an address and I drive you there or you give me directions and I follow them, all you have said was Flamingo and El Capitan and we just passed that."
-Turn right at the stop sign.
"Thank you"
-Turn right at the second street and it's the second house on the right.
"Okay"

We get there and the fare is $35.65 and it's 343pm. She reaches in and hands me her credit card..

"I'm sorry we don't accept credit cards, only Desert Cab accepts them"
-All I have is $25.00
"We can go back out to the bank and you can get money"
-Can I give you the number on my card?
"I have no way to get paid with your number"
(she reaches in and pulls out a $20 a $5 and 7 $1's and hands them to me)
"This is only $32.00, you still owe me $3.65"
-I don't have it.
"We can go back to the corner and you can get money at 7-11 or something"
-(silence)
"Look do you have $4 in quarters in your house"
-No
"You still owe me $3.65, we can go to the ATM but I have to leave the meter on so it's going to be more"
-(silence)

BY NOW IT'S 345 AND I HAVE OVER 6 MILES TO GET BACK TO THE YARD.

"Surely you must have change in your house?"
-No
"Just get the fuck out. . . and by the way, I'll go to confession this weekend"

She tries to say something but I was definitely not listening to her anymore. I drive away and make it back to the gas pumps at 402.

JGTFO

8/13/08

Almost Dead Puppy

Since I've started driving a taxi in Las Vegas, I reckon I've driven ~32,000 miles with 75% on the city streets (175/day * 7 mos * 26 days/mo). I have yet to see (knock on wood) a pedestrian get hit (I did see someone on a bike get 'nudged'), a car accident or an animal get run over. . . until today obviously.

First up at the left turn signal at the intersection of Desert Inn and La Canada. I see a cute little black puppy, no more than 6-8 weeks old off on the right of the street about 30 feet in front of me. He crosses my side of the lanes with no problem and makes it to the median. The oncoming traffic is very heavy and I'm kind of hoping that he'll just wait to cross until the traffic clears. BUT NO! He straight jumps out in front of the cars (and since he's so small, no one can see him) and a car in the first (of three) runs over the top of him but misses him.

He gets halfway through the second lane when he gets clipped and he hits the deck. Another car hits him but his head has not exploded yet... a few more cars go by and the traffic is clear and this darn puppy is str8 up F*cked. I can see blood and then he starts trying to move and he's half run over so he is not having much luck. Then my light turns green, for a split second I thought about driving against the traffic and popping his head for him but I had to pick up my ride. Not sure what happened but hopefully someone finished the job for him.

So Sick.

8/11/08

FOTD XXX - Emergency Room Pick Up

As you can probably imagine, a city the size of Las Vegas has quite a bit of activity at the local hospitals. Two previous pick ups that come to mind are this one guy who visited his daughters fiancee at the ER. This dude just got mugged in the parking garage at The Platinum Hotel. According to the guy, he was beat so bad they weren't sure he was going to make it yet.

The other is kind of sick. I picked up a blind older lady and her rather large bearded daughter. But the thing that makes this so bad ass is that this daughter (~40yrs) was only wearing a nightgown top, no bra, had a huge hole under the armpit, had holes in her socks.. but this chick had the largest breasts EVER! And through the hole in the shirt you could see some incredible side-boob. Even though she was bearded I found myself attracted to this woman's breasts. So sick, but I really wanted to get a closer look.

Which brings us to todays FOTD. He was my last ride of the day, and going in I kind of did him dirty to begin with. I took the radiocall while I was 3rd up at Caesars. My passengers get in and they want to go to the Hilton Grand on the strip (north of Circus & in the opposite direction of the call), as we're driving they ask if I'd be willing to wait while they get their luggage from the bellman, then take them to the airport ... so I agree cuz it'll keep the meter on and get me back in the direction of the ER.

While waiting for the luggage I call up my radiocall, and tell him that I'll be there in 15 minutes, knowing darn well it would be 30+ minutes before I could get there. He says that he's been waiting 45 minutes already, he's in a lot of pain and that he needs to go to the UMC (univeristy medical center) ER and get surgery done over there. So I drop these guys off and hustle over to the ER.

This guy gets in and we start talking. He's already been on a 15 month Tour in Afghanistan and is currently on break in the middle of his current 15 month Tour in Iraq. He is infantry so he's out there in the action. He downplays it a lot saying he's mainly doing humanitarian stuff and training the 'lazy ass' Iraqi troops.

So the problem he had was that he had some type of abscess near his lymph nodes (or in his neck) and it hurt bad. The UMC was one of two ER's in the city that had the doctors that specialize in draining the puss out of that shit. So anyway, this dude was a class act, and I made him wait for his pick up.

Side Boob Baby!

8/10/08

FOTD XXIX - Ron Paul Passengers from Pahrump

Ron Paul won Nye County with nearly 38% of the vote. Today I took a radiocall at Sunset & Durango. I call them up and give them an ETA and I meet up at the gas station. I pick up a couple that lives out in Pahrump, NV - yes home of the legal brothels - they were on their way to the airport to go on a 14 day trip to Italy. The Wife was last there 30 years ago as a nineteen year old and the dude has never been, they are going to Florence, and some other place.

Anyways, their car breaks down along the way and they are tripping out. IMAGINE THEIR SITUATION. Obviously you don't talk about politics or other sensitive subject when you're driving strangers to their destination.. but the woman let slip a key phrase

"I HOPE YOU'RE NOT A SOCIALIST"

LOL ZOMG. So I follow up with, oh you guys must be Ron Paul supporters (aka survivalists, radicals, constitutionalists). "yes we are" .. I share with them that I was a County Delegate and they share with me they were State Delegates. They were stoked that I was a (former) Ron Paul supporter driving them to the airport.

But guys, there is a reason they live out in Pahrump. They were a little koo koo.

My Friends

To my most loyal readers and random visitors I have been lagging without a doubt on this blog. I will start cranking out more FOTD's plus interesting tidbits of my everyday life. Some of the FOTD's are ones that I've wrote IN August and back dated to around the time that they happened.. but more than likely I will just get back to it.

The longer you drive, the things that seemed crazy are becoming a normal everyday part of the job. Not like it's CRAZY crazy, but just crazy normal. I am no longer shocked by the crack whore who wants to exchange her professional service for a short ride into town... (It will take an truly exceptional crack whore to get her own FOTD writeup) etc. etc.

You're Humble Servant and Friend,

HI2SD2LV

8/5/08

FOTD XXVIII - $100 Tournament Chip

It's about 545 in the A. M. (the sun is definitely not fully up) and I just cleared at MGM. The midweek summer crowd is truly sparse and the cabbies are all lined up all the way down the street and around the corner (~40 or em) and there seems to be no movement. So go the back way out of the MGM past the Garden Arena and out the side street pass the employee entrance and out to the Strip (this used to be my old geo route that I took to get to a few hotels we could load at - Polo Towers, Grand Chateau, MGM Signature, Hard Rock). I turn right and as I'm coming up to Walgreens this dude flags me down. I turn into the parking lot (to get off the strip and at least look like I'm loading him legally) and meet up with this guy and ask him where he's going.

BALLY'S PLEASE AND I ONLY HAVE $100 DOLLARS BUT I'LL GIVE YOU A $20 TIP. And since I'm am apparently such a greedy bastard, I say get the fuck in and let's go baby! It is literally just down the street and we get there in like 2 minutes.. he asks to go around the corner to the Sports Book entrance, and I oblige. We park and the fare is $5.42 ... he says I only have a $100 chip, just give me $70 back.. I get the change ready and he hands me a hilton $100 "Tournament Chip". I'm like dude this is not worth anything..
and he tries to argue back that it was ..
by now I realize this mother f*cker is trying to scam me and that's it baby..
"you f*cking piece of shit you're trying to scam me. this is worthless and you know it... do you have any money? ("no") Get the fuck out of my cab NOW"
Since it's only $5.42 I can let it go, or so I thought .. after he leaves I say F this guy, and rush to catch up with him and he B-Lines towards the main entrance.

I able to shadow the entire way, and not sure what I'm going to do (I would feel awfully foolish to call Metro and TA over to arrest this guy) he gets into the cab stand AGAIN. And I'm like - NO WAY ASSHOLE. and I point to the valet and tell him don't load him I need you to call security now. I AM A DRIVER AND HE RIPPED ME OFF.

LOL.. So this guy obviously keeps trying to do this with different cabs, trying to get them to make change.. and maybe it has worked but I am very familiar with "Tournament Chips".

It turns out security and the valet know this guy, he's been 86'd numerous times from their casino, he is mildly retarded and as they say "harmless" ... I don't want to waste an hour plus trying to get this guy arrested so I take off and that is that.

IN HINDSIGHT. This guy is a scam artist and I should of called the cops regardless of the amount.

-$5.42, gg

7/31/08

30% Above Average

In the office that the drivers get their 'trip sheets' for the day, there is a computer in the corner which you can print up your receipts from the previous days shift turn in. It accounts your total book, minus your gas and trip fees and shows you your net commission for the day. Usually I don't bother to print them out (cuz I'm lazy and usually either right on time for work or ready to get out on the streets) but this time I did. As I was going over them one caught my attention... I found that I was charged for 60 gallons in gas (instead of the usual 10-15).

I held on to this for a few days and then went into the big boss's office (Rusty). I've met this guy a few times, and spoken with him only once prior. This was during our new shift bid period. Since I am employee ~#380 at Union, my turn to bid on the shift was at the end of the day. My first and only impression of Rusty was that of an asshole. Now granted he was doing the bid's all day so when it was my turn around 430, maybe it's understandable that he could be ready to leave. However he was very impatient during my bid, and would answer (what I thought to be relevant) questions I had (after all we are agreeing to work whatever shift we choose for the next six months) with a snarl and then a comment like
"just pick already"
"I'd like to go home today"
"no"
blah blah blah .. .anyways you get the gist of it. Plus this dude is the guy who you go see when you trigger you drive camera and you're found to be on the cell phone, getting fellatio from one of you're passengers, picking you're nose etc. .. and he will then suspends you or fires you.

So I went in there, copies of receipts in hand (two others I was charged the wrong gas percentage of 76% (handivan) vs 50%, ~$15 difference) and ready to rock. To my amazement he saw me right away, he looked up the info relevant to those receipts, scribbled some notes on them and said he would fix them. No Problem. BUT THEN I was like, yo man.. Rusty I hustle when I have the handivan.. are there any other handivan shifts available... he clicks his mouse and moves it around and then offers me a new shift with a new company. That's right friends.. my new schedule
Mon-Wed 4am-4pm
Thu,Sat 4am-4pm (handivan)
Sun 2am-130pm
all unrestricted and for Virgin Valley. So when you fools finally come out to Las Vegas, I can pick you up from the Palazzo and take you to the Rhino. Holla.

So after I signed the shift sheet agreeing to continue to slave away for 71.5 hours a week, he tells me that my numbers are good, that I was 30% above average and to keep up the good work.

6/25/08

FOTD XXVII - 100% Disabled Vietnam Veteran

After dropping off at the airport, I went to stage in the 'pit' and after some twenty minutes moved up to the loading area. I pulled up and picked up a single male passenger with a lone duffel bag as his luggage. He got in, I greeted him and he told me his destination was 9500 W. Sahara (which is frickin far - 6 miles north x 9 miles west), so I'm kind of stoked cuz the rides about $40 or so plus then I can zone into the 380 zone which sometimes produces nice rides back to the strip/airport.

I tell him, that most drivers would probably take the 215 (which is kind of roundabout and $15 more) but I think the surface streets are the most direct. So I plan on going West on Tropicana, North on Durango, and then West up Sahara. So we head out and he tells me he's from Pierre, South Dakota (capital city), and he's here to visit his parents, his father's about to die and in the hospital and his mother's been having a hard time with it all. He goes on about how he hates everyone in his hometown, how he's not part of the 'clique' blah blah blah... but I can get along with almost everyone and can converse with most and we carry on some small talk. As we go along Tropicana he starts changing his attitude a bit....

WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

We're going to West Sahara. I'm going up to Durango and then over to Sahara.

You're trying to rip me off like this Korean Nip that drove me last time.

Huh?

----so we continue and then turn right on Durango-- the meter reads like $26---

THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT, WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE? YOU'RE FUCKING TAKING ME IN CIRCLES.

Dude I'm taking you straight there. What's your problem, look at the map.

I DON'T NEED TO LOOK AT THE MAP. I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE ARE, I TOLD YOU WHERE I WANTED TO GO AND YOU'RE TAKING ME ALL OVER THE PLACE. THIS IS BULLSHIT!!!


Look, are you FUCKING CRAZY? This is the most direct way, are you saying I'm trying to cheat you? I'll call the cops for you then, and you can complain to them.

WHY ARE YOU GOING TO CALL THE COPS? YOU WANT TO GET ME ARRESTED?

No. Why would they arrest you? If you're unhappy you can talk to them about how I'm driving and the route I'm taking you.

THIS IS BULLSHIT, MY DAD'S DYING I'M HERE TO SEE HIM DIE I'M A 100% DISABLED VIETNAM VETERAN JUST TAKE ME THERE ASSHOLE.

Look, you're the fucking asshole giving me shit about this ride, you're destination is a long fucking ways from the airport dude, what the fuck???? Are you fucking crazy?

THE GOVERNMENT THINKS I'M CRAZY.

Well, they're right. Dude. Do you want me to let you out right here, I don't care I'll eat the $26 bucks.

---at this point, I think I might of let the situation get of hand and am worried he has some type of weapon for killing in his bag---


LET ME OUT I'LL WALK THE REST OF THE WAY, I WAS IN THE ARMY. FUCK THIS.


okay fine, i'm not letting you out. If you're willing to walk I won't pull over, dude just believe me when i say this is the most direct route. I don't know what you're problem is but you are nuts. And by the way my dad was in the Marines.

NO HE WAS IN THE ARMY.

huh?

----so we get to Sahara and he calms down cuz he starts to recognize the area----

YEAH THIS LOOKS RIGHT. OKAY YOU'RE CLOSE NOW.

man I told you, what the fuck? DUDE.

YEAH YEAH I DONT KNOW.

hey friend, i definitely will remember this ride. This is the first time I ever sweared at my passenger.

----we pull up to the housing complex, he's chill now.. i'm chill now - it's practically a love fest - the fare is $35, he gives me a $50 and asks for $10 back, I tell him pinch his mother's ass for me, and then he's off. I quickly pick up a ride around the corner headed back to the Rio and it's time to keep on rolling.

(It's hard to think back and replay the entire conversation... and I may be downplaying his rage and definitely left out tons of dialog between us, but it did end friendly and it was all good - rides like this make me want to have some type of recording device so you guys can listen to the insanity I sometimes come across as a Las Vegas Taxi Driver.)

FOTD XXVI - Nineteen Seizures

A few weeks back I took a radiocall in Summerlin and picked up Ilona. She's eighty years old plus with a hunched back, walks very slow and still very independent. (She wouldn't allow me to help her get in the car or what not, she said pretty sternly "If I need help I will ask") The first trip was just a ride around the corner to the grocery store, upon arrival I told her the fare was $6.50 and she told me that I was to wait for her to get back... anyways, after she was done shopping she came out I took her home and the fare was like $26 due to the wait time. On the first trip we spoke a little bit and she told me that so far this year shes had sixteen seizures and that if God wanted to take her He would.

She also told me a little bit about her history. She moved to the USA back in the late 40's with her husband, both from Budapest, Hungary. They moved to Las Vegas in 1990. Her husband passed away in 2000 and since then she's been all alone. They didn't have any children and she doesn't have any relatives in the states or friends, other than her neighbors.

I could really go on and on but it would amount to endless pages of ramblings that would lead the few readers I have to conclude that I'm meth'd out. One thing she strongly believes in is that constipation leads to death. Probably some truth to that, she did blame Tim Russert's death to constipation. After the first ride I gave her my number which she used a few days later to set up a second pick up the following week.

Still not convinced that she would make a good 'personal', on the day of our appointment, I was waiting in her neighborhood when I took another call some fifteen minutes before our appt. It was a good ride, and when I was done I was some two hours late for the pick up. On that trip I took her to two stores and to the gas company to pay her bill (she prepays three months). During this trip I decided to go into the store and help her grab shit off the shelves and what not (partly to speed up the wait time, but to also help her). This trip was ~$65 or so. Even though I was two hours late, she was glad I came - however she didn't feel to good by the end of the trip due to the heat.

blah blah blah, last week she scheduled a pick up at 8am for this past Monday. Anyways I showed up on time and took her to three stores and to pay her triple A home insurance bill. The trip took nearly three hours with a final meter of $107.30 - my second >$100+ trip. She went on to say that she's now had nineteen seizures but she's starting to feel better. I went through the whole bit about how maybe she should sell her house and take the money and check into senior care facility but she doesn't want any of that.

It's loco though, this frail (80 lb) old lady, all hunched over, moving slowly, just grinding out her life and doing it to it. It feels weird having her say, "Jeremy, thank God for you."

WTF ZOMG

6/16/08

FOTD XXV - You're the Man David!

A few Sunday's ago I picked up a group of guys at the Venetian. It was near 7am and two were pretty sober, but the third was drunk off his ass. The drunk guy ended up sitting behind me out of sight. The gave me an address down southeast LV, so we take the freeway out there. The drunk guy spits or something and is real loud and somewhat belligerent, yelling at cars waiting next to us - that is not really a problem however the spitting most definitely was. As we pull on to the freeway, I tell him point-blank, if I hear you spitting again, I'm going to pull over and let the three of you out of the cab.

After that, he finds a cup and he uses that and it's fine with me. Long story short, a few days later, I pick up one of the sober guys at the house I dropped em off at. They are in town for the WSOP and the cash games around town, and I drop him (David) off at the Venetian, he asks for my number and I give it to him. They end up using it three times so far for rides to the Rio/Bellagio/Venetian.

The second time they called, the drunk guy (Bill) comes along. It turns out Bill is a 4-8 limit grinder while the others play 5-10 NL and are true young professional poker players. Giving these guys a ride and talking poker with em, kind of inspired me to go play that tourney on Friday @ Binions.

Back to today, David gives me a call saying he needs a ride to the airport. I'm 15+ miles away but am always ready to go pick up a 'personal'. We go to the airport, I drop him off at Delta, I take a radio call south of the airport, I drop off near UNLV and take another radio call who's destination is downtown at the Greyhound Bus Terminal. Five minutes into that ride, I hear this crazy ass ring tone (which surprised me cuz my passenger was an older black woman).. the ring tone is like

pick up this phone now
pick up this damn phone now


it's in a strange cartoon voice, so anyways I was like, maam, you have a crazy ring tone, and she says no that's not mine, there's a phone sitting back here. So I answer it, "this is the taxi driver", and it ends up being David. He ended up taking a cab from the airport back to his house to look for the phone, we talk and I agree to meet him back at the airport in 30 minutes.

It takes longer than I think to drop off this lady (40 minutes) and then head back to the airport from downtown. What was a drive through drop off is now bumper to bumper traffic at the airport, and I'm kind of worried that he'll miss his flight.

Anyways, while stuck in the airport traffic, I can see him up waiting by Delta, so I get out and yell out his name and get his attention so he can come over instead of waiting for me to get up by his gate. On the way I already decided that if he offered me $20 or $40 for bringing it back, I would politely decline, and say it was my pleasure / my fault that I didn't check the cab after he exited.

He comes up grabs the phone, tells me I came through in the clutch and has a $100 bill in his hand as he shakes my hand and takes off. Traffic clears somewhat and I'm able to drive past him, and as I do I yell out

"YOU'RE THE MAN DAVID"
"DAVID YOU'RE THE MAN"

Him and his crew are in town for a month more, so I look forward to other rides from them all.

GG

6/15/08

Expect Anything Different??!!??

Hot As Hell

Driving around the city today, the temp was over 110 in many different areas. That my friends is hot as hell.

6/14/08

My Day Off




After a nearly one year hiatus from playing tournament poker I decided to go play a tournament at Binions.
GG ME

6/13/08

A Letter From Ron Paul II

Friday, June 13, 2008


Over the past 17 months you and I delivered a message of freedom, the likes of which American politics has not seen in decades. With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign has come to an end. But the Revolution has only begun.

Today I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty. Please visit our new website and join us: campaignforliberty.com

Over the next few months I will be developing a program, assembling a team, and announcing new and exciting projects. We will have a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you.

Right now, I need your patience and support. I want the Campaign for Liberty to be a grassroots campaign; so your energy, your creativity, your feedback, and your participation are essential.

Together, we will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We will write commentaries and broadcast videos on the news of the day. And I'll work with friends whom I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

Politically, we will expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We will make our presence felt at every level of government. We will keep an eye on Congress, and lobby against legislation that threatens us. And we will identify and support candidates who champion our great ideas.

"In the final analysis," I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, "the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them."

Our time has come to act on these words.

May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to their politicians, the opinion-makers, and the establishment, and saved their country.

For liberty,

Ron Paul


P.S. Please join me. Go to our website, www.campaignforliberty.com , and become a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?

5/27/08

FOTD XXIV - Throwing Money At My Passengers

Sunday 2am-2pm shift. Always a good time. To start out I went straight over to Seamless which is around the corner from our yard. Memorial Day weekend, and the thugs from Cali were in town. I get up to load and six dudes and a chick try to get in the cab, I tell em only five and it's off to a rough start. These cheap bastards were only going to Bally's (~$10) I told them it would not be too much to take two cabs, but they weren't hearing it. One stayed behind so on the hope that I could swing them to the Rhino I took the six of them in the cab.

The group was a Mexican guy and four Black guys with an Asian chick. All of them were bling'd out with the shades and the jewelry.. after telling them about other clubs they decided to go back to their hotel. The Mexican was drunk and belligerent and sat in the front. Anyways I was ready to fucking kill this guy by the time we get to the hotel. The fare is $10.10 I get out to open the doors, they are dragging and digging in their pockets to get out the money, and one at a time they produce some wrinkled up dollars and they hand em over, the mexican is saying "you ain't getting shit for a tip" and I was like I don't give a shit just give me the money and get the fuck out of here. (I did care though I guess)... So they give me $10 and walk away and at this point I'm so sick of these fools, I turn around and realize they owe me TEN CENTS MORE. ..

(205am and there are plenty of people waiting for a taxi with no taxi's, I'm the only one there and I'm unloading these fools)

So I turn around and yell out for everyone to hear...YOU SEE THESE LOWLIFES? THEY CAN'T EVEN PAY THEIR TAXI FARE. THEY OWE ME TEN CENTS MORE. The people in line are like WTF??? So one starts to dig in his pocket and walks over and hands me two nickels and walks away, the mexican has what appears to be a penny and he's about to walk over and hand me my "tip" when I take the ten cents and throw it at their feet and call them all cheap bastards.

I get in the cab and pull up ten feet to load someone else.. the taxi attendant says "man, you got those guys good".. but did I really? I didn't feel to good about it but it was so busy, (18 rides in the first four hours) that I didn't dwell on it too much after that. However these are the kinds of rides and incidents that increases the taxi drivers chances of being shot in the back.

On Sundays I have a black medallion which is good only until 2pm Sunday. I just got done dropping off a very young, very cute, Dominican girl at the Hilton, who was out all night until 145pm partying at the Palms. She was from Miami and was used to the 'fast-life' so I figure it's my last ride and it's time to head back, but along the way back a taxi attendant is whistling for a cab, and after I drive by I do a U-turn and try to squeeze one more ride in. I pull up to the Marriott and the TA calls out three young black chicks from the lobby and brings out their cart with all their crap in it.

They have six pieces of luggage, three garbage bags filled with shit, and another four bags from M&M World (at MGM). I load em up and they tell me their destination and it turns out it's just down the street from the yard. Pretty perfect. Along the way, they ask questions about different construction projects, clubs, etc and I (as always) answer and carry on nice small talk with them.

We get to their new motel/hotel and the fare is $16.30, I open the side doors for them and unload their crap to the curb. One pays me $20 and I give them $3 change (I don't expect a tip from them) I turn around and close the cargo door and I come around and one is talking to another (the third went inside) and I hear "where's my seventy cents?" ...

For the first time in over 2000 rides do I hear somebody ask for their full change back. I was like "excuse me?. . . you want your seventy cents?" before they can answer I continue on,

-was I not polite and professional? (she nods yes)
-did I not unload all of your bags? (she nods yes)
-was I rude at any point in this ride? (she nods no)
-you want your seventy cents? okay, I got your seventy cents.

So I reach into the cab and into my bag to dig out some change, but I then decide on a different course of action...

-instead of your seventy cents i'll give you a dollar back instead.

So I take a dollar and throw it at the ground as I get in the cab and shut the door.

-here's your dollar and you can keep the change (ho's)
-this is the big city girls you have to act like you belong here
-enjoy the rest of your time out here

At this moment the third walks out and is like WTF ..

-you three need to get some class (I glance down at the ground and the dollar is already gone)
3rd: what's going on?
-ask your friend.

and I drove off. My only regret is that I didn't rip ~70% of the dollar and throw that on the ground and then throw the remaining 30% and yell out KEEP THE CHANGE as I burn rubber back to the yard.

<----Asshole

FOTD XXIII - $100 Tip

Got my first one hundred dollar tip. I was hustling and taking RC's wherever I could and ended up taking a call up North. After driving ten plus miles to pick up a company charge (fares that are paid for by different companies including logisticare, social security, bureau of disability, clark county DA, and others) which ended up being a real short ride (<$7) I was stuck up North.

I call in to get a call, and low and behold there's a call less than one mile from my location. I call her up and tell her my '20' and that I'll be there in less than three minutes. Upon arrival I again call her and she comes out and starts thanking me over and over. Eliz@beth is her name and she is a blond knockout that's very tall, slender and very pretty. She also appears to have one huge tit.

She comes in and tells me how she called another company that would not go out there to pick her up due to her location and how grateful she was that I was able to pick her up. Blah blah blah, she wants to go to a cosmetic surgeon that's way down in South LV. She admits to being on multiple valiums and our conversation benefits from that fact. Two days prior her left breast exploded and she needs a ride to get a replacement implant.

Long story short she says her husband (of thirteen years) was at a charity golf tournament (he's a combat specialist, and other law enforcement groups are out there) and he was not able to take her. Oh yeah and she's a totally nude dancer at the 'World Famous' Palomino Club in NorthTown. She says she can make 1k-3k a day when it's good and crap on other days.

We get to the location and her fare is $50.90 and she gives me $151.. w00t! I was like thanks babe, you're the best, she asks for my # to call when she gets out and I'm like totally down for dat. She never does call and her husband must of picked her up. It was sick though yo.

With regards to her husband not giving her a ride in the first place, the tournament started at 7am, her appointment to get in wasn't until the next day, at 9am the Dr. called her and said they could fit her in at noon. She was 'slightly annoyed' that he couldn't give her a ride, but she understood. What a good girl.

5/12/08

FOTD XXII - Is She A Stripper?

After a terrible beginning to the day in which I booked only five miles on the meter out of one hundred driven, things were picking up when I decided to stage at the MGM Signature. I get the call to Tower 1 and pick up an older gentleman who asks to go to the Charles Schwab office in Summerlin (~$40).

He is retired and lives in the MGM in one of their condo units on the 26th floor. I asked as to whether or not he owns gold stocks and he said only bonds and money market. At his age it's all about preserving capital, I imagine he has millions in the bank and lives very comfortably off the interest. About $25 into the ride he gets a txt msg and he says "we need to go back, my car just crashed."

From what I could gather, it turns out that he lent his 645i BWM to an unidentified female and she crashed it. He calls her up and and is very delicate with what he says and how he says it.

-I don't care about the car, are you okay?
-We made a good couple.
-Tell me where you are and we can go get the car.
-Why don't you just tell me where you are?
-Let's give it another chance, if you don't like how things are going that's fine, you know me.
-We can go on a trip somewhere and see how things turn out.
-Why don't you tell me where you are? I can come over and pick you up.
-Where is the car?
-Why don't you tell me where the car is?
-Where are you at? Please tell me where you are?

LOL, it was definitely F'd up for that dude. So we return and the meter says $38.50, this kind of sums up my day... close to a big ride with a possible RT (roundtrip), close to a journey to pick up ex-gf and then to go where the car's at... but alas just a return trip.

This chick though, she must of stolen the car or was drunk/drugged out, the answers she was giving to where the car was included

-In the alley
-On the 15
-Under the 15 in a ditch
-Near the 57 (which does not exist)

The old guy held it together pretty well though, after getting the run around so much I'm surprised he didn't blow up at her, i.e.

LOOK BIT*H, WHERE THE F*CK IS THE F*CK*NG CAR YOU F*CK*NG WHORE.

5/11/08

FOTD XXI - Summer Has Arrived Part I

It's hot tonight and this damn cricket is keeping me from opening the window. My Geo shift starts in a few hours and it's hot, did I mention that already. With temperatures forecasted to be 100 + this week, summer has arrived.

My favorite '66' shift was earlier today and boy what a doozy. I got a three pack to the clubs but that kind of pales to two rides in particular that I had. Looking back at my favorite rides that I've had since driving, one thing they all have in common is my van overflowing with young beautiful drunk women.

So I'm at the Venetian and get waived up from the back of the line (because I hold five, and sedans hold four) it looked like I would be taking four + luggage to the airport but they waive me up further and I pick up a party of five girls. They get in and the one who sits up front seems to usually be the drunkest and the most interactive. Bachelorette party and they're coming out of Tao, which was preceded by Thunder Down Under. The one in the front is trying to get the rest of the girls to head to the Rhino (clubs don't usually allow groups of all girls to enter unless they are accompanied by guys) some want to go others don't. They are headed back home to the Luxor, a few lights down the street they have me flip around so they can try and get some guys to go with them - which I'm more than down for (5x30+2/3x50)! But the rest of the group nixes that so we head back towards the Luxor.

The one in the front is str8 in heat and ready to go. She commented that after watching the male strippers she was ready to F*ck, that she was ready to just start sitting on things and f*cking em. I could of thrown out "cab driver" but I kind of think that's harassment. Since the club was a no go (and since they wanted to see women), I calmly suggested (and mentally pictured) that the five of them go back to their room and they should all take a bath together. Anyways as we get to the Luxor, the chick in the front (as we pass a huge limo) exclaims "I want to get f*cked in that limo right now".

FOTD XXI - Summer Has Arrived Part II

The second part of this ridiculously long entry is about this 34 year old woman I picked up at the Wynn. I just got done dropping off five stinking drunk Brits whom I picked up at the British pub, Crown & Anchor (where these wankers go early in the morning to watch football and get piss drunk). Nice group of guys really, the one in the front seat (remember, always the drunkest) was clutching what was left of their $500 bottle of grey goose. On a side note these Brits when they come out here have tons of money to spend, they said they spent $1500 quid just on entry for the five of them to get into Tryst (Wynn's nightclub). Enough about them

After clearing them in the back entrance of the Wynn (which is the entrance for the VIPs and Tower Suites), the valet guy asks if I can take this woman I say of course and I grab her suitcase (definitely some type of gucci or really expensive bag) and put it in the back, open the door for her and close it after she gets in. I assume the airport but she says we're going to head out towards Lake Las Vegas. Woo Hoo it's known as the furthest ride in the city and my first one out that way, it's towards Boulder City and Lake Mead. Generally $60 from the airport. blah blah blah

So this chick is gorgeous, 34 years old and it seems very wealthy. She is ready to spill the beans. Her husband took her out the Wynn for mothers day.

-She's been married for 11 years.
-Step mother to his 14 year old son.
-The Wynn is the only hotel she goes to and gambles at.
-She mentioned something about knowing the owners wife and all the employees there.
-Her husband made a huge scene Sat. and embarrassed her and made her cry.

Her husbands cousin + friend came into town for this past weekend (the cousin is a young girl celebrating her 21st birthday) so he set it all up and got the rooms and the poolside cabana. So while at the pool yesterday, the husband blew up cuz his gorgeous, young, firm, beautiful, refined, stellar wife supposedly bent over (while topless) and leaned in for someone to light her cigarette and he str8 went Richter. Caused a huge scene and stormed out of the pool area.

So this chick, goes on and on about how their marriage is over... and some of the other stuff her husband did which includes...

-Shutting off all her credit cards.
-Taking her 'Maserati' home, basically stranding her at the wynn.
-Returning in 'his' 'Bentley' and giving her a five minute window to leave the hotel or he was leaving her there.

So I'm obviously thinking this chick better give me a huge tip like keep the change for a C-Note. She goes on and says she has 20 horses on her property, six acres developed and six undeveloped, she bought it back in the day for $400K and now it's worth near $10MM... how she's going to Cali and spend time with mum ... Did I mention she was fricking hot.. like hollywood hot.

(I did come up with a fine joke, when asking her which route she'd like to take she said paradise to the 215 and it should take about 20 minutes, after she mentioned she had a Maz, I chimed in that it would take 20 minutes in a Maz but 30 minutes in a Van with 270k miles on it - har har har har - considering her state of mind / marriage it's possible that made her moist)

We get to the house and it is indeed an incredible property with a terrific view of the las vegas valley I drop her off, the fare amount is $49 and obviously she only has $100 bills .. she asks for change and asks for $40 back.. not bad but really, shouldn't she of let me keep the change?

5/1/08

FOTD XX - Handi Van II

Coming out of the airport I got a call that so and so needed two handicap vans at this address. I volunteered for one and was told to report back if they needed a second. I meet them outside their apartment complex and these two (husband and wife) look to be the oldest people I've ever seen. The wife is crawling slowly in a scooter and her husband is holding on to the back and shuffling along.

I load em up and they tell me they are headed to the bank. This is only the second time that they've ever taken a taxi. Long story short, she is 80 he is 79, they were married 59 years ago, no children, he had a stroke 9 years ago, and she fell down 3 years ago and since then they've both had scooters. They usually go down the street to Walgreen's for grocery shopping where they can buy frozen dinners and canned food. They have not been to a grocery store or eaten fresh vegetables or fruits in the 3 years since she's been hurt. So I offer to take them to the grocery store at first they decline but after they come out of the bank they changed their mind and we head to the store. I offer to go in there with them if they want to get tons of crap but she declines. We go to Vons, I wait about 20 minutes, they come out and they bought 2 frozen mexcian dinners (Walgreen's doesn't carry those), 3 tomatoes, 3 apples and 4 bananas. Life is good.

Towards the end of the day I get another call for a handicap van. It's somewhat far away and with the traffic so it takes me a little to get there. I arrive at this dentist office and the staff is waiting for me to pick my passenger up so they can close. This lady is missing a right leg, a right forearm and hand, her right eye (she tells me later) and is or has been severely burnt across all of her right side of her body and most of her left side. Long story short, she wants to go home get her husband go to the bank (he got $2400 in back unemployment benefits direct deposited) then go to Red Lobster. Along the way to pick him up (she leaves her scooter at home and they both change) she says her husband is mildly retarded, she recounts how she met him at a job they both had and how he proposed to her in front of everyone in the office.

We pick him up and he does seem slow but otherwise normal, we go to the bank and it's closed (after 5pm) along the way she decides that they are no longer going to Red Lobster that they have to go to Wednesday bible study and he is going to have to give Tithe. He's goes to the ATM and she mentions that he's probably trying to take out the entire amount so I walk up there and he is in fact trying to take out the entire $2400 so I help him out and he takes out $500. He gets back in and she starts to quote verse and passages to him (he is reluctant to Tithe) she is a very powerful preacher and it's just a crazy scene. The church is clear on the other side of town so in the end it's a $77 ride and I end up dropping them off at the Panda Express across their church.

She told me along the way that 20 years ago she was in a terrible car accident and car fire. Her husband left her (and her young child) 5 weeks after the accident. What a tough life but she's made the best of it.

4/28/08

Day 6 FOTD XIX - Community Service

Today was a Geo (geographically restricted - no strip, downtown or airport pickups) day so never sure what to expect. Some days I have a personal call (a fare that calls me direct) from this dude that I drop off near Red Rock but not today. My strategy for Geo days has been to try and stay south and west of the strip where the longer rides and newer residential areas are. However today, I started out down there but ended up downtown and taking calls from there that lead me up to North Town (aka North Las Vegas). Today's FOTD is a call I took downtown.

After taking someone to the laundromat I zoned into '205' downtown (mistake #1) and proceeded to head over towards the LV Premium Outlets (usually 14-18$ rides back to the strip), after getting in line I call dispatch to cancel my zone but too late, I get a call downtown. I head over to Freemont & 15th st. and meet up with a family of five moving out of their weekly rental and I mean MOVING OUT. They have so much shit and you know, one of the things I've noticed is that when fools move out of these types of places their crap all smells the same. Clothes, bags etc. all has the same smell to it. It literally takes fifteen minutes to load up the minivan.

So it's loaded up and the parents get in with their three kids, one baby and a son & daughter ~5-7 yrs old? We drive a few blocks to another weekly rental ($170/wk) and this place is a true shit hole. (I'm losing steam writing this) Anyways I unload em, the fare is $14.70 ... as I drive away (in the background, the property manager is tripping about having five people in one of their tiny rooms) I say to the kids (who were very pleasant while we loaded the van) go to school, study hard and do their homework, when the daughter says "we don't go to school." Oh well, I kept driving.

This is titled community service, because after this ride I had multiple rides taking the locals of North Town to the store, picking em up from walmart/luckys/albertsons all crappy short rides (<$10) and of course no tip. As my brother said, I was performing CS today. It was a little frustrating however a majority of these fools I drove around today are fucked.

P.S. Over the last 9 of 10 days I've booked more than $300 (which is pretty good) and today I had to really hustle to get to $230. Today was just one of those days, after I would take a call that would end up being a grocery store run, I would hear on the radio a call from the speedway to the strip (~$50 ride) or from so and so to the airport .. tons of $50 rides but I missed out on all of them just so I could take so and so back home with their two dozen eggs, 24 instant ramens, two gallons of milk, pork chops, bags of dirty socks.. etc.

In summary, I give it up to the baby's daddy who is still around taking care of the kids. As we all know lots of fools in his situation take off. Now only if they enroll their kids in skool.

4/27/08

Day 5 FOTD XVIII - Potpourri

Very busy 2am-2pm shift with twenty-eight rides. Some of the highlights.

-Staged at Seamless (strip club across Orleans) around 730 and picked up a single fare who got in and asked if there were any other strip clubs open with an 'after hours' feel to it. "Why yes, the Rhino." He went on to talk about his affinity for bedding hot hot hot SoCal chicks and that in the past with the help of Ecstasy would often have two-three hotties in bed with him. Whatever dude.

-Rehab The Movie started filming today at the Hard Rock pool (not sure what it's all about but the hype was in full effect) and all the young hard bodies were in town ready to show their ASSets off. Loaded six 20-22 year old young ladies at Venetian and took them over there. The combo of them being amped up and me being a smart ass led to a stimulating experience for us all or at least me.

-Loaded four hot young thangs from the Platinum Hotel (same hotel Carrie Underw@@d stays at when in town!) who became upset that I wouldn't load six of em. One was particularly annoyed and a very naughty girl who would use sexual innuendo like "Jxrxmy, I am so hungry" (implying she wanted some meat) to try and get me to crash.

-Local RC from the far southwest LV that goes to Harrahs. Second time picking him up (first time three weeks ago). His cover story the first time was that he's meeting friends at Harrahs yet asked me to drop him off in the alley between Venetian and Harrahs. Thankfully this time he had his mp3 player on so we had minimal conversation, however remembering his last drop off I offered the same 10-20. The strange thing was that after getting out he kind of waited near a back door then after I turned around I could see him running somewhere else in the rear view mirror. Anyways, Hugo = male prostitute.

-First ride of the day from Spring Valley Hosp. was a couple I picked up at the ER. After riding the roller coaster at NYNY the wife fainted.

That's all folks.

I Love Nevada aka Ron Paul Country

The Nevada Republican Party meet in Reno this past Saturday at the state convention to nominate the thirty-one national delegates from the pool of fifteen hundred state delegates. After Ron Paul delegates were able to secure twenty-nine of the thirty-one national delegates (the ones that can cast votes for the nominee), the state Republican Party suspended the convention and will reconvene at some future date.

The NRP did invite Ron Paul to be the keynote speaker. Listen to what this guy says compared to the other three candidates.





Local News Story

4/26/08

Day 4 FOTD XVII - Vinnie Moore UFO

Vinnie Moore is one of the greatest guitar players in the history of the world. At least that's what I came up with after doing some online searching and watching some videos. I'm staging at Boulder Station when this hot blond chick and this dude with long curly hair wave me down. They ask to go to the venetian and from their conversation I gathered his band is playing at BS that night. So I was like hell yeah that's RaD, he told me the name is UFO and their in the middle of forty years of touring with him joining six years ago.









You guys in San Diego, go to brick by brick 4/30 and check this old skool rock legend out. Vinnie Moore FTW.

Day 2 FOTD XVI - Lisa H. 38 SWF

Thursday's winding down and I take a RC up in Summerlin. When I locate the apartment, I see Lisa waiting with the door open on the second floor. I walk out to call her down and she needs help with some luggage. So I'm jazzed up because it is most likely an airport ride (~$50). I get up and she has a rubber storage tub and a large bag for me to take down. While up there she spills the beans about her boyfriend walking out on her the day before and how she's an alcoholic and she's flying to Orange County to go to rehab and she's moving all her shit out.

Long story short, she's medicated or drunk and moving real slow. I convince her to leave her plastic hangers behind and just take two purses full of crap and we're off. As we walk towards the cab she asks for an estimate, and I tell her maybe $50 which seems expensive to her, so she offers womanly services in exchange for the fare. I REPEAT SHE OFFERS TO SUCK ME DRY. But alas, I politely decline and turn the time off for her for our ride. Along the way she shares her preference for hapa-haoles, she tells me her age and I share my surprise declaring that for sure I thought I was older than her. She offers an undergarment of hers as a gift, I tell her I'd really like to see how she looks in them.

BUT, we're running out of time, she needs to get to rehab in the OC and start her new life over. Her dad has died from alcoholism and she does not want that to happen to her. She wants kids etc. She also went on to say that on Wednesday morning she woke up kicking her boyfriend in the back asking him where the rum was, he woke up and said "I can't take this shit anymore, I'm ghost" and that was the end of that. But he was an enabler, always bringing home the booze to his doped up sex-slave.

Fare $37.50, after dropping her off I did feel regret for not taking advantage of her most generous offer.

4/23/08

Day 1 FOTD XV - Handi Van

Since the new bid took effect, I get a handi van on Wed/Sat. There was a call this morning to pick up a handi call at Terrible's Casino so I shoot over there real quick from the Rental Car Center. I park the van get out talk to the bellman who points to luggage that's off to the side, I load it up and this dude comes out in a motorized scooter. I put down the side ramp and he gets in. I ask him which airline and he says:


-Greyhound.
ok


We pull out of the casino and make some small talk


-Can you believe I lost $4500 and this fucking place wouldn't even comp me a room, fuck vegas I hate it here and I ain't coming back.
forty five hundred?
-Yeah these cheap fucks.
where you going back to?
-Phoenix, and then tonight we fly into Los Angeles to see the Lakers game. I got six seats, paid $6000 cash for each of them.
Wow.
-Hey, I hope this won't cost more than ten dollars.
Ummm, yes we're going downtown to the bus station, it'll be around 18-20
-Well you need to pull over, I'll take the bus.


So we're driving down paradise rd., just past flamingo and I don't see any bus stops, so me being a nice guy and wanting to help fools in wheelchairs (he just had a broken foot), I turn the "time" ($28/hr idle time when traveling < 8 mph) off and take him up to Las Vegas Blvd and Convention Center Dr where I know there's a bus stop to run him straight downtown. We get to the Walgreen's parking lot and I pull over, lower the ramp, help him back out - take his luggage out of the trunk and pile it up thirty feet away at the bus stop. So this dude is in his chair and he starts to drive away from me. The meter reads $8.10.


Hey, it's eight dollars and ten cents.
-I don't have any money.
What? You said you had ten dollars.
-No I didn't, I said, "I hope this won't cost more than $10".
WHAT? You got in my cab with no money? YOU'RE TRYING TO STEAL FROM ME? YOU OWE ME EIGHT DOLLARS!!!!,
-I TOLD YOU I LOST FORTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
So? YOU ARE A LOW LIFE PIECE OF SHIT SCUMBAG, TRYING TO STEAL MONEY FROM ME, I WORK FOR THIS MONEY YOU NEED TO PAY YOUR FARE


At this point I talk shit to him a little more, I do not cuss at him as I walk with him towards Walgreen's.. I say once again, you better get me that money. I get in the cab, call the dispatch, tell them I need the TA (taxicab authority) and Metro (cops) to get over asap, this guy owes me EIGHT DOLLARS AND TEN CENTS... I repeat it back to dispatch and inquire if it's petty of me to which they reply it's up to me, the cops will show up and issue an expensive citation ... I WANT BLOOD, but I say to them hold on, dude mentioned he had a credit card and I'm willing to accept $8 in goods in lieu of payment... so I go in Walgreen's and the mother f*cker is no where to be seen..

I get back in the van, call up dispatch and ask if I can take this guys smelly ass luggage hostage, and yes I can .. I just have to grab it from the bus stop put it in the van, take it to the yard, fill out a "lost and found" slip then we can hold it hostage until the EIGHT DOLLARS AND TEN CENT ransom is paid. I walk over to grab the luggage and one of the guys that work the sidewalks getting people to go see a timeshare asks how much I am owed, I reply how much .. he offers to pay it, I politely decline, I FUCKING WANT BLOOD, but then a half second later, I relent and thank him for helping out the gimp with the broken leg, and I accept $10 as payment, thank him again.. turn around walk back to the cab and four Brits are asking me for a ride to Planet Hollywood.

Viva Las Vegas.

3/31/08

FOTD XIV - Drunk Belligerent Woman vs Asshole Taxi Driver

After picking up at Excalibur and dropping off down far southwest, I took a radio call (for a chick called Aicia - AyeSeeYa?)that got me back on the other side of the freeway and hopefully on the way back to the strip.

View Larger Map
When I get within five minutes of the destination I usually call and let them know to expect me. This time I called twice and got voice mail each time (usually means they canceled or got another ride somehow) so I turned around and called into the dispatch that I was pulling off and dead heading back to the strip. However after I did that, I again flipped a bitch and headed towards the address (since it was 400am figured it was possible she still needed a ride).

As I pull up to her street I see this beautiful young blond woman sitting in the dark, on the curb with her luggage so I stop by her and load her up. She gets in
-Where to?
I need to get to Los Angeles.
-You going to the airport?
I need to rent a car.
-Ok, I can take you to the rental car shuttles at the airport.
I need to get to Los Angeles.
At this point I realize she is pretty close to being shit face drunk, still I like to engage my passengers in some nice small talk...
-Do you live in Los Angeles?
I go to UCLA Law School.
-Oh cool, Hey did anyone stop and try to pick you up while you were sitting on the street corner?
I just need to get to Los Angeles. I'm going to rent a car.
-Why don't you buy a plane ticket, it's a long drive.
I need to get to LA.
ANYWAY.. it turns out that she just got into a heated fight with her 'old man' and got the F out of there ASAP. She was drunk off her ass and I recommended that maybe she get a hotel and try to fly out when she wakes up, but she insists that she wants to rent a car and drive back ASAP. For the most part the conversation is cordial and I feel we're getting along well enough. We arrive at the airport and the fare is $20.30..
-Ok, we're here, just take this shuttle bus to the rental cars and they can help you out. It's $20.30
WHAT THE FUCK? HOW MUCH IS IT?
-Twenty dollars and thirty cents. I took you the most direct route, Maryland to Warm Springs to the 215 to the airport exit.
So I pop out and open her door and get her luggage out. In the meantime I tap on the shuttle bus window (who just dropped off some passengers at the airport) and let the driver know that I have one for the ride back. He acknowledges it and waits along with me while she sits in the van digging through her purse. She finally gets out and places her purse on the hood of the van while continuing to dig through it.
-I told the driver that you are going to go with him to the rental car place.
How much is it again?
-$20.30
She addresses the shuttle driver.
I need to get to Los Angeles, does this bus go to LA?
SD: No lady, this is a shuttle bus. If you want to go to LA you need to go downtown and catch the Greyhound.
How much is it to downtown?
-Like twenty more dollars. And you already owe me $20.30.
She finds her money, the shuttle bus driver takes off.. she asks again how much it is, this time being annoyed and thinking she is a broke ass drunk, I say twenty dollars and thirty cents PLUS tip!
TIP? Maybe if you charged me less I would give you a tip.
With my hand out she counts out all the money she seems to have in her purse and it's 2 $5's and 10 $1's for $20 exactly.
-I took you the most direct way, how can I charge you less, I took you to the airport so you can rent a car.
FUCK YOU!!
At this point what can I do except get away ASAP, she continues to dig through her purse to dig out the $.30.
-Lady, please get your purse off of my van.
Fuck you asshole
-Forget the $.30, get your purse off of my van NOW.
She does and walks towards the curb.
-GET A ROOM YOU ARE DRUNK!
She flips me off as she walks away. It was a pretty funny scene. I do not know what happened to her after I left. As for me, I went over to the arrivals and waited (first in line) for someone to take back to the strip. For 75 minutes I waited until this couple came out (they saw their friends off at the airport) and I took them to Paris. By now it's real slow on the strip, so as I left Paris I was driving towards Bally's when this guy who's sitting on a wall yells as I drive by, I pull over into the Bally's driveway, he along with two friends run me down I roll down the window and he asks. . .

"ARE THERE ANY STRIP CLUBS OPEN RIGHT NOW?"

So I took the three to Rhino, yo.

New Schedule

Today begins a new schedule for me. I've been living large the last six weeks but now this more reflects my employee # 383/410.

Mon/Tue/Thur - Geo Restricted Cab, cannot pick up strip,airport or downtown 5am-4pm
Wed/Sat - Handicap Accessible Van - unrestricted 745-615
Sun - Unrestricted 200-130pm

3/25/08

FOTD XIII - Boston Joe

Joe just moved to LV from Beantown 3 months ago. His roommate and childhood friend from back home moved out the year before. Joe used to have his own landscaping company out there but can't compete with Los Mexicanos so he took the job as Reptile Specialist at Petco.

I pick him up he's headed to UMC (university medical center) to go see his roommate who crashed his motorcycle the night before, breaking tons of bones and lucky to be alive. This brought back memories of my former roommate Russ D. who too tried to kill himself but did not succeed.

So the deal was, they were both down at South Point playing some poker and gambling. They end up driving home.. his roomie claims he drank 15 jack and cokes and goes out to the garage and fires up the motorcycle. Joe tries to talk him out of it, with the dude not having any of it. Joe claims to of told him .. dude your bike has balding tires ..hasn't been driven in 3 months.. ur too drunk etc. etc. etc ... but alas, to no effect.

Joe gets the call in the morning. GG. Don't drink and drive my friends.

FOTD XII - Rhino Stripper From San Diego

Sunday was a day of big stories. 11am in the Circus Circus Dungeon, after waiting 20 minutes in line, I get the call up. A good looking mid30s brunette woman gets into the cab and has one hour to get to the airport. She says to hurry she'll make it worth my while ;P, however I tell her it's cool, hopefully we can get there quick enough - so quick = freeway and $25+ fare vs paradise rd. Along the way she says she's going back to SD (lives in Carmel Mountain), has a 3 1/2 year old daughter, works four days a week at Rhino every other week, and make $8000 this past week.

ZOMG! Me: "Is this an average week for you dirty slutty stripping skanks?"
Slut: "It was a good week"

She goes on to say that during her shift Friday, she met a 'millionaire' that invited her out the next day for lunch etc. They met up and he offered to pay her $400 an hour TO NOT go to work and just escort him and his friends around (she's just rambling this story off, she's still amped up). She then goes on to say that they played some craps and this dude started making some bets for her and she had a good roll. She ended up making $19K and this dude made some big money. To prove this to me, this Rhino stripper from SD leans forward and opens her purse and shows huge wads of cash in there. One stack of high society plus a huge gangsta roll.

We get to the airport in 12 minutes, she needs to make the flight so she can meet her ex-bf for brunch.. blah blah blah - I ask if she's going to tell him about her weekend and the $$$ - "NO". She paid $40 on $27 too bad not $100.

For some reason, the last thing she said before getting out of the cab is that the next time she sees this millionaire she is going to have sex with him because "I mean he is attractive too." LOLZ.

I <3 strippers.

3/23/08

FOTD XI - FTP

230AM Sunday and I just dropped off one of the many local degenerate gamblers at an apartment complex some five miles off the strip. I'm starting to learn that when the strip is jumping it's best to deadhead back and get back on the strip. Not this night, since I was at Jones/Rainbow I took a radio call that was at Jones/Cactus, now I knew it was down the road a little bit but I figured it could be a good ride. Anyways it ended up being 15+ miles away straight south in the Southern Highlands subdivision. And hitting a dead end on Jones (undeveloped desert) and finally making my way back around and to the 215 and getting back on track I gave my fare a call to give an ETA of about fifteen minutes.

Robyn answers the phone and says that she's outside all by herself and that if I can please hurry. I make it there in twelve minutes and like she said she is waiting on the street corner (with luggage) in a very dark, very upscale gated community. Long story short she is not going to the airport, she just got into a fight with her boyfriend of 18 months, he kept coming outside to get her to come back in so she walked down the street a ways and called the cab, she had a car there but since he always drives the battery was dead - and her total wait time was close to an hour.

She gives me an address of 215/Durango along with a short cut that cuts the ride from $45 to $25 (still a nice ride). Upon further questioning I find out that the whole thing started cuz her bf (during a minor argument) spilled water from a dog bowl onto the carpet, picked up the dog bowl and threw it into the bathroom breaking a mirror and freaking Robyn out. She went on to say that a month earlier he threw a water bottle against the wall ("to intimidate her") and warned him at that time that if it happened again. . . C-YA. She claims she couldn't live with herself if she didn't leave. Anyways again, long story short

-he plays online poker on FTP many hours.
-he is an FTP pro and one of the minority owners.
-they travel around the world while he plays in tournaments.
-he is retired and won a bracelet in 2002.
-they were going to Italy in two weeks where she suspected he would propose.
-she knew she was 'walking away' from tons of money.
-blah blah blah
-she admitted that he does not have a temper and he's a good guy.

I told her she was probably over reacting and things would be better. He'll apologize and they'll get on with it. Obviously my curiosity on who this guy was got to me and I told her as such, so after the above clues I was able to guess. She swore me to secrecy and all I will divulge are his initials PF. So I get her to her destination, she calls her roommate to warn her that she's coming home (since it's so infrequent) and the fare is $26. All she has are hundreds and I'm like "hey lady, you are my third ride I don't have change for that" .. i count out what I do have and it's $56, so she takes it and leaves me a single hundred dollar bill. Again I could of been more smooth and claimed to of had less.

PS. While pulling in I saw a taxi leave and as I got through the gates this dude in Timber's Bar uniform flagged me down, I told him after I drop her off I'll come back... turns out he just got dropped off but forgot his house keys at work and needed to go back and then taken back. Nice yo, back to back $25 rides.