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.

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

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.

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.