ANOTHER SLOW NIGHT

BUT A PRETTY ONE

Around a quarter past 7p, I am sent to the Kea Lani. One person going to OGG. Now THATS the way to start a shift!

The sun had just set and this was the view, through the Kea Lani lobby, that I was treated to. Usually, its dark and the ocean can't be seen. Isn't that beautiful?

My fare was a lady from Chicago. Most of her trips to Hawai'i are usually business related. This one was strictly pleasure. She is in "up-scale wallcoverings". That translates into expensive wallpaper.

On my return, I picked up a regular headed to work in central Kihei. Then it died for an hour. Moved out of Wailea, into Kihei, at 9:30p and did two more runs. Two hours later, midnight, I had three "flags" out of the "Triangle" in succession and then one run at bar close. Same total of runs as Tuesday but more $$s. Logged 107 miles (172 km). It'll probably be this way for the next two weeks. As I have noted before, our summer season begins to roll about the 15th of June, which falls on a Friday this year.

Mary (#21) was my relief this morning. She was on before 4:00a and I was home before 5a. I didn't have one solitary graveyard run.

As I turned the phone and reservations over to her, I saw this gorgeous "Blue" moon setting over Wailea.
Not professional, but I think I got a good pic, considering the camera I am using. I am getting better with it. I was very good with 35mm SLRs but digital is a wee bit different.

***

I use a hands free headset for my personal cell phone and the "company" phone. It is called EARGLOVE. Of all the headsets I've tried, this is definitely the most comfortable. Sadly, they don't last very long. Usually a wire will break after 45-60 days and I have to buy a replacement. The only place I have been able to find them is at Radio Shack. My current one bit the dust on Tuesday night, so I stopped to get a new one last night. Simple, right. The CSR that approached me with the dreaded

"May I help you, sir?"

was worse than useless. He had difficulty grasping the fact that I wanted a headset, not a case cover. That, even though I've purchased 5 of these from this very store over the past year, they have NEVER carried that product and it most likely wouldn't work with my phone.

GEEZ!

I was so tempted to reach past his neck tendons and grab his windpipe, just to gain his undivided attention but that would just bring on more headaches than I wanted to deal with. With a bit of Irish luck I'll get an OGG tomorrow evening and be able to stop by Wal-Mart, in Kahului, and see what they have. They're open until 11p. If that a no go then I'll try splicing the very tiny wires, by-passing the broken section. Not pretty but functional.

***

The most popular rental car on the island:

Ford Mustang convertible

***

Everybody have a fantastic day.

Another set of "purdy pitchures" tomorrow and maybe even an interesting story, rather than the recent drool of drivel.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Glassy Ocean

Kihei

Wailea

Huelo

Garden Island Of Kauai

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

EDITORIAL REVIEW

FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Plaut decided to become a New York City cabbie after getting laid off from a job as an advertising copywriter, then began posting about her interactions with patrons on a blog that forms the backbone of this memoir. The anecdotal structure has its weaknesses, repeating the cycle of passengers getting in the cab, engaging in conversation with Plaut, then leaving either a generous tip or a lousy one. There are also a number of scenes set at the garage, where she slowly develops a friendship with a 62-year-old transsexual driver while struggling to avoid another senior cabbie with bladder control problems. Plaut's growing dissatisfaction with the job provides the memoir with an emotional undercurrent. She has trouble shaking off the feeling that she's wasting her potential, and the drain of interacting with abusive passengers and a hostile police force eventually sets her to dreaming of dying in a car crash. In the end, however, she's grown more comfortable with her fate, ready to continue circling the streets looking for fares. Her storytelling technique may be uneven in this debut, but it shows promise. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information
A division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.

The only bone of contention I have with this review is the reference to

repeating the cycle of passengers getting in the cab, engaging in conversation with Plaut, then leaving either a generous tip or a lousy one

That's what the life of a cabbie is. A multitude of interactions with strangers. Every hour of every shift. Ad nauseam.

Snippets of life.



"Let's all be careful out there!"

THE DAY AFTER A HOLIDAY

IS ALWAYS DEAD


The best part of my shift was watching the sun set. Pretty, isn't it? I liked the effects on the clouds, south of Wailea Lookout. The after
glow was breathtaking. And this morning's setting of the almost full moon was very ruddy.

Made very little money. Only drove a total of 72 miles (116 km) and metered below $100, on 8 runs.

The nicest folks of the shift were a newlywed couple that I took from Sansei to Wailea. They had married on Sunday and arrived on Mau'i late Monday. He was from London and she was from Dallas. My obvious question was:

"How'd y'all meet?"

Turns out that they both work for the same company and are now residents of NYC.

I had absolutely NO reservations to pass on to the day-shift. I don't know the current occupany percents of the hotels but it is usually very low at this time of year. Graduations, etc., on the mainland.

If you think this post is dull, you should try living the shift that got me here.

B O R I N G !

Sneak a peek in here tomorrow.

Maybe it will get better. God, I hope so.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Sugar Beach

Beach In Wailea

Beach In Kihei

Puna Coast
Big Island

Diving Molokini

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

MEMORIAL MONDAY

PLEASANT DAY/NIGHT

There hasn't been a story in our local "rag" about that car fire I reported on Saturday. So, the rumors must have been just that. Rumors.

Had dinner at Judy's. Some "take-away" that I picked up on my way there. Since HEROES is on hiatus until late September, we opted to watch The History Channel instead.

Earlier in the day I watched "Band Of Brothers". Probably the best miniseries that HBO ever produced.

***

My co-worker, Tina, who also is a licensed "Activities" agent/broker. Runs her own business. She and some friends recently did the horseback "thing" inside Haleakala. She said it was a lot of fun. She passed some photos to me (sunset excluded) for today's THE PICTURE GALLERY. Hope you enjoy them.

Short post today. I am tired and want to get some extra sleep before I go back to work tonight.

I hope everyone (in the US) had a great 3-day weekend. Now you only have 4 days in which to cram 5 days worth of work.

Have fun.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Tina On Applejack

Science City

Informational Plaque
Summit - Haleakala

Thats The Big Island
A Little Over 100 Miles Away

The Beginning Of The Ride

The Trail

Sliding Sands

Deep In The Crater

This Outlet Is Called
PU'U

The Crater Floor

Jaquaranda Lane

Bad Weather
Below The Summit

Chucker Partridge

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

THOUGHTS

FROM A BRAIN WASH

1. If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out.


2. Don't worry about what people think; they don't do it very often.


3. Going to a church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.


4. It isn't the jeans that make your butt look fat.


5. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.


6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.


7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.


8. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.


9. For every action, there is an equal & opposite government program.


10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.


11. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel good.


12. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.


13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
    (Just remember how lucky you were to get a free trip around the sun.)


14. Men are from Earth.
    Women are from Earth.
    Deal with it.


15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.


16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.


17. "Middle Age" is when broadness of the mind & narrowness of the waist change places.


18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.


19. Junk is something you've kept for years & throw away three weeks before you need it.


20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.


21. Experience is a wonderful thing.
    It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.


22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.


23. Thou shalt NOT weigh more than thy refrigerator.


24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.


25. If you must choose between two evils, chose the one you've never tried before.

***

I've added some new Cab-Blog links, from all over the world. Check'em out.

You might have to use BABELFISH to translate.

***

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer in the US.

Customs and calendars don't always exactly coincide with the actual seasonal dates.

The unofficial end of summer, in the US, is the first Monday in September, Labor Day.

On this "Day of Memories", please take a moment to give, at least, a passing thought to those we honor. The brave souls who made the ultimate sacrifice, in the name of "FREEDOM".

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Black Sand Beach

Sugar Beach
Looking South

Sugar Beach
Near Ma'alaea

North Shore
Moloka'i

Diving Molokini

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"