THE LAST SUNSET

OF 2007

Fellow Hawai'i blogger, Mel's Internet Universe Weblog, has a tradition of capturing the final sunset of each year from Honolulu. The above image was Monday night's.

Absolutely stunning!!

***

21 minutes after logging on I was headed to OGG. A lot of people beating feet back to the mainland and the drudge of another work year. But they aren't returning to those normal 5/40 jobs most of us toil at. Nope, these folks are at the top of the food chain in the corporate world. The holiday rack rates at the resorts preclude any but the top 1% of income levels to participate. Different conversations through the early night include a late 30's father explaining to his 10 (?) year old son why doing business with China gave them everything they had. I wonder if he imported toys?

I didn't have a resident in the cab until after midnight, on my 10th fare. Also, the next two were "kama'aina", and I closed out the night with a decent north Kihei to Wailea, who gave me $50 on a $23.90. [BIG smile].

And you know what? I am sitting here looking at my trip sheet and while I remember each ride, everyone of them were boring.

My fifth fare was a surprise. Dropping off a dinner return, at one of the resorts, when the valet manager asked if I was available. She had a family that needed to get to the airport. Of course, that wasn't a problem for me. Just an unexpected bonus on the night.

Yesterday I failed to mention that it had rained all of New Year's Eve day. A really good gully-washer. NWS had missed calling this one. A sudden low pressure system popped up just north of O'ahu and tapped into a gigantic mass of tropical moisture just below the State, on the ITCZ. I don't know whether it was raining or not while I was dispatching. Too busy. But it did generate of lot of dinner business, especially pu-pus in the Wailea area that folks would normally just walk.

I checked around with the crew members who had worked the Eve and each of them had metered into the $300 range. A few beyond.

And not 1-ONE-1 "puker". Boy, that is rare.

Last night "Crazy" Brian had a dream shift. Nailed just about every conceivable big dollar run we can have. One right after another and most of those had a return. Ol' "Murphy" didn't even know he existed and couldn't apply his "law". Brian is very industrious and generates a lot of income. And he has some of the most fantastic luck I have ever seen. When unexpected good fares appear, he's the one usually "first-up" in the queue. I wouldn't want to play poker against him. Luck is always his "Lady".

13 fares / 155 miles / 2nd quarter $200 bracket

We should stay very active through the rest of this week and everyone is crossing their fingers that our winter "high" season, which begins this weekend, will carry on the trend. We really need some form of improvement over what we suffered in 2007.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

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Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"