95 COUNTRIES

AND COUNTING

Added the Northern Mariana Islands to my list of visitors. Saipan, to be exact. That puts me about 1/2 way up the total number of countries that exist on the face of this beautiful blue marble we call Earth.

***

Business is still slow and the day drivers continue holding over, further diluting the pool of fares. Its obvious that the owner isn't going to do anything about this issue, so us night drivers are going to have to cinch our belts a bit tighter and live with it. Ain't life a bitch?

I logged in as the ninth working cab last night and it took over 90 minutes before I put some $$ on the meter. Just 4 fares between 7p and midnight. 3 more from midnight to 2a, including one from FoodLand to the harbor. Dog-watch added 3 more.

The final run was two 15/16 year old girls. They had snuck out to play with the boys, as girls that age like to do. Picked them up just before 4:30a, near the Kukui Mall and took them near their home in upper Maui Meadows. As requested, I dropped them a couple of driveways prior to their destination. They needed stealth to sneak back into the house. Surprisingly, they were sober. One said that there is a certain thrill to doing this. They know the consequences if they get caught but that just makes it more alluring.

Any of you do this at that age?

My relief, Wally (#05), was in a bit early and when I met him to turn everything over and head for home, he told me that he was only staying until the next driver showed up. He was under the weather. He looked bad and probably felt worse. I told him to go home and I would hang in until "Murph" showed up to take over ONE-NINE. No sense him killing a hour feeling like shit for no purpose and it was no skin off my nose.

11 fares / 103 miles / 3rd quarter $100 bracket

***

Our new night driver, Terry (#07), does his first time stint at dispatching tonight. I don't think he can find his ass with both hands, so it should be interesting. I've noticed as the night wears on that his voice fades considerably. We'll break him of that.

I start doing Sunday night dispatch again tomorrow from 6p-2a out of my place. The extra money will be nice. I'll be able to put a lay-away payment down on a new pack of chewing gum.

***

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and stop back by when you get the chance.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Napili Area
Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

I KNOW. I KNOW

I AM LATE!

Today's Sunrise

When I took the phone from TMR at 2a, he advised me that I had a "special" at 5:15a. 2 people going to OGG from The Prince. Thats a really good run. Naturally, I covered it. The night had been slower than the Thursdays of late. Much slower.

Brought ONE-NINE home again. Still "no space at the inn".

It took from 7p to 2a to put $100 on the meter. I have usually had that by 10p, on the last few Thursdays. One short fare during the dog-watch and then my "special". I had already logged off for the shift when I entered Kihei and was at my place, parked and starting to shut everything down when the owner came on the radio. He had taken over the phone and needed a cab to cover a fare in Kihei. One driver declined the call due to a prior reservation. It was "prima-donna" and even though she had over 30 minutes until her "special", she wouldn't take the call. No one else was available. The pickup was just down the hill from where I was. So I piped up and offered to cover it. It was a good thing I did. A nice couple from Queensland, AU, needed to get from The Coast to Safeway to meet a shuttle bus to Ma'alaea at 6:45a.

"No worries, mate."

Made the pickup at 6:29a and delivered them at 6:37a. Gave me $20 on an $11 fare. Thats a BIG tip by American standards and an unbelievable one from OZ.

A nice surprise to end my night.

Made it home about 2 minutes before the sun struck my door. Us vampires don't fetch much enjoyment from direct sunlight. I am sure you already knew that. It WAS in all the papers.

I found out that an anonymous person took exception to the comment I made about locals and ghetto dwellers on Wednesday's post. Its my opinion and I'll stand by it.

9 fares / 114 miles / 4th quarter $100 bracket

If anyone is interested, the Autumnal Equinox occurs at 9:51a (UTC, a/k/a/ "zulu", a/k/a/ "Greenwich", a/k/a/ "GMT") on the 23rd. That would be 4:51a in NYC, 8:51p along the east coast of OZ and 11:51p, the 22nd, in Paradise. Fall arrives north of the Earth's waist and Spring on the other side.

Oh, AEROSMITH canceled their performance on Mau'i, scheduled for next Wednesday.

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow and hope to see you again soon.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Kapalua Area
Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

MY HIGH POINT

WAS CALLING OFF

A bit under the weather, so I stayed home.

***

An item from this week's e-mail to fill up the empty space:

HELPFUL HINTS

1. Reheat Pizza

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs

Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting

When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

4. Reheating refrigerated bread

To warm biscuits (American usage), pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

5. Newspaper weeds away

Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

6. Broken Glass

Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes

Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

8. Squirrel Away!

To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

9. Flexible vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.

11. Measuring Cups

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

12. Foggy Windshield?

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening envelope

If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

14. Conditioner

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies

To get rid of pesky fruit flies , take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid , mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants

Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home", can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

***

I'll be back tomorrow. Parting thought:

"How many additional
dead Americans
is Saddam worth?"
---Dick Cheney

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Kapalua Area Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

WELL, WE HAD A...

LITTLE EXCITEMENT

A drunk in an older model dark green pickup truck, with way oversized tires, to compensate for his personal "short-comings", had a spot'o'trouble negotiating the treacherous parking lot lights this morning at FoodLand. Of course, he didn't see the need to wait for the police to arrive. And they didn't have far to come from. Thats the Kihei District Station in the lower image. Right there in the corner of the building. They park their vehicles in the back. In Hawai'i, most locals always flee the scene of an accident. It must be a cultural thing. Like the ghetto dwellers on the mainland. Cowards to the core.

As anticipated, it was another dead night. 9 cabs working when I checked in. Between 7p and 11:30p I covered 3 fares and got another on dog-watch. Actually put more miles on the odometer than I put dollar$ on the meter. Part of the reason for that is I must go down to Wailea each shift after 10p to collect the reservations. Can't do it earlier and I must have them before 3a to compile and create the new day's reservation list, which is scanned and e-mailed to the owner and a copy provided to my relief. So, when I don't get a paid ride, I must do a 6 mile deadhead. It is only a problem on these really slow shifts.

Brought ONE-NINE home this morning. A minor logistical problem already had 4 cabs parked in our reserved spaces. If I left ONE-NINE, in a non-authorized space, the hotel would be pissed. No relief day driver, so its a moot issue.

Not hard to pick the most interesting trip. A 4-pax from Cafe O'lei to The Palms, in Wailea. 1 dude from Scotland, now living in Canada, and 2 more guys and a lady, also from Canada. We started taking about accents. Like a lot of folks, they placed me as being from Texas. I do slide easily into a Texas "twang" when I ask people:

"Where y'all from?"

The Scotsman sounded more Kiwi than Canadian and I placed the other 3 as from eastern Canada. They spoke with the broader and softer vowel sounds more associated with Toronto but they were actually from Vancouver, BC.

I help the lady learn to properly pronounce the name of the island that Honolulu is on, O'ahu. Most mainlanders say:

OH-WHA-HOO

instead of:

OH-AH-HOO

People just love to add the "W" sound.

4 fares / 54 miles / 2nd quarter below $100 bracket

Can it get any worse? Sadly, yes. But I'll be out there tonight and I hope you are back here tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Kahana
Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

FALL CLASSES FOR MEN AT...

THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.


Class 1

How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays--Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.

Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday
for 2 hours
beginning at 7:00 PM .

Class 2

The Toilet Paper Roll--Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.

Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00
for 2 hours.

Class 3

Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub?--Group Practice.

Meets 4 weeks,
Saturday 10:00 PM
for 2 hours.

Class 4

Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor -- Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.

Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM
for 3 weeks.

Class 5

Dinner Dishes--Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.

Meets 4 weeks,
Tuesday and Thursday
for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM

Class 6

Loss Of Identity--Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.

Meets 4 Weeks,
Friday and Sunday
7:00 PM

Class 7

Learning How To Find Things--Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum.

Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8

Health Watch--Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.

Three nights;
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9

Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost--Real Life Testimonials.

Tuesdays at 6:00 PM.
Location to be determined.

Class 10

Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.

4 weeks, Saturday's
12 noon
2 hours.

Class 11

Learning to Live--Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing.

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM,
location to be determined

Class 12

How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.

Meets 4 weeks,
Tuesday and Thursday
for 2 hours
beginning at 7:00 PM

Class 13

How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy--Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You're Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.

Three nights;
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
at 7:00 PM
for 2 hours.

Class 14

The Stove/Oven--What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.

Tuesdays at 6:00 PM,
location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

***

Back to work tonight. Wonder how slow it will be? Stop in tomorrow and find out

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Hana Area
Mau'i

Kona

O'ahu

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

WHAT TO DO?

NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT

Okay, today is just going to be a PICTURE GALLERY day.

Everybody enjoy yourself.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Hana Area
Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"