THE RIDE

THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN

It would have made for a really good night but, sadly, it didn't pan out.

Get a call about 2:30a this morning, from a Lahaina prefix. Guy wants me to pick up his buddy at the "Triangle" and take him to Kahului. I advise him about the $50 deposit and he says that there was no problem. I get there in less than 15 minutes and found the reasonably intoxicated dude. He doesn't quite have the deposit. So we pull over to FoodLand, where there is an ATM ("Magic Money Machine" as my son used to call them).

"Sir. Just take one step inside and turn to your left. You'll see the ATM. If you take a second step, you'll pass it."

"Okay."

Of course, he walked all the way to the check stands AND turned right. Took him about 3 minutes to find the damn thing. Seven minutes later, he is still standing there. I canceled the meter and drove away.

Obviously he didn't have enough, couldn't get anymore and I was just wasting my time. If the machine was malfunctioning, he would have left and we would have gone to another. So that meant either he was too drunk to operate a wheelbarrow or there wasn't any cash or credit on his cards. I really didn't give a hoot either way.

No money = No ride

I think dining establishments and cabbing are the only 2 businesses that get paid at the end of the job rather than up-front. Can you think of any others?

Its almost a stereo-type. The IT folks aren't going or doing. Nada.

I had a couple last night that remembered me from last year. It happens, not often, but it does happen a few times a year. Normally a 20-25% chance of me being your night hack again on 5 nights a week.

9 fares / 120 miles / 1st quarter $200 bracket

***

Heard this on the radio last night and thought that it pretty much sums up what it takes to survive on Mau'i:

The Red Queen in Alice Through The Looking Glass

"It takes all the running you can do to stay in one place."

***

Have a great day everybody!

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Assorted Mau'i

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"Let's all be careful out there!"

DEAD

SLOW SHIFT

This video (15 seconds long) was the most exciting, most interesting thing from last night

Entry Fountain - Four Seasons

It looks like I'll have the phone again this Friday. Its the way the new rotation list is working out for this week. Whether I do Sunday night is still undecided. As with all new things, how it looks on paper and how it actually plays out isn't quite the same.

Supposedly, whoever gets the phone at 9p HAS to stay on until 2a, when I take it over for the dog-watch. Last night was Tina's night and she went home at midnight. Which meant that TMR, who conceived of this concept, had to take over for 2 hours. I do more than my fair share and I'll be damned if I'll do anymore, involuntarily. Maui Jim is scheduled for tonight, Terry on Thursday, me on Friday and then TMR again on Saturday. If I don't do Sunday, then Kimo will have it.

We have some IT geeks as this week's large group. I don't know how many but only 23 of them went from resort-to-resort for dinner last night. That gave me 50% of my runs for the night.

I woke up yesterday morning at 7:30a. I don't know why. Couldn't fall back to sleep. Believe me, I tried. Took a 2-hour break at 11p and struggled to get through the dog-watch until my relief showed up. I should sleep soundly today.

Lets hope for more activity tonight.

6 fares / 40 miles / 2nd quarter below $100 bracket

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Fairmont Kea Lani Resort
Wailea, Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

THIS NEW WEEK

PRESENTS TWO NEW ISSUES

Whether or not I continue dispatching on Sunday nights and when my next driving/dispatch night will be. We started the new "rotation" list yesterday, while I was off. I am the last name on the list since it is alphabetical by first name.

***

The National Park Service has suspended all commercial "Bike-down-the-mountain" activities, for at least 60 days, within the Haleakala N.P. boundary. 5 deaths this year. This is one of the largest tour activity-business on the island and will cause a major drop in island revenue.

***

Yesterday was the anniversary of last years earthquake just off the Kona coast of the Big Island.

Some areas on Mau'i are still trying to recover.

The electrical companies claim that their systems will not fail in the event of a replay. Hell, it wasn't suppose to have happened the first time.

Whether or not our local radio stations have now installed back-up generators is unknown. I was prepared for a disaster but it turns out that the most vital of our services on the island were not.

Oh, both of the electrical generation plants on Mau'i are in the tsunami evacuation zone and would likely fail if we get a good sized one.

Where I live is about 180 feet above sea level, so I am safe but the only road out of town is 1 foot above sea level and everyone in Kihei/Wailea/Makena would be trapped until the roadway could be cleared.

***

Was back to bed by 6a Monday morning and slept very late that afternoon. With a bit'o'luck I should sleep late again today to get ready for a new week of work.

Tuesdays occasionally are okay but not often. We'll see what The Fates deal out for this week's hand.

Check-in again tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Fairmont Kea Lani Resort
Wailea, Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

I OPENED MY EYES

THE CLOCK SAID 5:50 PM

SHIT!

I am supposed to start dispatching in 10 minutes and I don't have the phone or radio. Call and both are delivered within 5 minutes. I became the "call center" at exactly 6:00 PM. Whew! Thats cutting it real close.

But I will say that I was really sleeping good.

It took until 6:30p before the brain actually kicked in. Up to then it was just doing rote routine. Functioning - not thinking. Stick a phone in my ear and put a radio in my hand and I go on "automatic mode".

Out of the last 15 days, this was my 7th night dispatching. No wonder I am so dang tired.

***

I used to play "at" golf but it has been almost 7 years since my last tour of the links.

Shot a 72 at that time.

Then the course marshal told me there were still 17 holes left to play.

I play golf military style:

Left - Right - Left - Right.

I spent so much time in the woods that I took up bird-watching as a secondary hobby.

BTW - What is the purpose of a Driving Range if they won't let you take a monster truck on it?

And don't putting greens remind you of a billards table? Hit the ball and hope it goes in ONE of the holes.

***

THOUGHTS FOR TODAY:

Birds of a feather flock together

and crap on your car

When I'm feeling down, I like to whistle.

It makes the neighbor's dog run to the end of his chain and gag himself.

A penny saved...

is a government oversight.

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time,

but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight,

because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house

is to buy a replacement

He who hesitates...

is probably right.

Did you ever notice:

The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are "XL."

If you think there is good in everybody...

you haven't met everybody.

If you can smile when things go wrong ...

you have someone in mind to blame.

The sole purpose of a child's middle name is

so they can tell when they're really in trouble.

There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it.

For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt

Did you ever notice:

When you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs."

***

A pretty slow night on the phone.

Have a great new week!

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Wailea
Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT

Well, our wonderful group leaves today. Last night was their awards banquet followed by a lot of "on campus" partying. A few went out late but didn't stay long. Couldn't, the bars were closing. Some others got a serious case of the munchies and headed to Denny's for an after hours meal. These kids are all mid-20s to mid-30s and work in high stress, big-ticket, huge commission, sales positions. It may have been an optical illusion but I think all had big $ signs, instead of pupils, in their eyes. They were the best examples of "alpha" males & females that I have seen in ages. I liked them. So much energy and drive. They should be back in 2 years. I am looking forward to their return.

3 gold and 1 silver for TMR (#27) last night. He was the "Top Gun" of the shift with 1 Wailea-OGG. 2 OGG-Ka'anapali and 1 Wailea-Ka'anapali. He metered more than 200% of what I did. I am happy for him. He is honest, responsible and reliable. Of all my associates, he is the closest to being a friend. He is also very intelligent.

The shift started slow and shifted gears about 11p. Stayed busy from then until "Murph" took over ONE-NINE from me at 5a. 5 fares on the dog-watch and I had to turn down 2 more.

The night shift didn't hang it up until almost 3a. The majority of our runs were residents. They finally had some disposable income after the free-spending visitors we've had this past 2 weeks.

I dispatch from home tonight. Whether it is my last one or not is still in flux. Que sera, sera.

19 fares / 129 miles / 1st quarter $200 bracket

Aren't the vistas at golf courses gorgeous?

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and I'll see you tomorrow

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Wailea Golf Courses
Mau'i

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"Let's all be careful out there!"

ONE MORE TO GO

WILL MY GOOD FORTUNE CONTINUE?

Another fantastic shift!

I am deep drawing on my energy reserves. One because it has been a long time since we've had this much activity. Two, I have dispatched 6 of the last 13 nights. I know, 2 of them were my "from home" shifts but even that is draining.

I found out that our new dispatch rotation schedule, that starts on Monday, will mean my services on Sunday will no longer be required. I'll miss the extra money. We haven't even hit the slowest of slow days yet. That begins the Monday following Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November) until the 21st of December. Thats when the "high" tourist season begins and then blends into the "winter" season on the Monday following New Years Day.

I haven't heard what type of groups will be in next week. Have my (fill in the blank) crossed. Though rare, we have had at least one year where September was the only slow month and I earned a decent income.

Past Performance Is Not Indicative To Future Earnings

16 fares / 177 miles / 4th quarter $200 bracket

Check in tomorrow to see how tonight went.

Mahalo

Aloha

***

Our brother driver Mad Cabbie has undergone emergency surgery. A close friend of his is guest hosting the blog. Would you be so kind as to drop by and leave him a get-well message in the comments?

Thanks.

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Lahaina
Mau'i

Azeka Place- Mauka
Kihei
Mau'i

Wailea Golf
Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

"AND THE BEAT GOES ON"

ANOTHER GOOD NIGHT

As I predicted, our "group" went out and did "things" yesterday. Then a portion went on a sunset dinner cruise in the early evening. Thats when I came in. 9 cabs on, 7 of them in Ma'alaea collecting those who went on the cruise. That left me in Wailea and #17 (Maui Jim) in town. We both stayed active until the others cleared about 8p. Some went home. By 9:30p we were down to the night crew. The group's organization threw a late luau at the resort and about midnight we started moving the "die-hards" I mentioned yesterday to the "Triangle". Maybe 6 or 7 loads. Tonight they are having party at the resort and most probably will stay there. It might be an "open" bar.

Even my dog-watch stayed active with 5 trips.

I picked up some people from Mulligan's towards bar-close. Took them back to their resort. The lady riding shotgun was totally wasted but when we arrived, $9.80, she gave me $40 and "Thats all yours." Especially when dealing with "resort people", you have to be very cautious about taking advantage of their guests. When I saw how much she had given me, I asked if she understood how much over the meter that was. One of her associates in the back seat realized what was happening and, thankfully, joined in the discussion. It ended up with me getting $20 on the fare. I was more comfortable with that. Taking advantage of drunks is something I can't/won't do. I think most of the cab-links on the sidebar understand what I am saying and we all know that the vast majority of cabbies don't.

Tonight will be my last scheduled Friday night dispatch shift. Starting Monday night we will use a rotation list of all night drivers and those day drivers that like to hold over late. The list will start alphabetically, by first name, and the person at the top of the list will be the night dispatcher and must stay on until 2a. If your name is at the top and its your day off or you are out sick then the next person will handle the duty and, when you return, you will still be at the top until you cover a shift. Those day holdovers are going to start pulling their own weight. I think 8p is going to be the go-home time or you get the phone at 9p.

"Crazy" Brian came back from his vacation yesterday, and quit. At least thats what the "taxi telegraph" was broadcasting last night. Its a rumor until confirmed.

I heard that a "new" driver has been hired to cover graves the 2 nights I am off. Sadly, this is someone I know who has worked for us a couple of times. Longevity is not his forte. Among other things.

22 fares / 139 miles / 4th quarter $200 bracket

Time for my dinner and then off to bed

Have a great weekend!

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Kamaole Beach
Kihei
Mau'i

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"Let's all be careful out there!"