Paradise Driver

Thursday, February 21, 2008

WELL, I AM OUT OF WORK

BUT NOT FOR LONG

Woke up today to find this in my inbox:

Will,

I don't think you can see good enough to drive for us anymore. I've been concerned about this for a long time. Your attitude doesn't help either. You expect us to repair or junk everything you drive.

Good Luck,

I've already contacted another company and should be back on the road within 48 hours. Now I will have the whole island as my territory, rather than being confined to just the Grand Wailea.

Of course, I am going to have to become a "day" person and work more hours, but they won't include the dog-watch any longer. And I'll have a cab 24/7. Its a move that I've been contemplating for a while but couldn't mention here.

I am working on my parting post. Check back tomorrow, when I tell all the things that I have kept secret.

Then we'll learn about "attitude".

Oh, this is the first time I've ever been fired by an e-mail. 21st Century technology. LOL!

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

"Let's all be careful out there!"

GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS

I CAN'T SEEM TO WIN FOR LOSING

Its starting to show some blue in the sky as I leave for work. Pretty soon I am going to have to be enduring daylight at both ends of my shift. I hate daylight but I love sunsets. I wonder where I put my sunglasses?

My sweetheart and angel, Alissa (a/k/a/ "Wiskers"), will be arriving on April 10th. Its been over a year since I last saw her. She's been to New Zealand, Germany and Greece since then.

We only had 3 night cabs and we never were rushed. Perfect blend. Again, I managed at least one fare per hour and never left town. Only a couple of decent runs, yet the meter steadily grew. the typical in-town fares with an even mix of tourists and residents.

My second longest run of the night was a bar-close from the "Triangle" to The Prince. A young couple from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Along the journey, as we passing the Kea Lani, I told them to keep a sharp eye out for deer. TMR had advised earlier that for the first time this year, the deer had again migrated into the Wailea and Makena areas. We didn't see any. Dropped them off and as I was approaching the south end of the Makena Surf area, a damn doe leapt out in front of me. I hit the brakes at almost the same instant I struck her. She rolled up onto the hood of the cab and then rolled off to the curb. Where she tumbled for a short distance. The last I saw of her was as she ran towards the ocean, the direction she had been heading originally. She wasn't using her left front leg.

As I found out 18 months ago, when I hit that stag, MPD does not respond to vehicle vs deer collisions unless a human is injured. Dented the right front quarter panel, rippled the hood and shoved the grill back. No damage to the radiator and all the lights worked, except the right front turn signal. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 30 MPH, but I was doing less. I was actually trying to spot some deer to take a picture of. I was doing, at the most, 25 MPH when the deer actually overtook me from the right and crossed in front of me on a diagonal path.

A short while later, as I was getting the phone from TMR, he said that he was going to nickname me "Jupiter". After my puzzled look he explained that I am like that gas giant in our solar system. I seem to draw all the worst case events to me like a magnet or a gigantic gravity well. Need a victim? Just take a number and Wil will be with you shortly. I've had a passenger take a shot a pistol at me, a passenger's angry boyfriend ram my cab, etc. I've checked but I can't find a bulls-eye anywhere on me and yet...

12 fares / 120 miles / 3rd quarter $100 bracket

#14 is crinkled but looks a lot better than ONE-NINE did after that guy who ran the STOP sign T-boned me last December. It is totally driveable and there was no other damage than the sheet metal.

And life goes on.

We should have a decent night again. Thursdays are normally a bit more "up-beat" than Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We'll have 4 drivers on, which should be just about right. Hope to see you again tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

THE PICTURE GALLERY

***

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

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

FRUSTRATION AND...

JUBILATION

A 7¢ jump since Sunday morning. We hit our all time high, $4.049, right after Katrina. This might be just a brief bump. All our fuel needs (auto, aviation, industrial, marine) are served by 2 refineries on O'ahu. Chevron and Tesoro. The Tesoro refinery had a recent fire and production has been shut down.

Of the night crew, I was the only driver who never made it out of town. Which meant that I was the only one who didn't break the $200 mark on the meter. Came close but no cigar. I was relieved by 4:00 AM and had at least 1 run every hour of the shift. That hasn't happened in a long time. We stayed very active the entire shift, through bar close. This week's tourists, from the resorts, are leaving campus. Seeking some "night-life". I wouldn't exactly describe the "Triangle" as stimulating but, what the hell, it was good enough for Paris Hilton.

I found out from my relief that the radio in #14 had been fixed yesterday. They must have done the usual "Mau'i quality" of work, because at 10:00 PM last night I was receiving a dispatch and the speaker went dead. For the next 2-1/2 hours Kimo would call me on my cell to assign runs and I would call him back with every pick-up and drop-off. Very time consuming, very stressful. Quite often, near the "Triangle", the cell tower circuits would be overloaded and all I would get is:

"We're sorry. We cannot complete your call. All circuits are busy."

I did a lot of "10-counts" last night.

When Tina left at 12:30 AM, I switched to her cab, #11. At 4:00 AM I switched back to #14 and guess what. The !@#$%& radio was now working. That "thumping" sound you hear is me pounding my head against the wall.

My largest fare was $18.80 and the smallest was $4.70. Ironically, they were also my first and second trips of the night. Looking at the trip sheet, not one run was interesting. Dinner runs. Bar runs. Bar close. The "bread & butter" of my existence. But there were a lot of them. The trend from last week is continuing. Oops! I wonder if putting that out on the web is like saying that a pitcher is throwing a "no-hitter"?

19 fares / 127 miles / 4th quarter $100 bracket

The Democratic caucus was held in Hawai'i yesterday. Hawai'i born Obama won in a landslide over Clinton. That was a given. Thats also 9 straight that Hillary has lost.

Lets do a little poll. Who do you think the next President will be? Not who you want it to be but who do you think will actually win? I think that John McCain will take the oath on January 20th. This is not to be construed as who I want to win but who I think will win. Leave your response in the "comments". This should be interesting.

Everyone needs to read this post, and then this one, from This Just In. Goes to show the power of this global community of websters.

Everyone enjoy your day and I'll be back after work tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

THE PICTURE GALLERY

***

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

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

49 YEARS ...

FIDEL CASTRO RESIGNS!

Story HERE

***

Had a very enjoyable night with Judy & Richard. 2 of their 3 computers are infected with that "WINsys 2000" virus. That has been around for at least 4 years and nobody has developed a cure. It is targeted at Internet Explorer© browsers. This is one of the major reasons that I use the Firefox© browser. It isn't subceptable. This virus doesn't just download a program, it actually installs code on your XP© operating system. Way deeper than any anti-virual protection goes. I told them to see if they can find the original CD to re-install Windows© on the PC. That will erase everything on the disc-drive and then you start from "fresh". If than doesn't work, then I'll see if I can download Linux© to a CD and load up both their PC's

***

Talked to TMR tonight and he told me that he only had 5 runs all of Sunday night and that Kimo had even less. Sounds like last week's burst of activity may have fizzled.

St. Patrick's Day is the next big event. That also marks the beginning of whatever "springbreak" season we might get. Easter isn't very special, cab-wise. After "springbreak" will be "Cinco de Mayo", an obscure Mexican holiday that the spirits industry of America has adopted as THE drinking holiday of the year.

I am going to spend the next couple of hours searching for new images for THE PICTURE GALLERY. See you tomorrow, after work. As always:

Mahalo

Aloha

THE PICTURE GALLERY

***

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

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Monday, February 18, 2008

AND YOU SHOULD SEE...

WHAT THEIR SWAT TEAM DOES

Chinese Kidnap Release Negotiations:

"I have 3 demands or I'll kill the boy!"

Negotiators assess the situation from next door.

Head Negotiator dispatched

Negotiations begin

Negotiations concluded

In this country, we would block off the street, take 12 hours to talk him out of it, spend $5 million giving him a fair trial, and pay his food and lodging for life.

No wonder their products are cheaper than ours.

***

Most of this sounds logical but I offer no opinion beyond that.

CC&P'd from the original e-mail without any corrections:

If Hillary wins in 2008 and Bill is 'appointed' to fill her Senate seat (BOY Ã¢â‚¬â€œ I hadn't even heard of this possibility!!) and either live to
retire .. 'they' (together or alone) would get two US Presidential retirement checks, two US Senate retirement checks, and a retirement
check from the State of Arkansas.

About the only thing they MIGHT NOT get is a Social Security check....but I wouldn't bet on it....I understand ole Bill has earned $40,000,000 in the past six years.

What a guy!

AND THE REST OF THE STORY... Hilarious Rotten Clinton, as a New York State Senator, now comes under the 'Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan,' which means that even if she never gets re-elected, she STILL receives her Congressional salary until she dies.
(Would it not be nice if all Americans were pension eligible after only 4 years?)

If Bill outlives her, he then inherits HER salary until HE dies. He is already getting his Presidential salary until he dies. If Hillary outlives Bill, she also gets HIS salary until she dies. Guess who pays for that?

It's common knowledge that in order for her to establish NY residency, they purchased a million dollar-plus home in upscale Chappaqua, NY.
Makes sense!!

They are entitled to Secret Service protection for life.
Still makes sense.

Here is where it becomes interesting. Their mortgage payments hover at around $10,000 per month. BUT, an extra residence 'had' to be built within the acreage to house the Secret Service agents.

The Clintons charge the Federal government $10,000 monthly rent for the use of that extra residence, which is about equal to their mortgage payment. This means that we, the taxpayers, are paying the Clinton's salary, mortgage, transportation, safety and security, as well as the
salaries for their 12 man staff -- and, this is all perfectly legal!