During the shift

• It rained. It rained a lot. It rained from the start of my shift (12:30 am) until the end (11:30 am).
• I took a gay Filipino guy from the Castro out to the Sunset. He was a little tipsy, but we had a great conversation nonetheless. He’s on the prowl for the perfect dark-haired Irish man of his dreams. Best of luck, Filipino guy.
• The rain helped the bar/post-bar business. Even though it was late Monday night there were enough fares to keep me going. One fare went all the way down to Visitacion Valley. Nice.
• I took a lady to the airport at the peak of both morning rush hour and the rain. Visibility was limited and 280 South had standing water in some places. It was scary and exciting. We made it with no problem. It made me think: gosh, people put a lot of trust in a cab driver. Your life is in the driver’s hands. Being friendly and courteous goes a long way toward establishing that trust.
• I picked up a girl hailing on Russian Hill. It turns out she works for Resolution Media, an Omnicom Company. We had a fun chat about our respective jobs. Resolution Media is a much smaller, nimble and efficient operation than the wholly owned Omnicom subsidiary I experienced.
• I picked up a geeky guy and we talked taxi medallions. Should they be issued at no cost to experienced drivers on a waiting list (current system in SF) or bought and sold (New York City system)? Both have drawbacks. But, the current SF medallion system costs the City more than $300 million dollars in lost revenue.