Another tough day.

• The revelers were out full swing when I started my shift at midnight. I had constant fares until 3 am.
• Unfortunately, when the well ran dry at 3 am it never filled up again. Nobody had to go to work. Everyone in town slept in until, apparently, after my shift was over.
• I took a lot of drunkies to and from other bars and their homes. It was a good time. Most of the time the drunkies are nice and tip well, but sometimes there are exceptions.
• I took a load of guys from a bar near Church and Duboce up near their apartment toward Twin Peaks. They were dicks. Choice quotes, “God, cabbie, you actually listen to this music?” “Hey, ” (to one of his friends in the cab), “do you mind if I call your girlfriend and f*** her?” Nobody laughed. Weird.
• I picked up two yuppie girls from a Broadway / Polk bar. At first they asked to go near Lombard and Scott. Then they wanted to go to the Walgreens 2 blocks away at Lombard and Divisadero. On the way they kept saying Lombard and Scott, Lombard and Scott. So, I turned on Lombard and Scott. They started yelling, “No! We want the Walgreens!” I turned the corner (literally) to reveal the Walgreens. One got out to get some waters, the other sat in the van and waited. The girl who left to get water didn’t shut the sliding door. The girl in the van said to me, “Can you close the door?” I wanted to smack her. Can I close the door? Is your arm broken? Do you have difficulties moving more than 2 feet at a time? I should have asked her to get out then, but I was too nice and I closed the door. I kept the meter running for the next 5 minutes while she proceeded to call her ‘friend’ and desperately beg him to sleep with her. It was pathetic. Choice phrases included, “I think we have a real brain connection not just physical. If you sleep with me we can prove it to be true!” “I know it’s a long drive but it’s worth it so we can make out for a few minutes while my roommate takes a shower.” When the friend got back in the car they had me go TWO BLOCKS AWAY to their house. TWO BLOCKS? You had me wait five minutes for TWO BLOCKS? They didn’t tip at all. I have a tip for you, yuppie girl, respect people around you and maybe they’ll want to sleep with you. As a public service, here is a photo so other cabbies can be careful not to pick her up in the future:
  
  So THIS is why I don’t like going out in the Marina!
• I did have some very nice drunk fares. Right after I dropped off the yuppie girls from hell, a large group of 20-something hipsters flagged down my van. They were ecstatic that they found a vancab. I took them all the way across town to the Safeway at Church and Duboce where they purchased supplies for further partying. They were so much fun I though it’d be cool to join them and ditch the rest of the shift.
• I took home a nice French guy from the City and his visiting friends. They were a kind and lively group. I always score instant brownie points with the Frenchies when I stumble out some broken français.
• I came across a big black guy going back home to Oakland after his late shift as a security guard at a Taqueria. He had a hard time getting cabs to go to Oakland. It was getting quiet so I was more than happy to help him out. We had a fun chat about his lazy roommate, the frustrations of old cars, and moving out to the City and then moving to Oakland.
• It was dead dead quiet the rest of the morning. I had maybe 5 fares between 4 am and 9 am.
• I was ready to give up and go back to the garage early with $40 by the morning’s end. But then I came across a guy in the Mission going all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf. Trying to be creative, I took an odd route, but he was nice about it and tipped well anyway. I was super-lucky and got another fare from the Wharf all the way out to the Inner Sunset. That upped my earnings to near $80. I know it’s measly, but it’s a lot better than $40.