Time ceases to have any meaning anymore in my taxi. I remember the order of my customers by what music was playing when they were in my cab.
At half past 'Arcade Fire' I picked a grad student who was a prof party (I'm scared that there are such things as prof parties). She came from BC, was an Arts student, and hated Saskatoon. I took an instant liking to her, but that didn't last long. I found out the reason she left the party was because she was asked to leave. Shortly after finding this out, I discovered why she was asked to leave. In the span of College Drive from Cumberland to Clarence she managed to insult me, arts students, business students, Saskatchewan, graduate studies, Saskatoon, and her profs....but not the U of S, apparently the U of S is alright. Anyway, the trip became noteworthy after we stopped at a Mac's and then to her apartment. At this point she notified me that she had lost her wallet. She sat in the cab for a few minutes looking through her purse and around her seat. I also looked around from my seat. Eventually she decided that her wallet was no longer in the cab and that she must have left it at Mac's. It's worth pointing out that her drunkenness made this take longer than it should have. She managed to go into a drunk pity mode, which is really the worst type of drunk mode. She felt bad for me, apologized, and then got angry again....all in the span of a few seconds. We went back to Mac's to check for the wallet. It wasn't there. It was clear that she was not going to leave my cab until this was sorted out....partially because she wanted me to get paid, but also because she wanted her IDs. I didn't really give a fuck either way. This last half an hour until I decided to actually get out of the cab and search the area that she was looking at and had been for quite some time. In the most obvious of spaces, right by the seat, was her wallet. In a very calm way, I picked it up and said 'Here it is'. I got back into the cab, drove her home, and that was that. I shut off the meter while she was looking and while we went to Mac's. She tipped me 3 dollars for my half-hour of time. This was during my busiest hours of the night.
One 'gentlemen' wanted a short trip from Tequila's to the Travelodge. One person going on a short trip is a sure sign of a skipper. We got to the hotel, he said thanks and prepared to leave. I reminded him of his tab and wondered aloud if I was going to have to chase him down. Amazingly, he added a $9 tip.
The 'Asshole of the Night Award' goes to......some asshole at Outlaws/ It's 4 AM, he says he's going to some hotel nearby and tells me where to go....except that he leads me down a dead end. In the process, he gives me the names of 3 hotels in the area. I repeatedly ask which one he is actually going to, and he begins to complain that I don't know where I'm going. We're driving by the Ramada when a cop car flags me down and asks if I room for 6 drunk girls who are trying to drive home. I say that I only have room for 5. The 'gentlemen' in my cab says he would love to have the girls in the cab with him, especially because he is headed back to his hotel room. Luckily enough, the cops won't let me put 7 people in a cab that only has room for 6. So, I tell them to wait one minute while I drop this guy off and come back to pick up the girls. My customers continues to lead me on a wild goose chase through roads that we've already established are dead-ends. I tell him repeatedly to give me the name of the actual hotel and he continues to blame me for all this, asking if it's my first day on the job. While driving around, I see that the cops have left the car full of drunk girls alone, and while passing me they inform me that they no longer need a cab ride home and they drive off. I try to stop them, but what more can I do....other than fishtail them off the road, which I'm not prepared to do. I really hope those girls got home safe. If I see an article in the paper tomorrow about that black car being in a major accident, I'm going to that hotel room and punching this asshole repeatedly. That hotel room, by the way, we eventually got to. It was about a 30 second walk from where I initially picked him up. Furthermore, he refused to pay because of the obviously bad service that I received.
Once again, I met a guy who I went to high school with. Even after I told him who I was he said I looked nothing like how I did 4 years ago. This is the 4th person I've gone to high school with who came into my cab and said this. Apparently I've changed quite a bit over the last few years. This was probably the most awkward ride of the night though. I have customers who never say a word, but it's weird when you point out that you went to high school together, get to talking about we've both been doing since grad, and then just total silence for the rest of the way home.
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