Woop Woop(That's the sound of the police)

Drove the past two nights and because of the hours I have not had a moment to write.  But I woke up with a pounding headache this morning and didn't go into the garage, so now I have a little time.  It wouldn't be so bad, but you need to get to the garage 2-3 hours before your(12 hour) shift if you want to secure a car for the night.  So between that, and commuting, I basically get home and pass right out only to wake up a few hours later and turn around to do it again.

Sunday night started out good.  I had two trips to Laguardia airport almost back to back.  Things seemed like they were going to keep moving, but pretty early on, it got quiet.  The one thing that kept me going for a while was the couple of outer-borough trips.  By midnight, I had been to every borough except Staten Island, but that never happens anyways. 

Brief rant:  I was driving through Times Square and almost ran over a toddler.  Tourists, if you insist on taking your small children to NYC, keep an eye on them at ALL times!  I know Times Square is exciting and distracting.  I get it.  But when little junior isn't being watched, he is running into the street.  Put a leash on him!  I do not need to scrape him off my grill because you couldn't be bothered to pay attention.  You were lucky this time, but next time you may not be.  Seriously.

Times Square-Where you should PAY ATTENTION to your surroundings!

Usually when it gets late, I start looping around the Village looking for a fare because those fares are usually longer.  As I was driving, I made a turn from East 4th street onto Ave B.  This is a turn I must have made a million times.  I noticed a cop car sitting on the corner so I made sure I came to a full stop, used my turn signal and did everything carefully.  But as soon as I turned the corner I see the lights flash behind me.  I pull over and the officers get out and come to my window to ask for my license and registration.  After calling me "sir" before seeing me, the officer seemed caught off guard.  As I was was about to hand him my license, he tells me there are no turns from that corner(a sign which i have NEVER noticed) but he was going to let me go because I am a girl.  I am still not sure if I should be flattered or offended, but either way, I thanked him politely and drove off.  After a slower night, I did NOT need a ticket.

After that incident, I was lucky enough to catch a fare waaaaay uptown.  And then after that as I was headed back downtown I caught one last fare even farther uptown.  And i had a blast on the last ride.  My passenger(Drew, if I remember correctly) was really nice and we had a great conversations the whole way up.  And here is the proof for your friends, Drew!  Girl taxi drivers DO exist!

Last night was a bit better.  I got a cab early and headed right to JFK.  I called the taxi hotline for the airport and they said they had no cabs and needed drivers.  So I got there and didn't have to wait at all.  Drove right up to get dispatched to a terminal.  Ended up with a shortie fare to Brooklyn so I headed right back to the airport where i got another fare, this time to Manhattan.  The two guys I picked up were from Paris and were very sweet.  There was a lot of traffic out of Queens, but they were patient and very pleasant.  When I did get them to their hotel, they gave me a tip in Euros(on top of what they gave me from their credit card)  I thought that was sweet, and now I can save the Euros for whenever I make it across the pond again.

The night was mostly busy.  It seemed like as soon as someone would get out, there would be another person waiting to get in.  It was also interesting.  I had several fun rides.  I picked up two ladies from Montreal who at first wanted to go to Nobu(hip sushi restaurant that lots of celebs frequent).  But after driving halfway there they rethought that and asked about the Meatpacking District and if that was hip and if there were cool places to eat there.  So they made the call that they wanted to go down there instead.  They also wanted to know if I knew where Madonna was hanging out that night or if i could take them to other places where movie stars hang out.  I told them I didn't have a clue where the cool kids hang, but they probably would have some luck around the Meatpacking District area.  They were satisfied with that and very giddy when they got out at 14th and 9th.

I picked up a group of young Brits who thought it was "amazeballs" that I stopped for them.  We got to talking and turns out they are over here working for the same soccer program another friend of mine from across the pond had done a little while back.  Also, one of them said they were going to be teaching soccer at a summer camp near the one I spend my summers at.  I thought that was really neat and told him to come up and party with us during the summer.  They were really nice.

Peaceful Park Avenue at about 3am.  The only other traffic on the street at that time is delivery trucks to the high end hotels.

As they were getting out, a very fabulous drag queen asked if I was available to take her to Brooklyn.  I told her to hop in and off we went.  She had actually just been to see Madonna, so now I knew where Madonna had been hanging out.  Too bad I didn't know earlier, I could have told the ladies from Montreal! 

As usual, as it got a little later, things slowed down a bit.  But since the night up until then had been hopping, I didn't mind so much.  I picked up a guy over near Manitobas on Ave B.  He was drunk, but polite.  I asked him where we were going and instead of giving me a destination he decided he would just navigate the whole way.  At one point we missed a turn and he told me we should have turned as if I would have known where we were going.  But again, he was drunk and just went with it.  We got to his destination finally.  As we were settling up he told me I was cute and gave me a $10 tip(on a $8 fare).  I know he was drunk, but what girl doesn't like to feel cute!  I told him thank you and he stumbled out of the cab.  With my ego boosted, I headed out to make a final round of the Village to catch that one last fare which I got with a ride all the way uptown.  That was a nice ride too.  I decided to call it a night after that and end on a high note.  Especially since it was now a fair bit later than I wanted to stay out.

Overall, there were ups and downs, but as any cab driver will tell you "no accident, no tickets, not bad".