I have started to work on my taxes for last year. This year I plan on getting them done way before they are due. At least I am hoping to get them done.
Doing taxes for the taxi industry is a real pain in the behind. I have tried it on my own and I owed WAY more than I really should have owed.I am happy I have found someone to actually do my taxes. He does many other taxi drivers taxes too. Makes my life easy. I do keep track weekly on what I have earned so it is now just inputting all the numbers into a spreadsheet so
I can have it all in one easy place.
Tonight I picked up a young lady at the airport and she seemed very happy and excited to get home when she got into my taxi. When I asked how her day was she said it started out great but ended “bittersweet”. I asked if she wanted to talk about it. She said yes would like to talk about it. So basically a college boyfriend and her met back up (on and off a couple of times for about 2 years) and nothing really happened but they clicked again, at least she thought they clicked again. She sent him an email letting him know her feelings, really hoping to get back with him because she figured out she was still deeply in love with him. She did let him know she had never figured she would ever have to write an email like this. It is hard to let yourself be so open to a person you are not sure if they feel the same way. He emailed her back, actually pretty quickly with a very well written email. He very eloquently said he really understood how she felt but he was in a long term relationship. When she read both emails out loud to me I was surprised but very pleased in the way the college boyfriend expressed how he felt. It was actually a very positive email. We talked about how things actually looked better for her now. That door was actually closed and she could move on from this easily. She will reach out to him again in a few months for the friendship she knows she can have with him. I hope she will have ice cream, a long soak and move on with her life. She is very young and cute, plus her client wants to set her up with his nephew who is also really cute. She did say I could share this story. I shortened it a bit. I was happy to get a hug from her at the end of the ride. I enjoy talking to my passengers and hope, just me listening to their stories. can help, just a little bit.
October 2, 2015
Picked up a lady in the Sunset and she wanted to go a bar in North Beach called the Cellar. I said, I thought it was on Sutter, but she kept saying “No, it is in North Beach”. She looked up the address and yes, it is on Sutter. She said say she was wrong and was really chatty for about half of the ride then stopped talking altogether. I guess she was concerned about going out with her coworkers because the last time she went out with them she got very drunk. I just told her to drink more water and she may not get as drunk as she did the last time. I don’t think she took my advice. They never do. I think it is a right of passage we all must do.
A couple of people flagged me like they were looking for a taxi but then when I pulled over to pick them up they looked at me like I am really in the wrong. I guess their Uber didn’t know how to find them. It is very annoying when this happens. I am just doing my job, just like they are looking for their ride.
October 3,2015
The aches and pains of driving a taxi are not always what you think they should be. Yes, my back and legs bother me but so do my thumbs. Yep, thumbs. You do not know how much you use your thumbs to move the steering wheel until you drive for more than 8 hours a day and 5 days a week. I have now learned how not to use my thumbs. Well, most of the time I try not to use them. Sometimes I just deal with it. Also my big toe hurts often. Why? Stupid gas pedal, I have to make sure I use the whole top of my foot when driving all night. I think I need to start getting out of my taxi more than I do. Sitting all night is not fun.
October 10, 2015
Weekend of Fleet Week I didn’t even pick up any Navy Men, like I have in the past! Made me so sad. I did take a few ladies to Oakland because their Uber driver didn’t want to go to Oakland. It is a great ride for me and they seemed nice but they had “potty” mouths, not directed at me but just between themselves. Also at the end of the ride they paid with a credit card and gave me a great tip but the other girl said that I had to deal with so much during the ride and I did so nicely. She gave me another $20! I said that was not necessary but she insisted. Nice to know that some people know I deal with a lot and appreciate it.
I picked up a passenger in the Castro who got into the taxi and he seemed very sad. He started crying in the taxi and talking to himself under his breath so I couldn’t actually hear what he was saying. He didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering him. When we got to his home, he tried to use 2 different credit cards and both declined. He said he didn’t know why that was happening (they never do) but he had cash to pay me instead. He gave me a $.02 tip. Great.
This job is all about timing and being in the right place at the right time. Some drivers will say it is super slow and you are picking up on person after another, being crazy busy. Then you are the one who cannot find people to pick up. Crazy how that happens.
Thank you for reading and being having patience with we to get back into writing again. I love telling you my stories and cannot wait to get all caught up again!
Love you all!
