On the Road
I'm coming at you live from exotic Seattle, where I'm attending the Wooden Octopus Skull Experimental Musick Pfestival and having to use a friend's computer that doesn't seem to allow all of Blogger's idiotproof tools for the HTML retarded (like me).
So you're just going to have to google shit if you want links or whatever.
Tonight, after a wonderful 12:30 AM at the 13 Coins (one of my favorite restaurants in the country), I tried to strike up a dialogue with one of my cab-driving comrades in arms parked outside.
Suffice it to say that I now completely understand why some of my customers are so thrilled that I speak somewhat fluent English. What homeboy and I had ourselves there was a failure of communication, not a conversation. I'm not at all trying to come off on an anti-immigrant tip - anyone who can recognize an address and drive a car safely is a perfectly competent cab driver. But many people seem to expect a conversation as part of the package, and that's pretty difficult to do with someone who can barely discuss the rudiments of his business with someone else in the same field.
About the only thing I did manage to find out from him is that a medallion is now up to 185 grand in Seattle. Fuck that shit. Just another reminder of why I don't think I'd drive cab for any other company in any other city. The deal I have is so sweet for this business that it's important to stay grateful for it.
Another thing I've been thinking about is what this blog should be, content-wise. It was conceived of strictly as a way for my friends and family to read about all those "crazy taxi stories" they were sure I'd have. As those people don't really seem to comprise a significant portion of the readership, what are those who read the site interested in?
At least one person has mentioned a desire to learn more about the mechanics and behind-the-scenes type stuff of the job. Are others interested in restaurant/location reviews? Social criticism and societal trend type stuff? I don't have a proper digital camera, so that's basically out for now. I'm just throwing out ideas, here. I like the idea of just sticking to stories, but haven't really been doing so for a while, due to both a lack of good recent ones and funneling many of the better ones in other directions. I feel like I should both keep the blog updated semi-regularly and its entries semi-interesting, which is why I think I've ended up doing more editorializing in the past few updates, as the material itself seems so boring.
Let me know what you think.
So you're just going to have to google shit if you want links or whatever.
Tonight, after a wonderful 12:30 AM at the 13 Coins (one of my favorite restaurants in the country), I tried to strike up a dialogue with one of my cab-driving comrades in arms parked outside.
Suffice it to say that I now completely understand why some of my customers are so thrilled that I speak somewhat fluent English. What homeboy and I had ourselves there was a failure of communication, not a conversation. I'm not at all trying to come off on an anti-immigrant tip - anyone who can recognize an address and drive a car safely is a perfectly competent cab driver. But many people seem to expect a conversation as part of the package, and that's pretty difficult to do with someone who can barely discuss the rudiments of his business with someone else in the same field.
About the only thing I did manage to find out from him is that a medallion is now up to 185 grand in Seattle. Fuck that shit. Just another reminder of why I don't think I'd drive cab for any other company in any other city. The deal I have is so sweet for this business that it's important to stay grateful for it.
Another thing I've been thinking about is what this blog should be, content-wise. It was conceived of strictly as a way for my friends and family to read about all those "crazy taxi stories" they were sure I'd have. As those people don't really seem to comprise a significant portion of the readership, what are those who read the site interested in?
At least one person has mentioned a desire to learn more about the mechanics and behind-the-scenes type stuff of the job. Are others interested in restaurant/location reviews? Social criticism and societal trend type stuff? I don't have a proper digital camera, so that's basically out for now. I'm just throwing out ideas, here. I like the idea of just sticking to stories, but haven't really been doing so for a while, due to both a lack of good recent ones and funneling many of the better ones in other directions. I feel like I should both keep the blog updated semi-regularly and its entries semi-interesting, which is why I think I've ended up doing more editorializing in the past few updates, as the material itself seems so boring.
Let me know what you think.
posted by Crabbie at 4:04 AM
6 Comments:
I like the stories... they remind me that EVERYONE out there is fucking crazy and a few of us are subjected to that fact more than others. I find that the editorial stuff leaks in no matter what and I like that it gives more insight to you as a person.
My $0.02
well I tried to stick to just Taxi tales at first but soon started to mix in local stuff and opinions and what I did on my day off etc.Photos help you don,t need to spend a lot of cash nothing fancy needed for pics, some use cameraphones.
the stories definitely need to stay, but i also enjoy the editorializing, and really everything else...seriously (restaurant, etc. reviews would be neat!). it's inevitable that it will be somewhat self-indulgent, no? in any case, it seems that as long as the blog continues to be from the eyes of a crabbie...the variedness just makes that perspective richer. the problem is losing audience that really just wants the stories, or just wants reviews, etc. if that would be a problem...hm...
in any case, i like reading your posts and haven't wanted to stop...so that must be a good sign.
Thanks for chiming in!
I actually may be buying a camera soon, from the same moving friend in Seattle who gave me the knife.
I'll also try and start sprinkling in some stuff about less obvious aspects of the job on days off, but other than that I guess I'll just stick to spewing out whatever cab-related thoughts are on my mind when I sit down at this. I'm not so interested in having a website that's all about my personal life, but'll stop feeling guilty for going off on tangents.
Yeah I liked the commentary on the ppl you dropped off at the northrup station.
I like the storys you tell about cab driving. I also like it when you talk about the cabs them self and all that behind the scens taxi business stuff thats cool. But I don't mind social commentary now and then that's always fun
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