A Shift in the Life of a Taxi Driver
Saturday was the Homecoming game between the Badgers and Minnesota Gophers. This is pretty typical of a game-day in the autumn.
01
I work at 6:45am, so I get up at ridiculous-o-clock.
02
I check my email and am very happy to discover that the grades are in and I aced the anthro test I'd been sweating all week. Especially when, during the last class, the professor said the average score so far was a 32. Huzzah!
03
Oh yeah, this is me, first thing in the morning. Time for that whole hot-water-plus-soap thing.
04
Oh yes, much better. I almost feel awake!
05
My fiancée needs the car today, so she drives me into work. She was very tired and politely declined and early morning portrait.
06
Here I am, reflected in the window of my trusty steed for the day, taxi #57.
07
This is what I will see most of the day. It is a very nice dashboard.
08
I drive someone back to their car because they were too drunk to drive it last night. It just so happens that I'm right next to...
09
Starbucks! I'm not exactly a fan, but it was the closest and the drive-thru is a plus. Triple-iced-latte, here I come!
10
Next up is this lady, who is going to the airport. She was visiting her mother. We had a long talk about technology addiction. We theorized that it's a combination of 1) the human need to socialize, paired with 2) no longer needing to train long-term memory. Who memorizes phone numbers anymore? Why memorizes details of a plan or of a meeting when you can just glance back at your phone and look up the information?
11
The airport in the morning. It's kind of pretty.
12
So, I leave the airport and plan to head downtown and see if the tailgaters are setting up...
13
But then I get a call to pick up these two, who are going down to the stadium anyway. Good for me!
14
There's a few people out, but everyone seems to be getting a late start.
15
There's a $303 fine for walking around with an open intoxicant. Yes, we need to remind everyone during every game.
16
So I head out, pick up another person and it's a traffic jam trying to get back downtown. This is pretty common on game days. Especially with Homecoming, all the alumni are back in town. And the game is against Minnesota, so a lot of Minnesota people are in town as well.
17
Sooooo bored. Let's take a picture of the park!
18
Still jammed. Yes, I'm stuck behind a fellow driver.
19
Time check! A little over an hour until kick-off.
20
The parties at the frat & sorority houses have started.
21
Good morning, Capitol!
22
Next, I'm off to the far east side Baymont...
23
...to pick up these alumni, who graduated from UW like five years ago. We spent most of the ride discussing what's changed, what building have been torn down, rebuilt, et cetera, in the last five years.
24
We get to Camp Randall (that's the stadium) just in time to see the marching band head in.
25
People are heading into the game in droves now. Traffic is a nightmare already. Time for honking!
26
People are very excited.
27
Next up, a gaggle of sorority girls take a taxi to the game.
28
People are everywhere and no one really uses crosswalks.
29
Frat guys are sledge-hammering a car. The car, I believe, is supposed to represent Minnesota and the hammer is the Badgers. Ah, such primitive superstitions!
30
There's always a giant inflatable Bucky Badger in front of Engineering Hall on game days.
31
I don't know who this is or why. He's the only guy I saw wearing a suit.
32
Yes, I am still alive.
33
More crowds.
35
And more crowds. I'm pretty much running from student housing to the stadium and back non-stop. Little $6-8 calls, people who are trying to get to the game as quick as possible. Or people too drunk to walk.
36
Man, it's 3:20 already? Whew! I think I'll call it quits soon. Maybe a couple more calls.
37
I drive a blind man home and we complain about Wisconsin drivers' lack of spatial awareness. Then I drive some thirty-something guys and one of them tells the story about his best friend since middle-school, who he's been living with. They recently had a falling-out because this friend, Jake, made a fake Facebook account to look like one of Guy#1's ex-girlfriends and send a bunch of messages to Guy#1's current girlfriend, claiming that Guy was cheating. Guy gets his computer geek friend to track the IP address, which turns out it's Jake's employer's IP. Confrontation and asplosions!
38
So I ran 28 calls, and had over 80 passengers, which I think is a personal record.
39
One of my passengers left a half-drunk beer in the back of the taxi. Thanks, drunky!
40
Thanks, cab #57! You were a good and trusty steed today!
01
I work at 6:45am, so I get up at ridiculous-o-clock.
02
I check my email and am very happy to discover that the grades are in and I aced the anthro test I'd been sweating all week. Especially when, during the last class, the professor said the average score so far was a 32. Huzzah!
03
Oh yeah, this is me, first thing in the morning. Time for that whole hot-water-plus-soap thing.
04
Oh yes, much better. I almost feel awake!
05
My fiancée needs the car today, so she drives me into work. She was very tired and politely declined and early morning portrait.
06
Here I am, reflected in the window of my trusty steed for the day, taxi #57.
07
This is what I will see most of the day. It is a very nice dashboard.
08
I drive someone back to their car because they were too drunk to drive it last night. It just so happens that I'm right next to...
09
Starbucks! I'm not exactly a fan, but it was the closest and the drive-thru is a plus. Triple-iced-latte, here I come!
10
Next up is this lady, who is going to the airport. She was visiting her mother. We had a long talk about technology addiction. We theorized that it's a combination of 1) the human need to socialize, paired with 2) no longer needing to train long-term memory. Who memorizes phone numbers anymore? Why memorizes details of a plan or of a meeting when you can just glance back at your phone and look up the information?
11
The airport in the morning. It's kind of pretty.
12
So, I leave the airport and plan to head downtown and see if the tailgaters are setting up...
13
But then I get a call to pick up these two, who are going down to the stadium anyway. Good for me!
14
There's a few people out, but everyone seems to be getting a late start.
15
There's a $303 fine for walking around with an open intoxicant. Yes, we need to remind everyone during every game.
16
So I head out, pick up another person and it's a traffic jam trying to get back downtown. This is pretty common on game days. Especially with Homecoming, all the alumni are back in town. And the game is against Minnesota, so a lot of Minnesota people are in town as well.
17
Sooooo bored. Let's take a picture of the park!
18
Still jammed. Yes, I'm stuck behind a fellow driver.
19
Time check! A little over an hour until kick-off.
20
The parties at the frat & sorority houses have started.
21
Good morning, Capitol!
22
Next, I'm off to the far east side Baymont...
23
...to pick up these alumni, who graduated from UW like five years ago. We spent most of the ride discussing what's changed, what building have been torn down, rebuilt, et cetera, in the last five years.
24
We get to Camp Randall (that's the stadium) just in time to see the marching band head in.
25
People are heading into the game in droves now. Traffic is a nightmare already. Time for honking!
26
People are very excited.
27
Next up, a gaggle of sorority girls take a taxi to the game.
28
People are everywhere and no one really uses crosswalks.
29
Frat guys are sledge-hammering a car. The car, I believe, is supposed to represent Minnesota and the hammer is the Badgers. Ah, such primitive superstitions!
30
There's always a giant inflatable Bucky Badger in front of Engineering Hall on game days.
31
I don't know who this is or why. He's the only guy I saw wearing a suit.
32
Yes, I am still alive.
33
More crowds.
35
And more crowds. I'm pretty much running from student housing to the stadium and back non-stop. Little $6-8 calls, people who are trying to get to the game as quick as possible. Or people too drunk to walk.
36
Man, it's 3:20 already? Whew! I think I'll call it quits soon. Maybe a couple more calls.
37
I drive a blind man home and we complain about Wisconsin drivers' lack of spatial awareness. Then I drive some thirty-something guys and one of them tells the story about his best friend since middle-school, who he's been living with. They recently had a falling-out because this friend, Jake, made a fake Facebook account to look like one of Guy#1's ex-girlfriends and send a bunch of messages to Guy#1's current girlfriend, claiming that Guy was cheating. Guy gets his computer geek friend to track the IP address, which turns out it's Jake's employer's IP. Confrontation and asplosions!
38
So I ran 28 calls, and had over 80 passengers, which I think is a personal record.
39
One of my passengers left a half-drunk beer in the back of the taxi. Thanks, drunky!
40
Thanks, cab #57! You were a good and trusty steed today!