There'll be time enough for countin'... when the dealin's done.

So... I seemed to remember saying that if I could just roll into the rack having made another hundred bucks I could call this day a wash.

The three hours I took off in the middle of the day seemed to exorcise the demons that were with me during the first 4 hours of the afternoon. I made 45 bucks, got lost a fuckload of times and I got off the streets in the Southwest part of town, where I normally work, just in time for someone to get their ass shot at a soccer game.

Fuck me senseless, people. I've heard of soccer hooligans, but soccer homicidal maniacs? Christ on a stick.

Moving on to tonight.

For some reason, my "nose" said "west and north, just like you did when you got that work in Katy the other day." So, off I went down the feeder to I-10 west, and I got a call to roll up Eldridge Parkway past Clay. And, while I'm not normally one to smell dollar signs, I knew damn well this wasn't going to be a 5 dollar grocery store trip. I take a drunk guy home to his family in Missouri City safe and sound. 60 bucks.

Then, I get scooped at a Wal-Mart. BFD... you wanna scoop a 5 dollar shopping trip, pricks? Be my guest. I bid for a job off of the Beltway south of West Fuqua and get it. Another 35.

Time to go home, right? Wrong. The dispatch terminal yells at me and tells me to run deep down State Highway 288. I entertain a group of four leaving a house party on their way back to the Heights. After the tip, it's another 100. I spend 10 on gas and go run a couple of drunks from Washington street home.

BTW - and this is strictly for my last fare: Dude, if you're a douche and you gave up on your dreams just because your daddy and your little ditzy girlfriend and all the people you run with are rich, don't share your suck ass attitude with people who still believe in themselves. I am, first and foremost, a storyteller - and money and alcohol will never change that. I sincerely hope you find what you're looking for, because it sure aint at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.

Of course, most people I tell the answer "I'm a storyteller by trade, actor and writer" to when they ask the question, "Why do you drive a cab?" are actually fascinated by the fact that even after these last 7 years, it's still something I pride myself on even though I've never been rich and/or famous.

Anyway, between yesterday and today, I am currently operating at a take-home margin of around 400 bucks for just this weekend without factoring in tomorrow, which I'm willing to take a little loss on. I actually had more, but I made a debit card deposit to pay a bill or two. I'm learning the fine art of "it takes money to make money," going out of my way by burning a little gas to get into position to bid on areas that have no cars, but people waiting to pick them up. Also, in my local working area, driving around instead of standing pat increases your chances of being tagged as the car that's closest to a call, regardless of your position in the queue. On a daily basis, I don't burn that much extra fuel... maybe 2-5 bucks, and the dividends seems to be self-evident.

Science and art are starting to meld in another arena for me, but the acid test is going to be when I go through Monday-Thursday. Friday and Saturday are going to be there, but I want to see how this applies to the regular week.

G