Training Day

First things first, I am almost CERTAIN that I passed the drug test this morning. I drank a ton of coffee so that I was really raring to go. And, unlike drug tests I'd heard of, the very pleasant nurse did not have to watch me pee, so that was really great. It's been years since I've peed in a cup, but I don't think my accuracy has ever been better. I hope I pass!

I had about four hours of riding shotgun with a nice Ethiopian guy who has been driving a cab for twenty years. I learned a lot about how to make money, and he drove me by all the cab stands in Arlington. It wasn't a particularly thrilling day, but that's ok.

I'm trying to figure out when I should be driving. It seems like early mornings are great (taking people to airports) and weekend nights are great (drunk twenty-somethings), but both of those would kill my own evening drinking habits. During the day, if today is any indication, I'll mainly take seniors from adult day care centers to their homes or to the grocery store, which doesn't sound like a particularly great way to make money. Regardless, 5:30 am Monday morning, I'm picking up my cab and going at it.

"salad sandwich" often follows "egg"

Drug Test

I've got a drug test this morning. I hope this sack of Dave's piss works out for me!

H19869

A proud day. Arlington County gave me my Hacker's license (look up the definition, ok?). I'm H19869, which means I'm in a select group of fewer than 20,000 individuals who have ever received a hacker's license in Arlington County. Pretty heady stuff!

I also got fingerprinted, and we mailed them off to the FBI for a criminal background check. I'll admit, it's pretty badass to have to put down that I have a scar over my left eye, even if it's just because I got drunk in Iowa and fell off my bar stool.

One sad note about today. It was one last goodbye to the Class of January 26th 2009 Arlington County cab driver's test crew. I'll miss those guys. Jamshed, Havid, and Ali #1 and Ali #2 were nice fellows. And you know how it always goes. We say we'll keep in touch, but people get busy, kids have soccer practice, nobody took down anyone else's phone number....and suddenly you never see them again.

welcome

Welcome to eggnotnog, my blog about experiences driving a cab in Arlington, VA. This is a bit of a career change for me, so I figured I'd like to keep track of what it's like to be a cab driver. Judging from the surprised looks and the battery of questions from most people when I tell them about my new job, there might be some interest in reading about the Life of a Cabbie. I'll try to update it with interesting stories, or, if I can't pull that off, stories.

Also, "shell" is a word that follows "egg." Think about it.