This afternoon I was downtown parked in a freight loading zone waiting for my fare. It was a time call and I was there about fifteen minutes too early, and I was bored.
Section 10.48.030--Standing in freight curb loading zone: No person shall stop, stand, or park a vehicle for any purpose or length of time other than for the expeditious unloading and delivery or pick-up and loading of passengers or materials...So, I had one eye out for a particular Meter Maid who, shall we say, doesn't appreciate my creative parking.
I saw a row of those free-newspaper boxes, and figured I had time to get out of the cab and grab a couple. I was halfway through the "Metro" when I noticed a lady walking towards me, so I put it down on the seat next to me.
After I had dropped her off, I pulled over under a shade tree and resumed my reading. I was thumbing through the Metro when I noticed a section titled: The Best of Willow Glen.
BEST Local Blogger
Taxi Vignettes. Joannrides.blogspot.com. Joann Landers is a Willow Glen resident with an interesting job: she drives a taxicab. She is also an excellent gauge of personality, as her blog—Taxi Vignettes—details the sometimes oddball fares she picks up and the more surreal things that happen when you drive strangers for a living. A few who have dented her seat cushion are recognizable—Grand Prix winner Sebastian Bourdais, NFL referee Bill Leavy, Elizabeth Dole. Her digital camera captures other folks hanging around the airport: Tommy Lee, Bob Dole and DNC chairman Howard Dean. But good reading happens with just ordinary folk and her observations of the city from the dashboard. She lays out the swag that people leave as a gesture of kindness—red roses, Giants tickets, fresh eggs, gift cards and a bottle of holy water from Lourdes, France. She also gives insight on how never-ending "improvements" at Mineta affect travelers' impressions of the city. On the road for 23 years, this Yellow Cabbie has her eyes and ears to the street, catching people and the city from a prime vantage point.
I got my first computer early in the Summer of 2004, and began blogging almost immediately. Thanks to blogging I have been a part of several newspapers and online blogs. By that August I was featured in the lead story of the Tech Section in the San José Mercury News. Then what a pleasant surprise it was to find that my blog, "Taxi Vignettes" was the reason I was chosen as the best local blogger of the year (2006) by the Metro Newspaper. Fall of '06, I was contacted by a reporter, asking if I would be willing to be the topic of her next story in The Willow Glen Resident. It was a cool two pages including photos. Am I having fun yet?
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