Bubble Pop Electric

Happy Monday, everyone. Yeah, I know, I wanted to punch myself in the face for saying that too. But the transition from weekend to new week inspires me to chronicle two favorite activities that I've failed to properly address here on this little blog: talking to cab drivers, and chewing every available flavor of sugar-free gum on the market. Allow me to explain.

I don't know when or how this fascination began, but I love taxi drivers. Random acquaintances and polite coworkers who have had the misfortune of sharing a cab with me know that I like to spend the duration of the ride chatting up the driver and firing questions regarding his or her country of origin, family background, history as a driver, former employment, musical preferences, etc. I think this desire to bond stems from my complete discomfort with being carted around for money. Something ain't right about that. So instead of a ride filled with awkward silence, I like to find out a little something about the person who's workplace I've just invaded.

I wish I were kidding when I say the highlights of some of my failed nights out on the town have been the conversations between me and my cab drivers. Nothing remedies a shitty night out in the Marina like a good talk with someone who's parents aren't funding their totally sweet apartment and post-college beer pong tournaments. No offense to fans of beer pong - it's a pretty legitimate sport. But I have to say I've met an exponentially higher number of cool, upstanding people behind the wheel of a taxi than in front of a bar (not to be confused with behind the bar - bartenders tend to be cooler than the people they're serving too).

So from now on, I plan to chronicle my cab adventures and profile the good people of Yellow, Luxor, National, De Soto, and the rest that have made my lame nights out a little less lame. Saturday night, freezing my face, hands, and neck off (ever other inch of flesh was purposely and strategically covered), I stood on the corner of Union and Filmore preparing for bevies of drunken, classy ladies to swoop on every passing cab. The Taxi Gods were smiling down on me though, because a cozy, vacant, WARM cab pulled up almost immediately. My driver was an awesome guy, who may or may not have been named Ohnmar (I only came to this conclusion after Googling common Burmese names and this one came up - the three vodka shots I had somehow impaired my memory for names that night). Ohnmar is originally from Burma (now known as Myanmar), and is the only member of his family who's left home. He has ELEVEN siblings whose ages range from the 20s to the 40s, and he's one of the middle ones towards the younger side. Ohnmar is the shit cuz he not only did he get me home quickly, but he was super friendly, motivated, and kind, and those aren't generally appropriate words to describe someone who works a 4 PM - 4 AM shift. Kudos to Ohmnar! My San Francisco driver of the week!

Now that I've devoted a startling number of words to SF's finest, it seems sort of wrong to transition into my gum obsession. But to know me is to love me, and to really know me, you must know my feelings on sugar-free gum. In a word, I am a gum connoisseur. Some people know wine, some people know classical music. I know gum. In my vast research, I've found that Trident is hands-down the winner in terms of long-lasting flavor and consistency. Not to mention the added Xylotol that promises to whiten and protect enamel. Orbit, though far inferior in flavor endurance, offers some fancy flavors like Mint Mojito. Extra is a childhood favorite, and their Wildberry Frost, Cool Green Apple, and Cool Watermelon are crazy delicious. My new find this week is Orbit's Maui Melon Mint which is a little shocking at first, but happily mellows into a refreshing, fruity treat. Yeah, I just said refreshing, fruity treat. I think that means my passion level for this post just exceeded the normal level, and I better sign off. Enjoy The Hills!