So the Associated Press did an article about me, and the result has been a whirlwind of attention. To be honest, it's all a little overwhelming, but I figure I'll just enjoy it while it lasts. So this morning I agreed to be interviewed by Kemberly Richardson (pictured above) for ABC News, and, though I was nervous, it turned out to be a lot of fun. The segment should appear on either Wednesday or Thursday during the 5:00 p.m. broadcast. I'm only now beginning to wrap my brain around all this, it's just so utterly surreal, but it has certainly made the past few days interesting, to say the least.
UPDATE: Supposedly the segment is gonna run tonight (Thursday) during the 6:00 pm broadcast. I won't be able to watch because I'll be in the cab by then, but I'll be taping it.
225 comments:
1 – 200 of 225 Newer› Newest»I hope to be one of the first to congratulate you and wish you the very best! Girl Power! I ride a Harley and Live in CT, and I could/should write about my experiences in Sturgis, New Hampshire, and FL, but don't. I hope to hear/read/watch you grow. Stay safe, and keep the shinny side up girlfriend
I just found your blog on the Yahoo! site. I had to read it completely through immediately. Of course, I am trying to procrastinate finishing my assignment for tonight's class, but your blog allowed me to procrastinate in an entirely enjoyable manner. You have a wonderful sense of humor, and your wit will keep me reading your blog everyday. After all, it's interesting to read about a life that is almost entirely opposite to the one I live in Pueblo, CO. (Yes, the Pueblo that all of the government pamphlets come from.) Congratulations on your new found noteriaty. I hope you are able to use it to your advantage.
I found your blog last night through the AP article. I think its great. I wish I had your adventurous spirit. Your story is inspiring.
Dig your blog big time. Found it on my space as a link. You don't deny fares to Brooklyn do you?
i'm here for the first time via AP. terrific. ha!
thank god for the AP. finally they put something on the wire worth reading! I have shared this with anyone who will listen. keep it up!
You were featured on FARK.com! Now thats celebrity!
Found you via Broadsheet, glad I did; you are fucking awesome. Rock on!
Melissa, do have fun and enjoy the attention. Cab driving is hard dirty work so you gotta get it when you can.
My rewards come when I know I've made a difference in my customers hectic day. Things like finding that shortcut that shaves off just enough time to make that plane...
I too get that double take when they notice I'm a woman. I've only been nervous a couple of times with a fare. I agree with you it is the traffic that is out to get us. If they, what I call civilians, would just get out of our way-- all would be fine and dandy.
Wow, you're cute - however, if you ever end up giving me a ride I'll just keep quiet ;)
Hello from Wisconsin! Just saw the article on you today, and headed straight for your blog. What an interesting and humerous look at New York City. I'm with Nicole, more news programs or, even better, producers should head your way. Good luck!
All writers deserve to have their stuff read, should they choose to be public with their output. Congratulations on the growing audience, and I'll be reading your future posts, too!
I had never before heard of you or your blog until I read about today at abcnews.com. I've already bookmarked it and have passed it along to my friends and will put the link up on my blog. Expect about, oh, 3,000 other people to do the same thing. I dig the way you write and look forward to seeing more of it.
Hello from Baltimore, Maryland. I found your site yesterday on Yahoo and love it. I fell in love with New York City 5 years ago and come up alot for long weekends. I'll have to flag you down sometime to get me where I need to go. Stay safe and keep writing, your site is excellent!
Hey from a new reader!
Did that chick interviewing you have to wear the ugliest coat in all of New York City?
I found you on fark.com, myself. :-)
Great blog! Keep at it!!
Looks like you are headed to the big time. I found you via Kim Komando's web site. You are the news of the day. Good luck.
We in the deep south find Jersey people a bit obnoxious too. :)
MP, I'm a CDL driver down here in boring old Florida and reading your blog keeps me entertained.......I'll never bitch about my commute home anymore! You rock. Keep up the BLOG and, hey, if you ever want to vacay and drive drunk tourists....come on down to Central Florida!
--JRich
The AP article ran in the Regina Leader Post (Saskatchewan, Canada) today. I read it and have been reading your blog ever since! I love it and definately plan to check back as often as I can!
You rock.... and deserve every bit of the limelight that is shining on you right now! Enjoy it!
Found your blog through Yahoo. Have not gotten into blogs until I read yours. Found your writing very interesting and and humorous. Thanks and stay safe!
Cool Blog, got here through the AP article on Yahoo. I think you've got some interesting stories and if you mixed in some of the personal stuff I bet you could have a nice little book in a year or so. Good luck!
man your blog is so much better than mine!! sucks that i didnt find this before it was on the news and everything. now i'm just posting hoping that i get some traffic on mine. but really i looked around you blog a little and it makes me homesick. i'm in vienna since august and am supposed to go back to nyc next august but now i'm contemplating staying here... finding sites like this make it difficult to stay away from the greates city in the wolrd! i will be checking in from time to time to make sure you dont beat up or spit on any more assholes.
Annabel__Lee linked you, which brought me here. Congratulations. I lived in NY for years and never had such a cool cabbie. Keep up this great blog, too.
You're a real cutie, smart too.. love yer blog!
Hope to see more of you in the future... maybe DiPalma can do a new spin with "Taxi Driver 2"?
Best wishes.. added you to my blog!
You're blog is so interesting and fun to read. It may seem boring to you but for most of us, it's fun to live the hectic life of a New Yorker for just a moment. Your writing style is awesome and I'm sure great things are on their way!!
-fellow writer!
Congratulations on the media attention. I recently discovered your blog off of the Yahoo! site and I love reading. Congrats again
ok...love the blog even though I'm from NJ! Hoboken, NJ...you don't hate US do you?
Darn - now you'll be famous.
another farkin' icehole here...maybe you should check out what all the dkheads are saying on fark.com ( bunch of loser's)...i think your blog is entertaining , never been to NYC and i enjoy reading about it , but have met MANY of you as i live in FL. ( the sole resting place of all new yorkers who retire )anyway , keep it up ...ps how 'bout some mace ?? that would run off the average moron ..
Well with all the attention I would not be surprised if you could pick and choose who you drive pretty soon. Good luck, be safe. I am always for girl power. I am still pretty new to this country (6 years) and NY was the first City I ever went to. And most of my pictures from there have lots of yellow cabs in the background.
Found your blog thru Kim Komando's cool sites. LOVE IT! Just wish I could write as well as you. Good luck and be safe!
Hi MP,
I found your Blog through the article on NY Times. You are awesome... And I just looked at your picture on Washington Post. I think you are too cute to be a cabbie..Love your blog. Keep it up.
Being a female taxi driver, nights, in Northern Virginia I'm very impressed with your courage to work in New York. I can also relate to a lot of the things in the article. The "variation of oh a female cab driver" commentary I hear a couple of times a night too, and I'm so glad to be out of the office, also. A former Administrative Assistant, I love what I do now and I can't imagine doing anything else again. I'm the only female who drives for this company and it's an honor! At any rate, thanks for taking the time to share your experience!
Hi MP,
I found your Blog through the article on NY Times. You are awesome... And I just looked at your picture on Washington Post. I think you are too cute to be a cabbie..Love your blog. Keep it up.
don't let the illusion of fame change the blog. though, it may be impossible for it not to.
on second thought.. make some money from this or at least get a new job from it.
Melissa you are so cool. I found your site from Kim Comando's news of the day. I started reading your page and went through all the archives too! Love the blog woman! I hope you get some money from all this attention! Keep bloggin'! ~Melissa in Illinois
and you are also featured on comcast.net ... * pleek *
Regarding your comment about cabbies indulging riders in the same old boring conversations (where are you from, are you busy tonight, do you like driving a cab, etc)...you also said you enjoyed nice conversations with riders. So what are we to do? How are we supposed to know exactly the topics each driver wants to talk about? Or is better to just not try to engage the driver in a convo?
This shouldn't be taken as criticism or anything. I ask b/c I often ask cabbies those same questions b/c I think it's rude to just ignore the driver and pretend like they're not there. Then I read your entry about how cabbies hate answering those questions but do it for the sake of the big tipola. Some guidance please.
You were featured in "24 Hours", which is a free daily newspaper read by like, millions, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You've made international news!!
Keep it up <3
Way to go. I lived in NYC for over 20 years. I miss it every single day.
~sigh~
Hey, my name is David Culver. I am in Montgomery, Alabama. Listen, I love your digital pictures. They are very clear, and distinct. I look in every once in a while. Love what you do. Have good friend living in Levittown. Best wishes my friend.
-Always; David.
Saw the article in Yahoo and came to read your blog. I'm glad you pushed that guy back! Showed a remarkable amount of restraint just to push him back. Way to Go Girl! \(*o*)/
I've added your link to my blog because you're hip, witty and cute to boot.
Read about the blog in my local paper....great!!!!!!!!!
i am so happy 4 u... i wrote awhile back an said i believed u would be a hit ( more than u r now).
i thought, for sure, it would happen on nbc, though.
keepupthe good work and don'ttake anything larger than a twenty. lol
great blog! greetings from Brazil!
You Go Girl - I drove a cab in SF for 15 years until 97. Now I make a safe sane living as IT Admin and own a home in Tucson. Follow your dreams and keep it fun!
I see a "movie of the week" in your future.
I think it's terrific that you blog about this. I have never seen a blog I liked until now! Read everything from A to Z and want to hear so much more. Great job to you and I hope the exposure leads you to bigger and better things (at least better tips!).
Cheers
John
Montreal, Quebec
Amazing to think a simple outlet to cope with life turned into such an amazing opportunity! I think it's great and congratulate you! Should you ever get the inclination to check out a fellow readers blog, feel free to visit me at bumblebeezx.blogspot.com. I'm all for women doing great in a predominately male industry. I drag race a motorcycle, not professionally YET.
Take it easy and keep blogging!
Don't you meam WABC? Please don't forget that your living in the world that is bring us Cash Cab.
Very cool blog... good read... makes life here in smallville seem almost normal.
Ride the wave as long as you can... or want.
Would you believe you have made www.smh.com.au-The Sydney Morning Herald-that's Sydney Australia. Have you heard of Australia (down under)?
I'm a Sydney cab driver,we operate along similar lines. 12 hour shifts, payin price for the cab takes about 4 hours to reach, everything after that the driver keeps, after paying for LPG.
I enjoy the work & have found a lot of advantages to this job compared with others; No boss, cash everyday, mobility & freedom to adjust shifts to suit lifestyle.
Melissa,
Your AP article appeared on the first page of the Nation & World section of the Reno Gazette-Journal! GOOD LUCK!
Bill
Hello, Ms. Plaut!
You probably don't remember us, but this past summer, me and my family visited New York. I remember that you were our cab driver because, we saw your last name on your tag and it happened to be the last name of one of my best friends...Plaut!
you were racing us down to catch the last ferry back to the main land!
Nice to see you're doing well.
sincerly,
"the people from Texas"
Do a book - this is an excellent opportunity for you to make the very most of being a cabbie! How cool would that be? Adventures of a New York Hack?
Wish you the best of luck, admire your strength, courage and determination for adventure.
I read about you in the Commercial Appeal (newspaper in Memphis, TN). I think what you are doing is very neat. I've been to N.Y. once and I have the ultimate respect for all the cab drivers there.
Greetings from South Carolina! Congratulations!Just found out about you through our newspaper.Keep writing!
That is cool as heck..Yu deserve it...I can tell..I'll keep on following the "New York Hack"
Mike
G'day Melissa!
Your fame has now spread right across the globe. Your blog is highlighted in the Sydney (australia) Morning Herald technology section.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/cabbies-tellall-blog/2006/01/24/1137864885980.html
Keep up the good work and watch out for the 'hoons' (aussie for bad/wild drivers)
Cheers - Brett Jensen in Adelaide South Australia
You are brilliant!! I love this blog and will follow you always (the blog that is. hehe) Way to go on the interview!! I'm from Phoenix AZ and visited NY in May of last year. Loved it there. Took a cab a couple of times. I appreciate your outlook on everything. You SO ROCK.
Hey Melissa,
Saw the article. Want to wish you well and safety. Hope to catch a ride with you someday...promise a big tip....
The best
CJZ
Hi there!
Just wanted to let you know that I just found your blog via an article in the Sydney Morning Herald sourced from AP..
I'm loving your blog already :)
Awesome blog, I definitely found it on Yahoo News via AP. I agree with the others that say it is finally something fun to read amidst all the death and destruction! Keep it up.
Out...
Melissa, I've been reading your blog for over a month and it has been great!
Good luck, your in the track now!
Dreams and wishes from Ohio...
Gary
P.S. Don't drop the blog!
Oh yea, What the fuck is that reporter wearing?
Looks like something you ran over the other month!
Congrats! Keep on posting!
Heard about you on abcnews.com I love your Blog. You rock kid. I have never been interested in blogging before but when I read yours I couldn't stop reading. I wish you a lot of fame and fortune and a job you love. Keep up the good work. I on the other hand am not getting anything done because I am so into what you have to say!!!
Hey...
I too am from Sydney, Australia and came across your blog in the Sydney Morning Herald. I love it! Just wasted (well not really wasted is it?!?) around three hours reading through ALL your posts and the comments. Keep up the great work!
Greeting from Murray Ky. I too love the blog. One of the few I have read all the way through. I hope you do some Tshirts. I will buy one.
Hey, are you one of the female bloggers photographed for an upcoming spread in Fashion Week Daily?
hi there,
i read about your blog in a newspaper here in Australia and was immediately intrigued. Now i have read many posts and have bookmarked your blog. it's fucking fantastic - such a good read.
Cheers,
Alex
Read your blog, like it ... seems you have contact with lotsa human trash, with the odd nice person hear and there.
Good Luck.
Link from www.smh.com.au
You go girl! This is just the beginning... One day you'll write a book and make millions off of it!
You have also appered on the Sydney Morning Herald website (Australia), good blog, very interesting read
Steve
Hey, saw your blog in The Age, here in Melbourne, Australia! You've become internationally famous!
found your blog a few weeks ago on yahoo, you are a gutsy women. I Think it is awesome, really enjoying it so be safe mary anne from PA. Well be looking for you on the news.
wow. I didn't believe there could be that kind of side to NYC. For all the love in the city, its a rough place to be in. Major props on your adventures. Have fun!
Finally! A voice of the taxi cab's comes forth. You go girl!
-Montgomery
www.montgomerymaxton.com
www.montgomerymaxton.blogspot.com
Found your blog on the AP site! Love reading about NYC and will be checking in often. :)
A new fan in Japan via NYC! :)
nice blog, fascinatng for me, a Nebraska guy.
Wow! Lucky you.
Congrats on your article. Even though you're not anonymous anymore, I was wondering if you'd like to be listed on the Anonymous Work Blogs Blogring. Leave a comment on it if you would.
Yes found your blog thru AP I am an avid blog reader. My favorites file is packed. I have added you! I just reading all five years of a med student blog and she lives in lower manhattan, and swears she has no money!! lol Anyway she has given me a great view of NYC and I will read you now to get the other side. It is the only City in the US I am STILL afraid to visit! thanks karen from texas
Hi,
I think you have a great sense of humor.
I'm gonna start reading your blog from now.
I'll be moving to New York (from Texas) this summer and I hope to ride in your cab when I get there!
Be safe ~
Hey, read Yahoo AP article on that happed on Yahoo.com front page. Congrats for the exposure. Keep on bloggin', it's as fascinating as Taxicab Confession HBO series!
lol cabbies actually go on the internet
Bloggers of thw world unite!
After reading some of your posts, all I have to say is I'm glad I live in Houston, Texas. The people there are assholes! Can't imagine anyone dealing with that day in and day out and calling that a life. Que lastima! Hope things go well for you.
rock on, melissa!
The AP article made it to Yahoo's most popular news story list! Congrats on the exposure. I hope some way you can turn this into some big money! Your blog is very entertaining. Thank you.
Wish I had you while I was in NY last year. Oh well maybe next time. Be safe and keep fighting the good fight.
Yep saw this site on the AP Yahoo article. A blog is a good outlet for a NYC cabbie. What I found interesting is that you had an English proficiency test on the cabbie exam. So how did those thousands of cabbies who dont speak English worth a shit get that job? But hey at least you all drive better than the cabbies here in Dallas TX. :)
I found your blog through Yahoo news. This is cool. Keep up the good work and stay safe out there you hear?
The article appeared in the paper here in Raleigh, NC. Pretty cool idea. Love the blog and the stories (favorite so far being the "you're hot" one). Keep it up, this shall keep me and mine entertained for a while.
DAMN IT!
i kept on refreshing your page in the hopes of being the 100th comment, but i got sidetracked by my update on xanga.
anyways, i'm linking to your blog so that all of the 2 people that read my website will go to yours.
keep up the great bloggin and congrats on your 15 mins...enjoy!
Enjoyed reading your blog Melissa. It really is interesting read in the life of a taxi job. Best of luck with everything and stay safe.
Aaron
Hey there. Your blog was featured on Yahoo! tonight. I just couldn't resist reading the entire page. I'm bookmarking it, because I think this just rocks. I live in Texas now, but I used to be in theatre and went to New York when I was 16 to "become a star". Didn't work out though! >_<
Your blog is just so interesting!!! It seriously is entertaining reading about your life in NYC and your pictures. Came across your page from Yahoo! Good luck!
I really enjoyed reading through your blog. You've inspired me to write about my adventures in pizza delivery...
I found your site through another online journal. Love it!
Stay safe! And keep writing, and taking pictures
hi, you should write a thing on your political beliefs
Your story has been on yahoo too:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060123/ap_en_ce/blogging_cabbie
It actually made the front page for a
little while. Congrats! I'm enjoying
your blog.
ok..so I live in Colorado Springs, Co.I take cabs all around eVeRywHerE. The money I spend started to get to me, so I just told myself to pretend that I live in New York. Thanks to your blog I can now live vicariously! through your writing. He hee..gotta amuse my self somehow..!
Hey I just found your blog on yahoo. I loved reading about all the crazy people you drive around in NYC...I'm really getting a kick out of it! You're a great humorous writer...keep it up and ROCK ON!!!
I'm all the way in California and I love reading your blog. Keep it up! Way to go on the exposure, your interpretations deserve it!
CONGRATS! I see you are finally getting the recognition you deserve...remember when you become famous, I asked for an autographed headshot a while ago :) take care and congrats!!!
well deserved
yer so famous!
great blog!
i can't stop reading
you're beautiful
You are cute
What do you think about 14st & 1st Ave....that's a crazy intersection. Hang out down in the east village and lower eastside all the time.
Keep it safe, great blog, peace.
Hey there! You are an exceptional writer and goodluck with the fame that you are recieving and it was nice reading your blog. I have never been to New York so it was enlightning to read stories here and see a couple pics of the city. Thanks and keep it up
My God. You're on the Yahoo main page. That occurs only in a blogger's wildest dreams. And you didn't even change your template. Goes to show its all about the content. Damn you are good!
I am so excited to find this blog, like everyone else from Yahoo! I am a Queens born boy living in California and reading this was like a smack of NYC winter wind. I am going to read all the time now. The Jersey hating is so appreciated! Keep up the good writing! SMS
Good stuff here! Your posts are very entertaining, humorous and the pictures are great! Best of luck to you!
There is nothing Romantic about driving a cab in NYC. I was a cabbie in the mid 90's, hated every minute of it. Why is a nice girl like you doing this? . I had to do it because being an immigrant I had no other choice. What's your misfortune? I hope you can use your new-found celebrity to get out of this shit...
Hey I saw a news article on yahoo about your blog and had to look for myself...I've bookmarked it. Much power to you for driving a cab, I've never even been in one but I'm sure it's not the easiest job in the world....enjoy your 15 minutes!
BriHi -
Heard about your site, of course, on Yahoo. I agree with you (as somebody who skates his way home often) in so many ways:
1. Taxi drivers, while not hesitant to honk at you, are not the people that will actually put you in danger. Those are SUV drivers from Jersey trying to make a left on Park while the crosslights are still red.
2. Nobody *ever* uses their turn signals. Moving your hand half an inch would save somebody having to last-minute swerve out of the way (and bodily smashing into a car, while less financially painful, is still quite painful).
3. Pedestrians. Oh my fucking god, pedestrians. If anybody embodies sheep, it is them. One person crosses against the light, then fifty do, but the fifty don't bother to look to see if they're going to die.
The nice things about skating, rather than driving:
1. I tend to carry around a water bottle, so stupid pedestrians will get a tap on the head from me (really, just a tap, but they freak out like you wouldn't believe)
2. You can beat on (SUV) drivers' windows while you and they are moving. Again, a freakout, which, nicely enough, tends to result in them pulling over.
not only is this journal really interesting, you're really cute!
damn... i actually looked for you as i was scoping cabs on broadway and w4th tonight... ugh... what's wrong with me?
Let me add to the congratulations. I've been blogging since 1999, it's a great way to express yourself. Enjoy the fame.
Just wanted to say thanks for making my dull, boring afternoon at work more interesting. There was some info on your blog in "The Sydney Morning Herald" newspaper, so i thought I'd check it out. So now us Aussies will be reading your blog too!
Your blog gave me a few laughs and reminded me of when i was in NY a year ago.
Take Care..
congrats! ure blog is sweet!!!
Nice going!
Read a bit of your blog this morning.
Witty, humorous writing!
All the best to you!
Drive safely.
Christine
from Finland
Hey there, you are on Yahoo's page in the News section. Your blog is awesome. It's keeping me from doing my Bio homework! I live in California, but I hope I have you as my cabbie if I ever make it over to New York. Congratulations!
Hi!
Just letting you know I found your blog through Yahoo. This one's definitely in my favorites.
Stay safe!
Found about your blog from yahoo news. You are so articulate. It was nice reading your blog.
All the best - karthik
Hi. Charlene from England here. I found you through the Yahoo news article and I think you're such an inspiration. I really loved reading your story, it made such a fun difference from normal daily news. I visited NYC in September of '04 for my 21st birthday and it's the best city ever. I can't wait to go back one day, hopefully soon.
All the best for the future! Stay safe. :-)
I just read an article about you on Yahoo. Congratulations! I also mentioned you on my blog just now. Stay safe!
I put you in my favorites. Looking forward to more! Me thinks your 15 minutes are not up!
Man... you made it on the front page of yahoo. That is too cool and a too cool blog site. I like it! Great work!
hello from Akron, Ohio...i read about you on Yahoo! news and was blown away by your blog...i have been reading all of it for the last 2 hours....it has been one of the best reads i have had in a long time...congrats.....
I've learned alot from your blog. Thanks.
I can never get a cab in Greenpoint. Ever.
you are cooler than probably anyone I have ever met.
I just read the article on you on the internet and thought I'd come take a look.
I think it's great that your blog is getting all this attention as a lot of cab driver's are getting a bum rap.
You make it all more human and people admire that.
I am from Albuquerque, and therefore understand why you decided to move to NYC after graduating :) Still, don't you miss the cinnamon rolls at the Frontier, maybe just a little? I live in San Francisco, there used to be a Night Cabbie column every couple of weeks in the Chron, you should Google "sfgate night cabbie" and read the archives. I am glad you are blogging, stick with it no matter what your gig, you have a talent for writing.
looks like only americans read yahoo news.
Working the night shift as a Emergency Dispatcher in Savannah, Ga can get a little boring at times. I've always been fascinated with NYC and hope to come visit someday. Thanks for a real insider's view!
hey M! i can't believe all this media attention. it makes sense though - you're very smart & funny, & the blog is interesting and unpredictable. congratulations. i like how you keep the same voice no matter what, too. hope to see you soon.
great blog, hope you are enjoying the mass attention now! I'm a Texan and still virgin to NY but would love to see it one day (nuthin special right?) I found all of your experiences refreshing.
I saw the AP article on Yahoo's main page.
- Douglas
I got a phone call today from a friend that I turned onto your blog months ago...she was like guess what? Turns out I've met that taxi blogger chick! Still hoping I get you one of these days (and that I convince you to let me smoke).
HiHi,i found your blog from Taiwan news paper,i did not read it all,just let you know your news in Taiwan..^^...
Also saw the article on Yahoo. I'm in north Iraq at the present time (been here since 2003), and I'd like to add my congratulations to you. You represent all hard working people and you deserve all the credit you receive. Take care and good luck!
Hey,
I had to join the bandwagon. I also saw the news article on Yahoo.
This is waaay cool! I guess you never know what life will bring you when you just relax and enjoy!
Enjoy the notoriety. I'm betting on a book deal or movie coming out of all this.
:-)
I had to had my two cents as well:
I can't wait to get you as a cab driver so I can tip you well! I mentioned in a previous comment (in one of your archived posts) that I believe in solidarity. Nothing gives me more pleasure than tipping cab drivers and fellow waiters/waitresses well.
I enjoy your posts after a long, hard day of dealing with the classless rich fuckers of New York. Good luck and my best wishes.
Lynn.
from canada here, awesome blog, please post lots more@! its so cool seeing NY from your perspective!
oh yeah, and you are posted on Digg.com
big accomplishment.. you might go to the front page!
im a resident of the united arab emirates...i read an article about you in the tabloid of local newspaper - Khaleej Times -. although i'm new to the world of blogging, i must say ur blog was a pleasure to read. keep up the good work.
Melissa,
I, too, wanted to say congratulations and that I have enjoyed your writing. It looks like you are really onto something here…and I wouldn’t be surprised to see ol’ Dave giving you a call asking you to be a guest on The Late Show. You never know...enjoy.
-James
Greetings from Sunny Singapore! I read the article about you on Yahoo! I really think that you have such a cool job and of course would wish you the best whether you stay a cabbie for long or not. Still, enjoy! enjoy!
Hi, Ms. M.P.!
I had a lot of fun reading your work. My favorite radio station in Tokyo has introduced your work. Interested, I accessed it and enjoyed it. I am an university student living in Tokyo.
Keep it up and I hope to rade your cab someday!
Enjoying the read. Will definitely check up on your adventures regularly. Take Care! =)
Hey I love your blog. I have been compiling a list of taxi blogs at my blog if anyone is interested in checking them out. I am interested in this genre of blogging as a phenomenon. There are a number of great taxi bloggers out there. It has to be said your site is great though.
Best regards
Island Monkey
http://islandmonkeyworld.blogspot.com/2005/10/taxi-blogging-semi-literary-blogging.html
As a tranplanted Brooklynite in Virginia, your blog warms my heart every time I read it. Congrats on the article. And most of all... drive safely.
Hi!! I'm having a great time reading your posts! Peace and love =)
Rafael from Joinville - Brazil
I Also found your blog threw the AP Article.. I have already have bookmarked your site and will look at it regularly. Excellent Site.
Tipping point reached. Screw the book, hold out for Hollywood! I'll miss the old days (2 days ago) when 20 comments was the norm but am glad you're being recognized for being an entertaining writer.
-Ben (Diego's passenger)
This blog of yours could be a real step toward doing something bigger, and i don't mean driving a bus. Good for you.
keep rolling
I like your blog! I guess here's another site that I'll frequently visit :)
Read your story in the Calgary Herald (that's in Alberta Canada you kn0w) and had to check out your blog (have family in Brooklyn)...will be checkin in on your site regularly!
u should put a counter on u r site. To see how many peole look at it, just a thought
Melissa - just want to echo many of the comments above. This is one cool frickin' blog! Your writing style is great, your adventures in cabbiedom are very entertaining, and you are indeed a cutie. I found you from the AP article via Fark.com. I hope I hail your cab someday - look for me on Lexington between 37th and 38th every night around 10:30 :-) Until then, I'll be reading. Be careful out there.
Ahh, the power of the AP!
Congrats!
(Found your site from Yahoo)
In this day and age, a female taxi driver...in New York of all places! I was 1 of 3 girl drivers in the mid 70/s in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. We were a rarity and felt very safe as all the guys watched out for us. It was a great 2 years, to be out and about all day and the feeling of freedom. Would I do it in 2006???Not a chance! Be safe Lady!
Glad I found your blog! STAY SAFE! I HOPE HOPE HOPE I can get in your cab someday.
I am a Brazilian Táxi cab.
www.taxitramas.blogger.com.br
Bye
Melissa- thanks for the entertaining read! I would buy your book and sounds like many others would too! I'm a stay at home mom of three small kids, your life is way more interesting and adventurous. Been to NY and loved it! Now I can go there without the plane ride and the screaming kids.
OK girlfriend I've wasted the last two days at work reading your blog. Great stuff and congrats on the attn.
Adam in Dallas
I hope this doesn't mean pop up ads.
-j/k, I hope this becomes what you want it to~
I learned about your blog through Yahoo News. I think it's hilarious that you post pictures of people that piss you off. Hopefully I'll never see anyone that I know.
Keep up the good work!
if you hear that your broadcast interview goes on line, please provide a link!
love your blog and think you have just the right sense of humor to do your difficult job well and put some extra enjoyment into it!
Long time reader here -- I've been reading your blog since day 1, well, it was more like day 3 or 4, and I really enjoy it. You're on my daily list of things to do!! Kinda anticlimactic that you've been unmasked - I liked the annonymity. I'm not complaining, reading your blogs has convinced me to take a trip to the Big Apple! I'll be on the lookout for your cab. Hopefully even with all this attention, I hope you continue to blog. You're a bright spot in my otherwise dreary and monotonous day! Take care!! -Nataly
Nice gingerbread coat on the newslady!
You have, as they say, been "Farked". That is to say, a lot of us farkers (Fark.com users) caught the article on you through Fark.com. So, yeah, you're on you 15 minutes now I suppose.
Great blog though, well written and all. It's a real pleasure to read, so thanks. And I do hope you take this opportunity to sell some adspace or something on your blog. I'm sure you could use the extra income (couldn't we all?)
It's great that they managed to find someone from the "Little House on the Prairie" set to come over and interview you!! Congrats on all the buzz -- I just found you recently and really enjoy checking in. As a frequent cabby rider in Chicago (and a 21 year old gal), I *love* when I get a female driver. Automatic big tip. Good luck on EVERYTHING.
Congrats
Congrats
Congrats
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Congrats
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Congrats
Congrats
Congrats
!!!!!!!!
Enjoyed your blog, read it all! Thanks for the fascinating insights, I hope things go better for you. Somehow I'm reminded a little of YT ("Yours Truly") the young woman skateboard courier in "Snow Crash" by Neil Stephenson. YT doesn't tell her mom everything, either :-).
I won't take offense at the anti-Jersey cracks, primarily because I cannot defend my fellow residents' driving habits! Great blog.
just read about you in the 'express newspaper' (ap article and photo) on the metro in washington, dc this morning! way to go! i used to live in nyc and i don't think i ever had a female cabbie. i'll look for you the next time i visit!
Jesus, I just came on three days ago. There were just a handful of comments. Yesterday with your last entry there were 67. Now just checking in, there are 199. At least the world media is effective in getting out to their readers. Honestly it is like a brush fire, and though your blog of course is great it is also interesting to see how effective and quick the information gets out to so many. Quite daunting is it not? In this day and age of open media.
I suspect we won't see you for a day or two or maybe more, just the time for you to digest such an influx.
Don't know what you think about mainstream but, you have been bitten by the mainstream producers and interesting story finders. But the greatest thing about open media today is anything goes, and pretty much at any angle. Should there be any pitches to you from potential buyers, and you decide to consent with it, I hope it will be with the funky and down to earth real personality and angle that you show in your journal.
Thank god for blogs and their diversity, especially, should you even want to chronicle the life of being a "found" and "popular" blog on the way to a bit of stardom... think about it... you could write off of that as well:) it could keep going and going and going and ... durecell all the way. Obviously you have the stamina and clear focused view on what needs to be said.
Or should you not and choose to remain "the blogger new york hack chick" which is also fucking great, the followers and readership will remain and waiting for the next entry.
Great to have you out there. I think you perhaps started a new trend. this will stem more people out there doing interesting and funky things to write about their experiences on top of mountains, bottom of oceans, foriegn countries or whatever else :). there are many out there already but not really taking it seriously or with a fixed and cohesive approach as yours. Usually most is full of random inconsistent topics. Which makes your different is that it has focus and depth and most of all sticks to one topic but with a description of the insides of it all.
It will be interesting to see what happens next :)
Good luck
Just got done reading... yes... your ENTIRE blog as posted here...
Why?
I'm frickin' bored at work, of course... and your blog is really quite impressive. I enjoyed your writing style and pictures immensely, and more importantly - it reminded me of what it felt like the first time I drove in NYC (Manhattan) coming out of the Holland Tunnel...
I was driving a shitty minivan packed completely full of expensive band equipment, white-knuckled at 50 MPH in a tunnel barely wide enough for the 2 lanes it had. Emerging into Chinatown and searching for a hotel while my ex (we were married at the time) screamed at me to not drive like an asshole while I struggled to not get run over and keep up with traffic and...
eventually (about 10 minutes later), I kind of figured out the trick - be aggressively polite. Hit the fucking gas. The cab drivers know what they're doing mostly - you can trust that they're not going to hit you. The police won't be so courteous. Guidos from Jersey (defined as any guy from Jersey with spiked hair and an imported car his parents can afford and he can show off) can't drive for shit. The roads are bumpy as fuck and that just adds to the texture of driving - that feel of speed and danger...
anyway, thanks for the taste of NYC. I'm going to pay strict attention to this blog from now on.
So, did the piece air today?
Clamrock: You live outside the NYC metro area and you picked up a copy of The New York Post? Please tell me you had a brain fart when you wrote your comment and that you actually picked up The Washington Post! The "Post" in New York Post stands for piece-of-shit tabloid.
I just stumbled across your blog today at work and I'm completely blown away!
If you aren't offered a book deal soon I'll be very very sad. I went outside for a smoke and the book I brought with me was such a crap read after spending an hour in your archives.
Your blog reminds me a little of Lynn Breedlove's book Godspeed. But without all the drama and meth.
I want to come to NYC just to ride in your cab.
I found your website to be facsinating. It is so cool to experience NY from a fellow New Yorkers Eyes.
Hi,
just read about you in the Australian papers and decided to take a look.
Looks like a great site and I like the way you write. I have bookmarked you and will be back again.
Take Care
will
Congrats on all the great press....Your 15 minutes are far from over!..Good Luck and stay safe out there..
You make me homesick, but in a good way. I hope next time I visit the family in NY I flag your cab. Great writing -- keep it up. :)
Ismell a book,then comes the movie and the money and then the buying of the cab co. you fucking bust your ass for and then the firing of the assholes you dont like and the buying of all the fucking things you could never afford and so on so forth,wow your freking busy you better move your ass
Congrats
Well, it seems like you're getting international exposure now. I live in Vancouver, up in Canada, and on the local text-scrolling news channal it mentioned your blog. I was in NY in 04 and took a lot of cabs. So it is interesting to read your stories and perspectives. I guess you're now international and coast-to-coast!
Mike
Wow!
PLEASE, please don't stop the blog! Now look who has the "Diego luck." Just remember New Jersey drivers might be bad but I think the Mass-hole (Massachusetts drivers) take the cake!! Good luck with you journey...try not to be too overwhelmed :-)
Your fan in Mass,
Stephanie
you're quite a good writer.
wow, look at all these comments! you really should consider publishing. you've got something here??
good luck (and use it)!
Hi from Holland.
Great to read all this and hope you continue.
Greg
I love the blog - I too found it on AP. I live in FL now but am from the area so it is like an update from home. Congrats on the 15 minutes, as another poster said, I bet Hollywood is going to come a'knockin.
Where the hell is 'New York' and do they really have cabs there? ~just kiddin! Nice to read something entertaining for once... Great Work!
You're what I imagine Corky (Winona Ryder's character) in "Night on Earth" would be like if she were smart and not just cute. Fabulous blog!
Congrats! I found your blog via AOL via the AP story. Keep up the good work, and I (and lots of other people) will definitely keep reading.
Annie =)
Im sure that reporter was a great gal, but did she steal that coat from jessica rabbit or what...god awful! good read on the blog by the by, we have the equivelent of jersy drivers here in Socal,( all the oblivian but none of the malice) keep safe,three cheers for NYC!
My dad sent me the link to your blog, cause it reminded him of my blog. (blakeharjes.blogspot.com). I totally love your work. Keep it up, cause this is definitely going to be a regular stop for me. I love the photos too. Keep em coming. Heck, with all this exposure you could drop some ads on here, and make some serious loot.
I am thoroughly enjoying your blog. I drove for a car service in Queens for 11 years and your site is flooding me with memories. Back before the digital era I took pictures using film and still have a couple of photo albums full of passengers, friends, drivers, nyc sites. I know it can be a tough job, but it can be fun too, at least if you are making ends meet. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Tommy
Love your blog. It is funny and a great escape from work. I am just curious why the lady from ABC is the same hue as an Oompa Loompa. Does she not look orange? Anyway, that is a great news hit. Best of luck to you.
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