Reflections of My Life

Do you think the Walmart and other stores with delivery services have destroyed the taxi businesses. They probably had work from people going to them. You can understand some of the rates they charge. If taxi cab companies don’t have much business they have to charge more. Too bad.
 

Jules said:
Do you think the Walmart and other stores with delivery services have destroyed the taxi businesses. They probably had work from people going to them. You can understand some of the rates they charge. If taxi cab companies don’t have much business they have to charge more. Too bad.
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I don't know if it did or not. The people who can afford them have their own cars. I never used them so I can't really say for sure. I used the bus and enjoyed it. I am still hoping it will come back.
 
It's quite surprising here , Kat.. that despite the very high cost of Cabs..people use them all the time...

here's an example of current cab fares..

Typical fares and journey times​


This table shows typical fares and journey times based on distance for the different tariffs. Fares and journey times may be higher if there are delays or heavy traffic.


DistanceApprox
journey time		Monday to Friday
05:00 - 20:00
(Tariff 1) 		Monday to Friday
20:00 - 22:00
Saturday and Sunday
05:00 - 22:00
(Tariff 2)		Every night
22:00 - 05:00
Public holidays
(Tariff 3)
1 mile6 - 13 mins£8.40 - £12.80£8.40 - £13.00£9.00 - £13.00
2 miles10 - 20 mins£12.40 - £19.80£13.20 - £20.00£13.40 - £20.00
4 miles16 - 30 mins£21.00 - £30.00£23.00 - £31.00£23.00 - £34.00
6 miles28 - 40 mins£32.00 - £41.00£40.00 - £44.00£40.00 - £44.00
Between Heathrow and
Central London		30 - 60 mins£64.00 - £120.00£64.00 - £120.00£64.00 - £120.00

There is a minimum fare of £4.20 at all times.

Phone, app and online bookings​


There is an extra charge of up to £2 if the taxi is booked by phone, app or online. When booking a taxi, terms and conditions may vary so please check when you book.


Heathrow Airport​


There is an extra charge of £1.60 for journeys that start from one of the Heathrow Airport taxi ranks.


There is an extra charge of up to £6.00 for dropping off passengers in one of the terminal drop-off zones at Heathrow Airport. The drop-off extra is to help taxi drivers cover the cost of the Terminal Drop-Off Charge (TDOC) introduced by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL).
 

Living in an apartment building you see a lot of conflicts between others. I avoid it and try to stay neutral as much as possible. Trouble is I have a person from each side coming to me as soon as I walk up the ramp. I know who to say what to. Just hope I remember. Cannot ask how someone is or they will tell me and they are not talking about their health or day. I just listen and don't say much back. Try to change the subject if I can.

I plan on being busy today, Doing stuff in my apartment that I haven't gotten done yet. Do a little. Sit down. Do a little more. Sit down. That is how I do it.

I think I have decided to stop writing my blog. I cannot keep up with it now. There are things I needed to do or it would not be indexed by Google any longer and I don't feel like learning what to do. Just stop writing it or worrying about. Maybe I will take it down, though especially the past posts get a lot of traffic. It is like my houseplants I guess. I am throwing all but the aloe away because I am tired of taking care of them. Winter will be here and then I have to share my table with them and not going to do that.
 
hollydolly said:
It's quite surprising here , Kat.. that despite the very high cost of Cabs..people use them all the time...

here's an example of current cab fares..

Typical fares and journey times​


This table shows typical fares and journey times based on distance for the different tariffs. Fares and journey times may be higher if there are delays or heavy traffic.


DistanceApprox
journey time		Monday to Friday
05:00 - 20:00
(Tariff 1) 		Monday to Friday
20:00 - 22:00
Saturday and Sunday
05:00 - 22:00
(Tariff 2)		Every night
22:00 - 05:00
Public holidays
(Tariff 3)
1 mile6 - 13 mins£8.40 - £12.80£8.40 - £13.00£9.00 - £13.00
2 miles10 - 20 mins£12.40 - £19.80£13.20 - £20.00£13.40 - £20.00
4 miles16 - 30 mins£21.00 - £30.00£23.00 - £31.00£23.00 - £34.00
6 miles28 - 40 mins£32.00 - £41.00£40.00 - £44.00£40.00 - £44.00
Between Heathrow and
Central London		30 - 60 mins£64.00 - £120.00£64.00 - £120.00£64.00 - £120.00

There is a minimum fare of £4.20 at all times.

Phone, app and online bookings​


There is an extra charge of up to £2 if the taxi is booked by phone, app or online. When booking a taxi, terms and conditions may vary so please check when you book.


Heathrow Airport​


There is an extra charge of £1.60 for journeys that start from one of the Heathrow Airport taxi ranks.


There is an extra charge of up to £6.00 for dropping off passengers in one of the terminal drop-off zones at Heathrow Airport. The drop-off extra is to help taxi drivers cover the cost of the Terminal Drop-Off Charge (TDOC) introduced by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL).
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I don't think I could afford that. People with low incomes here will not pay it. So they walk to the little stores and spend their money on food. For myself the grocery delivery is a better deal for my money.
 
katlupe said:
I don't think I could afford that. People with low incomes here will not pay it. So they walk to the little stores and spend their money on food. For myself the grocery delivery is a better deal for my money.
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tht's the amazing thing here... people who are on benfits seem to be the ones who can afford these expensive things more than working people...
 
katlupe said:
Living in an apartment building you see a lot of conflicts between others. I avoid it and try to stay neutral as much as possible. Trouble is I have a person from each side coming to me as soon as I walk up the ramp. I know who to say what to. Just hope I remember. Cannot ask how someone is or they will tell me and they are not talking about their health or day. I just listen and don't say much back. Try to change the subject if I can.

I plan on being busy today, Doing stuff in my apartment that I haven't gotten done yet. Do a little. Sit down. Do a little more. Sit down. That is how I do it.

I think I have decided to stop writing my blog. I cannot keep up with it now. There are things I needed to do or it would not be indexed by Google any longer and I don't feel like learning what to do. Just stop writing it or worrying about. Maybe I will take it down, though especially the past posts get a lot of traffic. It is like my houseplants I guess. I am throwing all but the aloe away because I am tired of taking care of them. Winter will be here and then I have to share my table with them and not going to do that.
Click to expand...
I quit writing in my blog twice. This last time I just had enough.
 
katlupe said:
Living in an apartment building you see a lot of conflicts between others. I avoid it and try to stay neutral as much as possible. Trouble is I have a person from each side coming to me as soon as I walk up the ramp. I know who to say what to. Just hope I remember. Cannot ask how someone is or they will tell me and they are not talking about their health or day. I just listen and don't say much back. Try to change the subject if I can.

I plan on being busy today, Doing stuff in my apartment that I haven't gotten done yet. Do a little. Sit down. Do a little more. Sit down. That is how I do it.

I think I have decided to stop writing my blog. I cannot keep up with it now. There are things I needed to do or it would not be indexed by Google any longer and I don't feel like learning what to do. Just stop writing it or worrying about. Maybe I will take it down, though especially the past posts get a lot of traffic. It is like my houseplants I guess. I am throwing all but the aloe away because I am tired of taking care of them. Winter will be here and then I have to share my table with them and not going to do that.
Click to expand...

You can still keep in touch with everyone on threads about "how is your day".
 
Our new manager started work here on Tuesday. I never saw her so I don't know what she looks like. I figure it is a good sign when I don't have to see the manager because that usually means a problem somewhere. The least trouble you create for management means they usually leave you alone. There are a number of people who are always lined up outside her office to complain about something or someone. The managers don't really like those people so much.

Today is my water delivery day. So I will be waiting for that all day. I never know what time he is coming. Pretty quiet day I expect.
 
I met the new manager and ended up talking to her awhile. She is very nice. She said she is going to be here 3 days a week. She asked me what I see as the biggest problem I see here. I said that there is no manager here on a regular basis. I told her that is why people line up outside the office with a bunch of problems. Nobody to go to most of the time.
 
Fall is definitely in the air! I love it! I just do not thrive in hot weather. And yes, 63 is still too hot for me. Yesterday, the birds were back in the yard trying to stuff themselves for cooler temps. When I lived at my house, I remember one day in October, counting 22 robins in the backyard at one time. Usually unheard of having that many together. But when they are getting ready to fly south that is what they do. The next day, not even one robin was left. Just the winter birds were here and now coming into the yard and my feeder on the deck.

I am now thinking about getting the things together I use to insulate my windows and sills for the cold weather. Not yet but when it is what I call "serious cold". The woman upstairs keep asking me what I use and how I do it. She used to live on the first floor with her mother. Her mother died some months back and she had to move upstairs to a studio apartment. The windows on this side of the building are not blocked by trees or anything so it is colder I guess. Nobody showed me how to do it.

Just common sense to figure things out for myself. My grandmother always had folded newspapers taped inside her windows that had turned yellow with time. She never took them out. At the time I thought they were ugly. Now I think of them in another way....frugal! For the most part my apartment is never very cold even in winter. I am insulated by the other apartments and the hall on one side. Plus our building is brick and when the sun shines on that all day it retains that heat.
 
Ordered groceries this morning because my bunny boy is out of bananas again. Set the delivery time for this afternoon. So don't have to do any hurrying. Then getting some bills paid as I work on my September budget sheet. Have not felt my best the last few days but think I am improving now.

September is the time of the year I get into doing things again. After the hot weather finally gives me a break. Now I get up in the morning and my feet do not swell up and hurt. It is Lymphatic fluid but it seems to improve with cooler temps. So I feel like doing things. I know I probably sound like I live a boring life but maybe it is making up for the life I lived previously.
 
I did the same thing as Girl in the Woods. Gutted a passenger van similar to hers and built it into a simple camper, named Gypsy Queen. My two dogs and I drove from Texas to Alaska, drove the Haul Road to the northernmost point where the Pipeline enters the ocean. The entire trip was 5 1/2 months long, all but two nights spent in the van. 10,500 +/- miles. It was an adventure, for sure.

No mechanical issues but did have to replace all five tires and the windshield, when a big truck blasted by me in the opposite direction on a gravel road and rocks flew onto the windshield.

I never let my dogs off leash. Bears are prolific up there.

I am glad I did it but wouldn't do it again. And that was 13 years ago.
 
GoodEnuff said:
I did the same thing as Girl in the Woods. Gutted a passenger van similar to hers and built it into a simple camper, named Gypsy Queen. My two dogs and I drove from Texas to Alaska, drove the Haul Road to the northernmost point where the Pipeline enters the ocean. The entire trip was 5 1/2 months long, all but two nights spent in the van. 10,500 +/- miles. It was an adventure, for sure.

No mechanical issues but did have to replace all five tires and the windshield, when a big truck blasted by me in the opposite direction on a gravel road and rocks flew onto the windshield.

I never let my dogs off leash. Bears are prolific up there.

I am glad I did it but wouldn't do it again. And that was 13 years ago.
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Wow! Sounds like a good time. I like reading and watching videos about doing things like that but never wanted to do them myself. I am an observer I guess.
 
This is just something weighting on my mind today. I grew up with one brother. Just the two of us and our parents. We had a happy childhood. But my uncle's family had 7 kids and I loved going to their house. I dreamed about having all those brothers and sisters. At times I had imaginary ones. Even as I got older I wished I had a sister. Just seemed a closeness you can have with a sister rather than a brother. I sometimes think the same way about daughters instead of sons. But I had a stepdaughter and she was a nightmare.

Well this morning when I went to FB, my eyes were opened! My cousins in the family of 7 kids spilled all their hate for each other in the comments of a post one of the sisters made. I still can't believe it. All she did was share that her brother was in the hospital in a coma. Then the youngest sister got mad that she put that on FB. His (the brother in the hospital) wife though was fine with it and thanked her for posting it. But it started a fight that I was shocked at...........the perfect family???? At least in my mind.

I have had a few times in my life where I have been disappointed by someone I looked up to and respected. It is sad when that happens because then I feel like the part of my life they were in was a lie or didn't happen. Many of those were memories of my childhood so makes it even worse.

I am a little more thankful right now for my brother. I would call him but I know he not home and doing his wild west show today. So I will call him this week.
 
I understand. My father would make very hurtful remarks on my fb page and remarks about me on his. I finally had no choice but to block the family for my own peace of mind. Just something about fb that people can't control themselves for some reason.
 
katlupe said:
I was shocked at...........the perfect family????
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There were seven of us kids in my family. #1 brother was a con man; died from "throat cancer". Not sure exactly what but he had been estranged from the family for decades since all but me had been taken in one way or another by him. #2 brother was an emotional mess, died from alcohol liver disease. I am #3/#1 daughter. I think I'm alright but was considered the bad one. (I wasn't.) I don't drink, smoke weed, or do any mind altering drugs.
#4 Brother is an alcoholic/marijuana recluse. Never married nor had a long-term relationship, hates the entire world. #5 Sister is okay but none of us much like her. #6 brother is in hospital as we speak with end stage liver disease from alcohol, being worked up now for a transplant. At least he is now sober and hasn't done meth in a couple of decades. #7 sister, my favorite sibling, is obese and her health is iffy. She drinks regularly and I hope her liver holds up. She is the only one to whom I would say, "I love you."

We all still speak to each other in a civil manner but that's about it.
 

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