Why I didn't kick a scumbag cabbie's ass

This morning, I sent my father off to the airport. Actually, I didn't go all the way to the airport with him - I merely sent him to a bus stop where he could catch a bus to the airport. I wouldn't have even done that if he didn't need help with his luggage.

Because my dad's luggage was quite heavy, we took a taxi from Graduate House - he stayed at a guest room here - to the nearest bus stop in Sheung Wan. We asked the Graduate House office to call a taxi, and our taxi arrived within 3 minutes. Usually, taxi drivers will get out of their cars to help load luggage into the trunk, but this guy, a skinny guy in his 50's whose hair was dyed black, didn't budge from his seat. I loaded my dad's luggage - a mid-sized Samsonite suitcase filled with books and a mid-sized duffel bag full of clothes - into the trunk before my dad and I both got into the back seat of the cab.

The driver seemed to take a long route than necessary. The taxi metre doesn't usually exceed $25 HKD whenever I take a taxi to or from HKU to the airport bus stop. This time, the metre hit $35 HKD. For those of you who live in Hong Kong, the driver took Conduit Road all the way to the edge of Admiralty before finally going down the hill and through the middle of Central. In other words, rather than going down the hill sooner, the driver took us on a U-shaped journey that cost us an extra $10 HKD. That's not all - the sonofabitch charged us an extra $5 HKD for calling a cab, and yet another $5 HKD for the big piece of luggage. First of all, I've never been charged $5 HKD for calling a cab. I've been told that if we call for a cab to pick us up immediately, we usually won't be charged; we WILL be charged if we ask to be picked up in 15 min or 30 min or more, though. Secondly, most taxi drivers these days seem to waive the $5 HKD per piece of luggage, AND they usually help unload the luggage.

Did I pay without complaining? Did I put up a fight? Well, it's hard to say.

Under different circumstances, this whole thing would have turned out quite differently. Already annoyed that the driver took me and my dad for a ride, I was about to grudgingly pay the driver $35 HKD, but then, he demanded $45 HKD. I replied, "$45?? Yeah right." I gave him $35 HKD and got out of the cab. He got out of the cab and said, "Hey, you didn't pay me enough." If my dad weren't right there, I would have said, "Tough luck, asshole." But my dad WAS there, and he apologetically asked the driver, "Oh, then how much do we owe?" Before my dad could open his wallet, I forked over a $50 bill and took back my $35. The driver got back inside his car and got some change, and when he came out, he found that I was glaring at him. If you were there, you would have seen steam rising from my shoulders, neck, and head. I could stop a bus with that look. He handed me a $10 bill and a $5 coin, then got back into his car with me still glaring at his back. Five seconds later, the guy got out of his car and came up to me, saying, "I gave you too much change. I gave you a $10 bill and a $5 coin." My dad turned to me and said, "Then you should give him his money back." If my dad weren't there, I would have said, "You did? Where's your proof?" or "Oh? Then I'd like to see you TRY to take your money back, motherfucka." But what could I do? I grudgingly took the $10 out of my wallet and handed it back to him. He was about to get back into his cab, but then he turned around and explained to my dad, "We charge $5 extra if you call a cab, and $5 for each piece of luggage. It's company policy," all the while ignoring my glare. I said, "Yeah yeah, whatever. Get the hell out of my face" (not those exact words, but what I said in Cantonese conveyed exactly that tone).

I'm upset at myself. I'm amused that such a thing could happen, but wish that it could have happened without the presence of my dad. First of all, I don't want him to see my violent, menacing, and petty side. Sometimes, I do hate how I can be, and know that I should act more like a gentleman, or at least do what I can to avoid conflict. Unfortunately, I believe in a little something called justice. Secondly, waiting at the bus stop with my dad could be the last time I see him in months, perhaps years, or, God forbid, ever. I didn't want his last impression of me to be that of an ill-mannered guy or a guy with unrestrained rage. I'm pretty sure he sensed my anger, but he didn't say anything. In fact, 10 seconds after the cabbie drove away, I acted as though nothing happened by chatting about other things. Thirdly, this cabbie was such a bumbler, and taking revenge would have been TOO easy. He gave me too much change, then had the guts to ask me to give it back to him?? Do you think I'd ever give in to such a lazy, sneaky, greedy person? Don't you think I'd rather humiliate him by making him get back into the cab without getting his $10 back?

I love teaching people to not mess with me, and perhaps to not mess with anybody. I pity the next person who crosses me - he or she is going to get it doubly bad.