taxi cab confessions

Just arrived back yesterday from a mini vacation to Dublin, which was awesome to say the very least. I'll post more about that later, but for now, a little bit of insight I gained from none other than a couple of cab drivers.

The first piece was given by our Glaswegian cabbie, who drove us to from the airport. As a native to Glasgow, he naturally favoured it over Edinburgh [for those non-UKers, there is a big rivalry between the two cities]. I told him how friendly I found the people in Dublin compared to Edinburgh. He replied, "Well there's a famous saying about Glaswegians and Edinburghers, do you know it?". I didn't, so he told me, it being, "People in Glasgow have more fun at a funeral than people in Edinburgh do at a wedding."

Hilarious, and yet very true. From the few times I have briefly spent in Glasgow, I've noticed a friendly, down-to-earth vibe amongst the locals. Edinburgh folk are known for being more reserved, aloof, uptight and consider themselves to be more "posh." For those of you who know me well, I don't really jibe with "reserved and uptight." I prefer friendly, laid-back, and conversive. I know this is all a bit repetitive, but I just liked the fact that the cabbie agreed, and I Googled that quote to make sure he just wasn't making it up and he wasn't.

Another quote came from a cab driver who drove me to a restaurant in London when I got lost and confused while I was there last autumn. Upon hearing my accent, he asked a bit about where I'm from and what I was doing in the UK. After giving him a quick run-down, he told me about how he had traveled while he was younger and spent about 2 years between Australia and parts of Southeast Asia, working and doing whatever. It was obvious from his sudden enthusiasm that he really held onto and cherished that time in his life. In so many words, he told me to cherish the experience I have right now and make the most of it....whether that meant saying yes to going clubbing when I felt a bit like staying in, taking a break to grab dinner with friends when I should just be eating at my desk, or throwing a trip on my credit card and just embracing life.

I know that message isn't particularly groundbreaking or anything, but this taxi driver really flicked a switch for me. He was right! Ever since about 5 years ago, when something big happened in my life, I have changed slowly but surely into someone who lives in the moment, takes chances and tries to soak up as much as I can in this world. Why? Because life is too short (and not to sound morbid) and you never know when it could end. So since then, I've just sort of done what I want when I'm able to. Like use all my savings from birthdays and Christmases and jobs to go study abroad in a castle. Or move to Toronto to pursue a career passion of mine, even though it meant spending 3 months as an unpaid intern, living in less-than-ideal housing.

The same attitude has followed me here as well. Should I really add that trip to Sweden to my credit card? The old me would have said no, and just stayed here restfully. But the "new" me realizes that spending $X00 on a vacation now won't really hurt me in the long run. Let's say I move back to Canada and do the working 9-5, five days a week thing. Not only will I have an income then to pay off these trips, but I also won't be able to just jet off to somewhere in Europe, and even if I did, it would cost me exponentially more money because I'd be so far away.

So I am trying to soak in as much as I can - whether that applies to something as big as a vacation somewhere, or as little as skipping out of the library for an hour to meet a friend for coffee. I also realize this post might make it seem as if I'm fiscally irresponsible, but know I'm not - I'm just embracing this year in terms of "opportunity costs." Seems like that dreaded Econ class is paying off after all.

Moral of the story: listen to your taxi drivers, they're smart folks.