I was given a book of wisdom today. To be precise, it's a book of quotes gleaned from conversations with taxi drivers in New York. The book describes it aptly this way: "New York cab drivers are the world's most accessible source of truth and wisdom. Where else can you have intimate conversations with someone from Tibet, Bangladesh, Liberia, India, Zaire, Pakistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia, Haiti, Peru, Lithuania, Poland, the Ivory Coast? Where else can you hear the wisdom of Taoism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Islam, Santeria, Scientology, Zogqen, Zoroastrianism,and Howard Stern?"

There was a ribbon placeholder in the book spine, and it marked the page entitled On being fickle. The quote there was: "The things you love are as stupid as the things you hate and are easily interchangeable." I asked if this page was highlighted deliberately for me, but there was no reply. Anyway, I finished reading the book on my commute home and it was the first time I've completed a book in ages.

If I were a taxi driver, I would probably stun passengers with random nuggets of useless information. Like did you know that Jon Bon Jovi's parents were a hairdresser and a Playboy Bunny? No wonder he had all that big hair! Or wouldn't it be much easier to fall in love if people were books, songs, movies or such? And on top of that, the passengers would realise with dismay my atrocious sense of direction.

Hmm. Maybe it's not time to consider a career change yet.