As some of you may already know, I'm a small-town girl, and until coming to uni I'd never lived in a city before...and I'd also never had to order a taxi. I did try once in my first semester, but I couldn't hear what the person on the phone was saying and got anxious, so I had to give up. But tonight, I ordered a taxi not once, but twice, to get to and from orchestra rehearsals, and I survived!

I'm not sure what it was I was worried about, but both hailing a taxi on the street and phoning the company were too scary for me before (making phone calls in general scares me sometimes, actually)...I still have to try hailing a taxi in the street, but now at least I know I can do the phone part ok - I know what to say, and what they're going to ask me. This is such a relief...I'd been wanting to get a taxi back from the rehearsals before now (some of them ended quite late, and it was cold - violins don't like cold, it can send them out of tune or even break strings if you're unlucky ), but hadn't worked up the courage, and been really annoyed at myself about it. But hopefully now, it shouldn't be a problem!

I know it doesn't really sound like a big deal, but it means a lot to me, so I just thought I'd share.

(In case you're wondering, I have caught taxis before, but with one exception it's been with friends or family...and with that one exception, it was one of my friends who hailed it for me. )