On another note, I finally braved the roads yesterday. That's right, I ventured out for a drive all by myself... and boy, what an event that was!! :) As you're all well aware, stick shifts and I do not get along so well! I like driving my automatic cars, where I don't have to worry about shifting gears every five minutes... (Becky, if you're reading this, you definitely know how I feel about driving stick shifts!! :) Let's just say, I almost destroyed her car, which was a stick shift, on a number of occasions when I attempted to drive it! :)) So, anyways I've decided that I need to practice so that I can get used to driving one, because stick shifts are my only option in this country.
Well, I dropped Brian off at work, and then ventured out on my own... The ride back to the apartment wasn't so difficult, as it was early in the morning and there weren't too many cars on the road. I managed to only stall the car twice while sitting at stop lights... Great! However, the drive to pick Brian up later on that afternoon, was a totally different story. First, before I even backed out of my parking spot, I managed to stall the car while trying to put it in reverse... Lovely! So, I wasn't off to a very good start. I hurried up and started the car up and started driving. I hoped that I wouldn't get stopped at the stop light around the corner, but sure enough, I pulled up to the light right as it was turning yellow... Go figure. So, I sat and waited. Now, as I sat there another car pulled up right behind me, and he didn't leave much space between my car and his. Well, the light turned yellow, and I let off the clutch and got ready to drive away... Little did I know that I was parked on a slight incline, which meant that the moment I let off the clutch, I started rolling backwards. Panic quickly set in! I kept thinking, "Oh no, I'm going to hit that car!!"... So, I quickly stepped on the gas and managed to rev the engine quite loudly, all the while trying to release the clutch slow enough so that I wouldn't stall the car... Well, I finally released the clutch and, being that I was stepping on the gas quite hard, I managed to shoot through the light like a bat out of hell!! You better believe that I got a whole bunch of stares from nearby pedestrians!! Well, I managed to get things under control and I drove up the road for a couple of blocks, until I reached the next intersection. As I sat there waiting to go, I hoped that no one would pull up behind me, just in case I started rolling backwards again... No such luck! The same guy from before pulled up behind me again... ugh! This time I was determined to have more control of the situation, so I eased up off the clutch when the light changed, and I started to make a left turn... That is, until I stalled once again! At this point, I was not a happy camper... I motioned for the guy to go around me, but he didn't cooperate (I think I was his entertainment for the day! :))... I quickly started the car and I started driving again, only to be stopped again after only driving two blocks. This time I was at a roundabout and I had to yield to all of the cars on the left... So, I waited and waited... Finally, when the time came to go, I was determined that I wouldn't stall the car again... so I stepped down hard on the gas pedal and once again, the engine was revving as loud as could be... I let off the clutch, and just like before, I shot through that roundabout like a crazy woman!! At that point, I just wanted to get to my destination so that I could just get out of the car... and being that the situation had gone from bad to worse so quickly, I started laughing hysterically, because if I didn't start laughing at that point, I would have started sobbing!! :) The rest of the drive proved to be just as interesting... I managed to drive through two yellow lights that managed to turn red just as I was going through... At that point, I had had enough of stalling and revving my engine that I didn't want to stop at anymore stop lights, so I hurried through them as quickly as possible. Not necessarily the smartest move on my part, as I quickly learned that the stoplights all have cameras on them that take your picture when you go through them, and if you're not driving correctly, a couple of weeks later, you'll receive the ticket in the mail. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that I'm not the lucky recipient of one of those! :) Long story short, I finally arrived at Brian's work and pulled into the nearest parking lot... I quickly found out that that was a big mistake, as I apparently needed a special pass to get out of the parking lot... Great! Brian ended up having to explain the situation to security and they ended up giving him the pass that allowed us to get back out of the parking lot... Needless to say, I was very happy to let Brian take the keys and drive the rest of the way back to the apartment! :) Let's just hope that I gradually start to improve, otherwise it might be a long two years with not being able to drive! :)
Well, I'm off to run some errands... I hope all is well for you! Miss you much!
2 comments:
I attempted to drive a stick shift ONCE and never again!!!
-Cindi
It's soooo much easier to drive an automatic!! Instead of concentrating on using the clutch and shifting gears... you can concentrate on things that are more important while driving (such as drinking coffee and talking on the phone! :))
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