My mission during my
time in Ireland is simple: I Must Learn To Drive.
Even if, for whatever
reason, passing my test is impossible, I want to leave Ireland with
the intention of passing it in the near future, and at the very least
having the skills to competently drive.
Learning to drive at
the age of 24, when your mind is already perfectly settled into its
ways, I thought, would be tricky. But I've been really impressed at
how my brain is retaining all the tricky information and sequences in
which you're supposed to do everything.
I have a really great
instructor who is also hilarious and I'm really enjoying driving
around with him intermittently shouting 'handbraaaake' at me. I've
asked him to be extra harsh on me and in the first few lessons I
really think that helped me progress.
Tomorrow will be hour
six of my lessons, and from then on it will be test preparation. I
still forget my mirror/signal order sometimes, don't use my mirrors
enough, and need a lot of prompting for my handbrake, but gear
changes are going swimmingly and I actually have good control over
the clutch/gas.
It's a shame there's no
car for me to practice in at home, I think getting comfortable on the
road is the main thing I need help with, rather than technique, but
so it goes.
I don't have a test
date yet, I cancelled my October 2nd date after a
depressingly poor 4th lesson, so I have to wait to hear
back, but I hope it'll be by November and I have some work to do to
tide me over during the longer wait in Ireland.
I never thought I'd
actually enjoy driving, in my late teens I shunned getting a
provisional license and when I finally got one never took learning
any further. I can't wait to get my license, rent a car and drive
around Scandinavia. I want to go on a roadtrip to Lithuania to visit
a friend too.
I cannot wait :)
(Toot toot)
The need to drive a tractor somewhere in my future is what forced me to get myself together and just do it already.
I absolutely want one of these bad boys eventually, in whatever delicious pastel shade is most readily available to me.