It's official: I am the proud owner of a silver, 2001, Subaru Forester named Suki. She's a great little car - lots of space inside, low mileage, clean interior, no major issues (that we've found anyway). The only catch is that she's a stick shift. A manual. Aka: something I've only learned how to drive one time in the Pine Park parking lot when I was still in high school. That was five years ago now.
So I've been learning how to drive for the last week, and as of yesterday I am now good enough to drive without a chaperone. But that doesn't mean I'm still prone to "killing it". This is definitely going to take quite a bit of practice and getting used to on my part - luckily I'm finding little things to drive to, like church, the dentist, the grocery store, Grandma's house, and the like. I also have the freedom of time to drive during the middle of the day on weekdays in non-busy areas, which is another plus. There's a fine balance of when and how fast to push in with the gas and let off on the clutch that I haven't quite figured out yet, but I am honing in on it. ;)
In other news, the purge continues. After several days at home, I have managed to clear plenty of space in my closet (and then fill it) as well as empty an entire under-the-bed box (quite an accomplishment, if I say so myself). Of course, I'm still not unpacked and my room looks completely in shambles, but I'm not too terribly concerned. I've still got time. Although I did get an interview yesterday at Big Bend National Park in Texas - my first call-back since I turned down the Puerto Rico job in June! Very exciting. Hopefully this is the start of something good. But even that job would have a start day of mid-November, so I've got a few weeks at least. I think...
It’s been almost two weeks since your last update, Jaclynn. How’s the driving so far? Anyway, how amazing it is that you adjusted to a stick-shift car in a little time. Many drivers find it hard to do that, because obviously, stick-shift cars require more concentration and coordination. Even so, constant practice will give you the competency you need. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh, so you’ve gone from automatic to manual. Hmm… It is trickier to do that than if you were able to drive a stick-shift first. But pursue it; it would be a great idea. Because if you can drive a manual car, they say you can drive any car. One important thing is to be particular of your route. As it is a manual transmission, you’ll have to do the gear shifting.
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