Thursday, April 15, 2010

Seven weeks

Yesterday I found out that my driver's license will remain intact until June 4th no matter how many times I fail the final, 45-minute, highway-inclusive road test of the graduated licensing system where I live. However, if I retake the initial 15-minute test and fail, I'm done. I'll have to start over.

Translation:

After effectively not driving for the past three years, and not having parallel parked or backed into a parking space (or even driven frontways into one located between two other cars) or changed lanes in four, I have seven weeks to become enormously comfortable and confident in my car - while it's moving among other vehicles.

At high speeds and in multiple lanes, or downtown among streetcars and jaywalking pedestrians and weaving bike messengers.

All my clever procrastinations are over, folks. I gotta detach myself from the keyboard and the knitting needles and transform myself into Girl Who Loves Driving!

(best wishes welcome, sigh.)

3 comments:

Kathleen Taylor said...

Sending good thoughts. Our license renewal is uncomplicated except that this year, my state government decided to demand many (and I do mean many) pieces of identification, including a legal paper trail of every name change. I was able to prove how I got my married name, but unable to prove how I got my maiden name. So I have to wait for another official birth certificate to arrive before applying again (the one I had wasn't complete enough, or something)... sigh...

Anonymous said...

I have been there, done that - or something close. I feel for you, and y'know - I am here and alive to tell you all can be well. You CAN do this. I promise. (I think, if you can knit, you can drive, skills-wise. Just forget about the difference between frogging and killing people, and you'll be fine.)

Ah, and comically, if unhelpfully, what I have to type to prove I'm a person, not a 'bot? Kid you not: comatoe. Yes, you did read that the same way I did.

TexNan said...

Sorry, Maire, while sympathetic I have to laugh. I learned to drive on country roads, beginning when I was thirteen. My mother learned in a cow pasture; I think she was older, but I wouldn't swear to it--I wasn't there. Unfortunately, in Texas, you drive or you lose.

And Kathi it well may be that all over the US we'll have to provide that kind of info for renewals. Mine's not due for a while so I don't know about our great state. (Insert wink here.)