Driving Lessons!

Aww, the mini cooper S. The only car that makes me drool! Someday...

Yesterday was my first driving lesson, and it actually went better than I thought it would. I've hired some sketchy chinatown driving school, so I wasn't expecting much.

My driving instructor called 20 minutes before he was supposed to be there, and said he was late and I was going to be there in 1/2 hour. Then at 7:30 I was waiting outside. Close to 7:40 he shows up, in an unmarked car, that is obviously just the car he drives on a regular basis. Oh goody!

So we get in the car and start driving, soon he tells me to pull over because he forgot to put the driving school sign on. Why didn't he put it on before? I have no idea. Anyways, so we continue the lessons. We took Queen down to the beaches, and then through the beaches, up to Kingston, over the the Bluffs, then back home, for a total of a two hour lesson. I'm seeming to get the hang of the actual driving, but changing lanes can be troublesome as I have trouble seeing over the headrests in the back of the car.

Parking was the absolute worst. The first thing he had me attempt is parallel parking. I mean everyone knows this is difficult, but damn. It's doesn't help that he sometimes doesn't really know what he is saying. I hope I get the hang of it. Parking in the parking lot at the Bluffs seemed to be a little bit better, but still quite difficult. I managed to park fine the first time, but the rest of the time, it just wasn't working too well.

We were driving along and most of the time the speed limit was 40, and he would tell me "speed up to 40!" and when I reached 40 he would say "slowly! slowly!" Then I would slow down and he would say "you need to apply some gas!" *LOL* It's nothing short of interesting to be sure.

Because his car is just his car, he doesn't have a break on his side, and therefore is a little nervous and was holding the wheel most of the time with me. I didn't mind, but it was kinda amusing to be sure.

My next lesson is Thursday... I'm going to need all the practice I can get so that I can be ready for my test on July 4th.