Being Bandy: third time's the charm

For the past 21 years there's something 'important' that I haven't quite gotten around to doing yet... that is, until last week. As my older sister Louise put it I have "FINALLY" gotten my learners license to drive a car! So yes. I am now on the road, and yes. it is hard for my feet to reach the peddles. hehe.

All my friends from highschool have been driving around for years, but little 'ol me was never really interested. Now I think I've got a few reasons for this..

1. I watched my dad teach my older sister.. and that kinda scared me off. (not that he was a bad teacher, it was more how he handled mistakes that did it)
2. My mum wasn't too keen to teach us. (for a valid reason) =)
3. Most of what I needed was in walking distance.
4. I was out of the country for about 2 years...

So all that combined with my general lack of enthusiasm resulted in me being license-less... well until now. :) When Carter and I got married I knew I couldn't put it off much longer. So when Carter and I approached the transport/licensing/whatever place about a month ago, I was there out of necessity more than desire.

I'd actually had my L's before -but never used it- so I thought I knew the drill. Do a 30 question test (I got 100% last time I did it), do an eye test.. then fill out a form and get your license...We expected it to be simple -it wasn't. As it turned out they didn't need me to do the quiz test again (which was a shame cause I studied hard for it), but what they did need was a medical. Go figure. So it was 1 week till we had an appointment, then 1 week till the license place received the medical, and then another week till they updated the system.

Although this was rather irritating it did serve a good purpose in the end. It made me WANT to get my license really bad! It was taking so long, that for the first time I was enthusiastic in a big way. =D I was very happy last week to walk away from that building with my special piece of paper in my hand. Even the lady at the desk smiled when she handed it to me (she's seen us coming in for it every week for about a month).

We'd already hunted out a secluded patch of road in a new development area, so that's where we headed. When I jumped behind the wheel of our manual Barina... I quickly realised that I needed the seat allll the way forward (+ a bit) to push the clutch in comfortably. hmmm...

glasses over sunnies.. hot look hey?

having the love of my life sitting beside me makes it hard to keep my eyes on the road
=P

Allll the way forward (it's hard to put the seatbelt on)

I drove around for about an hour. Occasionally experiencing the 'joys' of stalling and NO power steering. But aside from collecting a few plants in the back seat I didn't do too bad. And although it is a bit of a surprise... at the same time it isn't, cause Carter is a very good teacher! One of the things I like best about having my husband teaching me is that when I do well I get a big kiss!! How much more motivation do I need? haha!

Carter and I have only been out driving a few times, so this is still just the beginning. I'm not confident around other cars yet, I suck at reversing, and I haven't quite perfected hill starts -but I know it'll all fall into place. And until then I'll keep doing my best, I'll enjoy Carter's kisses, avoid plants by the curb, and find a cushion to put behind me as I drive. haha!