Sunday, April 24, 2011

new driver overconfidence, anyone?

Parallel parking so beautifully that I literally wanted to sing and then maybe kiss the steering wheel was definitely a highlight of my day. It wasn't just a fluke either. I did it twice in a row and I knew exactly what I was doing both times. I'm still high on the joy of being a confident driver right now. It's unbelievably great.

My road test is in 23 days. Or 22. I'm not sure how countdowns work, really. And, you see, I would attempt to explain ICBC's graduated licencing program but it's not worth it. 1. It hardly makes any sense, and 2. I find it a little annoying (and, for the most part, ineffective). Suffice it to say that on May 17th, should I pass--which I will*--I will be able to drive without a supervisor in the car. And that seems pretty exciting.

At the moment, I'm feeling pretty good about it. I may be suffering from what chapter 4 of my book refers to as 'new driver overconfidence' but I'm okay with it. Apart from my present inability to steer the car backwards between two lines, I'm radiating competence. I can do the maneuvers. I shoulder check. I use my mirrors. I am aware of my space margins. I'm conscious of my speed. I obey signage. I stop in the correct position. I'm feeling prepared.

But I have three weeks to lose the calm facade and get it back again.

I feel like I should add something now, put a new spin on the 'learning to drive' rite of passage. But apart from feeling the habitual guilt of what could be seen as wasting gas, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions for the sole purpose of learning to operate a vehicle that may or may not be obsolete in coming decades due to exorbitant oil prices, I have nothing novel to add to the cacophony. So I'll just end it here.


* Note that this is not arrogance but a positive attitude.

1 comment:

Vita said...

Did you know that it may be possible to create oil/gas from algae? It's not carbon-neutral, I don't think, but it's better than drilling!

Good luck on your test! I believe in you!