Going home, finding a home, and driving home

[emony]

After this week's spectacular crappiness, I'm planning to go home tomorrow for a few days R&R. I booked Friday and Monday off work for whatever con it is this weekend, but in the end no one wanted to go, so I'm just going to head back to the mother island for a few days in the comfort of my childhood home. My mother is away, of course, on holiday in Crete, so there'll be no heating and no food. But I can turn on the heating and call in at Sainsburys, and all will be well. I will only have my mother's scary Vista PC though, so not much with the internet action. Hopefully I'll be able to dl tonight's CSI before I leave, and get tomorrow's BSG while I'm there.

I've lined up a couple of rental viewings, and one house, for Monday, but I'm not sure whether I'll actually go. It's a very long drive, and I'm really not sure I'm ready for that yet. I'm going to drive home tomorrow, but that's a drive I've done - as a passenger, anyway - a million times before, so I should be okay with that. Hopefully. But all the way over to the new area - it's quite a long way, and unfamiliar roads. So.. I'm not sure. I might cancel, or rather postpone until next week, as I'm off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so I can fit plenty of viewings in then, god willing!

For all my nervousness, I love my car :) I've driven to and from work four times now, three of them in rush hour and most of them with at least one passenger, which is odd. Passengers want to talk! The only passengers I had before were my driving instructor, who talked about using my mirrors and things, and the test inspector, who talked about turning left at the roundabout. Now it's all chatter chatter and I'm trying to concentrate on not crashing into moving vehicles. Or stationary ones. Or stationary objects. And so forth. It's quite an adjustment. But my car is great. It's a bit less shiny, because it got snowed on twice, but it's very comfy and spacious. I'm rubbish at parking, but I think it's a skill that - in real life - will take time and practice to develop.

Comments

[atlas-one.livejournal.com]

Hope you have a good weekend away and feel all the better for it.

Glad you are happy with your car.

Good luck with the rental viewings.

[emony.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[odycee.livejournal.com]

Just read your post about the week's craptacular events. Wow. But you're leaving soon so bollocks to them, eh? Why do people have to make things so difficult sometimes?

Yay car! I think I'm just about used to passengers now but I still sometimes have to say things like 'I'm not ignoring you on purpose, I'm just trying to not get us taken out by a lorry on this roundabout'! I never appreciated how difficult holding a conversation at the same time as going round a roundabout etc. would be!

One thing I'm very glad I got was my sat nav. I know people say it makes you lazy but I've found that I've driven to places that I never would have done if I didn't have it. It makes you able to worry about actually driving rather than whether you need to turn right or left at a junction.

[emony.livejournal.com]

Bollocks indeed. I think they don't even realise how bad they've made things, not just for me but for the entire staff. Everyone knows now that our email is all being read, and it's made everyone really uneasy and unhappy this week. And the bosses have no idea, because they're so useless. I'm just glad I'm getting out.

I think my passengers have a reasonably good idea of why it's not a good idea to talk to me, as I do a running commentary along the lines of: "omg! omg car! Omg gear change now, come on car, come on car .. wooh! didn't die!" and so forth ;)

Sat Nav definitely seems like a good idea. I've just paid out *cough* *cough* *cough* pounds on insurance though, so it'll probably have to wait a bit ;)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

I found with parking, it's not only a matter of getting better at the actual act, but getting used to your car. If you know your car back to front (and I mean really know), it really helps with parking. Because you can be reverse parking into a space, and just "know" that your car will fit, or that it's about "so" away from the car in front of you ("so" being the distance that you imagine, and hold your hands out in front of you to demonstrate *grin*).

In saying this, I should also say a few other things. I had an old Volvo 240GL as my first car, and it's still in a driveway of a house I rented from my parents for a few years. My mother wont sell it, because it's a good car, and she'll only get about $1000 for it. (Please, by all means, don't sell it when your daughter desperately needs money! Please, keep it.) And she likes driving it. And I think somehow she thinks I'll come back to live at home and need it, despite me living on the other side of the country in a very happy relationship. OK OFF THE TOPIC. Anyway, my Volvo has a great turning circle. As in I can U-Turn in most streets without needing to 3-point turn. This isn't a small car, this is a Big Family Sedan. My knowing my car back to front, and learning how to maneuver it, has helped me cope with many other cars. The little Ford Fiesta (awesome car!) that we had in Italy. My Dad's big Holden VU Commodore (big V6 family car).

I had to park the big Holden. I saw a space between a car, and a tree. I said to my partner, I can get in that. He just looked at me, denied it, and said good luck, whilst getting out of the car. I did it in one movement. I got a clap :D

So, the short of this very long reply, is that the better that you know your car, the better you will be at parking *grin*

[emony.livejournal.com]

Hah, that was a very long reply! But you're right, I know :) As with so many things in life, it's really just a case of practice makes perfect.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

I know, wasn't it! I looked at it after I'd posted it and gone "Huh. You babbled. Again."

It's not only practice makes perfect. It really is getting to know your car :)

[emony.livejournal.com]

Well that's what I mean - through practice, you get to know your car, and that's why it makes things easier or at least more natural.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, so true :)

How have you been going this weekend then? (oh, hang on, it's only Saturday night now.) Drive anywhere yesterday? Are you going to go on the bigger drive on Monday?

[emony.livejournal.com]

I parked it on Thursday afternoon, when I got home from work, and it hasn't moved since. I just couldn't think of anywhere to go. I rescheduled today's drive for Thursday, as I just wasn't feeling up to it over the weekend.

I'm planning to go home tomorrow evening after work though, so that'll be the big drive I flaked out on doing on Friday. And then I'll probably do an even longer drive up to see these flats on Thursday.

I'll get there in the end :)