The thing is, even if you learn on flat ground and get really comfortable with a standard, the hills and the traffic will still make it somewhat miserable to drive in LA.
I'm so sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, my fun-time-Buffy party night involved watching a robot throw Spike through a window, so if you want to trade... no wait, I wouldn't give up that memory for anything.
Buffy ,'Get It Done'
The Minearverse 5: Closer to the Earth, Further from the Ax
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls, The Inside and Drive), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
Pix - Jan 02, 2007 7:37:55 pm PST #2680 of 10001
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie
DavidS - Jan 02, 2007 7:39:01 pm PST #2681 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Bwah! You have driven on LA freeways, right?
She's working for a studio! She'll never get caught in rush hour stop-and-go traffic. 70 mph baybee and the wind in her hair.
Pix - Jan 02, 2007 7:40:59 pm PST #2682 of 10001
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie
She's commuting at 10PM and 4AM? Because that's about the only time when 70 mph and wind in her hair is likely to happen.
ETA: But if it's a really cool sport car I saw do it anyway.
Kristen - Jan 02, 2007 7:43:44 pm PST #2683 of 10001
Yeah, there would be a downside. It's a tradeoff.
And, actually, I'm doing a reverse commute right now. People going 70 are the norm.
ETA: Not that I'm planning to buy a new car any time in the foreseeable future. But I always sort of wanted to learn.
Pix - Jan 02, 2007 7:44:55 pm PST #2684 of 10001
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie
And, actually, I'm doing a reverse commute right now. People going 70 are the norm.
I have never been more jealous in my entire life.
Cass - Jan 02, 2007 7:57:53 pm PST #2685 of 10001
Bob's learned to live with tragedy, but he knows that this tragedy is one that won't ever leave him or get better.
I wonder what size my toes are. I don't wear toe rings, and don't know.You just need a jewelry store and an understanding clerk. Alternately, be sneaky.
Learning stick isn't hard. Just takes some time. I miss stick shifts sometimes...
Laga - Jan 02, 2007 8:39:08 pm PST #2686 of 10001
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
But yeah if you're ever stuck in stop-and-go traffic you could end up with a very sore left calf. (Says the girl who would never give up her stick no matter what)
Liese S. - Jan 02, 2007 8:51:04 pm PST #2687 of 10001
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."
I've gotta learn.
I had a former co-worker who was a former driving instructor and he promised to teach me properly and then left the company. Harumph. As if the world isn't supposed to be arranged purely for my convenience.
Tamara - Jan 02, 2007 9:13:26 pm PST #2688 of 10001
You know, we could experiment and cancel football.
I learned how to drive on a stick. Dad wouldn't let us learn any other way. My first automatic I bought five years ago and I will love it forever. Manual transmissions may seem sporty and cool, but after driving them for almost 20 years I can tell you they are not worth it. Especially in Seattle. I was terrified driving and stopping on those hills with some idiot in an automatic on my ass.
Umm. Yeah. I guess I feel strongly about this.
P.M. Marc - Jan 02, 2007 9:22:47 pm PST #2689 of 10001
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
I learned how to drive on a stick. Dad wouldn't let us learn any other way. My first automatic I bought five years ago and I will love it forever. Manual transmissions may seem sporty and cool, but after driving them for almost 20 years I can tell you they are not worth it. Especially in Seattle. I was terrified driving and stopping on those hills with some idiot in an automatic on my ass.
Hey! I still drive in Seattle on a stick! Until we replace it. With a non-stick.
I only have occasional moments of rollback fear. Usually on Bell as you head up the hill.
(And did we have the same Dad? I also was made to learn on a stick. Of course, my folks went automatic a few years ago, as did my sister, so I'm the last holdout in the bunch.)