Joe, Joe, Joe. Are you seriously trying to make us believe that you can't come up with something to sign so disturbing and yet innocuous to sign on these cards

This was my EXACT thought. MM, good lord, you are the quickest wit in the world...come up with a signature 'thing' you sign and let the poor mundanes who have not one fraction of your internal life get on with their faux clever fun. Pity them. But don't punch them...that way lies restraining orders.

Go you Jars with the driving! And the not maiming.

AND, while I enjoy the occasional automatic transmission, I have this irrational fear of people not learning how to drive a manual. What happens if you are in an emergancy? And the only thing that will safely drive you out of the burning warehouse is a manual transmission forklift? Be prepared!!

I have this irrational fear of people not learning how to drive a manual. What happens if you are in an emergancy?

Or more importantly - what happens if you're on TAR and have to drive with a manual transmission??

Seriously. My mean & rotten parents forced me to learn on a manual and take my driver's test on the manual and I can't thank them enough for doing so.

In fact, I never drove an automatic until I had to move someone's car in college and I sat in the driver's seat completely perplexed for a few minutes.

In fact, I never drove an automatic until I had to move someone's car in college and I sat in the driver's seat completely perplexed for a few minutes.

I had the same experience! I was all, "what? you're supposed to start it in Park? not Neutral?"

In fact, I never drove an automatic until I had to move someone's car in college and I sat in the driver's seat completely perplexed for a few minutes.

Nodding. Me too.

I feel like such a bad mom that I haven't taught K-Bug how to drive a stick yet. I just don't know anyone other than my dad who has one to borrow.

Or more importantly - what happens if you're on TAR and have to drive with a manual transmission??

If I knew I was going on TAR I would TOTALLY learn how to drive a manual! I hate it when people on the show don't know how to drive one. I mean, you have at least a few weeks if not more to prepare, right? It's the one thing you can be almost positive you'll need to learn to do.

Teaching my DH to drive a manual was one of the more painful experiences I've had. (I worried about my poor little red car so much!) He's never reached my level of expertise, and he conceded as much when we had to shift with our opposite hand when driving in New Zealand.

eta: Neither of us ever mastered the switch of the indicator/wiper blades on the steering column in the antipodes.

I learned to drive stick by driving tractors. Which meant that when I finally drove a stickshift car, I took way too long to let up on the clutch - I had to learn that it's far easier for a car to start out in first than a tractor with heavy trailers to start out in fifth.

Plei - lots of various forms of house~ma to you.

Do you have pictures of the new place? I would love to see it!

My parents bought me a stick shift for my 16th birthday, after I'd learned on their automatics. I was SO MAD.

I started out on the outfield grass at the church's softball field--it was less than a mile away down a flat, quiet road, so I could actually get the car that far. But I didn't really get it until Army!Brother came home for a visit, saw Dad trying to teach me by drawing a diagram of gears and how they work, and also saw my utterly baffled look. Army!Brother said he'd teach me, took me out to the car, and told me what to do, basic step by basic step: "Put the clutch in. Put it in reverse. Now let the clutch out while giving it a little gas. Back out of the driveway and stop, then put the clutch in and put it in first. What you have to do is let the clutch out while giving it gas and vice versa."

Then once I'd kinda got the hang of it, he explained what Dad had been trying to do with the diagram, and I kinda got that, too. I'd like to think that Dad was a visual learner and Army!Brother is verbal/kinesthetic like me, but it's entirely possible Army!Brother just decided I was kinda slow and needed to be taught accordingly.

ETA much house~ma to Plei!