I liked my "behind the wheel" driving lessons. They were fun. The only thing I didn't like was once the instructor hit his brake to stop the car when the light turned yellow, telling me there was enough time for me to stop, when I was planning on just running the yellow light.

I remember the car - an Olds Omega. It felt kind of weird to drive, as it was the first front-drive car I'd driven.

Matt is on his phone interview now. I can't quite hear the words, but I love listening to him talk when he really know what he is saying . Smooth, confident, and articulate.

Competence is sexy. (Bitches conversation #24, and always work a revisit.)

Happiest birthdays to the lovely Kristin and Maria!

I was taught to drive by a fellow employee when I was 21ish. His normal job was prime painting steel so being my designated driver was a blast for him. He was totally stoned all the time and thought it was hysterical every time I ran over curbs and so forth. I was learning on a huge truck that was 3 speed on the column. The worst piece of crap I ever drove. I think they passed me on my driver's test out of pity because I stalled the thing twice. The upside was that every vehicle I have driven since then has been a snap.

I took DE because it meant my parents could get insurance for me less expensively. However, as the youngest person in my year, I only had a learner's permit ... and the others in my group were all older boys who already had their licenses. I never got to do any driving at all - the teacher took the easy way out and had them do all the driving, since they already knew how (and were only taking the class for the less-expensive insurance).

I cannot parallel park. It distresses Hubby that I can't do it.

Trick to parallel parking is to remember that "bumper" has the word "bump" right in it.

which car is required to back up when on a one lane incline.

Er... is it the downhill one? I know I knew this at some point.

I can parallel park big cars and trucks with trailers behind them. Comes from growing up on a farm.

Trick to parallel parking is to remember that "bumper" has the word "bump" right in it.

I'm always afraid of triggering an air bag.

I got beautiful flowers at work from my sweetie! Thank you!

This day just keeps getting better.

I disagree with that teaching technique.

it sure made the lesson stick in my head. I did not complete the turn but it was the middle of the day in a quiet residential neighborhood with no traffic coming the other way. Teach said that had I made the turn he would have calmly instructed me to pull over and ask me what I did wrong. He said he used to give the direction and if the driver started to turn he'd say, "OK wait, don't" but the students would argue with him that they would have figured it out before turning so he let his pupils go through with the turn to prove the point.

Trick to parallel parking is to remember that "bumper" has the word "bump" right in it.

It's been a long time since I hit another car while parallel parking (I rarely get the chance out here) but I can't do it without thinking, "Chicago two-touch"!

The Waiter recently posted about Jersey drivers.

The moment an adolescent New Jerseyan gets his or her learning permit they automatically know how to speed, blow through yellow lights a millisecond before they turn red, dodge State Troopers, flip people the bird, thread the EZ-Pass tollbooth doing fifty, and bob and weave through traffic like a NASCAR driver. Manhattanites may look down their noses at us “bridge and tunnel” people, but when we drive in Manhattan it’s like throwing piranhas into a goldfish bowl. Even the taxi drivers fear us.