I'm pretty well indoctrinated by the Hollywood beefcake machine. I find most of the designated eye candy candylicious. But I can't work out why Alexander Skarsgard isn't working for me: [link] So close, but no cigar.

Work is expressly irritating today. It doesn't bear thinking about, and I'm not done yet. Tomorrow's 1 on 1 with my manager is going to be awful. But I'm going to have to be frank about some shit. I can't keep letting other people's problems get in my way.

I feel that I would be an excellent driver, if I were permitted to be the only person driving within a several mile radius. As long as nobody else moves, I can handle it.

Absolutely. It's why I liked city driving the best, too -- plenty of time to get your bearings at red lights and stuff.

Here's a fine example of how we'll be safer if more people are carrying guns. [link]

My initial lessons were in the parking lot of Golden Gate Fields.

Oooh, that's close to where Emmett's mom lives.

Jeez, Typo, that sucks. I'm sorry.

msbelle, you are the nicest! When I think about the monkey head you bought for Emmett's scooter it fills me with happy.

Took Driver's Ed in High School.

Bought my first car with money I made from my first job before I was even 16. Learned how to drive stick by going first/reverse in the side yard before I got my license.

Failed my first driving test by doing the three-point turnaround backwards.

Parallel parking? I have to do it multiple times a day, and can ease the car in with a clearance of no more than 2 inches on either side. It is not uncommon for me to spend 3 to 4 hours a day driving while covering Emmett's various travels.

I *can* parallel park. But most people prefer that I don't.

Emmett is only impressed if I do the parallel park with one shot into a space with less than a foot of clearance.

I either get parallel parking right the first time, or have to do it again and again. I'm certainly getting plenty of practice here, though not anything like SF. My most impressive parallel parking accomplishment was a pick-up truck and 16' foot trailer; I think it took three tries.

Despite getting my liscence late for me area (17) and not having a car for 4 years now, I got sick of driving after spending 3 years commuting 2 hours a day to college, then moving to Rochester and hen commuting back to Livonia to do theatre and then moving back to Livonia and working inRochester for 2 years. So much highway driving in snowstorms where you white-knuckle it because there is no path in the snow. Plus Livonia is on the side of a plateau so so many hills in tiny crappy cars in the snow.

I learned to parallel park on a huge '73 Mercury Marquis. I actually had some trouble learning to parallel park my first Ford Focus, as it had a much tighter turning radius than the big cars I was used to and required a somewhat different technique.

When backing up while parking, my current Focus does this cool sci-fi-ish beeping to let me know how close I am to the car behind me.