The “What did you do today?” thread

[cjd874]

Three was a charm for me, so don't sweat it. I was nervous when I started driving, and there was high expectations for my generation to drive. "You mean you're 17 and you don't have your license yet???!!"
Being able to drive was a huge rite of passage. It meant being able to get a job, make some money, go places with friends, it meant freedom and independence. By the time you graduated high school, if you couldn't drive, you had about as much freedom as a chained-up dog.
Within a year, I was driving a big truck with my dad all over Creation, all over New York City in the hairiest traffic on earth.
Driving is like cooking for yourself. It might seem hard to master, but once you do, it will serve you well forever.
If not, it can get expensive to have someone do it for you. And Mommy and Daddy can't do it forever.

Don't I know it! Most of my friends got their licenses by 18, I was the odd one out but I was going to college in NYC where I didn't need to drive. I would really love to be able to drive so I can start being more independent and not be holed up in my workplace or my house all the time. As a music teacher, I also need to drive if I want to teach privately at kids' homes or to play concerts outside of school. Currently I rely on mass transit to get to my job, but I'm hopeful that I will not have to do that within the next couple of months.

 

[D'Snowth]

I didn't even learn to drive till I was 24 - part of it was because of my discomfort with my (lack of) skills behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, but also because up until then, we only had one vehicle that was in various stages of disrepair, and neither of my parents were confident in me practicing in it, and it took us a long time to build enough finances to afford a second vehicle (not to mention we couldn't afford driving lessons with an instructor).

 

[Sgt Floyd]

im 27 and still only have a permit. mostly because i get severe panic attacks any time i try to drive. so i cant even be on the road long enough to get any real practice in :T

please dont tell me that i need to just suck it up. i am already aware of this and feel bad that im incapable of controlling my anxiety. i dont need a reminder.

 

[D'Snowth]

I understand completely: being behind the wheel feels totally different than being in the passenger seat, and I too was a nervous wreck . . . it also doesn't help too that just the slightest little pressure you put on the gas pedal sometimes makes the car feel like it's just going blast off on its own at a break-neck speed . . . heck, even 20mph felt like zooming to me in the beginning.

Even now, one of the things I hate the most is driving on a highway or the interstate, because you're trying to drive the speed limit (whether it be 55, 65, or even 70 in some cases), but everybody's swerving around you acting like you're impeding traffic. Even worse is when you're driving off of an exit and you're trying to merge into traffic on such a major road, but there's so much on-coming traffic, and nobody is willing to let you merge, so you find yourself basically either having to drive alongside the shoulder, or just pull over altogether until the traffic's clear enough for you to merge onto the road. Big rigs are especially bad about this, since they like to feel like they own the road.

It took me years, but I'll admit I've pretty much gotten over all of the fears and anxieties of driving - but at the same time, I still have some apprehension when I'm driving. I also still get nervous whenever I have passenger(s), because that adds to my apprehension knowing I'm responsible for other people's lives.

 

[cjd874]

I didn't even learn to drive till I was 24 - part of it was because of my discomfort with my (lack of) skills behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, but also because up until then, we only had one vehicle that was in various stages of disrepair, and neither of my parents were confident in me practicing in it, and it took us a long time to build enough finances to afford a second vehicle (not to mention we couldn't afford driving lessons with an instructor).

Whoa...that is literally the same story with me. Every single detail. It was weird because it was just on that day of the test, I made so many errors. I didn't even do that poorly or feel so out of whack during my FIRST test back in July. I know that's it's a privilege to drive, and not everybody feels comfortable doing it. But I'm sure as **** going to keep trying. As Mr. Joe Raposo said, "It's a long hard road but I'm gonna get there!"

 

[D'Snowth]

The only difference with me is that I actually passed my driving test with only two minor mistakes (swinging a turn too wide, and accidentally forgetting to signal for a lane change) . . . it was the computer test that I failed twice before taking the driver's test.

 

[cjd874]

I had no issues with the computer test...it's just the actual DRIVING part that has been screwing me lately.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I never had any apprehensions about driving, but the part that used to be nerve-wracking to me was having my car break down.
Back in college, my dad got me a car from our neighbors for $200. The car (a 1977 Pontiac Sunbird) had 250,000 miles on it, and for the year I had it,got $3,000 worth of repairs.

One fun day in the summer of 1988 I had to drive into Manhattan. The radiator overheated on the ramp going into the Lincoln Tunnel. steam pouring out under the hood . Antifreeze leaking everywhere. My breakdown backed up traffic for seven miles.
I made the evening news. Helicopters flying overhead, "There's a disabled car in the right hand lane on the Lincoln Tunnel helix..."
Six hours and three hundred bucks
Later a tow truck finally got me home. Can you say "freak out"?
Not my best experience on the road, but I survived. Had better luck with Dodges after that.

 

[Blue Frackle]

I still remember the moment when my dad got out of the car in the middle of the road and was like "Okay, switch sides" and I was like "You're gonna let me drive this thing?!" -- I guess that's how it needs to start, but ideally you'd let someone start in a vacant lot instead of the middle of a street.

Driving is one of the oddest facets of society: all these dumb humans in killing machines rushing to get places.

 

[Any Del]

Just watched the documentary "The World According To Sesame Street". Not gonna lie, that documentary made me tear up a bit.