no, not talking about joysticks. although… I was wondering last night if I set up a paypal account, would people donate a dollar here, a dollar there to buy me a playstation2? probably not, I decided.

I’ve borrowed Dave’s car for the week. you know how they tell you the best way to learn something is to *do* it? this week I’ve been “sink or swim”-ing. it’s been fun.

I can now:

• reverse (on level ground)
• start smoothly from a stop (if I have time to think)
• start smoothly on an incline (if no one’s cussing at me)
• shift gears smoothly (most of the time)

I discovered yesterday that I’m not ready for reversing slowly from a parking spot when the car’s at an angle and I can’t see anything because there’s a huge van beside of me and there’s a concrete sign in front of me. I have learned to choose my parking spots a little more carefully than I do with my automatic.

but… good news. I successfully navigated stop and go traffic on a hilly road and a drive through today. =)