look out world, Pinto is behind the wheel!

and quite illegally, I might add! It all started a couple of weeks ago when I was bitching about how I needed to get my L to my mom. She was driving me to the bus stop, and asked sharply, "How much time tdo you have before your bus comes?" I said, "About five minutes, why?" Of course, she doesn't answer, just pulls sharply onto this little side road that isn't really a road, shuts off the engine, and snaps, "Get out." Well, maybe not snap. But that's what she said, anyway.

So poor bewildered me gets out of my seat, and I see her coming around the back of the truck with this mischeivous expression on her face! I swear I thought she was going to curb stomp me! No, I'm just kidding. That's when I figured out what she was up to. I got all excited, and jumped into the drivers seat.

My first lesson was basically me stalling twice. Not too exciting, hey? But w/e. The next time we went driving, my Mom went down to the Co-op by our house to trade a Crossword (lotto ticket). We sat at the back of the parking lot while she scratched it, and it turned out it was a twenty-five dollar winner! So in celebration, she let me drive around the parking lot! (which is perfectly legal, because a parking lot isn't a real road, so anyone can drive on them, and they can't be charged) Of course I stalled a bunch, but I finally got going! It was tres amusing because as soon as the car started moving, all I wanted to do was STOP! lol! But Mom wouldn't let me, and growled every time my foot got near the brake (*GET your foot off the brake! TURN, dammit! slow down!*) So I did many figure eights around the parking lots, and I maintained 2000 RPMs for almost eight minutes, went over speed bumps, turned sharply, and ran into NOTHING! woo-hoo! I was doing so well, that mom even let me shift up into second gear--and I did it without stalling!!!! (this was my second time driving EVER in a STANDARD no less! I think that's pretty dang good!) So I'm bombing around the parking lot at probably forty miles an hour (all I know about it was about 2500 RPM's. That's all mom would let me look at), and finally we stop and I drive all the way up to the Co-op, and park WITHOUT stalling! hee-hee-hee! All the excitement must have dulled Mother's wits, because she bought me a Caramel Aero bar to celebrate, which is now my favorite chocolate bar EVER!

Yesterday was my third ever driving lesson (still very much illegally), and this time, she took me back to the road I had my first one on, and parked at the bottom of a gentle hill. This time the lesson was, if I didn't maintain RPM's up the hill, I'd stall the car, and gravity would make it roll backwards in a terrifying terrifying way. SO--keep the RPM's up!

Well, the lesson ended up being, let the clutch out gently when starting up. Again, I stalled many many times before Mom took my seat, and made me place my feet over hers to feel how gentle I was supposed to let the clutch out. It didn't do anything right away, but somwething must have clicked, cause the next time I got going, I got going! I went up the hill, and made the car shudder pre-stall-like a couple times, but finally managed to get it up. (HA! get it up...)

ANYWAYS! We were fast approaching an actual legal road, and far be it for my Mom to break the law, so she made me pull into the driveway of the school that is by my house. And this was a real small entrance! Very intimidating, for someone who drives in the very middle of a two lane alley cause she's afraid of the shoulder! But Mom got me on the right side of the road, and when I pulled into the driveway, I made it without hitting anything, and drove through the parking lot very smoothly, going over another speedbump successfully. I pulled out, and went right back down the hill, which also scared me, because of--you know--gravity! But I still haven't hit a single thing! I'm getting good!

So now that I've had many driving escapades, I think I'll go get my L. I got paid today, so I have the cash All I need is the book to cram on, and the Mom to find the place for me! Then post-haste, am I EVER going driving! I'll have my N before you know it!!!!