a driving ricebag

Woohoo. Ricebag had her first official driving lesson yesterday.

Driving stick shift without power steering is such a joy. I havent yet ventured onto real roads with other real cars, but my driving instructor, the lovely J from Brunei, has assured me this baby is almost real island ready.

Spent Saturday (wahey!) night in my aunts yard practicing reversing ... and going forward and reversing some more ... my boy-cousins China and Mickey, going slowly nuts because I haven't quite caught driving-by-osmosis. Also the fact that I need to turn the steering wheel BEFORE reversing and not WHILE reversing seems to have annoyed them intensely.

I have garnered new and huge respect for mothers the world over who manage to simultaneously drive and maintain multiple multi-layered conversations and drive and break-up fights and drive and wipe up spills and drive and sing and drive and lecture and drive and scream and drive and rummage through massive carry-all mama-sized wallets/handbags and drive and apply lipstick/mascara and drive and drink coffee, open juice-packs, smack little annoying people in the back ... it's all so amazing to me. I have instituted a no-talking, no-music, no-noise, no-unnescessary-people rule in my car - at least until further notice.

In this town, you have NO independence and NO life until you (i) know how to drive and (2) have a car to drive. Hence, I've been back 2 months and I haven't been out yet ... YIKES!! ... if you knew anything about me, you'd know ricebag loves a healthy social life.

The more I practice driving, the more I love my girlfriends who drive so smoothly, missing Naama and Woo and Crispy and Bare-bum and Skybear and s'more. Love you lovers! Ricebag loves you!