Hippo Attempts to Learn to Drive Stick

[evilhippo]

Just so I'm not the only one laughing... (though I am probably the only one still sort of shaking), the story goes something like this:

Day 1: Dad tricks me into sitting in the driver's seat of standard transmission pickup. "Go ahead, put the clutch in," he says to me. I do. Car rolls backwards, nearly hits my sister's car behind it before I realize hey, cars can move when they're not on.

Days 2-5: Avoid truck like plague.

Days 6-7: Intense observation of more proficient driver (Dad) as he magically gets vehicle to move.

Day 8-10: Obtain permission to attempt driving truck. Impeded by weather. Somewhat grateful.

Day 11: Decide that I should do something somewhat productive... Take truck out. Get out of driveway without stalling--minor victory. Make it to side street. Cannot figure out which gear I should be in, as 2nd goes nowhere, and 3rd clunks a lot. Feel vaguely terrified, and embarrassed. Pull into driveway to turn around. Do this without stalling! ... Until in street. Stall twice. Can't find right gear. Not exactly sure if what I'm seeing in the rearview mirror is what's behind me, or something in the back of the truck. Confused neighbourhood cars avoid me like plauge. Hope none of them recognize me, as am laughing at self a bit hysterically. Make it back up road... wonder why 25mph is 3rd gear. Wonder if in third gear. ... Come upon menacing stop sign. Manage to stop and not stall. Obviously in wrong gear, as car is making accellerating noises and not going anywhere. Realize not in wrong gear, but still holding the clutch in. Fear I could've been rolling backwards into the car behind me, who no doubt wonders what on EARTH is up with that crazy chick in the truck in front of them. Let clutch out, finally turn, get first lesson in exactly how people peel out, decide first gear is safest for the fifty feet left before driveway... somehow do better in driveway than I did for the entire previous bit of the trip... which is good, because given the noises I was making that poor truck make, it probably would've woken my father.

Comments

[lisiche.livejournal.com]

... *just giggles* That is beautiful.

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Except where I almost died, you heathen! (-;

[look-alive.livejournal.com]

Oh wow... That is uh... Many kinds of special. I was forced to learn on standard, and that's really all I've ever driven, so just because my little bit of the universe is highly unbalanced, I freak out when I have to drive auto. It intimidates me. I don't know what to do without that other pedal there! Over spring break when me and Ange had a rental, it was auto and I almost hit a stop sign because I was having a momentary freak-out about there not being a pedal there omg where is the clutch!?!?!!

I fail.

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine learning on standard in the first place. I would've been terrified. (Actually, I'm terrified now. I think, in the grand scheme of people learning standard, I might not be that bad, but I'm also incredibly self-conscious because I feel like I'm constantly in the wrong gear. And I don't know how far to let the clutch out before giving it gas to keep it from stalling, so I'm always accidentally revving up the engine, and I've got this fear that, if I ever go anywhere with other cars, someone's going to think I'm trying to race them. (-;)

Almost hitting a stop sign, however, involves steering off the road. What were you doing?! The brake is still where it belongs! (Goodness help me if that wasn't the case...) ^_^

Also, apparently lots of car rental places were lying to me, and renting a car for a day or two would only cost me somewhere around $100 at the most and not eleventy billion plus tax like it was pretending to.

[look-alive.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was terrified. I absolutely hated driving with a deep vengeance for about a year. My dad is an awful, awful driving teacher. I mean, you hear me bitch about him now... Man. At one point I pulled over, got out, and told him I'd rather walk home than stay in a car with him. My mom was kinda tetchy about it, but my then-stepdad was really good, so I let him teach me and all was good. After awhile, you just get used to feeling where the shifts are and do them automatically. And try to find out of your clutch catches high or low, and that'll make your life easier. I barely had to tap the clutch in my last car to shift.

I almost hit the stop sign because I had my head under the steering wheel in momentary OMGWHERETHEHELLISTHECLUTCH panic. XP

ORLY?? Hmmmmmm... I'm sure I could chip in easily. And I can't see gas being TOO awful since I think it was like, $60 to drive down from Durham, NC, and you're just like, an hour and a half furtherish. <3333!

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

My dad took me out on all the worst roads in Ohio and Pennsylvania to train me to drive. 'Twas strange. My most terrifying experience behind the wheel was on this backwoods road in Pennsylvania, though, right after it'd rained, which was tiny and barely-paved and guardrailless even though it was hilly and a bit gravelly, and I went too fast around a corner and nearly spun the car around. I refused to drive home after that.

Silly! (Why do all these stories end with me wanting to say "Poor Ange!" (-;) When my mom switched back to automatic, she got in the car and when she went to start it, hit the emergency brake release since it was the closest pedal to where the clutch was meant to be.

Letsee... I'm actually quite a ways out of NC (I think it's about as far from here as Chicago is, actually). 15 hours to Savannah from where I am now, 20 from Chicago. And, assuming I get 25mpg (which is conservative, since I would rent a small car), from Chicago gas would be about $100, provided it stays about where it is now... which is unlikely, but I can pretend. Probably, oh, a tank or so less from here. (-: So... doable with the proper planning. And a job. Goshdarnit, I need a job.

[look-alive.livejournal.com]

More in the "Poor Ange" stories, we once drove to the top of the mountain in my mom's Subaru Forester and thought there was a road around this cindercone. Turns out there wasn't, but we didn't figure that out til we were on the other side of the cindercone tilted at a 45 degree angle with a 2000-foot drop on the other side. And I got to back around from there. OMG I thought we were gonna die.

Why did I think you were there? Okay, I think that must have been May I was talking to. Anyway, I'm dumb but that sounds doable. WHY DON'T WE HAVE JOBS!? But yes, is this actually seeming possible?!

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Holy freaking crap! That's just... eesh. In some ways, very awesome. Save for the extremely dangerous bit. ... Poor Ange.

Yeah, I'll go with that being May. ^_^ My rudimentary stalking of everyone in the rp says that's probably the case. ... How dare you confuse my geographical location with someone else's! ::emo:: I feel so betrayed...

Anyway! (I recover quickly from emo.) Lots of driving... but doable. ^_^ We shall see.

[look-alive.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was pretty terrifying. Actually, Ange was the one all like, "Oh wow! Look at the view!" While I was sitting there digging my nails into the steering wheel chanting in my head "Please don't let the gravel be loose and slide us off into oblivion. Please please please omg don't look down." But we lived. Obviously. XD

See? This is what happens when my social life expands, online or otherwise. I'M NOT USED TO PEOPLE TALKING TO ME, DAMMIT! *sobs* I'M SORRREEEEEEE *flop*

We definitely shall see. This could prove quite an interesting endeavor. Bwahaha. ...Why don't we have a TARDIS? It would make life so much easier.