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how i learned to drive...
Oct. 5th, 2001 04:00 pmwhen i was 15, i took driver's ed in school. but in jersey you have to be 17 (at least when i was going through this) to get your license. so since i was skipped up a grade and they only offered driver's ed to the 10th graders, i took it when i was 15. i managed to pass my permit exam and then got to sit on the paper that said so until i turned 16 almost six months later. i got my permit and never drove. i wasn't allowed. about a month before my 17th birthday, i took driving lessons and finally got behind the wheel of the car. i loved it. and i've never stopped driving since. it took me a total of 4 times to actually pass the test, not because of driving ability but because of car issues. i had a shitty car and stuff went wrong with it.
but i learned to drive in my own way. i drive too fast most of the time and i listen to my music too loud and i refuse to roll down the window if i'm going more than 30 mph because the sound of the wind bothers me. i use air conditioning in the winter sometimes and i hate to drive wearing a coat. i've killed two cars because they were hand-me-downs and i drove them to the ground with a 60 mile commute to work for two summers.
i broke up with my boyfriend in my first car. he was driving like i let him do a lot since he didn't have a car. we went to a park and it was raining and there was music on the radio. i can't remember what it was but i do remember watching the rain pour down the windshield and hearing him say in a soft voice that i was over. it was hot and stiffling in the car and i just wanted to get out and run but it was raining and for some reason i held myself back. i told him to go back to his apartment and refused to say another word to him. i stalked inside, took back my toothbrush, a couple cds, some clothes, and a zip disk. i went into my car and sat in the parking lot for an hour and cried.
one of the first times i was allowed to drive post getting my license was for the valentine's day dance. i wasn't supposed to actually take anyone with me but i did it anyway. and it rained and i couldn't figure out the defroster. CJ, Laura, and Megan(i think) were in the car with me and dying laughing as we drove through the backroads in township going 2 mph with my head out the window so i could see. it was a good night.
i've spent literally hours in the car with Lois and have gotten lost countless numbers of times because neither of us are great with directions and she (occasionally) has issues reading a map. but it's okay. because when we get lost we have fun adventures and stories to tell. we have fun while we're lost and we just let it happen because really we just want to have some fun. and the longer we're lost in a car alone together, the longer i get to spend time with her. and i like that.
the second time i broke up with my boyfriend didn't happen in a car but instead in my bedroom and i cried and i called karen and made her come over and take me out. we drove around for about two hours trying to find where kevin worked and almost ended up on the AC expressway. she talked me down and told me that he was a horrible bastard who didn't deserve me in the first place. she offered to slash his tires and steal stuff. and she and kate pretty much ignored him for the rest of the time they were all in college together. and i love them for that.
i can still remember our last family trip together which was the summer after tenth grade. we learned after that one that family vacations together don't work and we should take them seperately. we drove from new jersey to kentucky to see my aunt. i was trapped in the back of the car with my little sister and we fought about 75% of the time when i didn't have headphones on. U2 saved me on that trip. i think i listened to U2 and Bowie the entire way down and back to Kentucky. but so much happened in that car on that trip. like we did the whole drive back from kentucky in one day because my father forgot it was the 4th of july weekend and didn't make hotel reservations, assuming he would be able to find something. he wasn't. so we drove all the way back that day. i remember watching fireworks from our car and cowering in the backseat.
i don't know what persuaded me to write this today. i was in my car, waiting at a red light and i just smiled, running my hand over the dashboard and thinking how nice it was to be mobile like this.
i love my JB :)
but i learned to drive in my own way. i drive too fast most of the time and i listen to my music too loud and i refuse to roll down the window if i'm going more than 30 mph because the sound of the wind bothers me. i use air conditioning in the winter sometimes and i hate to drive wearing a coat. i've killed two cars because they were hand-me-downs and i drove them to the ground with a 60 mile commute to work for two summers.
i broke up with my boyfriend in my first car. he was driving like i let him do a lot since he didn't have a car. we went to a park and it was raining and there was music on the radio. i can't remember what it was but i do remember watching the rain pour down the windshield and hearing him say in a soft voice that i was over. it was hot and stiffling in the car and i just wanted to get out and run but it was raining and for some reason i held myself back. i told him to go back to his apartment and refused to say another word to him. i stalked inside, took back my toothbrush, a couple cds, some clothes, and a zip disk. i went into my car and sat in the parking lot for an hour and cried.
one of the first times i was allowed to drive post getting my license was for the valentine's day dance. i wasn't supposed to actually take anyone with me but i did it anyway. and it rained and i couldn't figure out the defroster. CJ, Laura, and Megan(i think) were in the car with me and dying laughing as we drove through the backroads in township going 2 mph with my head out the window so i could see. it was a good night.
i've spent literally hours in the car with Lois and have gotten lost countless numbers of times because neither of us are great with directions and she (occasionally) has issues reading a map. but it's okay. because when we get lost we have fun adventures and stories to tell. we have fun while we're lost and we just let it happen because really we just want to have some fun. and the longer we're lost in a car alone together, the longer i get to spend time with her. and i like that.
the second time i broke up with my boyfriend didn't happen in a car but instead in my bedroom and i cried and i called karen and made her come over and take me out. we drove around for about two hours trying to find where kevin worked and almost ended up on the AC expressway. she talked me down and told me that he was a horrible bastard who didn't deserve me in the first place. she offered to slash his tires and steal stuff. and she and kate pretty much ignored him for the rest of the time they were all in college together. and i love them for that.
i can still remember our last family trip together which was the summer after tenth grade. we learned after that one that family vacations together don't work and we should take them seperately. we drove from new jersey to kentucky to see my aunt. i was trapped in the back of the car with my little sister and we fought about 75% of the time when i didn't have headphones on. U2 saved me on that trip. i think i listened to U2 and Bowie the entire way down and back to Kentucky. but so much happened in that car on that trip. like we did the whole drive back from kentucky in one day because my father forgot it was the 4th of july weekend and didn't make hotel reservations, assuming he would be able to find something. he wasn't. so we drove all the way back that day. i remember watching fireworks from our car and cowering in the backseat.
i don't know what persuaded me to write this today. i was in my car, waiting at a red light and i just smiled, running my hand over the dashboard and thinking how nice it was to be mobile like this.
i love my JB :)