Day 29: failure. I'll admit that I put too much pressure on myself (what, it's not like my whole future was riding on it, or anything. Oh, wait! Yes it is!) but really, driving back home after failing the road test and watching NYC drivers in all their suckitude blowing through stop signs and cutting people off and coming within inches of mowing down pedestrians really pushed me over the edge. It's just not fair. I'm not unsafe, I'm just new at it. I made one bad turn and not even into the wrong lane or anything-- it was just too wide. I'd never run a stop sign or a red light. The kid who took the test with me never had both hands on the wheel and drove an automatic using both his feet and he still passed. It's not fair. Now I have to wait till January to take it again and it could be all snowy or something. And I have to pay the school $65 for using their car for the test but I can't practice in it because additional lessons are $28 for 45 minutes and Brian won't let me practice in the truck in the city because it's too stressful for him (and with him in the passenger seat, it's too stressful for me, too). Driving the truck upstate isn't doing a thing for me, practice-wise because although the roads are really hilly and curvy and treacherous (seriously, Rt 28 between Margaretville and Oneonta is a nightmare), there aren't any sharp 90 degree angles like in the city and THAT'S what I'm apparently not at all good at.
It's one thing to fail because of parallel parking - people expect that. But it's another to fail because of the DRIVING. That's just pitiful.
most of the tv in the hotel is in turkish. I can't understand most of it. the american shows are overdubbed in turkish. bbc prime is in english and a couple of news channels and that's about it! nat geo had a couple of english programs the first night I was here. it's often like this when I'm onsite - I don't get to watch any regular shows - most networks tend to show old programs and movies so I'm always about 5-10 years behind on tv watching, even though we see lots of it at work each day.. lucky there's internet access!
29/11/2007
(I'm catching a late flight back to jerusalem tomorrow night so my last day's post will be late as usual - probably posted the next day..)
