Friday, May 31, 1996

Driver's License

I completed Driver's Education without much problem. The first time they took me on a busy road, I tended to stay too far right and even brushed the curb once until I got used to it.

The Driver's License test was another story. The first time I took one turn by Duncan Manor thinking it was a 90 degree turn and it was a little sharper than that. I don't know if I had failed at that point or not, but I wasn't feeling good. I tried to remember to look both ways at the next intersection. I looked the first way and there was no one. I looked the second way and there was a car, so I waited until it passed and pulled out. However, by that time there was a car coming coming from the first direction. We didn't have an accident, but it was close enough to make the instructor swear, so I had failed by that point.

The second time I didn't even get past parallel parking. I took my one hand off the wheel to look behind me like my dad had taught me and the instructor told me to keep both hands on the wheel. If I kept both hands on the wheel, I couldn't see behind me, so I estimated as best I could. When the instructor told me to stop and look in my side view to see what I saw, I told him I didn't see anything. Then he made me get out of the car, so I could see I ran over a cone. He felt the side view mirror should be focused on the rear wheel of the car, so you can parallel park without turning around and taking any hand off the wheel.

The third time I did everything the way I did with my dad and driver's ed instructor. When I got back, I failed for doing 30 in a 25. That's the way driver's ed taught me because driving too slow is dangerous with everyone else doing 30 in a 25.

So, I had to reapply because there's only room for three attempts on each application. The fourth time I again parallel parked without turning around, led a parade going 20 in the 25 just in case, and finally passed.

Wednesday, May 1, 1996

Career Test

I was thinking about being an elementary school teacher since I like helping my sisters and their friends, but I'm so good at math that my parents had me take a career assessment to see what it suggested. It suggested that I would be a good teacher.