posted
Approximately 9pm last Tuesday. I found myself lying on my back staring up at a cloudy starry sky. The coldness of the pavement was permeating my skin and there was a dull ache from my left arm and shoulder. My left hand was lying in something wet; I only hoped it wasn't my blood or other bodily fluids. Good, it was a motor oil puddle.
I had managed to get talked into giving a friend of mine a few driving lessons to prep him for his drivers test. My friend, of course, is an international student from Bangladesh who hasn't really driven a car in over a year (and never in the US). Being the nice guy that I am, I agreed and plotted out the next hour of driving practice.
Well, it was interesting. It would be very unfair of me to say that he was a bad driver. Undertrained and inexperienced would be better. We stayed in the parking to our stadium and I let him drive around. I was getting car sick from sharp and shaky turns at 40 mph and the braking that left skids marks. We got pulled over in the stadium parking lot by the campus police. She was laughing as I explained I trying to give driving lessons. After about half an hour, I needed out of my car or else I going to vomit profusely.
I picked this as the time to practice parking. Just simple pull straight into a normal parking space. I set a metal trash can in one space, left the next open, and I stood in the space next to the open one. For anyone who may ever do this: DON'T! My friend crashed my car into the metal trash can twice. At about 30 mph. My car is fine, but that can has seen better days.
He then tried approaching the space from the opposite direction. Well, my friend has a tendency to watch where he wants the car to go and not where it was actually going. The first attempt I had to jump back a foot to avoid getting hit. The second attempt, he drove my car right over the curb of the tree island. The third attempt is what landed me in the position I was in at the start of my post.
He was coming in way too fast and heading straight for me. I was yelling, but he was looking somewhere else. So, I had to do one of those action movie jump-to-the-side-and-roll-out-of-the-way-of-the-maniac-driver moves. The problem is that I am 5'11" tall and weigh a bit over 270 pounds. That was not fun. My shoulder is a little bruised from where I hit the pavement. My friend never did realize that he almost nailed me.
So, I would now like to point out the morals of this story:
1. Never trust anyone who says they know how to drive but are "a little rusty."
2. Always make sure the trainee has auto insurance.
3. Never ever get out of the car. Take an "air discomfort" bag with you, but for the love of God DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR!
4. Use someone else's car.
------------------ Nic: She's not a practicing lesbian. We need PRACTICING lesbians! Me: I have a camcorder. Nic: But no lesbians. Me: Ahhh... no. Nic: DAMN IT MAN! WE NEED LESBIANS! LOTS AND LOTS OF LESBIANS!
------------------ "One's ethics are determined by what we do when no one is looking" Nugget Star Trek: Gamma Quadrant Star Trek: Legacy Read them, rate them, got money, film them
"...and I remain on the far side of crazy, I remain the mortal enemy of man, no hundred dollar cure will save me..." WoV
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I take that back, my car now has a leaky radiator hose. My poor baby!
As for my signature, it a conversation my friend Nic and I were having about testing the effectiveness of certain, how shall I say, feminine devices. And that last line had me laughing for a while.
------------------ Nic: She's not a practicing lesbian. We need PRACTICING lesbians! Me: I have a camcorder. Nic: But no lesbians. Me: Ahhh... no. Nic: DAMN IT MAN! WE NEED LESBIANS! LOTS AND LOTS OF LESBIANS!
posted
I let my brother drive my car around a supermarket car park, and that was enough. I was terrified he'd hit something. . .
------------------ "I rather strongly disagree, even if I share the love of Dick. Speaking of which, that would be the most embarrasing .sig quote ever, so never use it."
posted
I learned how to drive in an abandoned airfield. Even though I've been driving for almost 4 years now without a ticket or an accident my mom still flips out when she's in the car with me.
I love to drive, and drive fast. Also why I loved watching Gone in 60 Seconds and wished my car has a nitro button. The speedometer goes up to 150MPH/240KPH, but I haven't had the opportunity to see if it's true.
------------------ Sheridan: "Dammit, what do you want? What do you want from me?" Kosh: "Never ask that question." Federation Starship Datalink: Brand new look, fresh minty scent, same great taste!
[This message has been edited by Hobbes (edited February 10, 2001).]
posted
ONE FIFTY? Jesus Christ! What do you DRIVE?!
------------------ Star Trek Gamma Quadrant Average Rated 6.27 out of 10 Smileys by Fabrux (with four eps posted) *** "Oh, yes, screw logic, let's go for a theory with no evidence!" -Forum Member Who Shall Be Nameless. 11:48am, Jan. 19th, 2001
------------------ "Lately I've noticed that everyone seems to trust me. It's really quite unnerving. I'm still trying to get used to it." - Garak, "Empok Nor"
Except mine's black and without a front licence plate since South Carolina only requires a rear plate. They were only made for 3 years and the design remained pretty much the same.
I can't find any pics online of the dashboard though.
Ironic a Trekkie drives a car whose name is the same as the Excelsior's original registry.
------------------ Sheridan: "Dammit, what do you want? What do you want from me?" Kosh: "Never ask that question." Federation Starship Datalink: Brand new look, fresh minty scent, same great taste!
[This message has been edited by Hobbes (edited February 10, 2001).]
posted
The fastest I've had my "Intrepid-class carship" (Who originally said that? Was it Lee?) up to is around 90mph (145kph). I didn't go faster for fear it would blow up, or something. It probably wouldn't, but one never knows... :-)
------------------ My new year's resolution is the same as last year's: 1024x768.
posted
So if one buys a car in South Carolina, were he lives, and crosses the border, the police will pull him over and fuck with him? Does that require all caroliners to have extra plates in the trunk?
------------------ Here lies a toppled god, His fall was not a small one. We did but build his pedestal, A narrow and a tall one.
posted
All these plate rules make my head spin. NB requres front and back, NS apparently doesn't, neither does PEI. Dunno about Quebec or Ontario, although I've seen a few cars without a front plates form those provinces, so I guess it's not mandatory.
------------------ "Lately I've noticed that everyone seems to trust me. It's really quite unnerving. I'm still trying to get used to it." - Garak, "Empok Nor"