I have 2 PINK driving licenses!!

My second pink driving license has arrived - yee haw! Not only is my NY one pink, but my new and shiny Brit one is, too. I may or may not look like a drug dealer in my photo, but that's ok. I'll only have the license until I'm...75.

Oh, and it's Radio 1 week at work again. For you non-brits, it's a Top 10-ish playlist with REALLY annoying DJs. Not sure where they find the knuckle-trailers who call in, either. They play the same 5 songs OVER and OVER and OVER...it's completely soul-shredding. And the sound comes in through the walls of our office (we don't have speakers in there, thankfully), so all we get is the bass and some of the louder lyrics. I've asked for it to be turned off but I think that there will be a snowy pig flying through hell the day it happens...

I PASSED MY TEST!!!

Thanks to John's lucky moose boxer shorts, much finger-crossing on Sandy's part, a series of lessons with my kick-ass instructor Glen, and lots and lots of mirror-checking.

I've really done it - I've passed my UK driving test. I didn't pass with flying colo(u)rs, but I made it.

WOOHOO!

It was raining cats and dogs for the entire time I was out on the test (and then cleared up for the rest of the day), and I made random mistakes and discovered a whole bunch of Bury neighborhoods I'd never seen before.

SO relieved.

What side of the road am I on?

Freda made us a Christmas cake this year - it's a fruit cake with marzipan and fondant on top - YUM!! I was a little skeptical (not a huge fan of fondant, or fruitcake, for that matter), but it's really good. Not sure if I'll be able to wait until next year for more. AND we have a Christmas pudding that we haven't polished off yet - it was homemade by one of my friends and I can't wait to try it. Here's F's cake...

I had a 'what side of the road am I on?' moment the other day - thankfully it was with John and James in the car who both yelped and got me back on the correct side in time. It was, exactly as mom and dad had warned, as I was coming out of a network of one-way streets and making a left turn. The cars in front were going straight, and I was a little bit lost - I knew where I was but wasn't sure where I was going to be going next. Basically, all the usual reference points had disappeared and my brain kicked in to autopilot. And oop...over onto the right I went, headed for some (stopped) cars waiting at the light. I think they were as surprised to see me as I was to see them.

When I wasn't having near misses on the roads, I've been refashioning some lampshades for two Ikea lamps that John and I had on our bedside tables. The lamps are fairly lightweight wood frames with circular glass shades inside them. Only problem with them as bedside lamps is that when you're fumbling in the dark to turn the light on (during these glorious English winter mornings when it's dark until 7:15am), the whole thing tips over and shatters. Lovely. After John and I both killed our lamps in quick succession, I decided it was time for something a little more tip-over-proof. Or at least unbreakable. So I bought a set of really cheap pillowcases and made little shades for the lamps. Blogger's picture upload seems to be working again, so I'll add some pics tomorrow when it's light out.

One More Test To Go!

Today, I passed my UK driving theory test. I've been studying sort of sporadically since the summer and taking lots of practice tests, so I wasn't too worried about the questions. The beginning of the test freaked me out, though...the first two questions weren't ANYTHING I'd seen in my studying, but I managed to figure them out. I guess driving for 9 years before taking the test helps...

Onward and upward - it's practical test time!!

Both Hands On The Wheel, Bitches

Well, I've had my first driving lesson - it was not what I was expecting but it went reasonably well. As expected, I basically know how to drive, it's just a question of learning how to drive like an ENGLISH person. Random things trip me up, like checking the mirrors every time I either shift or change direction. I was also never offically taught by a driving instructor how to shift. Apparently you're NOT supposed to coast to an intersection in neutral with your foot on the clutch. Who knew?

The other thing I was having trouble with is the fact that you're not allowed to shift gears and move the steering wheel at the same time. You either have to be steering or shifting, but you can't do both.

I'll get it...there's just a lot of stuff to remember and unlearn. At least I already know how to drive stick...

I also got a mysterious package from Apple Holland today at work - it turned out to be my new non-exploding Powerbook battery. I'm in the process of draining the original one to send back to them, and then I can put the new one in and be happy and explosion-free. Lucky me.