The siren call of the automotive vehicle
I love driving; I love riding in cars; I even love road trips that consist of heading to Target and back. One of the most peaceful moments in my life was driving down Pacific Coast Highway toward Huntington Beach (yes, I grew up near the O.C., and no, my high school experience wasn't nearly that exciting) at night. With the wind in your hair, good music on the radio, and the smell of the ocean...nothing better.
Which makes it kind of ironic that these things are denied to me. I let my driver's license expire, god, four years ago, and I haven't been able to drive since. It's just a matter of sheer laziness, but I don't really need to drive in DC. In fact, my neighborhood is damn near impossible for parking, so it's probably just as well that I am a pedestrian.
Still, I miss having that as an option. There's something so liberating about setting out on the open road. Plus, it frees you from the tyranny of public transportation. I hate how errands that would take maybe an hour, tops, if I had a car, can take the better part of the weekend if I'm metro-ing it. When I go to visit my family in LA, it's like I'm 15 again. I have to beg my parents for rides to the video store and make complicated pick-up arrangements for when I want to do anything social. Luckily, I have very patient friends who are willing to trek out to the burbs to haul my lazy ass around.
Because I do recognize the need for it, I have made some half-hearted attempts to get my license. I took the learner's permit written test - got 100 percent, thankyouverymuch - and then let it expire before I could schedule a behind-the-wheel test. Keep in mind that these learner's permits are good for a year. After that happened, I vowed I'd buckle down and become a driver again. So I took the learner's permit written test, got 100 percent again (I'm so smart) (also, a monkey could pass it with little difficulty) ...and then let it expire. AGAIN.
What really irks me is that I know not one but TWO people who have gone into the DC DMV for walking-around IDs and come out with drivers' licenses. Does that happen for me? No, it does not. Stupid system - why can't you let me fall through the cracks too?
Which makes it kind of ironic that these things are denied to me. I let my driver's license expire, god, four years ago, and I haven't been able to drive since. It's just a matter of sheer laziness, but I don't really need to drive in DC. In fact, my neighborhood is damn near impossible for parking, so it's probably just as well that I am a pedestrian.
Still, I miss having that as an option. There's something so liberating about setting out on the open road. Plus, it frees you from the tyranny of public transportation. I hate how errands that would take maybe an hour, tops, if I had a car, can take the better part of the weekend if I'm metro-ing it. When I go to visit my family in LA, it's like I'm 15 again. I have to beg my parents for rides to the video store and make complicated pick-up arrangements for when I want to do anything social. Luckily, I have very patient friends who are willing to trek out to the burbs to haul my lazy ass around.
Because I do recognize the need for it, I have made some half-hearted attempts to get my license. I took the learner's permit written test - got 100 percent, thankyouverymuch - and then let it expire before I could schedule a behind-the-wheel test. Keep in mind that these learner's permits are good for a year. After that happened, I vowed I'd buckle down and become a driver again. So I took the learner's permit written test, got 100 percent again (I'm so smart) (also, a monkey could pass it with little difficulty) ...and then let it expire. AGAIN.
What really irks me is that I know not one but TWO people who have gone into the DC DMV for walking-around IDs and come out with drivers' licenses. Does that happen for me? No, it does not. Stupid system - why can't you let me fall through the cracks too?
posted by Her Ladyship @ 11:12 AM
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