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Went driving in the Foose today. Due to the bad weather here the Mustang has been in the garage, to keep it safe. I still can’t believe I own a car that I’m worried about driving in the weather. It seems wrong somehow. I mean it’s a car, but, it’s also my baby, and you don’t drive the baby in the snow.
I was doing good enough that I drove us to the local bookstore. I did fine, until the busy parking lot. Then there were all sorts of other cars, and, worse yet, slow pedestrians. I swear, it was like the families on their Sunday outings knew just how to time themselves, so I kept having to stop. I’m not sure whose nerve failed first, mine or Jon’s, but he parked the car, and drove it out through the maze of packed cars, vultureing drivers, and inattentive pedestrians. It’s like they were confident I wouldn’t hit him, or something. I wouldn’t hit them on purpose, but rolling backwards into them after the Foose died, well, that was why we switched drivers. Sigh.
I was at about sixty percent at driving the stick, now I’m up to seventy-five percent success at stop signs and on hills. It’s an improvement and if the weather stays nice I’ll get more practice. My goal is by February to be at ninety percent. That’ll be good enough for government work.
Jon told me today that I had to be one with the car, or some Zen, Jedi thing. He did preface the statement with, “I know this sounds silly, but . . .” It did sound silly but, . . . I’m trying to become one with the car. It helped more than trying to feel the clutch, or about as much.
I did a first today, I attempted to play my first console game. I played Halo 3. It was pitiful. You know how in chess a player will take one of their important pieces off the board so a new player has a chance, like a rook, or a bishop? Well, Jon handicapped himself by killing me only with melee attacks. Up close and personal or nothing, and from the front no assassinations. I watched my player figure turn in circles as he tried to be fair, and I couldn’t figure out how to hold still long enough for him to find my front and be fair. It was sad. I finally just stayed in one place, and told Jon, “Kill me, or come by and let me kill you. I have no idea where I am.” I shot myself in the foot twice, and not at all on purpose. I just forgot which button fired and which one let me pick up a new weapon.
We’ve decided we may try something where my perspective is more third person. Maybe I’ll try Assassin’s Creed, or Lego Star Wars. New games that I can suck at, ooh, I can’t wait. No, really, I was so bad at Halo 3 today that even I thought it was funny.