ForeverBlueSkies - Life, the Universe & Everything - a blog

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

I can't believe she made me do it...

I got my International Driving Permit sorted just before I came over here, including getting the latest mugshot - sitting in the photo booth on a hot sweaty day and capturing the beads of perspiration on my forehead for all the Power Puff Girl keyringinternational police forces of the world to see... and then I got given the spare car keys, complete with Power Puff Girl keyring - gee, thanks BBFK, no GI Joe or Hulk for the boys aye? LOL ;)

So anyways, after 4 days of "I am a Passenger" and foot soldiering about... it happened...

The British instinct, when getting into the front seat of a car as a passenger, is to get in the left-hand side door. It was wide open. BBFK, I assumed, was in the driver's seat... so I slipped in and nearly pissed myself... WTF is this steering wheel doing here !!!

I was so shocked that I was half in/half out the seat with the car running, BBFK waiting for me to drive and laughing, and I mean really laughing her ass off, and I had to go back in the house to visit the boys' room... seriously!

Once composed and resigned to the fact I was gonna drive a goddam automatic, I confidentally cruised out into the quiet little side street... on the wrong side of the road, albeit for just a few yards before BBFK reminded me I was in the United States. LMFAO.

And apart from that, the journey to the mall and back went swimmingly :) OK, anyone 'round here got a 500-buck motor for me or shall I just go get that old Cadillac I saw downtown?

Blue Skies thinking @ 9/28/2005 05:26:00 PM  

29 Comments:

  • At Wed Sep 28, 07:24:00 PM, Blogger BeckyBumbleFuck said…

    Well, babe, even with your propensity to drive on the wrong side of the road, I knew that you would still be less of a hazard than when I'm in the driver's seat. ;)
    But I did REALLY like your reaction when you realized that you were sitting behind the wheel...you would have immediately jumped out, if I hadn't held you down...LMAO...

     

  • At Wed Sep 28, 07:29:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    My BBFK: Nope, that's the correct side of the road we drive on ;) And hazard? It's not you, it's the other daft buggers!! I've come to the theory that it's NY, NY State and Freeway combos that give make me nervous... the driving there is atrocious...

    And yeah, LOL, I forgot about being physically held down... that was a first... for everything!!! LOL Thx, girl ;) :)

     

  • At Wed Sep 28, 08:21:00 PM, Blogger Kat E said…

    Seriously, I'm impressed by the attempt at driving alone. I think the idea of driving on the other side of the road would freak me out so completely I would be unable to go anywhere but in a straight line.

     

  • At Wed Sep 28, 08:24:00 PM, Blogger rebekah said…

    ahh impressive lever! i like a good driving story myself and when i get in the car and start driving, people always ask me "where do you think you are, england?"

    :D

     

  • At Wed Sep 28, 09:18:00 PM, Anonymous Red said…

    LOL! :)

    Yes, its damn horrible the first couple of times. Worst thing is when you drive a manual (stick) in the UK, is when you keep trying to find the control on the wrong side :)

    Since I do so many miles at work, I've switched to an automatic 3 yrs ago in the UK. Makes switching to the US a lot easier :)

    Hmm, damn M3 is being dug up again, good thing you're out the country :)

     

  • At Wed Sep 28, 10:24:00 PM, Blogger shina said…

    I have no idea what's *practically* happening around with mi amigos.....wth?

    ¿Te encuentras bie~n...? Pregunte cualquier cosa. ¿Adònde va? Estoy muy cansado.....ay.

    Somehow I learned a bit of Spanish from friends I've met through this weird link...in months.

    Enjoy your quality time, L&B...

    :)
    ----------------------------------
    offtopic:
    *1beep2* to delusive pimps...
    How effeminate!

     

  • At Thu Sep 29, 12:14:00 AM, Blogger Lever said…

    Kat E: LOL, yeah, totally, it's instinctual to drive on the other side for me... Put it this way, I've been legally driving on "my" side o' the road for about 18 years and have *never* driven a LHD car!

    Oh yeah... AND I took some wrong turns on the way back from the Japanese restaurant at lunchtime ;)

    Rebekah: LMAO that's too funny... You should try the UK for a drive sometime, though I guess our stick shifts would be a nightmare if you're not used to 'em! So what else do you do when driving UK style? You polite too? LOL

    Red: Too right - it was totally weird and I tended to drive with my right hand on the wheel, with my left wanting to do things, be useful...

    Whoah, you went auto! :o OMG. That's brave but good for acclimatising I suppose... but now you done it once or twice I guess it's just a question of switching the mindset from RHD to LHD and vise versa :S

    Good luck with that M3, what on earth are they doing this time?!?! :)

    HyperBudda: Hey girl, how's tricks? :D

    I was only saying to BBFK yesterday I should learn some Spanish after these Mexicans came 'round to do some decorating. Their English was good but I wish it was easier to talk their lingo.

    Yeah, we're having a great time thx, hope you are too :D

     

  • At Thu Sep 29, 12:59:00 AM, Blogger rebekah said…

    polite? uh usually

    though i do have an impolite driver story on the blog currently where i am the impolite driver

    otherwise no - it's just the side of the road i drive on :)

    yeah stick shifts = nitemare

    no thanks

     

  • At Thu Sep 29, 02:59:00 AM, Blogger shina said…

    Oh yeah headache...!

    These kinda tricks I'd often played and trapped by delinquents when I was in junior high. And I was good at beat 'em all hollow.
    It seems to be the same whether we live or how old the gangs are...tiresome silly showoff game.
    What is more, it is totally nothing virtual talk...*sigh*

    Karma. Hah.

     

  • At Thu Sep 29, 08:10:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    Rebekah: Ah, that was just a finger at someone getting impatient... that's their lookout...

    Go on, drive a 4x4 200bhp turbo stick RHD shift automobile, I just *know* you'd shit yourself LMFAO

    HyperBudda: Ah, "how's tricks?" is a common saying for "how's it going?", "how are you?" or "what have you been up to?" Sorry to hear you got a headache though :S

     

  • At Fri Sep 30, 10:57:00 AM, Blogger davinian said…

    Cool, get a Red Shark (convertible of course) and cruse your ass around in bat country!

     

  • At Fri Sep 30, 02:45:00 PM, Blogger BeckyBumbleFuck said…

    LMAO! Nice shot! The ripple on Blossom's (the powerepuff girl) face is from when Noel was a babe and decided to explore it with her teeth. ;) Oh, and she's mean looking....it's a tough keyring: almost as good as the Hulk. ;)

     

  • At Fri Sep 30, 03:11:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    Davinian: I saw one one Saturday in SoNo, it was pristine, red AND a ragtop too, but I somehow feel 500 bucks would be taking the piss LOL A big old caddy convert with an amp and a guitar on the back seat would be ace, then someone else could drive through the desert whilst I play a few choice riffs... :))

    My BBFK: Ah, OK :) Yeah, she's a kick ass babe, but I dunno what Alek would have to say about her being nearly as tough as hulk...

    OK, I'm living with the girls now, you have your way, but no dressing up OK?

     

  • At Fri Sep 30, 05:57:00 PM, Blogger Brom said…

    driving önce in the Stätes I turned intö a road tö find some wöman coming straight töwards me... on my side öf the röåd. My brain instänty said.. get över your in a foreign cöuntry, yöur on the wröng side, so I instinctively dived to the left to find she did the säme!!! We avöided a head ön. by Me swinging back to the (correct) side that I wäs on öriginally. Wömen Drivers!! (Duck!) :-)

     

  • At Fri Sep 30, 09:10:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    Brom-man: You back in Finländ again Brom? You got some of those weird charcters going on there...?

    LOL, that's pretty mad, d'ya reckon she was a crazy Brit? *attempts to get Brom off the hook there ;) *

     

  • At Fri Sep 30, 10:41:00 PM, Anonymous restless angel said…

    *lauging* That's just too good.... are you adjusting well enough now? *goes back to laughing*

     

  • At Sat Oct 01, 06:59:00 AM, Blogger superfan said…

    aww, thats what its like for my dad when we go to france or greece...confuzzled and shouting for the first couple of minutes...

    he he he...

     

  • At Sat Oct 01, 09:36:00 AM, Blogger Brom said…

    Not Finland, those extra characters were thanks to a keyboard in Stokholm airport. Two hours to kill, everything way too expensive to buy so apart from a couple of beers (on expenses) the next best thing is to pass away the time with some blogchums.

    Hope you are having a great time with BBFK ;-)

     

  • At Sun Oct 02, 01:57:00 PM, Blogger superfan said…

    the powerpuff girls make me want to throw things.


    at them.

     

  • At Mon Oct 03, 03:43:00 PM, Blogger superfan said…

    *skips in*

    lever lever i updated!

    *skips out*

     

  • At Mon Oct 03, 06:09:00 PM, Blogger rebekah said…

    well they must be having a grand ol' time because theyre gone again
    :(

    sheesh people, would it kill you to pop in and say "hey - we're still alive" every once in awhile ...

     

  • At Tue Oct 04, 12:25:00 PM, Blogger Mummy/Crit said…

    So how long are you over there for anyway? (not that I'm jealous or anything...it's almost a year since I was there last - thanksgiving in Minnesota) glad you're having a good time, but.

     

  • At Tue Oct 04, 04:24:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    Restless Angel: LOL, erm... I think so, thx :) I haven't been on "the other side" since :) Plus, I've now racked up another 300+ miles of US driving with a UK slant on it ;)

    Superfan: LOL, yeah, I sympathise now, but it's easy when you get the hang of it - just gotta remember to drive on the correct side when I get back to merry England...

    Brom-man: Ah, Sweden, OK... gotta be careful of that one - a bit like confusing Americans & Canadians - or all the Americans here thinking I'm Brit/ Aussie/ Kiwi ??? Ah well *shrugs*

    That's a decent way to pass the time Brom, nice to catch up on tricks whilst in the Airport :D And yeah, we're having a great time, thx :D Will post as soon as there's a moment...

    Superfan: Hello again, Sef :) Power Puff Girls... hmm, I hold judgement on them for now ;)

    Rebekah: LOL, yep... like a disappearing act aint we? ;) :p Yeah, we're OK, just been mega busy...

    Mummy/Crit: Oooh, another 3 weeks now... time has flown already, and there's plenty more things to be getting on with. Doing business from a laptop kills 8 hours a day, so it's a normal day but with the bonus of added BBFK :D

     

  • At Tue Oct 04, 10:56:00 PM, Blogger jonny ragel said…

    yea- driving in germany was a trip. but at least they drive on the right side of the road (please note the witty double-meaning of 'right') so congrats on snagging the powder puff. or is that- stay off the powder puff whilst driving in the states?

    anyways- congrats also on going to the mall. your journey to the dark is now nearly complete.

    lol.

     

  • At Tue Oct 04, 11:30:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    Johnny Crash: LMAO, yeah, maybe they/you do drive on the right, but we drive on the correct side, you know that ;)

    Yeah, the mall was dark side, especially when we got hungry - all those fat food chains...

     

  • At Wed Oct 05, 02:51:00 AM, Blogger rebekah said…

    interesting, yes
    i called becky's cell phone the other day . . .
    um well continue having fun then :)

     

  • At Wed Oct 05, 11:06:00 AM, Blogger tescosuicide said…

    where'd ya go?

     

  • At Thu Oct 06, 02:42:00 AM, Blogger Keeefer said…

    what a state to be in ;)
    Hope you are having fun. I had to drive an automatic here in Aus, my big tip is DONT USE YOUR LEFT FOOT TO BRAKE. I hit the brake like i was on the clutch and nearly through the wife thru the windscreen....oh well better luck next time i guess ;) Enjoy yourselves

     

  • At Fri Oct 07, 07:55:00 PM, Blogger Lever said…

    Rebekah: Hey you, I'm sure Becky called you back on that one... well, OK, a bit late, but better than never aye? ;)

    Tescosuicide: I'm here dude :)

    Keeefer: LOL Yeah, I did use my left foot to brake on BBFK's bro's car back in July... frightened the f'ing life outta me. I've driven autos before but used me left foot just be safe... yeah right ! LOL

     

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