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Oct. 8th, 2002 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hnpccSo I have a loaner.
It's a silver Datto, spongy as, doesn't like hills and is missing one spring in the drivers seat which causes me to feel like I'm driving on a lean. Naturally I got 3/4 of the way in to work this morning and realised I'd left my parking permit on the window of my car, so the first thing I had to do was go and beg Parking and Security for another temporary permit. They asked how long I'll be driving the Datto - no idea, depends what's wrong with the clutch. I said a week.
But hey - the radio works. It's been out for a bit in my car, despite Dean "fixing" the wiring (which promptly became unfixed a day later when I went over a speed hump.) So for the first time in months I had something other than my own singing to listen to (if you're wondering where the covers entry came from, this probably explains a bit...)
It's been strange driving an automatic again. My left foot is planted firmly against the floor, subconciously looking for a clutch pedal, and I'm terrified I'm going to absent-mindedly forget and try and change gears. This is less silly than it sounds - for the first week or so after getting Ripper I kept trying to change into my non-existent 6th gear while doing 100kph on the freeway. Very scary, especially as reverse is where my non-existent 6th gear would be...
It was pouring this morning when I left for work (yay!) which of course meant that everything was congested as people skidded, and slowed down. Occasionally even in that order. Bingles everywhere, flooded roads, people still thinking that 1 metre is a safe travelling distance at 80kph... Honestly, you'd think it never rained in Melbourne. Then again for the past couple of months it hasn't, so maybe they've all just recently gotten licenses. Or short memories. Or dementia.
[One of the scariest driving moments of my life came in the eastern suburbs a couple of months ago. Because I live in the northern suburbs I'm used to certain stereotypes[1], so when I saw a red late model Commodore behind me weaving in and out of traffic in an attempt to go faster than everyone else I thought "P-plater. Typical". I got the shock of my life when the guy passed me and he (a) had white hair and (b) a bowling hat on the back shelf! Some people just don't die young like they should, ey. ;-)]
Glancing out the window it looks like it's about to rain, hail and possibly snow again on the way home (yep, this is Spring! Flash flooding season!) so I doubt the traffic will be any better on the way home. At least I've got the radio and can actually get traffic updates this time...
One of the only times I realise just how small a city Melbourne actually is is when we get traffic updates like:
"And motorists look out for a cow wandering along the Frankston freeway..."
or this morning's
"There's a group of ducks and ducklings crossing Springvale Rd[2] near the East Burwood Highway..." This is a really, really major road. It's 6 lanes. It's not somewhere I would expect any sane lifeform to attempt to cross. Especially not at the lights.
Does LA get ducks, cows and assorted livestock merrily wandering its freeways I wonder? Somehow I doubt it - I really can't see them lasting 5 minutes before being either hit or shot... ;-)
[1] OK, the P-plater stereotype is pretty dominant all through Melb not just in the northern suburbs. What I actually thought was "Bunch of 5 18 year olds in Dad's car hooning it. Typical. Bet they've got fluffy dice and all..." ;-)
[2] Question from the DJ - D'ja reckon they've been to the Burvale Hotel? A: well from the way the father duck's waddling, yeah...
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It's a silver Datto, spongy as, doesn't like hills and is missing one spring in the drivers seat which causes me to feel like I'm driving on a lean. Naturally I got 3/4 of the way in to work this morning and realised I'd left my parking permit on the window of my car, so the first thing I had to do was go and beg Parking and Security for another temporary permit. They asked how long I'll be driving the Datto - no idea, depends what's wrong with the clutch. I said a week.
But hey - the radio works. It's been out for a bit in my car, despite Dean "fixing" the wiring (which promptly became unfixed a day later when I went over a speed hump.) So for the first time in months I had something other than my own singing to listen to (if you're wondering where the covers entry came from, this probably explains a bit...)
It's been strange driving an automatic again. My left foot is planted firmly against the floor, subconciously looking for a clutch pedal, and I'm terrified I'm going to absent-mindedly forget and try and change gears. This is less silly than it sounds - for the first week or so after getting Ripper I kept trying to change into my non-existent 6th gear while doing 100kph on the freeway. Very scary, especially as reverse is where my non-existent 6th gear would be...
It was pouring this morning when I left for work (yay!) which of course meant that everything was congested as people skidded, and slowed down. Occasionally even in that order. Bingles everywhere, flooded roads, people still thinking that 1 metre is a safe travelling distance at 80kph... Honestly, you'd think it never rained in Melbourne. Then again for the past couple of months it hasn't, so maybe they've all just recently gotten licenses. Or short memories. Or dementia.
[One of the scariest driving moments of my life came in the eastern suburbs a couple of months ago. Because I live in the northern suburbs I'm used to certain stereotypes[1], so when I saw a red late model Commodore behind me weaving in and out of traffic in an attempt to go faster than everyone else I thought "P-plater. Typical". I got the shock of my life when the guy passed me and he (a) had white hair and (b) a bowling hat on the back shelf! Some people just don't die young like they should, ey. ;-)]
Glancing out the window it looks like it's about to rain, hail and possibly snow again on the way home (yep, this is Spring! Flash flooding season!) so I doubt the traffic will be any better on the way home. At least I've got the radio and can actually get traffic updates this time...
One of the only times I realise just how small a city Melbourne actually is is when we get traffic updates like:
"And motorists look out for a cow wandering along the Frankston freeway..."
or this morning's
"There's a group of ducks and ducklings crossing Springvale Rd[2] near the East Burwood Highway..." This is a really, really major road. It's 6 lanes. It's not somewhere I would expect any sane lifeform to attempt to cross. Especially not at the lights.
Does LA get ducks, cows and assorted livestock merrily wandering its freeways I wonder? Somehow I doubt it - I really can't see them lasting 5 minutes before being either hit or shot... ;-)
[1] OK, the P-plater stereotype is pretty dominant all through Melb not just in the northern suburbs. What I actually thought was "Bunch of 5 18 year olds in Dad's car hooning it. Typical. Bet they've got fluffy dice and all..." ;-)
[2] Question from the DJ - D'ja reckon they've been to the Burvale Hotel? A: well from the way the father duck's waddling, yeah...
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