Last Monday we picked up our car from the dealership at 6pm. Since then we've put on just over 600 km, filled the tank once and I'm now regaining my confidence as a driver.

I've been learning how to drive manual with poor Mephostophilis for at least an hour each day since we picked him up. The worst day was Tuesday. I finally stopped driving and just parked for an hour so I could calm down and de-stress a little after I found myself screaming fuck at the top of my lungs after stalling once again -- this time turning left after the light had changed. I stalled it 3 times in a row with it green in the other direction.

The hardest part about learning manual after driving for over a decade on automatic cars is how my normal defensive driving habits have lost focus. I'm paying too much attention to how the engine sounds, what gear should I be in, easing into the clutch, "please god don't let me roll back into this asshole that is a foot away from my bumper on a hill", and so forth. I know that as my confidence increases I'll get back into my habits. I just hate it. I feel like an accident waiting to happen.

What I really appreciate is the lessons R gave me in our teens. The evenings he let me drive the Fox around getting an understanding of how a manual car works. I still have a body memory of how to drive manual from those lessons so many years ago. It has made my life so many ways easier. I can't imagine trying to learn from scratch on a new car.

And that's 15 minutes.

Question: Who gets the reference of our car's name? It's a rare thing that anyone does. I think my Mom did and so did Mike when I suggested it. Who else? Without google! ;)