Carless

I can still remember the reaction I would get from friends when they found out I wouldn't have a car over here. How could I survive??? I'm sure I had moments as well when I wondered if I would be able to handle it. Well, today I realized that not having access to a car is a blessing in disguise. Andy is currently out of town, so I have the car at my disposal. Andy has also offered numerous times to take the bus to work so that I could have the car. And my response has always been, "No, I don't need it, I mean where would I go???".

Well, today I figured I should run some errands since I had the car. I wanted to do big grocery run (meaning more than two bags of groceries) and some other errands. Great idea, right? Well, sure it sounded like a great idea. But as I drove around today I realized what an impatient driver I am. My frustrations today had nothing to do with the car being stick shift. I actually learned how to drive stick shift in high school, so it hasn't been a big deal to transition back to a stick shift. I definitely prefer automatic, but stick shift is definitely doable. My frustrations had nothing to do with all the bikers that you have to look out for, either...

I just wanted to be the only one on the road. I wanted all the traffic lights to cooperate. I wanted to be able to turn right on a red light. I didn't want to deal with construction. I wanted the parking spots to be larger. Blah, blah, blah...

So, today I have learned that my life is a lot less stressful without a car. I guess I'm just not a very patient person when I'm driving. It will be interesting to see how I adjust to having a car once we head back home... :) I remember when Andy was out of town back in January and I had to run to the grocery store. Did we hop in the car and take off? No, we simply walked to the shopping center that's a 10-minute walk away. I guess I should have done that today. Oh well, we live and learn! So, I guess I'm pretty well-adjusted to not having access to a car very often. Since it's just Rachel and me running errands, it's easier and much less stressful to walk to the shopping center. I may eat these words one day when I really want to have a car, but then I can just tell Andy to take the bus to work that day! :)