I am so pumped! Anthony and Amy thought they'd put me to the test today. When we drove out for lunch, Amy gave me the keys to her car and designated me the driver.

In a way, it was after talking through things with the two of them that I decided to get my own car. Anthony (voice of adventure) + Amy (voice of reason) = Mazda2. I guess you could say they're my car's Godparents. I still don't know what to call my car yet, don't even know if it's a boy or a girl, so I'll wait patiently a little longer until it is delivered.

Amy's Echo is easy to drive. Being small, it takes corners well and the steering is light. Acceleration isn't fantastic, a bit like the Getz, needing time to torque up before release. We, no, I drove to our favourite prata place at Rosyth. It's a reasonable distance from campus to take the Echo on a joyride, yet close enough to make it back for tutorial.

Anthony behaved himself and didn't try to be as distracting as he might have been with a more experienced driver. His restraint was a good thing 'cos there was little space to park except to parallel park in a pretty tight spot by my estimation. Haven't done any parallel parking since my driving test in, oh, 1990(?) but I did reasonably well today. A bit far from the kerb but it was an infrequently used side road so I didn't feel the need for perfection.

Lunch was Maggi mee goreng with a fried egg on top. The 3 of us ordered the same thing so no problems splitting the bill. I went with the "no chilli" option which I think was a good decision. Last time there was so much chilli my stomach was uh... volatile all day. Today, I could actually taste the mee goreng. Next time, I'll opt for "no ketchup" as well.

On arriving back in college, they really tested my parking. Amy chose the furthest lot in the tiny parking space by the running track. This involved me backing the Echo past 3 other parked cars before swinging butt-first into the lot. For the first time, I truly got the hang of coordinating eyes with hands with feet and disengaging brain. It worked. Not too much problem parking, though a bit close to the left kerb this time.

Small car I now have the confidence to handle. How about a bigger car: Anthony's Mazda3? If he'll let me drive it, we'll see, won't we?
.
.
.
I want my car, NOW!