#sam drives

I'm practicing driving for a trip Hodag and I are taking in a few weeks. They own a car and drive frequently but aren't sure they'll have the stamina for the 2+ hour drive so I'm trying to step up. I drove through downtown Chicago, into a small neighborhood full of cul de sacs so I could practice u-turns and y-turns (one guy walking his dog saw me do both and laughed), then got on Roosevelt to practice going a little faster and not killing dumbass kids on motor scooters. Also to get myself a slice of Portillos chocolate cake as a treat for being so brave.

It went okay. Driving medicated is sadly not much easier than driving undiagnosed, but I did figure out this time, which I never did in my 20s, that nobody will shoot me for being slow or letting someone else go first. They might be mad but I will not die. Not even on West Wacker at Wabash.

It also occurred to me eventually that I have money now. Even if I do get in a crash, I paid for extra insurance and it's not even my car. When one accident is no longer a disaster for the next 6-12 months a lot of the stress peels away.

I still have never experienced Carsona, sadly.

Anyway I'm home now with cake and the USA-Belgium game on, which means Polk is in the Ultra stand and Dearborn is in the VIP section with the reclining seats.

And this time I don't even have any broken limbs!

I wanted to do my next drive north as if I were going to see Hodag in Milwaukee, but because the car rents by the hour I can't go too far -- I'm limited by about a one hour drive in any direction. The one I wanted wasn't available on Saturday, so I had to rent for Sunday morning, which also limits it; I have commitments on Sunday afternoon which means I have a hard out from the trip on Sunday morning, and can't extend the rental on the fly like I did when I got stuck in traffic last time. This is good, I'm not used to traffic-related time management and this will help. But it means most places I would go also won't be open.