I Hate Driving

I'm in Rochester for the weekend. Yesterday I had to drive to the convenience store. During this 10 minute trip, I felt rather uncomfortable behind the wheel. It was like I had forgotten how to drive, which I slightly did.

I obviously don't drive in the city. The past few years whenever I was home, I had a boyfriend who, for an assortment of reasons drove me almost everywhere. Although the MTA can be a pain in the ass, I don't think I could ever live somewhere that I couldn't rely on public transportation and have the ability to walk most places...well, unless I became wealthy enough to afford my own personal driver.

This is why I hate driving:

1. I'm terrified in cars. I developed a fear of driving after a car accident I was involved in when I was 17 years old and I still freak out in cars.

2. I'm horrible with directions. In fact, it's safe to say I have absolutely no sense of direction. Yesterday, I found myself lost in the neighborhood I grew up in.

3. I have poor eyesight. I'm required to wear my glasses whilst behind the wheel, but often forget them. Pair my lack of vision with my lack of directional intuition and you've got one hot mess on the road. Having to pull over to read every street sign when looking for a street is incredibly frustrating and makes me scared another driver will shoot or knife me. Yes, I do actually fear this will happen whenever I'm driving.

4. I can't read behind the wheel. I always have a book with me on the train. I certainly could not safely read and drive at the same time. If I had to drive myself everywhere, when would I find time to enjoy my books?

5. Not having a car is good for my bod. No one ever stayed slim by driving their ass to the grocery store. Walking just feels good to me. When I take a 15 minute stroll to the liquor store, I feel that balances out the bottle of wine I'm about to kill and walking home carrying the bottle, well that gives my boney arms some exercise too! When I walk 20 minutes to the gym, I feel extra good about going. Sometimes I feel so good, I keep walking past the gym and right back to my apartment. It's like everything I do is a nice little work out.

6. I never have to worry about a DD. I'm totally against drunk driving. Finding a designated driver is a challenge I just don't have the time for. I feel like a real ass when I'm home asking my friends who will be the driver or even worse, when they ask who can drive. Let's be real, everyone knows I'm not going to volunteer my nights staying sober nor will I drive after even 1 drink. So then here I am in this situation where I want everyone to go out and have drinks, but if they come, one of them has to drive. Since there's no way I'm going to stay sober or drive tipsy (so in a way I'm actually doing a good thing for everyone, really), I always feel guilty one of my friends is spending their night driving me. When you live without the responsibility of ever driving, everyone can have cocktails! What a soothing thought.

7. I'm a horrible driver. I'm just bad at it. I'd rather let someone else take care of it for me.

8. My dad doesn't ask me three times a day if I've checked the air pressure in my tires anymore.