Another weekend

What can you expect on a weekend in Mangalore? Just lots of boredom, and now-a-days lots of heat too. Fortunately some good people are around me. So this weekend though boring was not as bad as I thought.
Saturday started early morning in office and then continued sluggishly into the afternoon. Finally we signed the papers for the learners license. Nothing great in that apart from the fact that we were supposed to do that on Monday. Then some dirving lessons immediately afer that. Came back to office after lunch. But why did I come back to office. Officially for some code review, but I can tell you it was because of the AC working here ;) Had planned another round of driving lessons in the afternoon. But I could not complete the lessons as the car ran out of gas. The teacher put it on petrol, but that too finished fast. We then learnt the history of Shettys in Mangalore and Mumbai till the time some help came (This could be a topic of another blog!) Day finally finished with Dinner with Kannan and Fawdi. That was actually fun with kannan and me showing some CIVILISATION :)
Sunday was a different game altogether. Had some plans in mind at the start of the day. All completed by now. Completed some work, then had driving lessons and then went for a movie with Fawdi (cant believe I actually went for a movie with her) and then did some shopping, Got my first pair of shoes. Okay not that I was walking barefoot all these days, these are the first pair of formal shoes I got for myself. Then had some jiuce and now back in office. Plan to go to Dinner now with Kannan, Shylu an Fawdi.
In retrospect, Am just thinking.......

The clutch and brakes

Driving class today was a new experience. You must be really bored of this driving class blogs, but this is the single most important thing happenning in my life now.
So todays class was another fiery session with the teacher firing :) Almost killed a virtual man standing behind my car. Even after the teacher evin me 4 tries to do a U turn, I am still hell bent on not getting that. Okay enough of driving lessons for YOU. :) I am continuing anyways.
Nothing else going on in my life, thinking of something and then reverting back seems to have become my habit. More on this later....

My second driving class

The day finally came after a long wait of 6 days. My second driving class. After the first class I was not very confident of the second day. I asked Kannan to go first to the driving as I was a bit scared. He flatly refused. So I had to get in first. We gave the teacher our photos for the Driving license. That reminds me that we had to go to RTO office to get our learners license today but we did not go as this is a second saturday and the office is closed. :) (Am so happy about that :))
So "lo prabhu ka naam" (Not that Prabhu you idiot!!) and I started the car. Surprise surprise ....

I was actually driving (??) correctly. Except for one instance where I released the accelarator when we were on a rising slope all went fine :) This is not what I expected. I strongly suspect the Teacher of some malicious activities from his side of the controls. And one very inportant thing was that the car was not the same we used last weekend. The steering of this car had to be turned a bit right for it to go straight. (Surprising but true :))
But this certainly gave me some confidence and I am loking forward for tomorrow for yet another lesson :)
Clutch and brakes tomorrow :))

My first driving class

Finally a year and a half after I first resolved to join the Driving class.

Slept early yesterday at 10.30 (very early considering that it was a saturday night :)). Woke up at around 4 in the morning. Something strange.. Was not able to sleep properly. Was actually measuring how much the start that i was seeing out from the window was moving in a minute. As my mathematics is weak, Obviously i was not able todo that. What that did do was incude a peaceful sleep till 11 am. Woke up to find my roommate doing some serious coding!! Then we did some talking and agreed to go to office in another hour and a half (He is a perfect companion to go to office :)). Then the most unexpected thing happenned.

He got a call from the driving school saying that we can start the driving lessons from today and we have to be at the school in another 20 mins!!! Somehow we convinced the teacher that we can come there in half an hour. Just about up from sleep and going to the first driving class....
After a long time, i moved out of the house without a bath (Okay, I know you wont believe this, but i am having bath regularly since November 2004. Dont ask me the reason for this change. Those of you who know me well would know :)) Just walked down the road to our office discussing something about something ( I dont really remember. Have a small brain :))

After waiting for some time our Driving teacher came there with the car. I was literally dancing there to go for the ride first, to which the stunned teacher and my roommate agreed.

"You know how to ride a 2 wheeler? No
Okay lets start anyways....."

Teacher told me the basics controls of the car and asked me to start. For the next half an hour, he lost his peace of mind and his cool and his control of the car.

"Thoda left...
Foot on the accelarator...
Keep your hands still....
Turn with only one hand held on the steering...
A little slow...
Control your speed....
A little on the right...
Keep turning right....
Nooo dont turn now, go till the start of the turn...
No accelarator on the turn..."

A perfect newbie for driving as I am, I am perfectly out of sync of Speed and Direction. I could control only one at a time. Nearly bumped off a bus and was about to be down a hill. Fortunately the car used for driving has breaks and clutch on the teachers side too. This saved the day and I finished my first driving class. Then it was my roommates turn. He had very little issues as he was already experienced in 2 wheeler driving. He finished the lessson without any mishaps.
I planned to get the license soon. But with todays experience, It will be definitely ambitious to think something like that :))

Joining Driving classes

Nothing to do in mangalore on the weekends. Last 2 weekends I was with Fawdi most of the time, or talking to her or messaging her. Inshort constantly in touch. But this weekend is a bit different from the earlier weekends I had in mangalor after returning back. Kannan and Binoy did not go to their homes. Binoy was actually here till some time back but has finally gone home. Fawdi has gone to her home since Wednesday. Will be back only on Tuesday. we had some good fights over completely useless things, description not required. So I am not disturbing her peaceful vacation till tuesday. kind of missing her. but that seems just fine.
Okay coming back to the fact that there is nothing to do in Mangalore on weekends. I dont knowdriving a four wheeler or a 2 wheeler. So Kannan and I have joined the driving school here. 25 hours of teaching. Hope I will get my licence before my birthday :) But the sad part is that our teacher is not well today and the class will be called off most probably.
Coming to birthdays, I have lost count of how many birthdays I have forgotten in the last 3 years. Almost every birthday including preet's birthday.Was fortunate enough that I called just by chance on that day.
So am siting in office doing nothing... someone gave a good definition of nothing, NOTHING is absence of anything... :)