13 October 2007

Mission: Accomplished

It was a quiet afternoon. As I approached, kids in tow, I saw an elderly lady doing it. She was smooth, really smooth. She did it in one smooth move, no glitches.

I watched in awe. She must have been in her late sixties. And she didn't hesitate the way I would. She seemed to function on autopilot. This was bad. Why did I hesitate to grab the bull by the horns? What did I have to lose after all? (That, my dear readers, is a purely rhetorical question)

I furtively scanned the place. I was here well ahead of time, and the place was empty. I had a good five minute to go before there would be any witnesses to my attempt. Not that there was anything wrong with witnesses, but I didn't want anyone watching me do this. Not the first time at least.

I had my kids to think of. They were both with me, and the older one is at a very observant phase of life. What would she think if I was very obvious in what I was trying? Even worse, what if I failed?

'No,' I said to myself, 'I have to do this. It's now or never.'

With one last look around to ensure there were no witnesses I went to a relatively isolated area. I took a deep breath. I took the plunge.

I looked around. And I had done it. Flawlessly.

I called the better half.

BH: Hello.
Me: I did it! I finally did it!
BH: (slightly slow on the uptake) Huh? What?
Me: Take a guess. Take three guesses.
BH: (sounding distinctly worried) Do I want to know?
Me: I reverse parked. I reversed into a parking slot without mishaps. Perfectly in line.
BH: Cool!!!!!! Good work.
Me: Of course, there were no cars two lots on either side of where I parked. And three lots in the row in the front were empty too.

That's what baby steps are all about. One thing at a time. One small thing at a time.

And it's also the first time that I backed into a lot without hitting something.
I'm so proud of me!

A minor footnote.
I've only made two attempts before this. The first time I reverse parked, the car had a casual fling with a wall. Lots of hurt feelings as the wall didn't really seem to care that it hurt my poor car. The other time was when a really rude concrete pillar got in the way and refused to apologize.

4 comments:

TBC said...

Wow! You reverse-parked! Oh wait, no cars on the sides & no cars in the front?... hmmm...oh well, that's still quite an achievement. The only time Imanaged to do that that was during my driving test. After I got my license to kill...errr...drive, I miraculously forgot!

Tys on Ice said...

Not bad...for a woman ..hehe..cudnt resist..now, just learn how to read map,shout abuse at anyone who cuts u off, double park on a bridge and soon u will be driving like a man

Preethy said...

Congratulations! Lets not split hair about whether parking in an empty lot really counts or not...

The mystery did keep me on the edge though...

Vidya said...

tbc: thanks :D not bad for someone who's driving after a decade, what?

tys: your better half really needs to have a talk with you about sexist remarks :D And the Japanese bow when they overtake, so one doesn't have the heart to say rude things.

preethy: i've been assured that I wouldn't make it in Tokyo :D I guess i'm ok with 'inaka' but that this just won't do in the big city. what'd you say?