Unlearn and Relearn

I looked back and then ahead again. The adrenaline kicked in and I felt a slight rush of blood go to my head. I took a deep breath and went through the basics in my head one more time. One final look in the window confirmed that the coast was clear. I finally pushed the button and let the engine roar before shifting the rod and allowing the rubber to graze on the pavement. The take off was smooth and I set sail – the destination wasn’t really the final goal; the road was…

I guess the training from last two days held me good. I did exchange a few curse words with the GPS by the time my trip ended but the important thing was that I came around unscathed and little lighter on my stress levels.

Well those of you who haven’t been able to figure out what this post is all about. It is about my unlearning my Indian driving skills and trying to learn the ways of driving around in US of A.

It has now been a week and a half since I started out and though I am not really the ‘Numero Uno’ on the roads and “Interstates” as such and it is, trust me, such a pain to follow the GPS on these loopy Jersey roads that it seems better driving down in lanes of Chandni Chowk than in this part of the world but the good news is that I am still holding out.

Well, with this post I first would want to extend my heartiest thanks to a gentleman who goes by the name of Saurabh Goyal and who really stretched himself to help me gain enough confidence to spin the wheel on my own. I am sure he had his heart in his mouth on couple of occasions that he volunteered to be my co-pilot and despite me venturing onto the left side of the road on multiple occasions, he held onto his faith and well, as far as I can say, the Lord did the rest.

And, today I, actually happened to take the car out for my first joy ride that I was planning ever since I started driving to office. There is this slow winding road, flanked by trees and plenty of green around on my way to work and every time that I crossed this particular stretch, I would imagine myself come down here at leisure and take a stroll around the park and click some pictures. It finally got realized this morning. I got up early, had a quick shower and headed out with keys in one hand and camera in the other.

For once, I actually felt at ease with both the car and the Garden State Parkway, could make turns without much issues and finally reached some place without having to listen to the GPS lead me along wrong forks on the road. Needless, to say I enjoyed it and here are a few pics that I took from my morning walk today.

(You could click on the thumbnail below to have a better view)