vroom vrooom
So, I got my probationary license!! After a lesson of nerves and last minute practice, we went to the VicRoads testing centre. I had to prove I knew where all the controls were (indicators, head lights, etc) then the tester got in the car, and away we went (quietly!) It was a bit of a mass exodus with four other test taking cars creeping out of the car park. It was a bit nerve wracking, with my slow speed manoeuvre being an angled park (I hate angled parks!)- not a three point turn like I had hoped. However, even with a couple of stalls (it’s difficult to take off in second gear) and nerves, I managed to scrape through!
The next step was to transfer ownership of my car while I was at VicRoads, get a photo for the license (a decent one, yay!) and go home. Once home, I reversed my yellow L learner plates to red P plates, and stuck them to my car windows.
Then I had to ring up to get insurance (3rd party), and while I was at it, I got the roadside assistance people to come out and replace my battery (they haven’t arrived yet), and updated my details (my car is white, not cream.)
So now, I’m waiting at home, and once my car is going, I’m going to go for a drive.
(There are some more photos in the previous post’s slide show)
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my first car
Yes, I bought a car! It is a white 1984 Toyota Corolla Sedan, and it isn’t too long till I get my license (hopefully!) and am able to drive it!
Here are some photos: (click on them to read my comments/captions)
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when serious articles are funny
From ‘Miracle Man’ meets Pope [BBC news], a serious article, I stumbled across this gem:
“We came round the altar and stood on the carpet and I had just a moment there while the others were moving forward and I looked up and thought, “Oh my God, I’m right here and there’s the Pope,” he said.
The encounter was not without its problems.
“Trouble is,” Mr McCord said, as he jostled with the thousands of people trying to leave the square, “the dry-cleaners put the wrong pants in – they’re a different colour from the jacket and they don’t fit.”
He pointed at his ankles. The trousers were a good couple of inches too short.
“So when I knelt down in front of the Pope I thought he was going to say, “What? You couldn’t stretch to matching pants?”
I laughed out loud- could be the mood I’m in though. 
COMMENTS
a sonnet
Hey! I have decided to go insane
dancing down the escalators is fun
the complete freedom, far roaming: my brain
searching seeking, chasing after the sun
the golden glow laughs, plays: entices me
my quest to explore, discover, soak in
what does it matter when people can’t see
happy pursuit, a display of daft grin
poetic rebel, individual hue
dazzling orange used to be yellow-red
confident, own agenda to pursue
belongs to neither but both, mixed instead
the thoughtful bliss of my insanity
it defines my orange identity
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suppressing iPhoto
Just a quick post for reference purposes. When you plug a camera into a Mac, it launches iPhoto for you. Which is helpful, unless you can’t stand iPhoto. There is no option in iPhoto’s preferences to switch the auto launch off. However, thanks to this archive I have found the solution. Track down an application named Image Capture. In those preferences, you should be able to stop iPhoto from being triggered to launch.
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random vegetable goodness
I’m a member of the Wholefoods vegetable co-op at Monash. For 15 Aussie dollars, this is the box of vegetables that is supposed to last two people a week, but actually lasts us a bit more than that.
![[ vegetables in a box ]](veggiebox1.jpg)
![[ contents of the box spread out ]](veggies1.jpg)
This time, we’ve got: a butternut pumpkin, four brown onions, four medium-large potatoes, four bananas, two large carrots, two oranges, two head of broccoli, a knob of ginger, four zucchini, two apples and eleven chestnuts.
It’s good because we get the staples, plus some variety. I now know, for instance, that you will never find all the remnants of an exploded chestnut. And that the flavour is ‘mmm. perhaps not my favourite.’ At 15$ for organic produce, it’s a pretty cool deal.