> *Phew*
>
> I go away for a long weekend to improve my Scuba qualifications and it all goes off!

I'll be gone from Thursday through Monday...I wonder how many posts I'll have to catch up on.

> On another note, the vast majority of cars in the UK are manual transmission and if you only learnt auto, you aren't allowed to drive manual. What's the rule in the US?

I come from a long line of automatic-transmission-only drivers on my mom's side of the family. I don't think there are any states that actually require people to learn to drive a manual, but I think it's a good idea for a couple of reasons.

First of all, in an emergency, your choices are limited if you can only drive an automatic.

Second, manuals are fun to drive and you have a lot more control over the car.

Third, if my grandparents had ever learned to drive a manual trasmission, they would not still be driving an automatic with two feet. My grandpa taught himself to drive, and he in turn taught my grandma to drive. Apparently, nobody ever told him that it's a good idea to only use one foot for both the gas and the brake pedals. As a result, my grandparents have to get the brakes redone on their cars every year or so, even though they live on an island where people really can't drive for hours and hours unless they want to keep circling the island.

My mom still doesn't know how to drive a manual transmission, and I wonder if my sister will ever be coordinated enough to learn. Having driven a manual for the last three years, I think all people should experience them.

That said, I recently bought a new car and got an automatic. No, I'm not a traitor to the cause; I actually had a reason for it, although Sean had to keep reminding me of it when I was car shopping so that I didn't get another manual. I have recurring tendinitis in the arm I shift gears with and, when it acts up, driving is a royal pain. Sean used to have an automatic (he just bought a new car, too, and got a manual), and I would actually switch cars with him for a few days so that I would be in less pain. I love my new car and can't find a single fault with it, but I recently drove Sean's manual and I loved driving it. One day, when I'm rich and famous, I'll have both kinds of cars.

> Beasty

Ell"Champion procrastinator!"myruh