Greetings, Internet! I hope everyone’s staying as safe and sane as can be. This week, I saw the “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” score performed live, failed my driving test in spectacular fashion, and ate consolation pie. Daily summaries below!

February 3, 2023

• So many phone calls.
• Not going outside because it’s freezing and windy, so no thank you, hypothermia.
• Worked out with an SCI trainer!
• Well, “Independence Day” was on. So I’ve only seen it like, what, twenty times now?
• But dang, that speech never gets old.
• Wordle: In four!
• Currently feeling: Today kind of flew by? How is already near midnight?
• Currently looping: The Shins’ “Chutes Too Narrow” album.

February 4, 2023

• Met up with my bestie and one of our college besties from out of town for brunch. It was awesome to catch up =)
• A friend of mine was in the neighborhood and stopped by, which was also awesome ^_^
• My boyfriend came over. We watched “Zoolander 2,” which was all sorts of ridiculous.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: Yay, friends! And yay for having a boyfriend who insists that I have a social life.
• Currently looping: Unleash the Archers’ “Time Stands Still” album.

February 5, 2023

• My boyfriend and I went into full domesticity mode. We cleaned out my fridge, I washed tupperware that had horrifyingly old food in it, and he swept up.
• There was an awesome NCAAW South Carolina-UConn game on.
• And then we went out to buy groceries.
• Upon our return, I made guacamole and we watched “The Princess and the Frog.”
• Then he cooked dinner and I did some laundry.
• Yay, lazy domestic Sunday!
• Yay, Bonnie Raitt at the Grammys!
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: I love domesticity.
• Currently looping: The Bangles’ “Hazy Shade of Winter.”

February 6, 2023

• Relieved to learn that my one friend in Turkey is okay, but also terrified for the rest of their country.
• There was an issue with my catheter order because of course there was. So I sorted that out after being on hold for ten minutes and realizing I had been transferred to the wrong number.
• There continues to be a delay with fixing this shower. Good grief.
• Did the FES cycle.
• Trying to put together a budget for this year. I hadn’t factored in the prices of all my adaptive driving lessons, so that’s been throwing things off.
• My new wheelchair has arrived! But it arrived without brakes, so they need to fix that.
• It’s that kind of day, I guess.
• My mother went out to get me a matcha, and she tried to use a gift card that was on my phone, but there was a mix-up. So I got charged twice and somehow left a $20 tip? Gah.
• Oh, and I need to replace a lightbulb.
• At least this SNL clip is awesome.
• Went to see “LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring” with a live orchestra with my mother. ‘Twas amazing! It’s really something seeing the Arwen chase scene with a huge chorus and full orchestra.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: I love movie scores. And listening to them with my mother =)
• Currently looping: KT Tunstall’s “It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am.”

February 7, 2023

• Went to Push to Walk! The president was not in town and causing a traffic jam on West Street, so I actually got there on time.
• Bubble tea! Because of course.
• Lightbulbs have been replaced! My apartment has (some) light!
• Does anyone really take “The State of the Union” seriously? It’s just choreographed clapping.
• My mother is baking a pie!
• Wordle: In four!
• Currently feeling: Still mismanaging time, but happy to have a bit more light in the apartment.
• Currently looping: No music today.

February 8, 2023

• Driving test!
• And oh gosh, it was a nightmare. The driving examiner took one look at the hand controls and immediately asked a colleague if the test would be the same. After his colleague confirmed, “Yup, same test,” he looked at me and said something to the effect of, “We don’t get too many of you here.”
• Scratch that, he didn’t look at me, he looked at the piece of paper he was writing on.
• He also looked at my learner’s permit to make sure hand controls were on the permit (i.e. that I was even allowed to take the test).
• Once he realized he had to give me the test, he told me to check my mirrors, which, um, I’m supposed to do that while he observes. Isn’t that how these tests usually go?
• So that was a great start.
• He also told me to stay in my lane. I immediately looked at my mirrors, and I was in my lane. Was he just saying that as a reminder? Is that normal?
• And things were going relatively well (he said I needed to park closer to the curb, so I did) until the three-point turn (which, can anyone explain to me why a three-point turn over a double-solid yellow line is on the test? That move is ILLEGAL. Why is something illegal on a licensing test?). I backed up too much and while I did not hit a curb, or a car, I inconvenienced two drivers for less than a minute (these drivers were at least four blocks away when I started the turn, so I clearly took too much time), corrected myself, and drove off.
• Then the examiner took this time to tell me that what I did showed poor judgment, was being dangerous, etc. (let’s not relive the whole thing, shall we?). This is, of course, while I’m still doing the turn.
• I apologized to the examiner for backing up too much, so I at least acknowledged what I did wrong. Honestly, there’s no way for me to practice that turn unless I’m on a dead end street (because, again, if you go over a double-solid yellow line, it’s illegal, so how can I practice that safely?).
• He gave me an automatic fail for “driving on the wrong side of the street.” He also wrote that I had poor judgment, didn’t signal (but I did), didn’t steer the car well, and maneuvered too much when I parallel parked (um, maybe because he asked me to get closer to the curb and I had to readjust? Which I did without hitting the curb, so what’s his problem?).
• And dude, it was a three-point turn over a double-solid yellow line. There is literally no way to avoid the wrong side of the street. And I got out of it without hitting a car or the curb, so maybe stop talking to me like I’m the worst driver you’ve ever met?
• After recounting this story to my family and others, they have come to the consensus that he wanted me to fail. I’d hate to think someone is like that. But I also wonder if others were berated on their own exams when they made a mistake. Because to be clear, it was a bad turn. I knew what I did wrong, and I said exactly that. I don’t think I did well. But I also think there’s a polite way to tell someone they made a mistake. And he was not polite.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: Horrible. I don’t want to eat. I don’t want to listen to music. I don’t want to deal with rude driving examiners who didn’t want to be in the car with me to begin with. I know that people fail driving tests all the time. I just don’t know if they’ve had a similar fail experience to mine. Stories would be helpful.
• Currently looping: Nothing.

February 9, 2023

• Barely slept.
• Did the FES cycle. Watched the latest episode of “The Last of Us.”
• A friend came over to help me eat the pie that my mother had baked the night before and that I had no appetite for at the time. Thankfully, my appetite has returned.
• Then my boyfriend came over for hugs and silliness. We watched “Spy.”
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: Better than yesterday, but I still hate the fact that an illegal three-point turn is literally on a licensing test. And that people are jerks. Why can’t driving schools be allowed to proctor licensing exams?
• Currently looping: Just caught up on podcasts. And introduced a friend to The Used’s unplugged version of “The Bird and the Worm.”

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, watch “The Last of Us,” and seriously, let me know if your driving examiner also made you feel like you didn’t belong in a car.