Island Med Student

I spent the entire day yesterday traveling to DMVs, contacting insurance companies, and visiting my parents’ farm, all in the name of getting a driver’s license and car. When I was out of the country, there was some confusion with the DMV, and they suspended my driver’s license. A lot of effort, forms, and money later, and I finally got it all straightened out. I now am legal to drive in the USA, and I have a legal car licensed in my name. My car is my old 1994 Honda Del Sol, which I’ve had for about 8 billion years. I absolutely love this car. It has power nothing, no AC, lots of dents, and it’s been through more than I can ever say. It’s been with me through good times and in bad, as I alluded to in a previous post.

When I first saw my car yesterday, it caused a flood of emotions! I hadn’t seen it in almost 2 years, and it brought back so many memories. I found old CDs in the glovebox, all kinds of things in the trunk, and it had cobwebs inside it from being in a barn for so long. I almost cried.

(As a complete aside, I wanted to explain the “all kinds of things in the trunk,” and also respond to a commenter of my blog a while back who asked if my pink flamingo (seen in a pic on my blog) has a name. No, she does not, but she was once a part of a “mobile art collection” called, “The Kendra Del Sol Collection.” Here is a blog post I wrote on an old blog a million years ago, which describes the “art collection”:

Today is day 6 of being a cowboy. So far, I’ve managed to acquire 2 cowboys hats and learn nothing about roping cattle. I have, however, managed to increase my pink flamingo count by one, which brings the current contents of my trunk to 1 fur coat, 7 feet of metallic tubing, a slippery when wet sign, a glue gun, 1 pink flamingo (the 2nd one is in Jess’s trunk), a 6-foot agility tunnel, 2 N-Sync bobble head dolls, 2 DC United flags, a very battered stuffed monkey, 1/2 of a vegetarian hot dog stand, and the aforementioned 2 cowboy hats.

There was previous discussion about using the disco cowboy concept as a springing board for my mud wrestling/take over the world plans. However, I’ve not been able to locate the white go-go boots, nor the purple mini skirt. I do, however, still have access to glitter and a few Back Street Boys albums.

Now, I’m off to Starbucks to pick up my four shots of espresso. When I return, and after consumption, I will be transformed into Super Kendra, traveling at the speed of light, and saving the universe from imminent destruction, one stuffed monkey at a time.

Then came the REALLY strange part. I got inside the car, closed the door, and began the process of driving. I haven’t driven in 2 years, and it was very creepy. I had to figure out how to adjust the mirrors and steering wheel, put the key in the ignition, push down the clutch, and get her rolling. It wasn’t easy, but I eventually went through all the steps, and made it on the road. And then there was the road! I had to remember to drive on the “right” side of the road (as opposed to on the left side in Dominica), and I had to remember how to use my turn signals, merge into traffic, etc. It was quite an adventure.

At first, I was having an absolute blast, because my car is so much fun to drive. But then we hit traffic, and I remembered why I hate the States. There were thousands of cars, all piled up on top of each other. The drivers were all stressed out from working all day, and trying to get home, only so they can wake up the next day and do it all over again. It was the epitome of a rat race. I could rant on this for a while, but I shall not. The point is, I suddenly remembered what I hate about driving.

Anyway, today I cleaned up my car and fixed a few broken items. She’s totally ready to be on the road again. I’m just not sure if I am.

As a side note, I cleaned out most of the “art collection” from my trunk to create room for groceries. There’s a part of me that wants to say “screw groceries” and start the collection back up again. We shall see what happens…