round-about and round-about and round-about i go…

(A.A. Milne of course. by coincidence AA (in NZ) stands for an entity that parallels the AAA) one of the features that merits quite a few pages in the AA guide to NZ road rules is how to survive unscathed through a round-about. first of course, you arrive at one with caution. i practice caution as much as my character permits, usually waiting to emerge from a driveway or our little cul-de-sac until after another car has driven past. that makes it more likely that i will end up driving on the correct side of the road. st. jude (patron of hopeless causes) preserve me if another american ever happens to drive past on the wrong side because i will certainly emulate the lowly lemming and follow blindly…

i am a well-practiced round-abouter at this point. there are two opportunities for r-a experience on the way to the piano of my in-laws. this means two trips to play the piano equals four r-a ops. technique for the r-a: slow as you approach the r-a. any person on your right has the right of away and anyone already in the r-a takes precedence also. you must stop unless the r-a is totally clear. (if the person ‘instructing’ you grabs her seat, screams and wildly kicks the floor with her left foot, be certain to add a gratuitous suddenness to the last 6% of your cessation. this causes a bit of head snap--not an exactly friendly gesture but at least YOU were expecting it.) if you arrive slightly later than the car directly opposite and it enters the r-a first, it has the right of way. when it's finally your turn to enter, ease cooly into the arena...focus on your right as you enter the r-a, and keep your other eye on anyone on your left—or on anyone who suddenly appears on you left at the next r-a entrance…what if they don’t obey the rules?

the r-a expert distinguishes him/her-self by the use of the directional signal. if this expert is going to the outlet opposite their entrance, they indicate that they are going to turn right, a courtesy to let the person on their left know that they will be going past them. once past that person, our superior driver now indicates a left turn to let those ahead know that they may now safely enter the r-a as he/she will be exiting. i am mastering these advanced techniques at the moment. i indicate the first signal—that i plan to continue a bit, then as i shift into second gear with my left hand, i almost simultaneously hit the stalk to indicate that i will be exiting the r-a at the next opportunity—a virtuoso performance. too bad that this is not always the correct stalk as it would have been in the past life of Toyota and Subaru. i am becoming an adept at the little wiper wave, it's practically a patented move. i’m hopeful that this communicates my endearing humanity for the world to see…

more on weather and true grit…yesterday, when i finished a rehearsal and a bit of practicing at the U, i came out to find a strong wind and light rain. the temperature was around 40 degrees, probably in the vicinity of 32 with wind chill. i was about to turn and go back inside to phone for a rescue ride when a jogger went by. it was a female U student (female…certainly, U…probably—they call them girls here, it’s a not PC issue as far as i know). she wore (smallish) shorts and a t-shirt. the muscles in her calves were very well-defined…obviously a serious athlete. i thought, if she can do that, i should be able to make it for three blocks through the worst of the elements when i would then be out of the wind. The 150 steps-plus up the side of the hill would get the ol’ bod generating some heat…what am i, chopped liver?