The USS Quad Damage

It is well known that I am not the most adventurous of individuals when it comes to putting things into my mouth (I'll never work in porn!), and this was something I was going to accept to be the case for the rest of my life. In case you aren't entirely sure just how culinarily conservative I am, here's something to clue you in. Last week I had my first ever kebab, and strangely enough, I enjoyed it. This experience has changed my outlook on food, and I am no longer willing to miss out on all the awesome things I could try (and all the horrible things I will regret).

This is where you guys come in. From now on, whenever we get together, I'd like it if we could eat a wider variety of stuff. Rather than going to Hungry Jacks for lunch, let's instead go to Sizzler, and you can all watch as I attempt to sample everything they have on offer (the stupid faces I will pull demand that you take pictures). When we play DnD, let's have some of that crazy Indian food you guys eat instead of chips and the like. Pizza? pfft, why not Thai again? I remember liking that one thing I tried. Although the bourbon (or whiskey, or whatever it was) I tried made me cry, and I hated the wine we had, I want to have a go at things like vodka or even beer. Maybe I'll even get drunk one day! (won't happen).

In turn, however, you guys need to try milk and red cordial. It's the least you could do if I'm going to go on this journey of discovery.

My other mission is of a more serious nature. Another of the things I am known for is my complete inability to drive a car. I've given a myriad of reasons over the last 8 years or so, (lack of interest or need, no money to even have a car, etc) and although they were all true at the time, the real reason is the fact that cars terrify me. And I'm not talking about the normal type of fear that people commonly have, where become nervous around heights, with public speaking, fear of social rejection and the like. I'm talking about being totally unable to deal with the issue. Fight-or-flight. Panic attacks. Dear-God-I'm-going-to-die type of feelings.

Just being in a car makes me a little nervous, though I can usually hide it fairly well, and sometimes I'll forget that I'm in a car altogether and feel relaxed. Heavy traffic or high-speeds make me funny. I hold my breath when going through round-abouts (the cars always look like they won't stop). Rain is creepy. Things like sudden braking, reckless driving by others and so on make me go quiet for a while. Driving at night is a little easier though - perhaps there are less distractions?

I don't know how or when I got like this, but then it's irrelevant to my point. Despite all this, I want to try learning to drive. Although I'm not convinced I'll be able to do it, it is important to me that I try.