So.... how are the driving lessons going?

[eekee 182]

Sigh.....

First, 400,000 people is a lot of people! In any case, USAToday puts us at #66 on the list of most populated U.S. cities. That puts us ahead of a LOT of other places (year unknown, but if the list is more than a year or 2 old, I'd say we're closer to the top based on recent population boom).

Second, the number if people doesn't really matter as much as the number of vehicles per mile of road. In other words, vehicle density. Compare road capacity to number of vehicles actually ON the road to get an idea of what the traffic is really like. Given that we have an incredible lack of roads up here (relative to the land mass) and that everyone in my neighborhood seems to have at least 3 cars sitting in their driveway, I bet our ranking is higher than not.

Third, even if Anchorage is "under vehicled" relative to much larger cities, that hardly means that "there aren't that many cars around" here. Not by a long shot. Maybe there are less cars, but there are also less places for cars to be! Your argument is simplistic and hardly convincing.

Fourth - there isn't much to driving in bumper to bumper traffic 10 lanes wide. You've got lots of room! Crawling along at 2 mph is hardly challenging relative to driving 65mph+ down an icy, snowy 2-lane road which is full of frost heaves, pot holes and moose - not to mention that it is incredibly poorly maintained - and oh by the way, it's also dark most of the time AND the highway, being the ONLY road into or out of town, is packed full of other vehicles who seem to think getting to work is a sprint race, regardless of weather conditions. FYI - I've driven to work on the Capital Beltway for years and I can tell you that wide traffic lanes running at any speed is much easier to drive in than what we face here in Alaska - by a long shot.

Fifth - as for places to park - if you think downtown Anchorage has anyplace to park, you've got another thing coming. It is WAY over-saturated with vehicles - and unlike someplace like NYC, there are not taxis coming along every 3 seconds, a subway, or decent bus system to pick up the slack. Everyone drives everywhere - esp. when it is cold and snow outside (primarily because the sidewalks are rarely cleared - plus, hey, it's freakin' cold).

Yeah - sure - Alaska has plenty of open space, But you know what? That space is where no one lives! There are no roads or people out there. Why? Because most of the land is owned by the federal government and locked up from development or other useful purposes because the people in the rest of the country think Alaska should be one great big pristine national park - and #### the people who live there - who should be forced to go live like cockroaches in someplace like NYC, LA or Chicago.

The general argument of "Anchorage is much easier to learn to drive in because there are not many cars" is just completely bogus, no matter how you want to slice it.

Even so - the implication that there is any correlation between learning or knowing how to drive and getting a driver's license is ALSO bunk. A short drive around any city in America should be enough to demonstrate to you that one needs no driving skills whatsoever to secure a driver's license. Fact is, a DL is nothing more than an identity card, primarily designed to prevent minors from buying alcohol and to implement a police state. Papers, please?

Cheers!

akdiver

I disagree. 400,000 is small, especially considering the population density. but then when i lived in st. petersburg i felt it was a tiny city too.

there is definitely bumper-to-bumper traffic on highways/turnpikes/bridges with lots of lanes. that is why there are so many lanes in the first place. and when traffic is actually moving, it is moving very fast and people are constantly merging and switching lanes.

[slim 1,533]

she's not supposed to drive anywhere, it's your job to drive her!

Just when I think you belong in the Russia Forum....

Even so - the implication that there is any correlation between learning or knowing how to drive and getting a driver's license is ALSO bunk.

Extra points for using the word "bunk" in a sentence.

Fact is, a DL is nothing more than an identity card, primarily designed to prevent minors from buying alcohol and to implement a police state. Papers, please?

But it's so pleasantly unintrusive! It's almost like we're not even submitting to it at all... it's like they're doing us a favor. Driving is a privelege, after all!

And down with those dirty terrorists! National Security should come first, no matter what!

I wish we had a national ID card instead of just a state ID. That way the Federal govt. could better protect us from terrorism.

(Did you guys see McCain's attempt to label Global Warming as the newest threat to National Security? HA! Colbert was keeping his fingers crossed that maybe we could defeat Global Warming in Iran....)

[Ban Hammer 14,483]

she's not supposed to drive anywhere, it's your job to drive her!

Just when I think you belong in the Russia Forum....

now how else are you gonna treat her like the princess she is if you don't chauffeur her around?

[slim 1,533]

now how else are you gonna treat her like the princess she is if you don't chauffeur her around?

I called my wife "My Princess" one time. She immediately corrected me, "I am not princess... I am queen!"

[eekee 182]

now how else are you gonna treat her like the princess she is if you don't chauffeur her around?

I called my wife "My Princess" one time. She immediately corrected me, "I am not princess... I am queen!"

wow!

[akdiver 3]

I called my wife "My Princess" one time. She immediately corrected me, "I am not princess... I am queen!"

The running joke in our house is "good Russian wife". My wife will do something nice for me and say, "I am good Russian wife" - or I will say, "you are good Russian wife". It's all in complete jest (we are making fun of the good Russian wife stereotype). Last night she did something nice and I said, "you are good Russian wife" and she responded, without missing a beat, "if I am good Russian wife, how come you had to clean the toilet today". Ouch!! (:

[Ban Hammer 14,483]

now how else are you gonna treat her like the princess she is if you don't chauffeur her around?

I called my wife "My Princess" one time. She immediately corrected me, "I am not princess... I am queen!"

see what i mean? now get driving

[eekee 182]

now how else are you gonna treat her like the princess she is if you don't chauffeur her around?

I called my wife "My Princess" one time. She immediately corrected me, "I am not princess... I am queen!"

see what i mean? now get driving

Better yet... hire a driver.

[slim 1,533]

I'm gonna hire someone to clean my toilet before I hire someone to drive my wife around.

On the driving note..... she passed the written test and has the practical portion, the actual driving part next Friday. Will update then. And she got a job too! We were lounging around on Wednesday and she said, "I go downtown now and find job." Out of the blue. I dropped her off and a few hours later she was waking me up saying something about training tomorrow. She's worked for a couple days, so far so good. I would've posted earlier, but you know how Russians are. They've got that rule about not talking about stuff until after it's over. Kind of like a baseball no-no or the first rule of Fight Club....

From what I gather, it's not that she doesn't understand what she must do or even that she shuns the responsibility. It's that she simply must delay as long as possible to torment me to the maximum degree.

[Okiebollweevil 0]

I'm gonna hire someone to clean my toilet before I hire someone to drive my wife around.

On the driving note..... she passed the written test and has the practical portion, the actual driving part next Friday. Will update then. And she got a job too! We were lounging around on Wednesday and she said, "I go downtown now and find job." Out of the blue. I dropped her off and a few hours later she was waking me up saying something about training tomorrow. She's worked for a couple days, so far so good. I would've posted earlier, but you know how Russians are. They've got that rule about not talking about stuff until after it's over. Kind of like a baseball no-no or the first rule of Fight Club....

From what I gather, it's not that she doesn't understand what she must do or even that she shuns the responsibility. It's that she simply must delay as long as possible to torment me to the maximum degree.

Seems like your patience with driving lessons and answering questions about the rules of the road (" no honey yellow light means go faster") is about to end. Congrats on the working wife, now the painful your money is our money and my money is my money lesson. My wife is retooling in school, and I thought that don't tell anyone our plans was an individual characteristic of my wife, don't know if I am relieved or concerned that it seems to be a national pasttime. Now if I can just her out to shoot that M-16 this weekend and send a photo to her dad who brags about kalishnikov superiority...

[Ban Hammer 14,483]

I'm gonna hire someone to clean my toilet before I hire someone to drive my wife around.

On the driving note..... she passed the written test and has the practical portion, the actual driving part next Friday. Will update then. And she got a job too! We were lounging around on Wednesday and she said, "I go downtown now and find job." Out of the blue. I dropped her off and a few hours later she was waking me up saying something about training tomorrow. She's worked for a couple days, so far so good. I would've posted earlier, but you know how Russians are. They've got that rule about not talking about stuff until after it's over. Kind of like a baseball no-no or the first rule of Fight Club....

From what I gather, it's not that she doesn't understand what she must do or even that she shuns the responsibility. It's that she simply must delay as long as possible to torment me to the maximum degree.

Seems like your patience with driving lessons and answering questions about the rules of the road (" no honey yellow light means go faster") is about to end. Congrats on the working wife, now the painful your money is our money and my money is my money lesson. My wife is retooling in school, and I thought that don't tell anyone our plans was an individual characteristic of my wife, don't know if I am relieved or concerned that it seems to be a national pasttime. Now if I can just her out to shoot that M-16 this weekend and send a photo to her dad who brags about kalishnikov superiority...

unfortunately, that seemed to apply to some german gals i knew. fortunately, my wife does not think like that, i don''t know if that is common in brazil or if it is just her.

[slim 1,533]

Seems like your patience with driving lessons and answering questions about the rules of the road (" no honey yellow light means go faster") is about to end. Congrats on the working wife, now the painful your money is our money and my money is my money lesson. My wife is retooling in school, and I thought that don't tell anyone our plans was an individual characteristic of my wife, don't know if I am relieved or concerned that it seems to be a national pasttime. Now if I can just her out to shoot that M-16 this weekend and send a photo to her dad who brags about kalishnikov superiority...

I think my patience must persevere because although she'll be driving, that doesn't mean I can relax. My grip is still pretty tight on that "Oh $#!T handle." She's improved by leaps and bounds but I'm relaxed by no means!

The "our money" lesson isn't going to change from this job... she was working before for the last 9 months. She just up and quit her job because, well, it's her money, so what's it matter? I guess since she didn't have any of "her money" left to pay for "her car" and "our money" has been exhausted on the rest of "our bills" she finally figured out the only way to get what she wants (and keep it) she'd have to start working again. But, who knows, maybe "her money" will be "our money" this time.

As far as the Kalashnikov's superiority over the M-16, I think you'll have to get him to shoot it. Sure, the AK has plenty of great quality's, but like they say on the History channel, "This is the rifle you have if you can't afford an M-16."

fortunately, my wife does not think like that, i don''t know if that is common in brazil or if it is just her.

I hope it's a Brazilian thing because she just started working at a Brazilian restaurant. Maybe she'll come home with that first paycheck and be like, "Honey, here... it's our money."

[eekee 182]

fortunately, my wife does not think like that, i don''t know if that is common in brazil or if it is just her.

I hope it's a Brazilian thing because she just started working at a Brazilian restaurant. Maybe she'll come home with that first paycheck and be like, "Honey, here... it's our money."

is it a brazilian barbecue place? that stuff is so good.

[slim 1,533]

is it a brazilian barbecue place? that stuff is so good.

Yep. All you can eat steak, chicken, seafood, etc. I think it's like $49.50, but for someone like me, that's a steal. I know I can eat more than $50 worth of steak in one sitting. I've never eaten there, but there's a good chance I'll be eating there soon.

She's not to the point where she can bring me a "lunch" home every night, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

Extra points for using the word "bunk" in a sentence.

We bought a set of bunk beds at a garage sale but they turned out to be stolen so a man from the bunk-o squad came a took them away.

Thats two pts right