Good news/bad news

Driving a manual has proven as much - well, more, really satisfying than I anticipated. You know how you just really want to do something? When it goes well, it's quite gratifying. When it doesn't go well, you say, "ok, I need to concentrate". The less I blame the car and the less I fight the car (ohhh...THAT'S what synchros are for*).

/

The urge to go driving tends to burn gasoline (+money) and conflict with my crunchy/miser/conservo-nerd image.


*see, when you try to shift and the transmission doesn't seem to want to go into the gear you've chosen despite the clutch being fully out, that's the synchros saying "er...engine speed and your current choice of gear are not as compatible as you seem to believe. Try again. Think 'higher'".