blue stop signs

on oahu's famous north shore, there is a resort called turtle bay. turtle bay is a popular location for tourists, but since i was a college student several miles down kamehameha highway, i never had the luxury of staying there. however what i will always remember about turtle bay is the blue stop signs they used. i'd never seen a blue stop sign. i'd always just assumed that stop signs were universally red. apparently some are blue. WHYYYYYYY
well i have no idea but you know what? i decided talking about traffic signs was the perfect segway into talking about driving. i'm FINALLY on the path to get my drivers license. (yeah i know).
i actually got my permit in CA once before i left for college... but i was a little late in the game there. but i'm taking a driver's training class (a wedding present, courtesy of my wonderful aunts and uncles). i already aced the AZ permit test and now i just have to go pick it up from the DMV today. then i have to schedule my first behind the wheel class and ohhhh nelly am i terrified. i'm excited to finally have my license but i can't seem to shake the nerves. here are my thoughts on why:

A. i didn't just step over this little hurdle when i was 15 or 16. instead, i waited until i was 20 to finally commit to this. that gave the little molehill nearly 5 years to grow into a mountain. so now, instead of just running the stupid patch of dirt over, my mind has built a huge rock fortress that i'm gonna need some TNT to blast through.... ok maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. this isn't actually the scary part for me. the actually scary parts are B and C...
B. i've driven before. but WITH people and in driveways, on backroads, or in very secure environments... etc. i felt safe. but the scary part about having a license is now i will have to drive all alone. no safety net.
C. ok i think this is the worst one. i have NO idea where i live in AZ. i know my city. i know my address. i just barely learned my cross streets two days ago. but i have NO idea where i am at any given moment. i think if i was back in CA, or even in laie (HI) i would feel so much more secure, just because i would know the places and the landmarks. here, everything looks the same to me. the entire state practically is on one color scheme. mind, it makes for a beautiful state, but it makes it impossible for someone who's new to know where she is!

i know it just takes time to get comfortable behind the wheel. so my goal is to practice as much as possible, without driving our gas expenses through the roof, and without doing anything stupid like driving places that are too crowded before i'm ready.