Right footedness

Just now, on the way home from work I discovered this shocking fact; that my left foot can't drive!

What happened was this - I was at the traffic lights and felt this great need to take off my right shoe. So , very gingerly I replaced my right foot with my left on the brake pedal. Then while enjoying the air-conditioned breeze through my newly-liberated toes, i had this brilliant thought "Let's try driving with my left foot.." Afterall, when your brain learns to drive the whole body knows how to drive, right? Wrong.

The lights were still red so I thought i'd just nudge my car forward for starters. I lifted my foot off the brake pedal..tyres rolled, jolly good.. and I stepped...so hard that I actually jolted in my seat. Exactly like how I used to when taking lessons from the horrific instructor who used a badminton racket to jab at your brakes at Sekolah Memandu Yew.

I was flabbergasted. I mean, right-handedness is something you're born with but this? It gives a whole new depth to the concept of two left feet!

After extensive discussion with my boyfriend the A-Levels Biology student, it has come down to this - no reason for alarm, it's just a triumph of muscle memory over brain? memory. My left leg muscles apparently do not "remember" how to step on a brake pedal simply because it hasn't done so before.

And why didn't my brain tell it how to? Well I guess it takes two to tango. Brain and muscle I mean, not two brains. Afterall, you are talking to the girl who can't and I mean just CAN'T catch batu serembans no matter how much she wills her mind to. Oh well.