You can’t be serious… driving edition

So, my driving license arrived this week and I finally have a permanent form of identification with my address on it, which is great for signing up for things like libraries (each borough has its own here), bank accounts, and just about any other form of subscription or membership.  Unfortunately, it’s a bit less useful on the driving side of things.
The rules about driving in the UK state that I can drive on my New York license for a year without having to get a UK license.  Within that year you can either exchange your existing license for a UK license, or get a provisional license which has restrictions, and then pass the written and road tests.  For those first twelve months the restrictions on your provisional license would not apply because your foreign license is still considered valid here.  So far, all well and good: you have a choice between sacrificing your foreign license or basically starting from scratch.  Clearly the better option is the former (since I could always just request a new US license by mail), but there is one snag: the UK licensing authority does not exchange US licenses.  However, they do recognize Hong Kong licenses, but I didn’t want to give mine up.  What to do?
In the end, I decided to get a provisional license, but upon receiving it I discovered that not only did I have to pay the one-time £50 licensing fee, but I also had to pay fees to take both tests.  Finding this to be really not worth the hassle, and thinking “when will I ever need it?” I decided to exchange my Hong Kong license.  Alas, after retrieving the form from the post office (I could not get it online) I discovered that in the exchange section after asking where your license is from, it asks where you took your test, if not in that country.  Grr, they got me!  I called them up, and sure enough the loophole didn’t work.  They explained that they didn’t have an agreement with the US authorities, and despite my argument that in fact I still had a Hong Kong license, they wouldn’t budge.  Mind you, I think that their argument is more about quid pro quo (none of the states I looked at will exchange anything but another US or Canadian license) than about actual legal requirements, since Hong Kong accepted my US license unilaterally.
So now I have a UK driving theory test scheduled for the 2nd of November.  I took an online practice one and failed (I wasn’t sure about some signs, road markings, and about whether train crossings here flash red or solid amber as a first warning – I guessed the latter because the former is the US way), though most of the questions were quite easy.  For example (and without much hyperbole): some elderly people are crossing the street when the light turns green, do you:

1. drive toward them and honk loudly
2. yell at them
3. run over them
4. wait patiently while they cross, understanding that elderly people take longer to do things

Presumably once I check out the road signs and markings I should be okay, though I am a little more concerned about the practical test – I need to get used to driving a manual transmission with my left hand.  Fortunately, I have £25 of zipcar credit that expires this month, so I’ll have to take a car to Ikea to practice (and get some artwork/photo frames for my room).
I’ve just arrived in Nottingham (of Robin Hood fame) for a recruiting event.  Besides wanting to meet people and enjoying it, I decided that I might as well get to see new cities and towns in England for free so I signed up to be a recruiter here (I helped out in New York too).  Should be fun!