StudentInDebt, that beer thing sounds like me! I didn't teach you to fly did I? Although I don't drink myself, my workmates never went without vitamin B becasue of my students many mistakes.
Answer is simple. Cover up EVERYTHING. There is a big buzz in been able to fly an aircraft acurately by your Attitude and the sound of your engine!
There is a lot to be said for PC pilots and the advantages that come from them but I wish somebody would tell Mr. Microsoft that there is more than 1 inch of window on top of our instrument panel.
I one had a student that couldn't let go of his death grip on the control column. I ended covering up the control column in Vegemite and gave him a small area to hold. Once hour later he could fly an aeroplane! The control column, however, was never the same :-(