I like the 2/3 car length method. 1. line up along side with your passenger mirror at their driver side door handle (about 1.5 - 2 ft space between the cars). 2. turn steering wheel all the way to the right. 3. back up until either (a) you think you can clear your front bumper or (b) your back tire touches the curb. 3b. if your back tire touches the curb, move forward a little bit. 4. turn steering wheel all the way left and continue backing in. 5. done. It's not an exact science, and the spacing depends on your car size, so practice. Sometimes between turning your steering wheel all the way right and all the way left, you'll need to straighten it out and just move straight back or forward a little bit. use your own judgement for that. Try to keep it as simple as possible, when it's getting too complicated, say F*** it, pull out, re-adjust the spacing, and try again.
I think it would be unwise to drive by hard rules as driving and parking is more situation specific, but generally, I turn the wheel all the way, and then crank the wheel back a good portion of the way, though not necessarily all the way. More than anything, I think parallel parking is about feel then a repetitive process...but that's just me. Now, you want to talk about confusing, try backing out of a long, curved driveway with a Uhaul trailer hitched to truck....that's some difficult stuff.
You'll be fine. I squeeze my ride into some pretty tight spaces out here. The tough part is parallel parking on a steep decline in Russian Hill or Nob Hill.
