"awfully long time" and "3 months off and on" is your problem.

 

Oh man, ain't that the truth. I can drive perfectly at lunchtime, then get yelled at by a few clients and have paperwork thrown at me, and after work I can't buy a smooth shift. But what the others said here is exactly right...I didn't get the 1->2 down to satisfactory until close to a year after I bought it (new stick driver). Now it's ok. I would suggest not looking at the RPMs and do it by the seat of your ***...I almost never look at "shift points" and do it rather by feel. That way not only do you keep your eyes on the road but you get a more exacting feel of how the car operates.

 

I had this problem when I first got my 8, too. I've been driving manuals since my first car in the 80's, and this 1-2 shift was the hardest one to make smooth. But, I feel I have conquered it, so here are my $.02:

If you're talking about around-town driving when not pushing it, you're probably shifting at a fairly low point. This means you really have to let the clutch out slowly. The friction point is pretty high on the pedal, so you might be thinking the clutch is fully engaged when it's not. Also, use the throttle to try to get the engine spinning at the right RPM for your road speed. If the speeds are matched ("rev-matching"), it doesn't matter how you let the clutch out. But, the best advice is to take it slow for a while and practice, practice, practice. After some time, it will be second-nature.