Driving is a skill that everyone in our modern society has gotta learn at some point. And I consider myself fortunate that I am able to go for driving lessons at my age, as I have met people who are perhaps twice my age on my journey to get myself a probationary (P) license. A journey that somehow managed to invoke all kinds of emotions within myself and others. It made a pretty good experience too.
Since I'd left my old school for Rembau two years ago, I'd mostly lost contact with my friends and acquaintances there. So, it was nice to meet up with some of them throughout the whole process of obtaining a P license. And as far I can remember they hadn't changed much since the last time I'd seen them.
The early days were pretty dull, of course. Lectures, lectures and more lectures, and one computerized test thrown in somewhere. But at least it was a change from the almost nothing I did at home.
Fast forward to the day before the final test, a.k.a. the JPJ test. It would consist of two parts: one on the open road, and one on the circuit. So, on this final day before the test I had to undergo a grueling 4-hour training session to get myself ready for the big day.
Upon my arrival at ground zero in Cheras, I was somewhat amused to find that the entire training circuit was underwater. Yes, it had been completely flooded due to the continuous rainfall from the afternoon before. Thus, I wasn't able to work on my parking and the three-point maneuver. There was, however, another place to work on my 'hill drill' so I did that a few times. The rest of the session was spent out on the road.
And then, the day came. Crunch time. There were over two hundred people there at the circuit in Cheras. It was not like anything I'd seen before. The flood on the circuit had receded, but it left a muddy mess so the officials had to set up a new one as the original one was deemed unusable.
So we took turns to take our test. I did my road test first, and it's safe to say that the butterflies in my stomach were practically treating my insides as a bouncy castle. When my time came, I calmed myself down and got into the car, with a JPJ tester in the passenger seat.
So I did all the necessary checks (mirrors, seatbelt, etc.) and drove off. I knew the route we were taking - I'd been down it a number of times during the training session the day before. Unfortunately, we'd barely been in the car for five minutes when the tester told me to pull over.
It seemed that I'd taken up too much road on my last turn. And that was it. We traded places and he drove us back to where we had started. I had failed.
Okay, in my defence, the road we had been on was one of those narrow kampung roads. The road divider was barely visible, for crying out loud. But never mind, I acknowledged my mistake. Maybe next time, then.
After that I went and did my circuit test - the hill drill, parallel parking and the three-point turn. Without meaning to brag, I nailed all three of them, despite not really having worked on them yesterday, except the hill drill. Well, at least I managed to end my day on a high note.
So that's the story so far. Ever seen people drive during those chase scenes in action movies? Well, maybe someday I'll be that good. But for now, I'll just settle for the P. And I'm sure I'll get it eventually - this story ain't over yet.
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