Previous Scribblings:

August 23, 1997

I really should quit working late nights. Half-asleep can be a very dangerous state to be in. It's very similar to being drunk; you tend to mumble something, however incoherent it may be, things that you'd rather keep quiet. Oh, but I'm not going to go into that. ;)

Actually, I'm going to talk about ...about.. hmm... my driving test. Yeah, why not. :)

I should have gotten my license a long time ago but procrastination is my biggest reason for not doing so. Nevertheless, I did it! Okay.. so who hid those car keys??

Upon taking the test, I had plenty of time to ponder on little things-- that is, when I wasn't worrying myself half to death. I was anxious enough to hug my bag silly, forgetting the muffins I had put inside. well, I had crumbs for lunch that day. Anyway, despite the fact we got there nearly before dawn (good grief), it was at least 4 hours until we did anything. Do you know what a person who's being faced with an important test can go through in 4 hours of pure waiting??

The first hour, your stomach decides to do flip-flops and the tango. You desperately try to remember everything for the test, not at all realizing that you've started to grind your teeth. (An awful, annoying thing to do!) The second hour, you begin to numb. Instead, you watch with morbid fascination as the other people ahead of you take the test. You watch the expressions of other people, some forlorn at having failed, others ecstatic. The third hour, you're beginning to get sick of everything. You're sick of watching everyone, as you start to wonder what it'll feel like to fail, pass or actually faint. When the next hour approaches, your name is called and you are told that you'll be taking the test with the next batch. Your mind splits in two -- one saying "it's about time", the other saying "I'm gonna puke."

It's awful on the nerves. When I took my test, I was so agitated, I got out of the car before re-parking it like I was supposed to. Doi.

But in between all of that, there were little things ... things that I've thought about now that it's all over.

I do not know about other driving examiners elsewhere, but the place I went to... everyone wore the exact same black sun-glasses. If I had been thinking, I might have suspected that I'd walked into a Men In Black set. It wasn't very sunny that day, but no one failed to where those darn sunglasses. I have a theory, however..the glasses enable them to look around without you ever knowing. "Are they watching? Did they see me hit the pole gently? Why does he keep staring?!" Similarly, just like the Men In Black (coincidentally, the driving examiners, too, wore black), beware the men who were sunglasses! ... maybe they're aliens, too.

I once prided myself on being adept in multitasking. In top form, I can handle 8 operating windows on my desktop, including up to two chatrooms and managing to get my work done. I once was proud at that accomplishment--no more. I now hold multi-tasking drivers in great esteem... I still can't figure out how they do it. If you watch a driver very, very closely, it's remarkable. Especially those driving manuals. Watch the clutch, watch the gas, turn the wheel just so, more clutch, change gears, watch the wheel, signal lights, gas, clutch, gear, direction, wheel.. All in a matter of seconds.. and still have time to criticize the other driver. ( shakes head ) I'm lucky if I don't hit the curb.

I'm still waiting for my license to be processed.. which they tell me will take about a week, but I wonder. I have no more slots in my wallet..and I still can never find the car keys when I need them.. Perhaps I'll just frame the license.......

Back to the Previous Scribble Page

This page is kindly provided for by GeoCities.

Copyright © 1996-1997 Juliana Ng