26th July 2002 (Friday)

I just came back from a near hellish day. It was quite nice in the morning, when I didn’t have to wake up before the crack of dawn to get ready for school. It was even nicer when I went out for a good breakfast with my parents. I do that every weekend, but breakfast with parents feels a lot better when it’s on a weekday. But things started turning sour when I had to go for my driving law test. I was confident I could pass the test, I had everything prepared, but I wasn’t prepared for the hour long drive, and then the near 2 hour long wait for my test to start!

Of all places, my driving test had to be all the way in Papar, which was more than 60km from KK! I didn’t really mind the wait, that was expected. Besides, it gave me ample time to do some people watching. But the part I hated most was the people smoking. And not just the adults, the teenagers were puffing away like chimneys with no concern for the people around them. If I had a water gun with me. . .

There was one particular girl I noticed at the driving school. In order to sit for the test, you’ll have to obey the dress code, which included no slippers and no revealing clothes for the ladies. This girl came in a short tee shirt and low cut jeans which exposed her belly ala Britney Spears. I was curious whether they’ll allow her to sit for the test since she’s dressed like that, so I watched her from the corner of my eye when she went into the office to register. When she came out, she had to pull her jeans up and her shirt down so that her jelly belly wouldn’t stick out so much. Did I laugh? Almost, it was so funny. Another person I noticed was this ah kua. He wasn’t so pretty, but from the back, he could have fooled me, he had hips and a waist like a lady’s. When he went into the office to register, I wonder what would be on his IC. . .Male or Female? Hmm.

I finished my test in around 20 minutes. And how did I do? 48/50 :) I’ve finally passed the soddy test, so woo hoo! Watch out, people, for a speeding Kancil with a big L! Watch out in. . .A few months time. I’m only going to learn how to drive after my STPM, so. . .The roads in town are still safe. >:P -- 2:06pm

29th July 2002 (Monday)

Well, not only did I get a nagging after my maid saw her wilted flowers, she ACCUSED me of neglecting them as if I murdered somebody. Heck, it's not like I set them on fire, right?? I'm actually nervous about my first driving lesson. What if I foul up? What if I hit something and the car overturned? Or worse, what if I hit somebody? Will I be a klutz that people will yell obscenities at from their cars, or will I be branded a dangerous driver? What if I get pulled over by a policeman?!? Oh man! --3:25pm

30th July 2002 (Tuesday)

I could tell that my driving instructor is one superstitious guy. Why? He had a galloping horse hung from the rearview mirror. According to Chinese superstitions, the horse is a lucky animal, and since he's constantly on the road, it could be lucky for him. That was not the only indicator, his number plate was a combination of numbers that in Chinese, would roughly mean "Prosperity always rising". Cool huh?

My driving lesson was all right. And no, I didn't hit anybody, nor did the car overturned!  I was pretty much all right, didn't panic, but I was tense and kept checking my rearview mirror for the car behind me. 

You know what? I was going only 50-55kmph on a highway which has a 90kmph speed limit! The other cars were zipping by me, overtaking me and avoiding my car as if I was the plague, because I was too slow! (Or was it because I had this ugly big L on my bumper that meant stay away?) And I thought I saw some drivers glaring at me. Grrr. That stirred the Formula One racer in me, and I was really itching to stomp on it and start burning rubber. I did end up accelerating, because I saw the speed dial jump from 55kmph to 60kmph. Ooh, yeah, baby, let's go a little bit faster and show them you're no wimp. But just when I'm about to go past that speed, my instructor would calmly say: "Slow down, slow down, don't speed up, you're not racing with other cars." Bummer. That really put a damper on my need for speed. -- 5:22pm