I thought that I should have typed a post or two since I'm about to book in. It's Thursday night and I officially graduated from Jeep course after having received my license as well as my certificate of achievement. It was a tough (understatement) five weeks. Grueling stress, excruciatingly painful streaks of failure to the extent I suffered break downs. I never knew I had problems with stress. I just knew I was BLUR and I had quite bad psycho motor coordination, but driving eventually came natural to me.
I remember the funny things that happened while driving. Being one who passed at the fifth attempt, I had to go through grueling hours of what they call failure training. I think the mileage and time I've clocked with my L plate is legendary. (well, almost). And I failed not because I was incompetent, but rather, I made the foolishest of the foolishest mistake under test condition.
(disclaimer Since driving is universal, I don't think blogging about this is breaching some official secret acts or law or something right.)
Driving has almost become numb to me. We're trained to deal with anything on the road. Expect the unexpected, thats what they call it. Very nice. We cannot blame taxis which cut into our lane and then cause us to fail because we cannot slow down in time. We cannot blame vehicles who irresponsibly and blindly dash out of the side road without stopping at the stop line. Anything that happens is like always our fault. We have to watch out for so many things at once.
The dumbest thing ever is to fail cause of stupid reasons. For my first test, I never made it out to public road. It was a five minute joy ride with the tester. How nice. For those who have experience in driving circuits you should be acquainted with something called the directional change. guess what, I turned out of the wrong direction, going against the flow of traffic and failed my 1st test. Five minutes, and I'm out. Not even 1 Km.
Well, I was disappointed. But things did not get better. The 2nd test, I was all poised to strike. Armed with red bull, I leaped onto the jeep. (53, was the back 2 numbers of it. I thought, damnit, that same vehicle again). it was okay. I had problems at the start, rolled back slightly at the slightly sloped carpark lot where the test started. I went smoothly out to public road into bedok area where I survived for a fair amount of time. UNTIl I was about to go onto the route back, I engaged reverse gear accidently at a traffic light and almost banged into the car behind. how nice, that was a immediate failure of course. And to think I thought I drove quite perfectly up to then.
The third test, I was already all shaky. It was the day where 1st and 2nd test passers graduate. It was almost definite that my course is going to extent and I cannot graduate with my fellow coursemates. It was surely not an exciting feeling. I just felt I had to pass this test, so that I don't graduate at a remotely far away date from the rest of the course. I was scheduled for the tester on the same damn 53 jeep. I leaped on it again having drank like half a can of red bull. Guess what, I couldn't start the engine. For like thousnd of times I crank start the engine but it wouldn't turn on. I paniced. Oh wow, guess what. the clutch wasn't fully in. So I went on to fail that test with spammed demerit points. What killed me? The negative impression, a couple of wide turnings that caused the tester to be dead pissed with me. Using the wrong lane after a junction. I U turned all the way out of the pedestrian crossing boundary. Okay, I probably just deserve to be shot. I didn't drove my standard.
After failing the 3rd time I almost wanted to kill myself. I had no confidence in my driving at all. And this dragged on to the fourth test where my morale was rock bottom. I got onto the 53 jeep again (tell me why I have to always go on that same damn jeep!) with a can of red bull in my stomach. Oh wow. I moved on at 2nd gear in the circuit. And that concluded my 1 km test route. Back to the circuit! and back to the failures bench.
Now, I tell you. failing so many times is so horrible. For fourth test failures we have to write a statement because we are suspected of deliberately failing tests. Now if it's so easy why would there be nine people left after four tests out of fourty men at the start. That's easily a quarter!. So we went for the so called unofficial interview.
For every test we fail, we have to go through what we call driver failure training which easily adds up to about 200-500 minutes and about an average of 70Km on public road. this mileage is no joke because we don't go straight on expressway (hell no L plates not allowed on those boring straight roads!) it's like a traffic light every some few metres. And instructors tell us to turn left turn right like no one's business. Everyone know turning left and right is more complicated than going straight all the way. (at least it uses more brain power right! pttf!).
Now. Finally. We all have clocked a legendary amount of training hours (which transcends that of the 1st test passers). We all don't suck. In fact, we all can drive pretty well and control the vehicle quite well. We all can drive. just that some people forget to put seat belt during test and some people get struck by a bicycle from another dimension. Some people stop at the green light because it's 7th month. or maybe some people see a platoon of ants marching across the zebra crossing. there are multifarious reasons why people fail. And most of them are somewhat inevitable. (and stupid!)
About stopping on the green light, yes. I committed that one on a driving assessment. (a small test which one have to pass before they're allowed to go on an official test).
Now. My fifth and final test.
I was a struggle the night before, two nights before. Sleep was good. If anyone would to fail this test. He would have to sit around doing nothing from 8-5pm and have training from 5-7pm because the new batch have already arrived and our instructors now have to take care of their new poor disciples. it was a life determining battle.
When they annouced that they're going to let us choose which vehicle we wanted for the test, there was a heated debate among all 9 of us. Some people actually wanted 53 but I strongly rejected it. I came up with a lame reason like the signal is not working properly and I finally managed to get them to use another vehicle.
Guess what, that vehicle has a name. And it's prior owner Jonathan, who happens to be a very nerdy and (weirdish) air force private who just passed on the 3rd test and left us said that his vehicle 35501 is called Sarah. To pass the test, one have to become one with his vehicle and shout out his vehicle name before mounting it.
Finally, without drinking red bull, and driving Jonathan's Sarah, which had a new set of gears because Jonathan broke it (!!). The biting point was also smooth. I glided on that momentum and passed my fifth test. Nothing happened, it was forty minutes of hell tension until I came back and was asked to park in the carpark lot.
I tell you. after failing so many times. The point is not to give up. There were many points of time where giving up, Out of course! was so promiment amongst my thoughts. The motto of the jeep platoon. Never say die! Is something which I would remember for life. This course had thought me many things. Amongst which. I remember a quote.
Only idiots do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
I guess the breakthrough was not drinking red bull and finally having a different vehicle. One with great aura and power to even have a name.
I've met so many good friends here in this course. Some funny, some nerdy, some quite fun to be with after all. This course is full of test, and they're not the ordinary army test whereby going through the motion will get you a pass. Some tests can have failures up to the fourth-fifth-sixth attempt. Now tell me if it isn't scary.
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