Drop In Lesson #1: learning to drive

Because this is one of the best things that have happened to me of late, I am excited to say it first. I PASSED MY BASIC THEORY DRIVING TEST!So there, the end of my story today, right in the front. So after many years of not doing anything new, I am now beginning to experience new things again. So the first module of life I am dropping into is driving. Something I have procrastinated and undecided for years. Three main reasons why. 1. I am very lazy, 2. One less car = one less contributor to pollution, 3. Getting a car in Singapore is fucking expensive and it works out cheaper to just take cab (which of course defeats reason no.2) and I believe that learning to drive but not buying a car to drive will just make my driving skills rusty. A rusty driver is a danger on the roads and to herself. So recently I have a change of mind about getting a car. And it's very much driven by the widening problem of Singapore's transportation system. It simply wasn't meant to take on 6 million people. Thanks to all the foreigners who have invaded my lovely city country. Cabs used to be widely available. You barely have to wait 5 mins before a cab is available. Then cabs are impossible to get in the mornings of you don't book for one. So I played along and always book for a cab in the mornings. NOW, you could wait 1 hour before you successfully get a cab. That was the last straw. Because now got money also cannot get a cab. So fuck the environment. I am going to get a car. So that's how, at 35, 17 years late, I decided to learn how to drive. Before the actual test I went for a trial test. In Singapore, these tests are all done at Driving Centres. So two days ago, I took leave to go to a Driving Centre to take my Basic Theory test. Many Bangladeshi and Chinese foreign workers go there to take the driving test too. The best decision I made was to take the trial test before the actual test. It probably was why I passed the test because several questions I got wrong during the trial appeared in the real test. There were some Bangladeshis taking the trial test and one of them did not quite understand the instructions. The instructor started scolding him and it's awful to see a grown man being scolded like that. At the real test, the Traffic Police Department staff played an introductory video before the test and it is in English. And I wondered whether the Chinese guy sitting two seats away from me could understand.

Many of us dislike these foreign workers. But that day I saw how discriminated they are in Singapore and got a glimpse of how hard life could get for them. These people are someone's husband, son, friend back home. They know their own country inside out. When I am a tourist in their country I feel a bit of this vulnerability but probably only a fraction of what they probably feel right here in my country. People feel vulnerable when they are unfamiliar with the place they are at, what they do. Going to the driving centre was unfamiliar to me. Sitting outside the centre with the kids 15, 17 years younger than me taking their Advance Theory. And that any of these kids could pass their driving before this granny does. I took a look at my Tod's and checked out the bags that these chicks were carrying. Tod's win. Brands are great pals in times when insecurity surges. The sad thing is, these chicks are so young that they don't even care for brands. Like my account executive told me, "I am too young to want to own a branded bag." Anyway being out of my comfort zone turned out to be a refreshing change. Taking a test after not touching a test paper for the last 13 years was rather amusing. Made me feel like a kid again, raising my hand when I wanted to ask the instructor a question. So I have passed the first of three tests and can now to taking my practical lessons. I cannot wait to try my hands on the wheel and find out if I am good or bad at driving. I am dropping in to a new self discovery.