Should have posted this long ago but I forgot to.. Went out with a few of my sec sch friends on last Sunday. Jeff asked Liangxing, zhenglin and me out. I messaged Jeff to tell him that I'll be late. No reply. When I reached, I saw only lx and zl. They told me they do not have my number lol, and jeff would not be here as he is down with flu.
Jokingly, I told them that next time when Jeff asks us out, we also call him at the last min to tell him that all of us are down with flu.. so he will be the only one there :) watching the movie alone.
Anyways, we went to watch the show "Army Daze" ... we thought it was a sequel to the previous movie... but we were wrong.. it was just digitally enhanced... oh wells, no wonder the price tag of $8, unlike usual weekend movie shows pricing.
After the movie, we had no idea where to go and what to do, so I told them to call Jeff to find out what was his original plan... but we didn't do it and went home after not knowing what to do.
Instead of going home, I took MRT to my grandparents' house.
---
Nothing much went on this weekend, so there is nothing to post about.
kamikorosu @ 8:50 PM
Monday, March 11, 2013
Chapter 375: Bugis
On a Saturday, finally, I no longer have to worry about driving lessons at all... no longer have to worry that I will hit the kerb or do anything funny that pisses off instructors.. What a good feeling it was! I went out 10 mins later than my planned timing in anticipation that the people I'm going to meet will be late. In the end, I still reached my destination 20 mins early -.-
While waiting for my friends, this weird guy from country X started to walk to me and talk to me... He asked me if it was far from Woodlands to Bugis. Then he carried on chatting with me about his activities like cycling, eating steamboat, etc.. and he asks if I do those as well?! And he asked about my life, what I'm doing currently etc... as if I knew him damn well already. He even wanted to give me his number so we can go out together next time... I was like wth?
So, I immediately picked up my phone and went to call all the people I'm meeting, seeing if they reach and hoped/wished/prayed they would hurry up to save me from this distress. Binghui says that he is still at Sengkang.. Best.
Yian says he is at Tanjong Pagar MRT station.. not so bad.. 2 more stops.
Jac says she will be a little late.
Damn, all late...
Luckily, his friends came at that time and then, he finally leaves me alone.. thankfully. After a short while, yian arrived. We then chatted for quite some while... while Jac was lost, trying to find her way down -.- Then, we went to walk around while waiting for Bh.
We then went to eat at some shop selling BBQ food. Jac says that this stall sells nice food only at night. But the best thing is that the menu is the same 24/7.
The BBQ food are all put together in sticks. Quite unique.
But most of the food taste like the sauce... and it isn't nice.
Anyways, would like to thank the highest income guy for treating us.
We then went to play 1 hour of LAN. We played left for dead. (L4D)
After that, we went to eat dinner at Pastamania. And then, we went home after that.
What a nice way to spend my Saturday, rather than in a car at CDC vicinity.
kamikorosu @ 9:21 PM
Monday, March 04, 2013
Chapter 374: Closing the chapter
After 7-8 months, I'm finally able to close this journey of driving. It has been tough, tiring, yet sometimes fun for me throughout these months. Very soon since I embarked on driving practical lessons, I got sick and tired of learning driving.. at some point in time, I even felt like giving up.. but I didn't tell anybody of it because of the money, effort and time involved in it. Driving lessons become dreaded...
Converting from learning manual to auto was something that I do not wish to do at all... I think it is a plain waste of money and time as well... and also... pride.
Eventually, I got somewhat used to changing my gears all the while... and even started to enjoy doing the gear shifting abit haha.
Another aspect that I struggled with was the crank course. The wheels seem to routinely hit up with the kerb. This was drastically improved after taking my first (and one and only) auto lesson. Auto lesson allows me to maneuver the crank course without the need to step on the accelerator and only through the control of 1 pedal - the brake. (Manual driving of crank course requires the use of 2-3 pedals depending on the speed of travel.) Autocar lets me truly understand the meaning of "low speed control", and how does "low speed" feels like. That is when I started to demonstrate "low speed control", something I struggled alot with throughout my lessons...
Eventually, I got used to driving the manual vehicle... and my test date comes... I was nervous all the way from 1 day before... My warmup wasn't all too good as well... having failed to check back windscreen before reversing, fail to interact with other road users (namely pedestrians.), and worst of all - vehicle rolling back on slope on the way back to CDC (not the slope course)...
But still, the test has to be taken in 10 mins time from that time after the warmup...
I just waited inside a room for the tester to arrive.. where there were a few testees there, earlier than me.. More testees also came in moments later. The best thing is that the first Tester/Examiner to come in called my name... I was first to be led out...
So, I brought my tester to my vehicle and started the engine, did the necessary adjustments (to seat and mirrors). He went to charge his tablet (used for the Traffic Police Test) in the car. So I drove off!
I went first to the directional change course. All was perfect ... then. Then, I was asked to proceed to do the S course. No kerb struck - perfect! 2 courses down at the moment. Then I went on to do my slope. Before entering the slope course, I did not position my vehicle properly due to the nature of the positions of the S and slope courses... and damn! I realised my vehicle wasn't straight - I was obstructing cross traffic.. I saw a tick on the tester's tablet... beside it lies a figure... 6 .. omg, 6 points in a bang! (for obstructing cross traffic.) I knew this was a mistake, but I couldn't correct it at that situation... My slope went fine too. And then came the parallel parking. Was fine too - 2 points for the turning of steering wheel when vehicle stationary (something my instructor wanted me to get, in order to get accurate turning points. So that's fine.)
I then did my crank course and vertical parking courses. (can't remember which one came first.) Crank course was good, thankfully, no routine kerb striking. Vertical parking was ok after doing some advance correction.
When almost exiting the circuit, I remember earlier on... the tester told me that tapping on the dashboard means emergency brake. And then, I went to the area where testers love to test emergency brake... I looked at my rear mirror... Damn, there were no cars behind me... probability of me getting an emergency brake tested... 99%. So, I was prepared. Then, my tester raised his hand. I took a deep breath, prepared to throw my accelerator pedal away and spam all my strength on the brake pedal, with my left foot ready to hit the clutch pedal shortly after..
The tester's hand did not went to the dashboard. Instead, he pointed infront and said "turn left and exit the circuit." I stunned a little, regained some composure, and carried on with my down gearing to gear 1 before exiting the circuit... I was just that close to doing an emergency brake... and he didnt tell me to do it... I thought he would slam the dashboard with his hand, but he pointed infront instead... luckily, I didn't pre-empt him and slam my brakes... orelse, I am owned totally.
Now I feel trolled.
Outside road wasn't better.. stress and nervousness get the better of me as soon as I made my first mistake. Some turns feel weird... somehow, I couldn't tell. There was this epic situation where I thought I got an immediate failure when I crossed the stop line when the green arrow was flashing.... and when the green arrow was gone... I still haven't cross my stop line.... thanks to the slow driver ahead of me... I thought third party factors was the reason I would fail this test...
This is the turning point, where nervousness hit level 100 (max), and I feel sad and moody, thinking that I have failed and flopped this test already... And then another epic incident came -.- Why? Why on my test?
An old man was pushing a cart full with paper boxes (or cardboards rather.) He was walking infront of me on the road.... and I approached the traffic light junction. I kept some distance from him as he stopped on the road, behind the stop line, at traffic light junction... He thought he was a vehicle as well... The green man came and he still didn't walk. I panicked... why isn't he moving, I thought. I am also afraid that he will still not move when the green light is on... Then, the green arrow come on... I couldn't turn left as he is freaking infront of me... obstructing my car.. he should get 6 points for that as well. Then the green light came. Moment of truth.
He walked! He really treat himself as a vehicle. That was when I finally managed to turn left. Then I drove all the way back to CDC. Walked out of the vehicle, moody. Saw my instructor outside the car and he was telling me "Good luck." I didn't tell him I thought I failed.. I was still hoping and praying for a miracle pass.
I went upstairs with the tester. He printed the result in a very long time. Other testers who came in later already started talking to the testees... When he was placing my result slip down, I glanced and saw one word - "PASSED". I didn't know if I see it correctly... it was facing down after he placed the slip down. The list of mistakes was long... so, I'm still worried that I still fail and the word "passed" was seen wrongly.
He told me that the green arrow incident just now was 50-50 situation... I passed the stop line when the green light was yet to flash... when I pass abit, it started to flash... And then, when the arrow was gone, the back of my vehicle has yet to cross the stop line.... but stopping there would prove too dangerous... so I decided to cross it anyways... and he said that was the right thing to do... If only the vehicle ahead of me wasn't slow moving, none of this would have happened... haiz.
So, he didnt give me any points for that thankfully.
He said after that, "After this, go and watch the safety video and apply for your license." I was elated. The words "apply for your license" implied that I have made it! Finally. No more driving lessons. No more revisions. No need to book more lessons, no need to rebook test date.. no more coming to CDC!
I went to take the queue number for applying driving license, and then went to collect my driving booklet from the warmup room first. I then went back to the queue... still have 2 more people before me... thankfully, I made the decision to collect my driving booklet first... While waiting, one guy next to me asked me if he took the correct queue number. It was in the same category as mine.. but he said that he has just passed his basic theory test... So, I told him that that wasnt the queue to apply for Provisional Driving License (PDL)... The queue he took was for those who finished the practical driving test... He was stunned. So, I helped him get the correct queue number.. he said that he should try his luck with his former queue ticket... I doubt he will make it though.
Then, one woman next to him (from China) asked me the same thing too... and she got it all wrong too, like this guy I just spoke to... and she and her friends went to retake the queue numbers....
After applying, I went to watch the safety video, which was full of gore images... before I receive my temporary driving license!
Should have posted this long ago but I forgot to.. Went out with a few of my sec sch friends on last Sunday. Jeff asked Liangxing, zhenglin and me out. I messaged Jeff to tell him that I'll be late. No reply. When I reached, I saw only lx and zl. They told me they do not have my number lol, and jeff would not be here as he is down with flu.
Jokingly, I told them that next time when Jeff asks us out, we also call him at the last min to tell him that all of us are down with flu.. so he will be the only one there :) watching the movie alone.
Anyways, we went to watch the show "Army Daze" ... we thought it was a sequel to the previous movie... but we were wrong.. it was just digitally enhanced... oh wells, no wonder the price tag of $8, unlike usual weekend movie shows pricing.
After the movie, we had no idea where to go and what to do, so I told them to call Jeff to find out what was his original plan... but we didn't do it and went home after not knowing what to do.
Instead of going home, I took MRT to my grandparents' house.
---
Nothing much went on this weekend, so there is nothing to post about.
kamikorosu @ 8:50 PM
Monday, March 11, 2013
Chapter 375: Bugis
On a Saturday, finally, I no longer have to worry about driving lessons at all... no longer have to worry that I will hit the kerb or do anything funny that pisses off instructors.. What a good feeling it was! I went out 10 mins later than my planned timing in anticipation that the people I'm going to meet will be late. In the end, I still reached my destination 20 mins early -.-
While waiting for my friends, this weird guy from country X started to walk to me and talk to me... He asked me if it was far from Woodlands to Bugis. Then he carried on chatting with me about his activities like cycling, eating steamboat, etc.. and he asks if I do those as well?! And he asked about my life, what I'm doing currently etc... as if I knew him damn well already. He even wanted to give me his number so we can go out together next time... I was like wth?
So, I immediately picked up my phone and went to call all the people I'm meeting, seeing if they reach and hoped/wished/prayed they would hurry up to save me from this distress. Binghui says that he is still at Sengkang.. Best.
Yian says he is at Tanjong Pagar MRT station.. not so bad.. 2 more stops.
Jac says she will be a little late.
Damn, all late...
Luckily, his friends came at that time and then, he finally leaves me alone.. thankfully. After a short while, yian arrived. We then chatted for quite some while... while Jac was lost, trying to find her way down -.- Then, we went to walk around while waiting for Bh.
We then went to eat at some shop selling BBQ food. Jac says that this stall sells nice food only at night. But the best thing is that the menu is the same 24/7.
The BBQ food are all put together in sticks. Quite unique.
But most of the food taste like the sauce... and it isn't nice.
Anyways, would like to thank the highest income guy for treating us.
We then went to play 1 hour of LAN. We played left for dead. (L4D)
After that, we went to eat dinner at Pastamania. And then, we went home after that.
What a nice way to spend my Saturday, rather than in a car at CDC vicinity.
kamikorosu @ 9:21 PM
Monday, March 04, 2013
Chapter 374: Closing the chapter
After 7-8 months, I'm finally able to close this journey of driving. It has been tough, tiring, yet sometimes fun for me throughout these months. Very soon since I embarked on driving practical lessons, I got sick and tired of learning driving.. at some point in time, I even felt like giving up.. but I didn't tell anybody of it because of the money, effort and time involved in it. Driving lessons become dreaded...
Converting from learning manual to auto was something that I do not wish to do at all... I think it is a plain waste of money and time as well... and also... pride.
Eventually, I got somewhat used to changing my gears all the while... and even started to enjoy doing the gear shifting abit haha.
Another aspect that I struggled with was the crank course. The wheels seem to routinely hit up with the kerb. This was drastically improved after taking my first (and one and only) auto lesson. Auto lesson allows me to maneuver the crank course without the need to step on the accelerator and only through the control of 1 pedal - the brake. (Manual driving of crank course requires the use of 2-3 pedals depending on the speed of travel.) Autocar lets me truly understand the meaning of "low speed control", and how does "low speed" feels like. That is when I started to demonstrate "low speed control", something I struggled alot with throughout my lessons...
Eventually, I got used to driving the manual vehicle... and my test date comes... I was nervous all the way from 1 day before... My warmup wasn't all too good as well... having failed to check back windscreen before reversing, fail to interact with other road users (namely pedestrians.), and worst of all - vehicle rolling back on slope on the way back to CDC (not the slope course)...
But still, the test has to be taken in 10 mins time from that time after the warmup...
I just waited inside a room for the tester to arrive.. where there were a few testees there, earlier than me.. More testees also came in moments later. The best thing is that the first Tester/Examiner to come in called my name... I was first to be led out...
So, I brought my tester to my vehicle and started the engine, did the necessary adjustments (to seat and mirrors). He went to charge his tablet (used for the Traffic Police Test) in the car. So I drove off!
I went first to the directional change course. All was perfect ... then. Then, I was asked to proceed to do the S course. No kerb struck - perfect! 2 courses down at the moment. Then I went on to do my slope. Before entering the slope course, I did not position my vehicle properly due to the nature of the positions of the S and slope courses... and damn! I realised my vehicle wasn't straight - I was obstructing cross traffic.. I saw a tick on the tester's tablet... beside it lies a figure... 6 .. omg, 6 points in a bang! (for obstructing cross traffic.) I knew this was a mistake, but I couldn't correct it at that situation... My slope went fine too. And then came the parallel parking. Was fine too - 2 points for the turning of steering wheel when vehicle stationary (something my instructor wanted me to get, in order to get accurate turning points. So that's fine.)
I then did my crank course and vertical parking courses. (can't remember which one came first.) Crank course was good, thankfully, no routine kerb striking. Vertical parking was ok after doing some advance correction.
When almost exiting the circuit, I remember earlier on... the tester told me that tapping on the dashboard means emergency brake. And then, I went to the area where testers love to test emergency brake... I looked at my rear mirror... Damn, there were no cars behind me... probability of me getting an emergency brake tested... 99%. So, I was prepared. Then, my tester raised his hand. I took a deep breath, prepared to throw my accelerator pedal away and spam all my strength on the brake pedal, with my left foot ready to hit the clutch pedal shortly after..
The tester's hand did not went to the dashboard. Instead, he pointed infront and said "turn left and exit the circuit." I stunned a little, regained some composure, and carried on with my down gearing to gear 1 before exiting the circuit... I was just that close to doing an emergency brake... and he didnt tell me to do it... I thought he would slam the dashboard with his hand, but he pointed infront instead... luckily, I didn't pre-empt him and slam my brakes... orelse, I am owned totally.
Now I feel trolled.
Outside road wasn't better.. stress and nervousness get the better of me as soon as I made my first mistake. Some turns feel weird... somehow, I couldn't tell. There was this epic situation where I thought I got an immediate failure when I crossed the stop line when the green arrow was flashing.... and when the green arrow was gone... I still haven't cross my stop line.... thanks to the slow driver ahead of me... I thought third party factors was the reason I would fail this test...
This is the turning point, where nervousness hit level 100 (max), and I feel sad and moody, thinking that I have failed and flopped this test already... And then another epic incident came -.- Why? Why on my test?
An old man was pushing a cart full with paper boxes (or cardboards rather.) He was walking infront of me on the road.... and I approached the traffic light junction. I kept some distance from him as he stopped on the road, behind the stop line, at traffic light junction... He thought he was a vehicle as well... The green man came and he still didn't walk. I panicked... why isn't he moving, I thought. I am also afraid that he will still not move when the green light is on... Then, the green arrow come on... I couldn't turn left as he is freaking infront of me... obstructing my car.. he should get 6 points for that as well. Then the green light came. Moment of truth.
He walked! He really treat himself as a vehicle. That was when I finally managed to turn left. Then I drove all the way back to CDC. Walked out of the vehicle, moody. Saw my instructor outside the car and he was telling me "Good luck." I didn't tell him I thought I failed.. I was still hoping and praying for a miracle pass.
I went upstairs with the tester. He printed the result in a very long time. Other testers who came in later already started talking to the testees... When he was placing my result slip down, I glanced and saw one word - "PASSED". I didn't know if I see it correctly... it was facing down after he placed the slip down. The list of mistakes was long... so, I'm still worried that I still fail and the word "passed" was seen wrongly.
He told me that the green arrow incident just now was 50-50 situation... I passed the stop line when the green light was yet to flash... when I pass abit, it started to flash... And then, when the arrow was gone, the back of my vehicle has yet to cross the stop line.... but stopping there would prove too dangerous... so I decided to cross it anyways... and he said that was the right thing to do... If only the vehicle ahead of me wasn't slow moving, none of this would have happened... haiz.
So, he didnt give me any points for that thankfully.
He said after that, "After this, go and watch the safety video and apply for your license." I was elated. The words "apply for your license" implied that I have made it! Finally. No more driving lessons. No more revisions. No need to book more lessons, no need to rebook test date.. no more coming to CDC!
I went to take the queue number for applying driving license, and then went to collect my driving booklet from the warmup room first. I then went back to the queue... still have 2 more people before me... thankfully, I made the decision to collect my driving booklet first... While waiting, one guy next to me asked me if he took the correct queue number. It was in the same category as mine.. but he said that he has just passed his basic theory test... So, I told him that that wasnt the queue to apply for Provisional Driving License (PDL)... The queue he took was for those who finished the practical driving test... He was stunned. So, I helped him get the correct queue number.. he said that he should try his luck with his former queue ticket... I doubt he will make it though.
Then, one woman next to him (from China) asked me the same thing too... and she got it all wrong too, like this guy I just spoke to... and she and her friends went to retake the queue numbers....
After applying, I went to watch the safety video, which was full of gore images... before I receive my temporary driving license!
And that marks the end of this journey!
kamikorosu @ 10:08 PM
that is against the school rules
School's word of wisdom
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