Friday, July 20, 2007

I'm a driver!!!

I took my road test today. Before that though, I had a 1 hour practice session with my driving instructor (I also get to use the training car in the road test). It's a good thing we had that practice session since most of my mistakes come out at the beginning. It's better to be in driving mode by the time of the test rather than adjust while doing it. Finally, it was time for the test. I had a little trouble starting the car. I was never taught to do that. :) The examiner gave a short briefing and off we went. Basically, he just tells you where to go and hopefully you don't screw up somewhere. We went through the usual stop signs, intersections and left turns. The grand finale was the dreaded parallel parking. Here, you have to get in 1 go. It feels like cheating though since the I already had the necessary markings memorized. (ex. honda symbol on steering wheel should be on the lane divider) After parallel parking, we were done. The examiner instructed me to enter the parking lot and park anywhere. I was taught that you should pick a spot where there aren't any other cars to maneuver around to prevent last-minute screw-ups. And that was that. The examiner informed me that I had passed and advised on me on my mistakes. After that they updated my license and records and I was good to go. I was also happy that my driving instructor went straight for the driver's side. I was kinda sick of driving for this day. The next time I'm in the driver's seat, there'll be no more pressure.


That there was a huge relief. I had been worrying about this day ever since I knew my scheduled date. That's one big thorn off my side. Actually buying a car is now a real possibility.

Of course I recommend Ed Batalla as a driving instructor. Just don't be sensitive about being corrected a lot for all the bad driving habits acquired in the Philippines.

Ed Batalla Driving School:
955-3182

1 comment:

chaling said...

Congratulations Pat! Both on your driver's license and new apartment!