One Moment's Folly, and a Few Moments of Regret
Guess I won't be driving one of these any time soon...When you come of age in Singapore, you will embark on a rite of passage that many would be familiar with. Even though you might choose not to take the path, there is no denying that many of your peers are. And by treading this path, they will undoubtedly share their anecdotes. Some of these are poignant, some are hair-pullingly frustrating and many are just plain silly.
If you still don't know what I'm talking about, it's the driving test. (Most of you would have figured just based on the pic I attached above.) Well, I went through the test this morning and accumulated a total of 32 points. For the benefit of the people who don't know, the criteria for a pass is 0 immediate failures and a total of not more than 20 (demerit) points.
I'm now going into a detailed narrative as to how it all went downhill. Sorry guys, the thinking bit will come after this. I was doing the circuit courses fine until I got to the crank course. Now, I've done this countless times in practices, and on the whole, it's not a major problem area for me. So as i made a right turn into the crank course, I felt that i was moving through it too quickly. I braked, then looked for the visual cues for the turning point. I clearly saw that the car had moved too far forward for a normal right turn. I knew from experience that there was a possibility to strike the kerb with my left front wheel. I weighed the options and decided to go on anyway.
Bad mistake. As I had half-expected, the left front wheel struck the kerb. I cursed under my breath and engaged my reverse gear, setting the car in a proper position to complete the course. The instructor, thankfully, was sympathatic. He had probably seen learner drivers suffer much worse - victims of their own nervousness.
While on the train back home, I re-enacted, in my mind, the events leading to that fateful striking of the kerb. I wasn't disappointed or angry with the tester or exasperated. Ultimately, it was my own folly that brought me down.
I had done what I would consider a "perfect" warm-up. The circuit courses went without a hitch and the short on-the-road session got me familiar with the car. Earlier in the week, I had finally found the trick to effective lane changing. (Show to the other cars you mean business when you intend to change lanes. The cars would then have a lower tendency to "bully" you.) I headed for the test thinking I was going to pass. I was complacent.
When I noticed that my car had overshot the proper turning point for a safe passage through the course, I took a gamble in going into the turn anyway. That moment of folly cost me my time, the tester's time and my money. I now have to attend 2 revision lessons before attempting the test again. That's about 250 dollars in total. I have no doubt that I will think back on the moment I decided to go ahead with the turn and regret it.
Many times in life, we get thrown in situations when we had to make a snap decision. After we've made our choice, we realise that maybe we should have done it in another way. Some of these "wrong" decisions have dire consequences, some of them, like my driving test, are quite minor. What if I had studied harder and got into a better school? What if I had been strong and resisted my friends when they pushed drugs? What if I had suspected that he was suffering from a rare bacterial infection and had got him treated earlier? What if I had controlled my emotions and had stopped myself from stabbing her?
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules to keep us out of sticky situations. I guess we just have to believe that we won't make the wrong choice. Would I stab someone in the heat of the moment? I might. Have I ever been close to being that angry? Nope. Do I ever want to be that angry? Never.
"A wound serves to remind one of his folly." While we might regret certain decisions, we should not dwell in regret but learn from our mistakes. When another sticky situation appears, at least you have your experience and your faith to help you. - Jimmy
If you still don't know what I'm talking about, it's the driving test. (Most of you would have figured just based on the pic I attached above.) Well, I went through the test this morning and accumulated a total of 32 points. For the benefit of the people who don't know, the criteria for a pass is 0 immediate failures and a total of not more than 20 (demerit) points.
I'm now going into a detailed narrative as to how it all went downhill. Sorry guys, the thinking bit will come after this. I was doing the circuit courses fine until I got to the crank course. Now, I've done this countless times in practices, and on the whole, it's not a major problem area for me. So as i made a right turn into the crank course, I felt that i was moving through it too quickly. I braked, then looked for the visual cues for the turning point. I clearly saw that the car had moved too far forward for a normal right turn. I knew from experience that there was a possibility to strike the kerb with my left front wheel. I weighed the options and decided to go on anyway.
Bad mistake. As I had half-expected, the left front wheel struck the kerb. I cursed under my breath and engaged my reverse gear, setting the car in a proper position to complete the course. The instructor, thankfully, was sympathatic. He had probably seen learner drivers suffer much worse - victims of their own nervousness.
While on the train back home, I re-enacted, in my mind, the events leading to that fateful striking of the kerb. I wasn't disappointed or angry with the tester or exasperated. Ultimately, it was my own folly that brought me down.
I had done what I would consider a "perfect" warm-up. The circuit courses went without a hitch and the short on-the-road session got me familiar with the car. Earlier in the week, I had finally found the trick to effective lane changing. (Show to the other cars you mean business when you intend to change lanes. The cars would then have a lower tendency to "bully" you.) I headed for the test thinking I was going to pass. I was complacent.
When I noticed that my car had overshot the proper turning point for a safe passage through the course, I took a gamble in going into the turn anyway. That moment of folly cost me my time, the tester's time and my money. I now have to attend 2 revision lessons before attempting the test again. That's about 250 dollars in total. I have no doubt that I will think back on the moment I decided to go ahead with the turn and regret it.
Many times in life, we get thrown in situations when we had to make a snap decision. After we've made our choice, we realise that maybe we should have done it in another way. Some of these "wrong" decisions have dire consequences, some of them, like my driving test, are quite minor. What if I had studied harder and got into a better school? What if I had been strong and resisted my friends when they pushed drugs? What if I had suspected that he was suffering from a rare bacterial infection and had got him treated earlier? What if I had controlled my emotions and had stopped myself from stabbing her?
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules to keep us out of sticky situations. I guess we just have to believe that we won't make the wrong choice. Would I stab someone in the heat of the moment? I might. Have I ever been close to being that angry? Nope. Do I ever want to be that angry? Never.
"A wound serves to remind one of his folly." While we might regret certain decisions, we should not dwell in regret but learn from our mistakes. When another sticky situation appears, at least you have your experience and your faith to help you. - Jimmy
posted by Jimmy at 10:15 PM
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