Dear diary,
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I came back to kl to complete my motorcycle theory driving lessons. I had to complete it quickly because I do not want to waste anymore time. I need the license before school starts. I called up my instructor and told him that I was ready to take the test. We arranged to meet at nine in the morning. I left Singapore at six in the evening and got to kl half an hour after midnight. Peugeot came to fetch me and we went for supper first before he sent me home.
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Kelisa and I exchanged text a few times while I was having supper. We just exchanged news and updated each other.I got home close to two in the morning and kelisa called me and we talked for awhile. I was feeling very sleepy and I knew I had to get some sleep but I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her that I needed to sleep. It was a good thing to have someone calling you up to talk. It shows that the person is concern about you but I wished it were some other time. While I was talking to her, I just repeatedly told myself that I needed to wake up at half past 6 in the morning to be able to meet my instructor at nine in the morning. It was already half past 2 in the morning and I was still on the phone with kelisa. I wanted to talk to her some more but I also needed to go to bed early and I was in a dilemma.
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I think she kind of got the message that I was dead tired and told me she has to hang up. We said goodbye and hung up. I cancelled the appointment with my instructor. It was three in the morning and I was sure he would get the message in the morning before he prepared for our appointment. I went to sleep immediately after I text him but I still set the alarm at six. I was surprised that I woke up to the sound of the alarm and half an hour later, I got a text message from my instructor. He told me that I could not cancell the appointment as he already paid for the fees. I was not sure if it was true but I took him seriously and told him that I will come at noon since I have until three in the afternoon to sit for the test. I came on time and sat for the test. It was so much different from what I had to go through in Singapore. The result was instant and that was a good thing. There was not any invigilator during the test and I was surprised.
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There were students who copied and asked other candidates for the correct answers during the test. I could only watch at them and kept my opinions reserved to myself then. I failed the first time and registered again for the test the second time. I waited about half an hour before I sat the test for the second time and this time round, I passed. I was glad and happy about it. That meant I could proceed to the next stage and I was just hours away from getting my ‘L’ license.
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All I needed was the ‘L’ license and I will be on my way to ride to school. I passed the test and went for the next lesson, which comprised of theory and practical. I completed the theory and proceeded to practical. Surprisingly, I did not even ride the motorcycle and I was able to get my ‘L’ license. I didn’t even know how to start the motorcycle so how do you expect me to know how to ride? The instructor did not seem to be concern about it at all. I was really wondering if I was able to get my ‘L’ license when I did not even try to ride the bike. I got it, somehow it put a smile on my face, and on the other hand, it really made me wonder about effectiveness of the system.
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I cannot deny that it made motorist easy to have a license but on the contrary, it produces incompetent motorist. It can lead to more accidents on the road for motorist because they do not have proper training and skills from the right places. It was as if the driving school expected the students to know how to ride the motorcycles before registering for the class. A group of students who were not familiar with the mechanism of the motorcycle spoke with one of the instructor. He brought us to the side of the circuit, showed us how to start the motorcycle and explain about the different parts of the bike. He excused himself for lunch and promised us to be back to continue the lessons.
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We tried starting the bike on our own; each of us took turns and waited eagerly for the instructor to finish his lunch. Half an hour later, he still did not come back and we waited patiently. Half an hour turned to an hour, it went further to two hours, and still there was no sight of him. Many of the students started to complain while I just sat at the corner observing them. This whole thing seems to get ridiculous to me. Nobody even cared if we had tried on the bike and nobody even cared if we had had proper training before we were given our ‘L’ license. It is getting unbelievable and it upset me. The class ended without the instructor and I could only afford a shrug. On my way back to the LRT station, my instructor asked for another fifty bucks for the computer retest. I gave him the money with full of doubts. He did not even give me the receipt and I just could not be bothered to ask for it. All I wanted to do was to go home and sleep because I was really using too much of my energy then. It was quite an experience, learning how to ride a motorcycle here and I began to have second thoughts about my intention to ride to school.
