After the most sleepless night I can recall in a while, I went for my test.  And I failed it.

The good news is that I drove very well except for one error, an error that I will never make again.

Let me set the scene:

After wowing [artistic license] the examiner with my three point turn, I left the parking lot and headed for the open streets.  He asked me to turn right, then right again at the upcoming traffic lights.  The lights were red.

What should I have done [the task:  turn right on a red light]?

a) slowed down, checked the intersection for any pedestrians or pesky things, then proceeded when the way was perfectly clear.

b) come to a complete stop, checked the intersection, then proceed when the way was clear.

c) come to a complete stop and waited for the light to turn green before proceeding.

If you answered a), you would have failed with me.

I now know that b) is the correct answer.  A part of me is a bit irked that I missed such an easy thing and it’s something I should have known.  It’s breaking the law and would result in me getting a traffic ticket if I was caught so I need to re-read that portion of the book and ace it next time!  And here I thought I was getting off easy because I didn’t have to turn left [people often find making that first left turn at this particular location tricky]!

On the positive side, after several lackluster attempts at parallel parking that morning with mom, I nailed it on the test, just like Jov said I would.  I aced my parking downhill too.  Really, I rocked. ;)

The only other thing chafing me is that I have to wait 10 days before attempting the test again.

My parents and siblings were all so supportive, all saying that they have to fail you the first time because that’s how they make money.  And my mom said she knew the man was a jerk when she got out of the passenger seat, said good morning and he didn’t reply right away, and when he did it was rather grudging.  When I said good morning to him in the car and extended my hand, he replied but looked at hand as if it was a snake before eventually shaking it.  But all in all he was a fair examiner, and I’m sure he overlooked a nervous fumble or two.

I guess this is how they are taught to act but he let me drive the whole thing, thinking I did alright before saying, once I had parked at the conclusion of my test, in a very unemotional voice:  “You didn’t make it.”

My heart just plummeted and I wasn’t angry, just disappointed.  And when I walked over to my mom, who was talking to my sister, who was so excited to see me, I almost cried when I had to tell her I failed it.  But she hugged me and was so sweet that I kept the tears away.  We still went for our celebratory brunch!

And I am so grateful to all the friends who helped me with this last minute whirl of lessons:  Rich, Rach, Vera, Nora and Jov.

I’ll take this for the learning lesson it was.

Filed under: Adventure, Goals by jummy