I am a sucky driver

Today, I had my first real drive since passing my driving test. And boy did it open my eyes.

I present to you some raw statistics, since numbers seem to reach out to people better. Please do bear in mind that these are from what I can recall. For starters, I nearly ran into two cars, and nearly missed two turnings. I also carried on where I left off from my driving test, stalling my car at least 5 times, once on an upward slope, which illicited a feeling of deja vu when I had to reenact the 'naik bukit' test to get it going again. Another time I had the misfortune of stalling just in front of an SUV, whose driver chose to exasperate matters by honking. As if some noise would magically restart my engine.

From my own noobness, I now know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of abuse and honking. That is to be expected though, since I am actually driving the car. On the other hand, I somehow manage to pity my dad, who was my designated escort since mum did not even let me make it out of the car park before chickening out. He must have some supernatural power, since there is no way a human could actually stay so calm and maintain his sangfroid after the danger I put him through! He did not even flinch, even when I was mere inches from colliding with another car on his side, or when I drove through a junction even when another, (bigger) car was speeding in from the left, another close shave.

Of course, all my misfortune must be taken into context. For all the potential accidents I may have caused, I still did not actually get into one, which is not something I can say for friends like Ju Ping, who went 'drifting' with his dad in tow, dancing at Death's door, or Rong who crashed into a pole and incurred the wrath of her parents not to mention a RM 1900 repair bill.

At the end of the day, I still managed to walk away from my car in one piece, along with my passenger. Certainly it is something to be thankful for, thankful enough for a silent prayer to God for keeping me safe when I am not.