The Driving Exam

I went for my driving exam today with June. At least we had each other, or it would've been really boring being there all by ourselves. It was held at our driving school in Sri Muda, Shah Alam.
The exam is divided into 2 main parts:
part a: Slope, parking, 3-pointer
part b: The Road

We had to go through the common procudures when we got there. All the students taking the exam were given a number, and then we had to wait until our numbers were called. The JPJ testers would then direct us where to go; part a or part b.

My number was 7. It's one of my favorite numbers, but did that mean I was in luck?
Well, I was about to find out...

From the waiting area where June and I sat, we saw other students on the slope, and most of them were having a bad time. First, they had to drive the car up the slope and stop with their front tires on the yellow line. Then, they had to do the whole balancing thing with the clutch and accelerator and that's when it got really tricky. Most of them didn't manage to do it successfully and they rolled backwards instead. They failed just like that. Rm150 gone.

The longer I watched, the more nervous I became. June went first. She did well. Finally, it was my turn. My heart was practically jumping out of my chest. When I got into the car, I said a silent prayer and hoped I'd do okay.

A: The Slope
When it was my turn to move, I inched the car toward the slope and gunned the accelerator until I was at the top. My mind told me to stop, so I obeyed. Once I'd pulled up the handbrake and freed the gear, I poked my head out of the window to check my front tire, and I realized that if I had stopped about a second earlier, I wouldn't have made it. Timing is everything. I did the balancing and rolled forward. Phew, okay. One down, two more to go.

A: The Parking
Side parking wasn't as scary as the slope. The JPJ tester told me to wait outside Box #2 because there was a woman doing her parking inside. So I patiently waited. That's when something amusing happened.
She parked her car nicely in the yellow line, and then raised her right arm to signify that she was ready to move out. So the JPJ tester said, "OK. You can go out now."
Obviously he meant that she could drive out of the box and proceed to the next step.
But the woman opened the door and stepped out of the car, much to his surprise.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled at her.
"You asked me to come out wat." she replied, smiling sheepishly.
"No!! I asked you get the car out of the box, not get out of the car!"
"Oh! Oh sorry. I thought.. hahhaa I thought..." by now she was laughing feebly and the tester was shaking his head. So she went back into the car, but as she was trying to drive out, she accidentally knocked a couple of those sticks down.
This time, the tester really asked her to get out of the car. An instructor had to come and drive her car away before I could start. Then I figured that since I'm alone in the car, I might as well make full use of my phone by blasting some music. Music helps me relax =)

A: The 3-pointer
The tester heard music coming from my car, so he came to check. I was so scared he was going to penalize me for having some music in the background. You don't know these JPJ people. They could penalize you for anything.
"Amoi, you cannot have music while you're doing the exam. It's considered a distraction. That's why all our radios are not working, you see. Therefore, I have to fail you."
Hahaha. Of course he didn't say that! But who knows, right? So I did the 3-pointer as quickly as possible. The minute I saw him coming over to check, I hit reverse and the car moved away from him. Lol. After I eased out of there, I passed =) Hehehe.

B: The Road
The exam route consisted of 4 roundabouts, a couple of traffic lights and lots and lots of pitholes. So every now and then, I had to carefully avoid a large hole in the road because if I ran over it, the car would jerk unpleasantly and my tester would get so pissed off that he'd fail me straight away. (That's what my instructor told me) I told you these testers are really mean! Most of them are, anyway.
When I got into the car, my tester was this Malay guy, probaly in his mid 40s. He didn't seem very friendly. I said "Good morning, sir" and he mumbled back "Morning." And he never said anything else. Unlike most testers, he didn't ask any questions, or make any minor chitchat. In fact, he looked like a bulldog. Not his face, but his expression. Haha, or maybe both. He was like a timebomb, just waiting to go off any second.

At one point, I made my first mistake by moving into the right-hand-side lane because there were so many buses parked on the left lane that they ate up most of the road. Later, I tried to cut back into the left lane but there were too many cars, so I just remained driving on the same lane. Then he exploded.
"Why are you driving on this lane?? Shouldn't you be driving on the left lane?!! This lane is for people who drive fast! You drive so slow - you should be on the left lane!!!"
I was driving at 40 km/h. Okay, fine. That's slow if you want to drive on the right-hand-side. I wanted to explain that I had intended to cut into the left lane, but I figured that I shouldn't say much because he would think I'm trying to argue. 0.o So I kept quiet. And he kept quiet the rest of the way too. I avoided the pitholes, did whatever I'd been taught throughout my previous lessons and just hoped for the best.

So I drove back into the school and stopped at where we begun. He was busy writing some stuff on the paper. Then he passed it to me and asked me to sign it. It was my result slip.
Gingerly, I looked up and asked what I already had in mind. "So... I failed?"
He confirmed it by nodding his head sadly.
Then he pointed at my paper. 13/20. The passing mark was 16.
I didn't know what to say. My brain wasn't exactly processing the words properly.
So he suddenly took on a gentler tone and began to explain to me where I went wrong. I don't believe it - he added extra mistakes for me in there! But anyway, I shut up and let him talk. Suddenly he sounded like a concerned tuition teacher. "So when you come back next time, remember all your weak areas yeah. Don't do it again. Go back and get some more practice okay."
Despite what I was feeling inside, I forced myself to smile and say "Okay. Thanks." very politely, and then he smiled (FIRST TIME. Bugger.) and I left the car. I had a feeling he was seriously enjoying this. Later on, I learned that he failed everyone under him, except the ones who bribed. What an effing money face. Urgh.

On the other hand, June passed her road test. She's a good driver. And she also landed a really nice tester. It was his first time today, and he told her that he had passed everyone under him, except a girl who nearly hit a taxi. So June told him about me, that I failed. And he said, "Aiyah. How unlucky. If I was her tester, I would've probably let her pass. Minor mistakes are nothing as long as the student can drive."

OMG! Why wasn't my tester like that?! Even my instructor said this when I told him who my tester was:
Aiyo. Of all the testers, yours was the worst. So unlucky.

Wow. Was that to make me feel better or what? Lol.

Anyway, it's over and done with. I've got another shot at it.. next week. And this time, I'll have to go alone. Gawd, it's gonna be so boring.
Oh well. I really hope I'll land myself a nice tester. If I open the car and see Mr. Bulldog's face again, I'll shoot myself.