A New Day Dawns on Singapore

I often ask my husband if he will miss me should I die before him because I will tell him, if he goes, my life will end. His answer is always the same; "Life goes on". It's not exactly the phrase I wish to hear. I want to hear him say that his whole world will come crashing down and he won't be able to function properly anymore! His reply sounds like he'll just carry on living like normal with my absence not making any difference. But that's just my ego wanting to be stoked. He speaks the truth. The world will go on spinning even if you sit glued to one spot for the rest of your life.

Our First Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew is no more.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew 16 Sept 1923 - 23 Mar 2015

 

It is said that an Indonesian Prince first discovered the island of Singapore. His name is said to be Sang Nila Utama (although I do not always see his name mentioned in some similar stories). When he arrived, he saw a creature that looked like a Lion and thus, the name of Singa Pura (Lion City) was born. Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819. But the man who propelled this tiny island into the world arena was Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

 

Hundreds of thousands of people queued up for hours to pay their last respects to him at Parliament House where his body was Lying in State. Thousands thronged the streets waving our national flag, flowers and banners as his funeral procession went its route on 29 March 2015.

 

Many Singaporeans across the island stood up as sirens wailed to signify the end of his funeral service. We stood humbly and observed the minute of silence and thereafter, we proudly recited our pledge and sang the national anthem, Majulah Singapore! (Onward Singapore!). It was hard to speak and sing when tears were flowing freely. As a student and during my time as a school teacher, I recited the pledge and sang the national anthem on a daily basis. Never, had I felt so emotional, proud or grateful.

 

Would that flag be flying today if not for him? We are indebted to a man who LIVED and BREATHED Singapore. Everywhere we look, it is him. It is his work. His ethos to build a better Singapore drove him to bequeath to us a place we can be proud to call home. Yet, through it all, I can imagine him chiding me for using the word 'pride' because, through it all, he exemplified honour, dignity and humility.

 

It has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me and many, many other Singaporeans. I cannot imagine how superficial our intended SG50 celebrations would have been (Singapore is celebrating 50 years of Independence in 2015) if we had not come together as a nation to mourn the loss of our Founding Father. The goodness and kindness of Singaporeans just surfaced as we shared a commonality. Stories abound of people's kind acts and gestures to one another as people queued patiently for hours on end.

 

It also brought to light an interesting phenomenon. In recent years, very sadly, we have let the online community of keyboard warriors bring him down. People made cruel jokes and comments, criticised him no end. The majority remained silent in their rabbit holes until his death. I too crawled out and got very defensive about him and felt extremely upset at people who were timing their anti-LKY posts with our nation's mourning period (from 23 Mar to 29 Mar 2015). My question to them is, for all their eloquent flaming online, their inappropriateness only serves to reflect their poor upbringing and self-absorbed minds. INAPPROPRIATE. You get it? When a person is mourning the loss of his father, you do not purposely say bad things about his father. There is a time and a place for everything.

 

I wish to say to these smart alecs who think they know the world just because they have lived a little, that they always have a choice whether or not to live as a Singaporean. Please feel free to move to another country which exalts and allows you to practise 'total freedom'. Go ahead, please. We won't be missing any of you. The rest of us would like Singapore to be rid of you.

 

Seriously, after the overwhelming outpouring of grief and respect for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, it is this lot of anti-LKY flamers who should be crawling into the rabbit holes forever.

 

A new day has dawned on Singapore. We must not think that Singapore was born as it is today. Everything Mr Lee's leadership has allowed us to have today, can be taken away from us tomorrow if we are not careful. Democracy, peace, progress, justice, equality. We shall not take these for granted, Mr Lee. Thank you and may you rest in peace. Though you were never a baptised Christian, I pray that Jesus will have kind words to say to you and that Heaven awaits you.  



TDVL Day 20 of 20

In deference to the passing of our former Prime Minister of Singapore, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on 23 March 2015, I shall write this post succinctly.

I thought of not writing this post out of respect for our Founding Father, MM LKY but I would very much like to give an ending to the 20 nights.

So, it finally came; the very last night of our Taxi Driver's Vocational License course!
Of course, the lift didn't work again.

Each storey is made of 2 long flights of stairs:

Does this look like a short flight of stairs to you?

It's very funny, one could sit at lounge on the 4th floor (REALLY 5th floor in reality if you include the Mezzanine floor) and hear all the people panting as they reached you. We're done with it but I pity the trainer if he has to be back there this week!

6 course mates didn't turn up but the rest of us still had a good night with our friendly banter. All of us were informed we had passed our 3 Practical Tests and we had spent the rest of the night finishing up Module 5 and going through Test questions.

I tried my best to come up with a Facebook page for the course mates to keep in touch. Whatsapp might not be a good idea as it can be very annoying receiving updates from 39 humans in a group but I must admit it is the fastest way to update each other on anything important. I will think about it. those who do not wish to be in the group may leave the Whatsapp group. The end of the night was very touching with everyone smiling, laughing, thanking and shaking the hands of our trainer. The next time we see each other will be on our Test date at the end of the month! It won't be held at Sin Ming. It'll be at some place near Clark Quay and what a fail for this future cabby; I want my hubby to send me there because I'm afraid I'll get lost and won't arrive on time for the test!

I did spend Saturday night revising and I intend to revise this whole week. Hubby isn't teasing me so much any more after I explained to him that I had to nail all the modules in one sitting (not being pessimistic but according to past records, it is a very low chance to pass at one go). I told him I didn't have the luxury of time or work leave to keep re-sitting the modules so I'm determined to study this whole week and if I still don't pass any modules, at least I now I had put in some effort!

What is there to study for? Hahahahah.... that's what everybody who hasn't taken the course, will be thinking (just like people who haven't taught before, will ask how difficult can it be to be a teacher?). There are different modules. We could be tested on service industry practices, traffic rules and regulations (think different fines and demerit points), locating places, taxi stands, taxi stops, taxi pick up and drop off locations, surcharges, location charges and routes etc. I find routes to be the trickiest. I have 43 routes to learn at the back of my hand. If I can nail them, then I should find the questions on the routes to be less challenging. This is tough for a person who doesn't like route learning and I mean route learning as in memorising. I don't mean the learning of routes! So, I actually have to route learn my 43 routes!

Anyhow, after I'm done with my written test at the end of the month, I'll know if I can proceed to book the MDT course with the taxi company. I intend to sign up as my husband's relief driver. Yes, my husband is now a Taxi Driver and has been since last year. He enjoys his job very much (I kid you not!) but that is a post for another day. Ta!

TDVL Day 19 of 20 (Picture laden)

Today will be my last night at TDVL Course NP15/0004!!!

Feeling somewhat sad. Will miss the lot. Sigh. Some bugged me to get a Whatsapp group started but even though I know it's convenient, I also know it can be annoying. Before you know it, someone and someone will be saying 'Hi' or 'Thanks' and you'll have a million gazillion messages to read! I'm still thinking about it though.

Last night was Practical Assessment 3. I think at tonight's class, we'll know how we did in the last 3 assessments. I know I sort of bungled last night's because I forgot to 'start the meter'!!! Alamak! The trainer had to stop his video and the class was laughing so hard because my ride would have been free! I wasn't the only one who bungled it, several of us needed re-takes! The trainer is good because he isn't flippant about our mistakes. He points it out to us so that we can learn from it. I mean if he wanted to make things easy for himself, he could have chosen to be lazy and stay oblivious to our mistakes but he wants to ensure we learn from our mistakes because some of our mistakes cannot be tolerated once we are actually on the road. Two thumbs up for our trainer!!! I'll miss him. He's like a father figure to us.

Last evening was the only time I had a proper hot dinner before class! Only because I had to go to the Polyclinic for the results of my blood glucose tolerance test (which turned out OK. I have to watch it but it's overall still OK. I'll perhaps talk about that after this TDVL 'series').

So here's my delicious Pigs Trotters dinner!

I usually have my liver soup at this hawker stall at Ang Mo Kio Central. It was pouring like mad and I was feeling wicked (after my Polyclinic appointment where the doc told me to start eating smaller but more frequent meals -- I shall start tomorrow!) so I decided something with red cut chilli and sweet dark sauce would be nice. I asked the Uncle for some soup and he obliged with his delicious liver soup! Had my flask of hot water with me so after the meal (as it was still pouring), I sat there for a while, sipping my hot water and enjoying the pitter patter of the rain on the metal roof.

I'm not showing pictures of any humans for privacy reasons but I'm sure there's no harm showing you pictures of the actual training place. I apologise for the blur pics. Was trying to snap without anyone seeing me do it. Not because it's illegal but shy lah. Why would this Taxi Aunty be taking pics of the building?

Yep, it was really pouring. Here's the Citicab building at Sin Ming. Goodness, the drainage is I suppose considered very good. Water was streaming in little 'drains' on the carpark floor from the direction of the building towards me. My shoes were soaked walking to the building.

And this is the lift that secretly trains people to live a healthier lifestyle. On this day, 19th March 2015, I was pleased to discover that it was working again. No jerks, no stops. It made its way up 5 floors (4th floor but the Mezzanine is a floor not counted) very smoothly and I was delighted that I had not gotten stuck in it!

However, my fellow course mates who came 15 minutes later had to huff and puff their way up. The lift had of course, broken down again!

Exiting the lift lobby on the 4th storey, one will see the very spacious lounge with the very well-subscribed vending machines (can you see them on the left?). To the left are a whole lot of armchairs for us Uncles and Aunties to sit in (which I did not take because there were fellow humans sitting there).

And because I am always the first (or first few) to arrive, I have this spacious, quiet and air-conditioned place all to myself. The fairly big and clean restrooms are just next to the vending machines.

Walking to the classroom...

more walking...

Tadaaaa! Pic shows half of our classroom.

So the final night is here. Very, very hard to believe it. No one has dropped out of the class. Not a single of the 39. We'll see each other again on or written test date and I hope we can all pass at one go!!!

TDVL Day 18 of 20

2 more nights to go!!!

Last night was our 18th session. By now, you can guess that the course mates have bonded. I find them generally very nice and friendly. There are still some annoying grown men giggling at everything (yes!  I kid you not) and their bantering can be quite distracting while people are having their practical assessments but when you actually talk to those clowns, they are also very nice people. Haha. Not sure what to make of it. Avoid conflict. Avoid conflict. Avoid conflict.

Let me just say, last night during bedtime, when hubby was feeling ahem...somewhat amourous, he asked me if anything was going to happen. I was like 'huh'? What was going to happen? At that moment, my mind was actually thinking of road maps and taxi stand locations. Hahahaha and I actually told him so. Hahahaha...that is so not me. I would usually jump at a chance to get 'close' to him! Anyway, I snuggled up to him and asked him cheekily if he had a 'preferred route to take'. LOL.

Back to class. I think my Practical Test 2 Assessment went pretty okay until the very last moment when I had to heave the closed wheelchair into the boot of the taxi. I sort of let it rest too hard and the trainer asked me if it was too heavy for me (after he had stopped filming me). Haha. Here my hubby is, assuring me that I would have no problem heaving the wheelchair because I am so used to carrying 5 heavy NTUC grocery bags at one go and there, U-Turn Aunty had lost grip of the wheelchair. But the trainer did tell the class, I was the 'most compassionate' Taxi Driver so far. LOL.
We had role play. One would be the passenger in the wheelchair and one would be the cabby. We have steps to follow or as that Chai Chee brat mentioned, we have 'protocol' to follow! Of course we have to learn the steps but in real life, I'm not sure if we would actually remember to follow the sequence.

Tonight will be night 19 and our second last night! Can you believe it? It'll be our last Practical Test (3)!!! We'll be role playing again and this time, we'll be communicating with our passenger! Keeping my fingers crossed that I won't forget to start and stop the metre!

I feel very happy that everyone co-operated with the contact list I had come up with and provided their details. I've volunteered to provide everyone with a copy. It's the least I can do. They have been so nice. Thought 20 nights isn't quite enough to know everyone properly, we have bonded here and there. I feel it's so easy to talk to people because everyone is an adult. Like Mr Giggle was telling me about a passenger encountering a cabby who had requested for a b*** j**. I was sitting there thinking, wow, this guy just said the BJ words out loud to me without batting an eyelid. Clearly, even Mr Giggle is able to remain composed and assume that we're all adults and should be able to speak openly.

Our class is made up of people from all walks of life. Majority of us are mature adults who are in another stage of our lives. We're past the young and gungho stage. It's not like any one of us were born believing we would be taxi drivers one day. We had our dreams. We lived a good many years of our life. Some lived out their dreams. Some have yet to. Some people like me, well, a husband and kids was all I dreamed of so I guess I have lived my dream. We each have our own reason for taking up the Taxi Driver's Vocational License. We all have our fears approaching the end of the course. Are we really going to do it? That's a question on many of our minds. For me, I see myself approaching age 50 soon. Who will re-hire me at my same salary when I lose my current job? Do I really wish to start all over again in another company going through the same bullsh*t? Nah. I hardly think so. So if I do take it up, it's because I want to be my own boss (yeah, you heard that, you Chai Chee brat! Taxi Drivers are the boss, not YOU, because you forgot the cab was hired by that nice taxi uncle and not you!) and it's about the only job I know which can bring in a decent income for my pre-retirement days.

So I wish all my fellow course mates of TDVL NP15/0004 well. May God bless each and every one of us on our new journey as Taxi Drivers! May the Force be with us when we sit for our written module tests and I hope to bump into you all again one day at the diesel kiosk! LOL. I can't believe I am saying this but I will miss these Taxi Uncles and Aunties!

TDVL Day 17 of 20

3 more nights to go!!!

Last night (Day 17 of 20), we learnt how to be a good taxi driver in the service industry. Very good and relevant points raised except, who is going to apply all these when faced with the likes of that rude Chai Chee brat? I think if you are able to remain calm and not let bad rubbish or comments affect you, you have already reached some form of enlightenment in life. I realise that it takes age and maturity to attain that although being old does not necessarily mean you have attained it. Come to think of it, I must be right then, I've always told hubs that I'm married to an old man. He's so young at heart (because I get to see a side of him many do not) but generally behaves like a wise old man, always so ready to accept the faults of others and take the flack from others (Ahem, not sure why the wife is always the exception. It's like husbands save the worst for their wives!).

We always have a short tea (or pee) break during our classes and in the second half of last night, we got a chance to practice opening and closing a wheelchair and loading and unloading it from the boot. A cabby definitely has to learn how to handle passengers with special needs. It's not as easy as it seems. Although we expect that most special needs passengers will have a domestic helper or someone else to accompany them, this may not always hold true. The hard part is actually helping a disabled passenger to move from the wheelchair into the cab and vice versa.

So tonight (Day 18 of 20), we'll be having our Practical Assessment 2. I've to ensure my hair is neatly clipped up (because it's usually a wavy mess) and I'm decked out in what will probably be my Taxi Aunty outfit (if I do pass and end up driving). I dug out 2 blouses I had bought from Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market (oh I do miss it. sigh) and which I had not worn prior to this because they warrant ironing! But I've found them quite easy to iron with the steam iron and they are actually very comfortable. Big and airy too. Makes me look much bigger than I am but who cares as long as it's comfortable.

Also, because I find the course mates are generally nice and it would be a waste if we leave and do not even know a single person's contact number, I've volunteered to come up with a contact list for everyone in class who cares to have one. I've only 3 more days to do this and distribute this to them. I'm hoping everything goes well and that nothing will stand in my way of completing the 20 days!

TDVL Day 16 of 20

1st Practical Test went well. We had to stand at the front of the class and be videoed as we ran through the pre-driving checks a taxi driver has to make on a daily basis. The course mates were generally supportive except for one or two annoying clowns who were bent on chatting and laughing whilst others were being videoed. When someone stumbled, there would be prompts blurted out from the course mates. Some people had no problems remembering every single step in sequence. For people like me who do not do well in route learning, the sequence had to make sense before I could remember it!

Ugh! The one and only lift in the building broke down again! Our class sits on the 4th storey. Each storey is made up of 2 long flights of stairs and there's even an extra Mezzanine floor thrown in which does not count to the 4 floors! Some were earlier than I was yesterday because they wanted to get the practical test over and done with. They managed to use the lift which had been working then! Even though I reached later than a group of them, I managed to be the 4th being tested. After that, the rest of the evening was spent listening to the others go through the motion and running through a practice list.

We've 2 more practical tests coming up. Tonight, we'll be learning how to handle disabled passengers in wheelchairs. Meanwhile, because I was struggling with the practice paper last night, I realised I have a lot of 'studying' to do. Again when I reached home, hubs goaded me by asking if I had still not received my 'Best Trainee Award'. LOL.

Do I look like a Taxi Aunty?

Taxi Aunty

I think I still look like a school teacher. Once a teacher, always a teacher. I'm thinking that it might be interesting to be a trainer for adults instead. Hmmm....
By the way, I realised that my nose has been growing rounder. I've heard a Chinese old wives' tale that big round noses mean prosperity. Well! 2015 is looking good so far but I really don't wish a bigger or rounder nose upon myself!!!

TDVL Day 15 of 20

Who would have thought I would come so far? I have finished 15 nights of my TDVL course! Even hubby cannot quite believe it. He's been very supportive (except when I come home after class and find him fast asleep, the dog not fed and the dog not walked!) and has been very encouraging. He doesn't think I will be driving any time soon but he's given me some suggestions on how I can start driving a bit here and there for a start, as soon as I've received my Vocational License.

We're done with going through 40 routes (actually 43 but those are routes similar to the main 40 routes). I must say, only a few routes are familiar to me. The rest are alien. Sharing notes with others, I learnt that many of us have been driving around the same roads without realising the names of those roads. It's been an eye opener.

Son asked me if anyone dropped out of my class and I said, surprisingly, no one has. Some have been absent a few days and they have to make up for the days absent beyond the allowable 2 days (a requirement). But really, no one in this class of 39 has dropped out yet. I highly doubt any of us will, now that we're into the final week of our TDVL course! Everyone's very friendly to each other now and we all share one grouse. The lift has been out of order! It's very funny, seeing all the panting Uncles (Aunties not so much) as they arrive at the lobby upstairs. I cannot recall if I wrote this but I got stuck in the lift last week. Fortunately, a man had boarded the lift on the floor after mine and when we got stuck, he prised open the lift doors. He held it open while this Aunty scrambled out for dear life! How blessed can one be? To be stuck in the lift with THE lift repair guy! I know he hadn't planned it because he too got a shock when the lift just stopped moving!

As I am writing about Day 15, I'm already proceeding to Day 16 and I'm super excited! This is the final week and we're going to have our practical test assessments! I spent the weekend running through this checklist because we're supposed to give a presentation and be videoed giving it. The trainer will be assessing us to see if we know what we're supposed to have or do before we start driving the taxi. I have faithfully been ironing my pants and collared shirts and I tell you, I cannot wait to start wearing my non-iron dresses again! As part of the checklist, I have to wear socks tonight -_-   Urgh! I don't feel like a Taxi Aunty. I feel like a Taxi Uncle! Urgh again!

Anyhoo, I'm all prepared for my presentation tonight and hubs has been making fun of me all weekend. He caught me mumbling to myself a few times and he keeps mocking me that I'm aiming for 'best trainee'. I asked him how come I never saw him study when he had to do it. He said he has not studied since secondary school and even back then, he needed people to study for him and just summarise things for him. LOL. Some things never change. Now, the joker, is asking me to go for the MDT training so I can teach him how to use the inbuilt GPS! (He only knows how to use his own GPS).

I pray that nothing will come up to disturb my last five days at this course. I'm super excited to finally complete it. I know that I'll miss the trainer and this class and we'll probably never see each other (highly unlikely) except for our test date. It's funny what 15 days of daily night classes can do to you.

Rude and abusive Chai Chee Avenue taxi passenger

So by now, you would perhaps have watched the viral video of a passenger who had been very rude and downright abusive to a Taxi driver. He had booked a cab from Chai Chee Avenue and was obviously in a very bad mood from the word go. He talked to the cabby like a slave driver with no respect or regard for another human being.

I am sure, judging from the online support gathered for the Taxi driver, that everyone who watched the video felt indignant that any passenger could ever act as if the cab driver owed him or her a living! Who talks to anyone like that?

Where is my bolster? I'd like to thwack that guy on his head. Give him a few thwacks in fact, Lent or not. It was obvious from his voice that he is a spoilt and obnoxious brat used to getting his own way. I'm sure now that he's been shamed (and perhaps hiding in a rabbit hole), he'll come up with some excuse that'll say he forgot to take his meds for the day or something. Or perhaps that he is a victim of divorced parents or was an abused child. Yeah, okay, whatever. Get a life. No one should be treated the way you treated that cabby. By the way, I think Cabby of the Year should go to that Taxi Uncle!

My trainer keeps emphasising to avoid conflict even when you are right. This Uncle really should get a medal for patience and professionalism! I know only ONE OTHER person who can beat that Taxi Uncle and that is my husband. I kid you not. I'm sure my husband would not only have given him that S$5 discount (as that uncle did) but also thank the abusive passenger and wish him a nice day too!

There is now more awareness of how tough it is being a taxi driver. Even as an office worker, we deal with all sorts of people. 90% of people are good. 5% are plain weird and I have no idea what to make of them. The obnoxious way the balance 5% behave, they could have come from another planet. It's just takes 1 nice person to make your day or it just takes 1 horrid person to ruin your day. The thing is, when you're a taxi driver, you are pretty much stuck in the car cabin with that horrid thing for a certain amount of time. The question is how much will you tolerate? I think I would have dropped that Chai Chee passenger in the middle of an expressway and wished him all the best in life. That Taxi Uncle really showed tolerance not many of us will ever have. He has probably had so many years of experience, he knew better than to get upset by this brat. That is something I will have to learn. As my husband's motto goes, 'One ear in, one ear out'.

TDVL Day 13 of 20

Let's take a diversion from the Taxi Uncles and Aunties!

Comfort food at home!
I haven't uploaded pics of home cooked food for some time. Last week, I was down and out with the flu. The girl returns home only on weekends after staying at the uni hostel on weekdays. We seldom see the boy nowadays because he's too busy with school. I know that because of the TDVL course, I haven't been able to cook dinner and whoever needs to eat is eating packet food. Felt really bad that even though I was home on sick leave, I still couldn't cook so when I felt slightly better, decided to cook up something in a jiffy.

I know, the corned beef looks like dog food. It's plain from the can and just fried lightly. It's how my boys like it; with nothing else added! I tried adding chillies, onions, eggs but the boys still prefer it plain. So, hey, who's complaining?

The girl's comfort food is the tinned fatty pork. I can't say I don't find solace in it either. Having it once in a while feels really good. She loves gravy or soupy stuff so she usually just whacks that alone with her rice.

I need my veg (apparently the boys do not)! Ever since I tried this plain looking but best tasting stir fried kangkong at Golden Mile Complex, I've been trying to replicate it to no avail. (This is not kangkong that I cooked. It is spinach but I used the same method) It was the plainest looking plate of kangkong we had ever ordered but it turned out to be the tastiest. Anyhow, each time I try, my girl says it's getting there but not there yet!

Then there's the bowl of chicken stew. MY comfort food (ok, I know, I have LOTS of comfort food). It's easy to whip up and it has chicken, onions, carrots, eggs, mushrooms. A whole lot of goodness in one dish! Throw in red cut chilli in dark soya sauce and yum....it just makes me feel better! Not trying to say my cooking is fantastic, just that it's easy to come up with and makes me feel so good eating it. All cooked under 45 mins, I think is pretty decent.

Darn, I'm hungry just thinking about it.

By the way, please do not rip off my pics without my permission. Not that I'm a fantastic cook but it's not a nice feeling seeing your pics being used without permission.

So, anyway, to U-Turn back to Day 13 of my TDVL course, we're still on routes and I'm beginning to find it hard to follow because although I have had 20 over years of driving experience, I do not run around the island doing sales. I'm also pretty spoilt on weekends because I usually let hubs do all the driving. I realised that those who run around a lot are more familiar with many of the roads and know exactly what road leads to which. Me, I need to pause for a second to think. Hubs says, the problem with the tests are time is a luxury we do not have. I watch some of the people around me and I know some will have no problems. Others are 'studying hard' (yeah, actually studying). Me....I'm just going to run through here and there but mainly pay attention to what the trainer says during class (if I don't fall asleep in the cool air-conditioned class room, that is!

Tonight, (Day 14), the Citicab/Comfort recruiters will be coming again for those keen to sign up as their hirers. The main benefit I can see is that the security deposit payable as a hirer (or relief) will be offset by them if you sign up with them. This is putting it simplistically. You have to of course check the fine print of what you are signing up for.

It's been a long day. I had to go for my Glucose test this morning at Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic (the one where you fast overnight, have your blood taken, drink a motherload of sugar, rest for a couple of hours and then have your blood sample drawn again)! It's one yucky drink. Second time I'm doing it (the 1st being at KKH) and I hope they don't call me back for any urgent findings (no news is good news). So looking forward to my cold dinner. Sigh. That's one thing I cannot wait for once this course is over; to have nice hot dinners!

TDVL Day 12 of 20

I'm still one of the earliest to arrive at the course centre every evening. I tried arriving later but realised it didn't pay because traffic would start to crawl with a delay of every minute. So I still prefer to arrive to early, park and walk leisurely to the course centre and sit in the cool air-conditioned lobby to have my dinner and a hot drink. I eat alone all the time and I lap up the alone time. It's ME time and sometimes, a think-of-nothing time. I don't find it necessary to be eating with anyone. I don't feel lonely eating alone.

My coursemates who used to arrive early have all but vanished. Most are arriving only just in time for the class. A handful do come slightly later than I do to have their dinner at the waiting area too. The fabric chairs there are filthy looking but surprisingly, they haven't made me itch yet! So we usually just sit in one and pull up a small table next to our where we're seated to have our dinner. Anyway, one can't be too fussy. It's a big, nice and cool waiting area. Cannot complain. Also, the restrooms are big and clean. A coursemate pointed out that this had to be the only ladies' restroom without a queue (as compared to most shopping centres)! Majority of the attendees are males and I'm guessing they might have some queueing to do in their loo!

Oh yes, they have a hot and cold drinking fountain available so you do not really have to buy any drinks. But yesterday, I noticed this seasoned Taxi Uncle (he was with a whole bunch of old guys who look like seasoned taxi drivers probably attending their English course) drinking from the fountain. No issue until he cleared his throat and spat into it. UGH!!! That is one reason why I do not like to drink from water fountains!

I've given up with the musical chairs. There are a bunch of people who keep moving around. There is group of grown men who are extremely talkative and noisy at times. Can't keep above their Hokkien chatter so I just focus on what the trainer is saying. We're treated like adults so anyone can just leave the room at any time (but of course to return after you've attended to your phone or your bladder!)

We're started on familiarising ourselves with certain routes and learning to watch out for landmarks. It's informative and I did find the videos very useful. I did however, for the first time in 12 days (ok, technically 11 since I was absent from 1 class), nod off. I went home and told hubs and he said many of his coursemates fell asleep during video watching time too! Haha. It was just so quiet, peaceful and cool in the classroom. I looked around and saw quite a number nodding off too. Hubs said it had to be worse for us because he had attended the 10 day full-time course whereas we're attending 20 nights after a day of work!

I can't believe it's been 12 days. I'm enjoying attending this course very much. I cannot say I will enjoy driving a taxi eventually (because I know it isn't going to be easy) but for now, I did think about why I actually enjoy attending this course. This whole class is made up of people from all walks of life. We have lived a minimum of 30 years each. We have had life experiences. We aren't fresh out of school and aren't trying to be one up against the other. We help each other when one doesn't understand or cannot find a location.

One the 1st day of class, the trainer had asked us which category we fell under; Ready-to-go or Go-when-ready? There are some of us ready-to-go and some are go-when-ready. Many of us are asking ourselves if this is going to be something we're going to do. Many of us are worried that we won't have what it takes to make this work. Many of us are using this as a Plan B. For some others, it is a Plan Z! Some of us are still working as something else. Some of us have businesses. Others have had businesses which failed. Some of us are waiting for something better than the current something. It's a class full of question marks. When Comfort/Citicab staff came in to the class to sell their company as the preferred cab to drive, I couldn't commit to them because as of today, I still have a job. But at the back of my mind, I know that my job is coming to an end sooner or later. So really, no regrets taking this up. I only hope I can eventually get my Vocational License. If there's anything I will do in the year 2015, it is to get this and my BDVL. BDVL? Yep. You read right. In April, I will start my BDVL course. Ta!

TDVL Day 10 of 20

I didn't go missing in action. The body just collapse in exhaustion and I lost the battle with the germs.
I missed a class because I was too sick too move.

Fast forward to Day 10 of my TDVL course. Yes! The halfway mark! By now, there is a certain camaraderie amongst the class. I am not best buddies with any future Taxi Uncle or Taxi Aunty yet but you can certainly sense that the class laughs and jokes aloud more now. We know some of each other by sight. The trainer is a pleasant Uncle and he knows most of us by name. In his grandfatherly way, he watches those whom he knows is trailing behind.

The number of coughing humans has grown and I am one of them. I seriously hope not to have my itchy hacking non-stop coughing this week.

We have now more or less covered the different sections of the Street Directory and we have been familiarised with different landmarks. The new week will see us attacking the routes. According to my hubby, that was the tricky part for him.

Here's to the balance 50% of the course.

TDVL Day 5 of 20

I decided to sit in the air-conditioned lounge / lobby to have my dinner and because people trickled in later than usual, I had the whole place to myself except for another female (from another class) about my age, who sat next to me talking softly into the phone. She talked so soft spokenly that I felt she was very gentle. That's a virtue I should learn to have. Anyway, I managed to finish my packet of rice and have a coffee. I was headed to the restroom when I bumped into the trainer at the water cooler. It was a cue to head into class. Alas, about a quarter of the people had still not arrived at the start of class!

Perhaps it was a Friday so people were in a more relaxed mood. Or perhaps they were anticipating winning that night's BIG TOTO draw (which, I did not buy). Haha. My fellow course mates started to loosen up. There were some joker comments here and there. It's nice that we're all getting used to seeing each other's faces.

Some people moved places again. I am resigned to the fact that if I wish to sit back in my regular spot, I should go early and just 'chope' (reserve) it. I like my seat because it's not the first row and I have a good view of the whiteboard and I can see and hear the trainer. So now, the first thing I do is to enter the empty classroom and reserve my seat with my shawl.

By the end of the 5th night, we had covered Module 2. As of today (because I can be quite a blur queen), I think there are 5 modules to be covered. We started off with information on our country, the State emblems, Flag, pledge, anthem etc. I think it's so if any tourist should ask you, you won't be so ignorant. Then we moved on to road rules, signs, somewhat like basic and final theory. Then we covered rules and regulations governing cabbies and by the 5th night, we had basic information about pick up and drop off rule and regulations and of course the ubiquitous demerit point system.

As a driver, I am always forgetting bus lane timings. The only thing I can recall (and quite smugly, I will explain why), is that regular bus lane timings do not apply on WEEKENDS. So when you see vehicles avoiding the regular (yellow lined) bus lanes on Saturdays, hehe, I smugly drive in the bus lane and zoom past them merrily.

Anyway, many drivers I know, can never remember the regular bus lane timings. I came up with a methodical way to remember it (because that's how my brain has to work to remember stuff) and I haven't forgotten it since! I shared it with hubs (who is also often asking me what the bus-timings are) and he said I should share it with people:

Regular Bus Lane timing (yellow lined bus lanes)

7.30 to 9.30 am
5pm to 8 pm

How to remember?
Maybe it's cos I used to be a school teacher but I decided that:
7.30 am is when school starts
9.30am is recess
If you do not study, you will get
5 eggs (meaning 5 zeroes. Egg is from '8' get it?)
I've never forgotten it ever since (which is only last week). LOL.

We were dismissed slightly earlier and I rushed home to start my well-deserved weekend.

I actually spent 2 hours ironing my shirts and pants for the new week's worth of classes. Divine providence that I had purchased some new Uniqlo shirts some weeks before with my kids. I thought I would dread going to class but I am not! I am actually looking forward to it. Hubby asked me how I felt and I said I was actually excited to be gathering new information from the classes. Not sure how the tests will pan out but that's beside the point.

Also, I'm super glad that my Plan B is already in motion. Now, I watch my clown co-worker faking it at work (which clown alternates between a Government website and Yahoo movies and expects people to believe he is hard at work?) and I tell myself, it's only a matter of time. I won't be letting anyone treat me wrong again. If it happens again, I will be walking out. Money enough or not enough. The clown can have my job. He can run the circus for all I care. He can download movies the whole day for all I care. He can selfishly build his own business database on company time. I won't care anymore. Life is too short and if God is with me, then who can be against me?

I've had time to reflect and fume that because of a screw up by the clown, I am expected to pick up the broken pieces and fix the problem. Where is the clown? No where to be seen. Not a nice feeling when other times, you are chided together with the clown (which makes me a clown too and I hate clowns). The next time I am bullied. I WILL walk out and tell them to clean up their house before they expect me to clean up their mess.

Last night, hubs and I lay in bed and we were discussing about how we don't really need a lot of things in our lives and how good God has been to us. We are already pretty simple. We are trying to in fact, be simpler. We don't need flashy houses, flashy cars or watches though I do admit, I haven't gotten Louis Vuitton out of my system yet because I LOVE patina on vachetta leather. LOL. I know, LV and simplicity do not go hand in hand. Hubs pointed out that lots of other bags have patina and I agreed that it was also the precision of the LV workmanship that impressed me. I need to work on this, I know. But I told him I am not perfect. I am just a human trying to incorporate God into my life (wait, actually that doesn't sound right. It should be ME trying to incorporate myself into God's way).

Anyway, back to the discussion hubs and I were having; we just need to have enough and more importantly, he is glad that I've become more generous to total strangers. I've heard it all the time, that it is better to give than to receive and it's only recently that I've parted with $ more easily to people I thought needed it more than I did. It really did make me feel lighter and I'm going to make a conscious effort to do it more often. It's not that I have a lot to spare but I've changed my mindset to believe that the little I can hardly afford to part with, could make a difference to that person's life AND that the Lord will take care of my needs.

Just wanted to end by saying that God really has been good to me. I feel His guiding hand. Whenever I take Communion, I am moved to tears by His love for me. I told hubs that He heard my cries of despair and though His resolutions never came at the speed nor way in which I had anticipated, they came any way. How great is our God! Praise Him!