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!