I’ve always been afraid of driving – which is quite surprising because our family have always had at least one family vehicle for about two decades now. One would think that as a teenager, I’d prod my father to teach me how to drive so that I can show off just like what the other stereotypical teenage boys would do. I’ve never been the grease monkey type – which is another surprising thing because Papa is a mechanical engineer and growing up, I would always see him tinkering with the car with his various tools and machines.
Of course, as I grew older, I couldn’t escape the fact that I needed to learn how to drive. I only kind of successfully evaded the need for the longest time because there were three other drivers in the family so if someone had to drive, it could be any one of them – it didn’t have to be me. But that didn’t stop my mom from segueing to “Oh, kapilan ka mabyasang mag-drive?” from “Komusta la reng exams mu?” during their weekly overseas calls.
I first tried to learn under the tutelage of our cousin, Kuya Jay. I still remember, since he lives in Porac, he had to stay for two nights here at San Fernando during the course of our driving lessons. I learned the basics but since the first few sessions weren’t followed up, I didn’t really pursue the driving thing. A couple of years after, when most male figures in the family were abroad and thus unavailable to re-teach me, I enrolled on a driving school. It was a good experience because I was able to drive in the highways and not just within the safe confines of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, my driving ‘career’ still didn’t take off because months after the lessons, I was still unable to get a non-pro license and my student permit expired. Plus, I think more importantly, back then for me, driving was pretty much like calculus – I was required to learn it but I really didn’t see its practical use in my life so I wasn’t bound to practice it outside class hours. Commuting was more convenient for me. Also, the car was being used all the time anyway and the owner was often borrowed by relatives. So for me, what’s the point in all of this? Haha!
But this time around, I’m beaming with pride that after 5 student permits, I am now a bearer of a non-professional driver’s license! I attribute this milestone to two things – one, I realized that I’m not getting any younger and I didn’t want driving to be one of them adult things that I still haven’t marked ‘done’ on my life’s to-do list. Still being in school at my age is already an embarrassment enough! Haha! And two, it has come to a point wherein commuting is not that convenient anymore – especially knowing that if I already knew how to drive, I have at least two vehicles at my disposal.
I applied for my license last May 12, a few days before my latest student permit was to expire. I felt that if I let this one expire again, it would be totally uncool to have to apply for a student permit again. Haha! It was one of my main goals last summer. I had driving review lessons courtesy of my sister, Ate Joi. This time, I found myself wanting to really learn and be comfortable behind the wheel. A few weeks after, I was already driving the car to church (which was just within the village). If I drove outside the village, I would still ask my sister to accompany me. Then, just around two weeks ago, I finally drove the car outside the neighborhood on my own – my first solo ‘flight’. Haha!
It may have taken too long than usual, but I’m just proud and relieved that I finally learned to drive for real. I really felt like I went up another level of adulthood because of this. I’m still not an expert though. Hanging roads are territories I have yet to conquer. I may have well reached this point but not without suffering some nasty but funny setbacks – dead engine at a crucial stop light, driving at night without realizing my lights were actually still off, driving for a block or two with my handbrake still on and scratching my right doors into our garage’s marbled columns. But I’m proud of these ‘war wounds’. Like I always say, charge it to experience! Yeah! :D
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Neicy, an orgmate who is around 6 years younger than me, has been driving for more than a year now. During org events or gimiks in Pampanga, often she’d offer to pick me up so that we can go together. One time, I told her, “Nakakahiya naman, ako tong kuya at di hamak na mas matanda sa iyo, ako pa itong sinusundo at hinahatid mo.”
I also often kid her that she drives too carefully or too slowly which is quite ironic because I can’t even drive myself then, haha. So when I was re-learning back in the summer, my mantra to summon motivation and confidence was “Must be faster than Nic”.
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During my first solo ‘flight’, a couple of orgmates rode with me when we went home after the birthday get-together that we attended. As I successfully ‘entered’ the highway amidst the flurry of ten-wheeler trucks that normally plied the highway during that time of the night, I noticed that they were strangely quiet for minutes.
Me: Woy magsalita naman kayo! Okay lang ba kayo?
Elai: *Nervous laughter* Yieh, okay naman kami kuya, hihi!
Me: Well, baka gusto niyong magdasal para makauwi tayo nang payapa.
Mike: Actually, kaya kami tahimik eh. Haha!
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Me: Ganun pala kapag marunong ka na mag-drive no?
Ate Joi: Oh, napano?
Me: Nakakatamad nang mag-commute! Hahaha!
Ate Joi: Aba, madami kang pang-gas? Haha!
Me: Itext ko nga si Mama, sasabihin ko, dagdagan ang allowance ko. Hehe!
So I texted my parents and joked about the additional allowace. My mom amusingly replied.
Mama: Aba, porke marunong ka na mag-drive, baka lagi ka namang mag-joyride nyan! Mag-skip ka na lang ng meryenda para may pang-gas ka at mabilis lumiit yang waistline mo.
Me: You’ve been bugging me to learn how to drive and constantly practice, so paano ako magpa-practice kung wala akong pang-gas?! Haha! Tsaka excuse me, I’m back to my normal non-holiday weight, most of my pants fit well, thank you. Hehe!
She didn’t reply anymore. But a week after, I got what I lobbied for. Hehe!
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