Drivers License.
When I was six, I remember looking around in awe at the people who were capable of driving a vehicle. To me it seemed like a skill that warranted a significant amount of respect.
As the years passed, the realization gradually dawned upon me that driving is actually a piece of cake. Perhaps easier. Despite this delayed awakening, my recent struggles with acquiring my drivers license had briefly caused me to switch back to admiration mode. Let me explain.
First, I can hear you snickering already. So cut it out. I acknowledge that you are aware that I'm about 22. However, I do have quite a few exceedingly legitimate reasons for not owning a drivers license all these years. I grew up in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (as some of you might know) where you need to be 18 to even begin to drive legally, unlike in the US, where you can get your permit when you turn 16, and actually drive with an accompanied adult when you're still only 15(!). Personally, I think that particular age limit is preposterous, but that's a story for another day. So yes. I first came to the US when I was 17, and missed the cut in the UAE by a few months.
After I got here, considering that I knew absolutely no one in the city of Austin, getting my drivers license would have turned into an expensive affair if I had decided to take classes. Money was not a commodity I had in abundance. If I had to be perfectly honest, I was broke beyond belief. So there went that plan. A few years passed and voilà, I turned 21. As any rational 21 year old would think, it was clearly about time I was legally allowed to drive a car. But there was still the small matter of practicing somewhere and taking a road test. I think I ended up annoying a couple of my friends asking to borrow their car for me to practice with, for my driving skills did not seem to inspire much confidence in them and consequently, they probably quivered at night for the fate of their respective cars. But I persevered and they complied and they did a pretty awesome job of being patient with me. And for that I am thankful.
So I go in to the Department of Motor Vehicles and what do you know, I fail my vision test! Apparently I was blind as a bat and wasn't even aware of it. I now needed glasses, for Pete's sake. It was like the forces that govern the universe were conspiring to deny me the license to drive. And I ended up shelling out about 200 bucks for a doctor's appointment and a pair of glasses before heading back to the DMV. I felt fairly confident, and had every reason to be so, for I had been driving for a while now.
Yet, the miserable old hag who took my test claimed I did not 'have control' on three of my turns and established that it was reason enough to fail me. When I pushed her to elaborate, she retorted that I simply needed to 'practice' more. I fought the urge to punch her nose inwards and instead uttered some niceties. I thanked her for her time - not because I was genuinely indebted to her for being my examiner, but because there seemed to be a decent chance that I might have to see her again the next time I took it.
Two weeks later, I headed back to the DMV hoping against hope that I didn't encounter the same rude, ancient scallywag that took my test the previous time. Thankfully, a much nicer old lady greeted me this time and laughed when she found out who my previous examiner was. Apparently, Mrs You Don't Have Control was one of the more unpopular workers at that particular DMV and was notorious for failing test takers for nonexistent reasons.
Even on that attempt, I still remember dreading the moment my examiner would turn to me telling me I had failed for some inane reason. However, she had a grin on her face so wide it actually had me alarmed for a second. I made a 97(!) on my road test. She even claimed that she was baffled how I had failed the last time. Needless to say, I felt like how Einaudi must have felt when he finished composing I Giorni. I was so ecstatic that I was successfully able to control the impulse to shove my license down the previous old hag's face. I still hate her. Perhaps I am being irrational.
But I don't care. I can drive!
As the years passed, the realization gradually dawned upon me that driving is actually a piece of cake. Perhaps easier. Despite this delayed awakening, my recent struggles with acquiring my drivers license had briefly caused me to switch back to admiration mode. Let me explain.
First, I can hear you snickering already. So cut it out. I acknowledge that you are aware that I'm about 22. However, I do have quite a few exceedingly legitimate reasons for not owning a drivers license all these years. I grew up in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (as some of you might know) where you need to be 18 to even begin to drive legally, unlike in the US, where you can get your permit when you turn 16, and actually drive with an accompanied adult when you're still only 15(!). Personally, I think that particular age limit is preposterous, but that's a story for another day. So yes. I first came to the US when I was 17, and missed the cut in the UAE by a few months.
After I got here, considering that I knew absolutely no one in the city of Austin, getting my drivers license would have turned into an expensive affair if I had decided to take classes. Money was not a commodity I had in abundance. If I had to be perfectly honest, I was broke beyond belief. So there went that plan. A few years passed and voilà, I turned 21. As any rational 21 year old would think, it was clearly about time I was legally allowed to drive a car. But there was still the small matter of practicing somewhere and taking a road test. I think I ended up annoying a couple of my friends asking to borrow their car for me to practice with, for my driving skills did not seem to inspire much confidence in them and consequently, they probably quivered at night for the fate of their respective cars. But I persevered and they complied and they did a pretty awesome job of being patient with me. And for that I am thankful.
So I go in to the Department of Motor Vehicles and what do you know, I fail my vision test! Apparently I was blind as a bat and wasn't even aware of it. I now needed glasses, for Pete's sake. It was like the forces that govern the universe were conspiring to deny me the license to drive. And I ended up shelling out about 200 bucks for a doctor's appointment and a pair of glasses before heading back to the DMV. I felt fairly confident, and had every reason to be so, for I had been driving for a while now.
Yet, the miserable old hag who took my test claimed I did not 'have control' on three of my turns and established that it was reason enough to fail me. When I pushed her to elaborate, she retorted that I simply needed to 'practice' more. I fought the urge to punch her nose inwards and instead uttered some niceties. I thanked her for her time - not because I was genuinely indebted to her for being my examiner, but because there seemed to be a decent chance that I might have to see her again the next time I took it.
Two weeks later, I headed back to the DMV hoping against hope that I didn't encounter the same rude, ancient scallywag that took my test the previous time. Thankfully, a much nicer old lady greeted me this time and laughed when she found out who my previous examiner was. Apparently, Mrs You Don't Have Control was one of the more unpopular workers at that particular DMV and was notorious for failing test takers for nonexistent reasons.
Even on that attempt, I still remember dreading the moment my examiner would turn to me telling me I had failed for some inane reason. However, she had a grin on her face so wide it actually had me alarmed for a second. I made a 97(!) on my road test. She even claimed that she was baffled how I had failed the last time. Needless to say, I felt like how Einaudi must have felt when he finished composing I Giorni. I was so ecstatic that I was successfully able to control the impulse to shove my license down the previous old hag's face. I still hate her. Perhaps I am being irrational.
But I don't care. I can drive!
posted by Jose Parakkat at
9:39 AM
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