Driving : Past & Present

Besides the time I had to sit for the driving exam? It would be my boss' company car – a second hand white Perodua van. She was rather horrified that I didn't have a driver's license at 20 years old and immediately had me enrolled in a driving class & she paid for my entire lesson. Being a struggling new graduate, that gesture meant a lot to me and also fueled my want to do good by her generosity.

Jan, my amazing ex-boss, was really encouraging and would constantly monitor my driving progress. The day I started my lessons, was the day she made me drive the van around the factory area as practice, with her as my moderator at the passenger seat! So besides getting official lessons from the driving school, she was my driving mentor after work hours. Every day after work, she would sit next to me in the van and instruct me patiently on how to be a careful driver.

The main thing was my first time ever driving a vehicle without supervision. The experience had been thrilling and frightening. The first drive was a long two hours (after 3 months, I officially recieved my driver's license), from work to out of the city just to go to a colleague's home to pick up a couple of things. When we had gotten back to the office, my colleague immediately told Jan that I had driven that distance. It was to my satisfaction that she dropped her jaw in disbelief that I had dared do such a long drive unsupervised. From then on, she had allowed me to drive on my own.

Always, the imagined specter of my boss would be my companion even as I was driving to work, for meetings, to deliver goods, to pick her up from meetings, to pick up her daughters from school…etc. Some would think of it as an odd thing to do, but in fact, I enjoyed being behind the wheel. Just like Jan, who had been my best encourager, I would always love driving.

That was years ago. Ever since then, I have driven a variety of cars, vans, a truck… and even one of my colleague's bus. Until today, I am still looking to try new vehicles

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