Muh Driving License

Ladies and gentlemen, let me start off the post with an announcement that I am immensely happy to make; I have just acquired my driving license and am now qualified to drive on the open roads of Singapore. This is a buildup that has begun since the start of 2012, where I had driving lessons for a short period and then stopped as I wasn't fueled by the urge to drive back then. When I resumed lessons again, it would already be at the start of 2014. Talk about procrastination.

I made a terrible mistake of going over the stop line during a right turn at a junction which had a red arrow. That was the story of my first attempt. The second attempt saw me having the jitters, and I could barely control the clutch and accelerator which resulted in me striking the kerb twice, along with numerous other mistakes which stemmed from a lack of confidence. Somewhat deterred by the two failures, I booked the my third attempt at the practical driving test.

So the day of the third test eventually came. With the pressure of a three-month wait and close to $300 of test fee mounted on my shoulders, I went ahead with it anyway. Sitting in the room awaiting for the my assigned tester to read out my name was perhaps the worst part. This room has never failed to bring out some nervousness in me, in spite of this being my third attempt. This time however, I was not going to let it get the better of me. I whipped out my phone and played several games of 2048 which really took my mind off the fact that I was going to have a driving test and away with that went my nervousness.

Eventually I heard my name being called. An instructor who went by the name of Choo Cheng Sang was assigned to me. Went through the circuit relatively smooth, only abit of rolling backwards on the ramp. Outside, I thought it went pretty good as well, with just a short drive to a junction to do a U-turn, followed by changing lanes to do a right turn back to CDC. I followed my tester up to the results release room and he called me in and I was thinking, 'Damn it, failed again!'. This stems from something I've read on forums, where the instructors won't bother calling you into the room if you passed and will instead ask you to wait outside while they print your result slip. Knowing that, I had a heavy heart as I stepped into the room and reluctantly took a seat. He was collating the results and took quite a long while, during which I was praying hard that being brought into the room still meant a chance of passing.

Eventually, the tester came and sat infront of me. He started chiding me on how it was my third attempt yet I couldn't move off the ramp properly, and how my overtaking skills were causing an inconvenience to other road users. He was holding the result slip in his hand which gave me no chance to look at it, but based on the things he were saying, things were not looking the best. I was bracing myself to go for a fourth attempt already when he changed his grip on the result slip, allowing me to take a glance at it. I managed to make out the word "PASSED". From that point, I couldn't give a shit how badly he scolded me. I had PASSED! FINALLY!

Mr Choo Cheng Sang, you ain't so bad in my books after all. I'm loving this tough love thing you've got going on actually. This slip of paper is a result 36 months in the making and some $3000. Slow I hear you say? WHATEVER! I'm overjoyed at the achievement of attaining a Class 3 driving license and I'm not taking shit from anyone.

So, to bus service 854, trips to ComfortDelGro Driving Centre and to Mr. Chua Ah Huat, I bid you farewell for you are now a thing of the past. Alright, I've got to newfound swag to be handling people, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

A Dark Day for the Nightlife Scene in Singapore

Dark times lay ahead for the little nightlife we already have in Singapore, with the Government of Singapore having recently proposed a new bill slated to be approved in Parliament. The Government was of course quick to draw comparisons with other countries that already has such measures in place, in a bid to soften the impact of this draconian measure.

What restrictions does this new bill put into place for a person who is looking to partake in Singapore's nightlife scene? With the exception of premises which have been licensed (meaning restaurants, bars, coffee shops and establishments which traditionally offer alcohol), drinking of alcohol beyond 10.30pm until 7am shall be an act that is punishable by a $1000 fine, or $2000 and three months of jail for repeat offenders. Simply appearing drunk in unlicensed premises within the restricted timing will net a you a $1000 fine and up to six months jail, if you have been deemed as "causing annoyance". Anywhere outside these licensed premises, you will need to apply for a permit to drink beyond 10.30pm. I can just imagine it already; people will be calling up the Ministry of Alcohol Consumption (MAC) to apply for permits which they have to bid for, à la bidding for a COE.

If you've ever been to Jiak Kim Street on a Wednesday or Saturday night, you'd understand what is at stake here. The scores of teenagers and young adults sitting on the floor in the areas surrounding Zouk, getting high on alcohol which they have acquired from the alcohol gift store at Holiday Inn would now be doing something illegal. I for one used to frequently partake in these activities and this is in my opinion what makes the experience of going Zouk a complete one; getting high and perhaps a little rowdy on alcohol while sitting in groups playing drinking games, then entering Zouk when you are high enough.

The same would apply for about any other club in Singapore. This is what makes clubbing fun. And it's easy to see why people would prefer to acquire their alcohol from anywhere but inside the club; the price of a bottle of Vodka inside the club would usually be about three times higher than buying it outside the club in my experience.

Of course, the new bill isn't prohibiting us from drinking alcohol publicly, we just have to finish up our fun at 10.30pm, absolutely brilliant. Now while this post may read like a giant rant, it is in my opinion that the shisha ban which comes into force by July 31, 2016 combined with the new Liquid Control Bill will really hurt what little vibrance Singapore has during the night. The Government has just made it harder for its citizens again to have some fun. Make no mistake, this isn't an isolated incident, rather it has been a continuation of new and non-stop measures that have been enacted to ensure that Singapore is all about work and nothing of play.