OH HAPPY DAY!

Oh joy! Oh joy! I passed! I passed! I finally have my unrestricted NSW driver's licence (good for 3 years)! And I will never have to take this test again until I'm 85 years old (if I'm still alive then!)

Boy, all the drama that I went through the past month preparing for this driving test. I stormed the heavens with prayers. And of course, I used a little emotional blackmail: I made my kids pray for me every night before going to bed. Diego was particularly excited for me to get my licence. Everytime we'd go out, he'd insist that I be the one to drive, so that I can practice, and thus pass my test. I asked him the other night, "Diego, what if Mama doesn't get her licence?" Diego told me, "I'll say...'Mama!'(in a scolding tone), but that's alright"

I came up with every possible superstition to help me pass this test.

1. MY HAIR HAD TO BE PERFECT -- I had a theory that the reason why I didn't pass my first test was that my hair was in an between stage and thus would look ugly in my licence picture. I didn't want to look ugly in what would be my main identification for the next three years!

2. MY TEST HAD TO BE ON A FRIDAY -- all the major things that happened to us here happened on a Friday, so my test had to be on a Friday as well. We transferred to our house on a Friday, we got our new bed on a Friday, we got our new car on a Friday, Edge got his licence on a Friday, etc. etc.

3. I HAD TO WEAR YELLOW -- my college barkada and I had this superstition that everytime we had an exam, especially one we weren't prepared for, we had to wear yellow because it allowed the answers to come to you. Other colors, especially black, blocked out the answers that were trying to come into your head. I've forgotten who came up with that crazy superstition, but folks, that is the secret of my good grades in college! So today, I wore my XS56 shirt given by the Guidance Department as a going away present. I guess it really works!

4. I HAD TO SEND A CHAIN LETTER -- I received a chain letter that said that if I didn't send the letter, I would have a very unpleasant surprise. Was I really going to risk that? Of course, I sent it out to the maximum number of people! To those 15 people, I'm really sorry about that, but anyway, the message was nice, di ba?

5. THE NUMBERS OF TODAY'S DATE EQUALS 3 -- My family believes that 3 is a lucky number for us. When I added up the numbers of today's date -- 09+16+05=30=3+0=3 When I saw the 3, I knew I had a very good chance of passing!

6. I CAN NOW LOCK THE GARAGE DOOR -- Our garage door has a certain trick to getting it locked. For the longest time, I couldn't get it. But a few months back, I was finally able to get it and so I decided that it was time to take my driving test.

Things get really crazy when you really really really want something!

But seriously, I practiced really hard, and I prayed really hard, and I practiced the maneuvers in my head a million times. I couldn't eat for two days, and I kept waking up last night. Finally this morning, I told myself, this stress is too much! I don't ever want to go through this anymore. The only way to get rid of this stress is to pass this test.

When my teacher picked me up for my test and we drove around to have a last practice, I was very calm. I did everything perfectly. And by the time I was taking my test, I was a bit more nervous, but still in control. I didn't do it perfectly this time, but I did well enough to pass.

I am so glad that stress is over! Many thanks to everyone who prayed for me! Special thanks to Josline, my driving teacher (who I will be recommending to everyone in NSW who needs to get their licence), Mom, Pop and Gogi, whose faith in me never wavered, Diego, Luis and Edge who continually cheered me on and put up with my short temper and mood swings, and Glenn for understanding the complexity that is me.