PANIC TIME!!!!!!

Hey everyone! Can I please ask anyone who is reading this to say a short prayer for me from the time you read this to next Friday, September 16? I am taking my driving test for the second time and I am a nervous wreck! Everytime my thoughts turn to that day, my stomach turns and I get all queasy. Please pray for the following:

1. that I maintain my sanity while waiting for September 16
2. that I stay calm and alert on September 16
3. that the person who will decide my fate be a person who is either fair or biased in my favor
4. that no surprises should spring on me on that day
5. that no unnecessary obstacles present themselves on that day
6. that I don't make any major mistakes
7. that if I don't pass, I am able to accept it gracefully

(I almost forgot to put this one:)

8. that I pass my test!

My teacher says that I am doing well and that I am a good driver but you never know with these tests. You hear about stupid mistakes which you would never do if you weren't so nervous and conscious that you were taking the test. When my teacher saw my first test results, she told me that I should have passed. Di ka ba mabibwisit non? Anyway, I know I feel much more confident on the road this time than I did 7 months ago (which was when I took my first test) so hopefully I don't make any major mistakes and everything else that I am asking everyone to pray about.

One more confusing thing is that our car is manual, and my teacher's car (which I am using next week) is automatic. I drive our car in between my weekly lessons to gain confidence on the road, but when I get back to the automatic, it takes me a while to get used to it again. My left hand keeps searching for the gear shift, then I realize I don't have to change gears! I am already used to having the controls on the other side (of the Philippine cars) and also driving on the left side of the road. But for now, whenever I'm driving, the rule is, NOBODY TALKS TO ME! I get so distracted and driving here in Australia really requires a lot of thinking! For some reason, I didn't need to think so much when I drove in the Philippines!

I remember when I got my license in the Philippines. I resolved that I would not contribute to the corrupt system. I refused to pay someone to fix my license, even if everyone I knew did not have to actually drive to get their license. Of course, everyone knows about the written test wherein they give you the exact same questions that you will have in your actual test, with the correct answers written in, but they advice you to make one or two mistakes para hindi obvious! Then, for the practical test, I remember I went with Dodong, Mom's driver at the Commission on Human Rights. I was so nervous because I feared they would give me a hard time because I had decided to do it the "clean" way. I also feared "hanging", because I wasn't too confident about staying on first gear. When it was my turn, the tester asked me where my car was. I pointed it out in the parking lot. The guy stayed under the shade and instructed me to back out of my parking space, move the car forward towards him, then park it again. Dodong asked if he could ride inside the car with me. Surprisingly, the guy said yes. So while driving, Dodong was telling me, "O, first gear.....o sige, gas pa......ops...break ka muna...kambyo pa....." When I got out of the car, that was it! I had my license! Well, I didn't actually get my card license til about 6 months later, but I was legally allowed to drive alone!

Now if only getting my NSW licence would be as easy as getting my Philippine license..... Please pray for me.....thanks!