Anyone who knows me well knows I cannot stand driving. I would prefer to take the bus than to drive. I would prefer to walk, even. Driving is boring, and it forces me to stay awake while in a car. I like to sleep in a car, not drive. Driving is not fun.

Well, this morning I could not sleep at all. I woke up at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. And in between those hours I woke up 3-4 times each. I just could not sleep. I dreamt of passing my driver's test about a million times. Then, finally the time came and I went back to the house so that my mom could drive me all the way to Oshawa for my test. I took a day off from work, a day of unpaid leave.

From the get-go things already did not look good. Mom took 401 West by accident, the opposite direction of where Oshawa is from Toronto. Then, as we reached Oshawa, she almost missed the exit. Yes, "the" exit -- Oshawa is not very big. We ended up being almost an hour early and I waited in the car for 40 minutes biting my thumb til the point of bleeding like I always do before a test, exam, whatever. I suppose I will chew my thumb clean off my hand the day I decide to propose to my future wife. I will need a medical team standing beside me when I stand at the front of the church waiting for my bride to walk down the isle. Hah. Mom complained to me that all I need to do was pray. And I did, again, for like the 1243978125th time.

The test went relatively well. I drove extra cautious, almost too cautiously at times. But I did everything right, just like last time. With a Windstar, once again the tester took pity on me and didn't make me parallel or reverse park. Which does sorta suck because i can do it quite well. Towards the end of the test, I was still nervous. The tester told me to just part anywhere. We stopped, she turned to me and told me I had passed. Having never heard those words before in the last 3 tries, I didn't know what to say, I just muttered "thank you" and she left.

I stepped out of the car and went back to the building a lined up. I was shaking. It's funny that the last 3 times when I failed, I felt a lot more relaxed than that moment after I had passed.

On the way home, Mom let me drive, for the first time on a 400-series street. I drove 125 km/h, easily the fastest I have ever driven. It was fun.