A Lill Perspective

It’s no secret to any of my friends or family that it’s time I got a Driver’s License, and over the years there’s been a whole load of reasons why I didn’t, except those excuses ran out, and I live in the prairies where people have been driving tractors on their farms since they were 9 years old. Let me tell you, nothing makes me feel more like a ‘city girl’ than not having my license, and anyone who knew me as a child knows that I obviously didn’t grow up in the city. I sat on the school bus with people who talked about how many deers they shot over the weekend, and how many beers they drank at their ‘camp’ which was essentially a secret shack that existed in the woods.

So, living in the middle of the prairies and having my then boyfriend pick me up from places like I was a 15 year old girl was wearing thin on me. I decided to take action. I had been slowly working my way to getting my full license after a very challenging experience of learning how to drive Standard with my then partner*.

(*Side Note: Don’t learn how to drive with your partner, no matter how patient, or good of a driver they are, they’ll never be as patient with you, and you’ll probably fight. Leave it up to the professionals, your relationship will thank you. This is quadruply true if you are learning how to drive Standard)

Anyways, 2013 started and I approached learning how to drive with a real commitment and hunger. I was determined to explore this province that I lived in by my own wheel, deciding where I got to go, how much time I spent there and I would have full control of the music that would play on my way there. I was doing pretty well, my driving instructor (who never seemed afraid no matter how dangerously I drove, and I later found out he was an ex-cop, it all made sense) was very patient with me, and I did get better to the point where I wasn’t flinching at oncoming cars, hugging the sidewalk or yelping everytime I changed lanes. So I was finally ready to take the test.

Before I talk about the Driving Test, let me tell you about reason #238 why I need to get a Driver’s License. Well actually they’re a pretty big reason, in fact they might be the most important. Cab Drivers. Anyone’s who has ever lived with me, knows intimately my experience of taking cabs. I take a lot of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love Public Transit and I use that a lot too, but I take an awful lot of cabs. I always knew this to be true but this has been recently highlighted in the past week by several cab drivers that have made the following comments. Now, I’m obviously not a wall flower, I can be chatty and make conversation with the best of them, but in all honesty, I love not talking in cabs, like, I will tip extra if you don’t talk to me my whole cab ride. However I will also tip extra if you tell me your life story about where you were born, how you got to the city you’re currently in and how much you’re working to put your kids through college. I’m a bleeding heart, its written all over my face.

Back to the comments, in the last week I’ve heard:

“Hi, you want to go to (address I haven’t lived in for four months) right?

“You’re the girl from Halifax right?”

“Are you going to (my part time job location)?

And this is literally only within the last seven days.

Today was a real gem

My Cab Driver today picked my up from my work place to bring me to my other part time job, I got in the cab, he asks me where I’m going, how I am etc. It’s pretty quiet most of the way, I’m a pretty happy gal. Until he says in a heavily accented voice

“Is Linda your last name or your first name?”

“It’s Lillian, and it’s my first name”

“Oh”

Because I’m uncomfortable with him knowing my name, but me not knowing his, I ask his name:

“Gill”

“Huh, Gill and Lill, they rhyme”

“Yes, matchy, matchy”

I then laugh, he gets right to the punch

“You live at (gives my current street address even though I’m not going there) right?”

“Um, yes?” (at this point just so embarassed at how many taxi drivers know my address)

“Yes, are you married?”

“Um, no”

“Boyfriend?”

“Um, no” (at this point I’m laughing at how blunt his questions have become)

(something I don’t understand that sounds like “Girls?”)

“Uh do I like girls?”

“No, kids, do you have kids?”

“No”

“Do you drink beers sometimes?”

“Yes, I do drink beer sometimes”

“That’s good, you have a good day, okay?”

At this point I’m at my destination, and we say our goodbyes, once again just laughing at how ridiculous my interactions are with cab drivers and how I wished I had driven there myself. But I couldn’t, because I still don’t have my driver’s license. Even though I was scheduled to take it that morning.

Onto the more important part. I was scheduled to take my Driver’s Road Test at 9:30 am. I got lots of sleep, I practiced a bunch on the weekend, I ate breakfast. I felt like a champ. I headed over to the Driver’s Examination building signed in and sat down. I looked around the room and secretly enjoyed the variety of people were in the room, and how driving was bringing us all together, I sent positive thoughts to everyone before their test. Then my name was called. I took a deep breath, stood up and shook hands with my instructor. We then headed outside.

Instructor: “So what car are we driving today?” as she pans the parking lot

Me:”Yeah, I wonder what car we’re driving?”

Instructor:”No seriously, what car are we driving?”

Me: “I don’t know, you tell me?”

This is where it all fell apart. Both of us stood there thinking the other person was being cute and coy when really we were wondering where the hell the car that didn’t exist was.

Instructor: “Are you telling me you don’t have a car here?”

Me:”How could I have a car? I don’t even have a license, that’s why I’m here!”

Instructor: “Don’t you have freinds?”

(at this point we’re back inside infront of the group of people I had sent mental good wishes to, and now they were all witness to my mortifying moment)

Me: “Yes I have friends, but I just found out two seconds ago that I needed a car, that’s an important thing to tell someone before taking a driver’s test”.

Needless to say, she was not happy with me. However, the moment was redeemed by the very sweet woman who had registered me who said

“Well, I mean it doesn’t happen often that someone doesn’t show up without a car, but who could blame you? It’s not posted anywhere, how could you have known?

Yes, thank you, how could I have known? I felt like a moron obviously, but honestly, am I the one that’s a moron? Or is the government agency that expects people without driver’s licenses to bring a car with them somewhere?

So…driver’s road test and adrenaline postponed, until further notice.