Resilience and Persistence

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. And persistence is the fact of continuing in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

I watched a show via youtube and in that show, the current US President Barack Obama said something like him being a big believer in persistence and that the kid who survives is the resilient one. You have to watch the show (at about 29:30) to know what he is talking about but that struck me there and then. And I have decided to make these words my mottos for the coming new calendar year.

Indeed, people can get discouraged from failures and easily quit. But the winners are those who stuck in there and see it through.

Christmas 2015

Its about half past 8 in the evening on Christmas Day 2015. And I just woke up from just about a whole day of sleep after having worked nights for the past 3 nights, due to a shortage and transition in manpower. 

Thank you Lord for being with us.

Bike Envy

I don't suffer from car envy. Of course sometimes if I see a nice looking car zooming on the roads, I do wish to be able to try them out just for the fun of it, but it won't kill me not being able to.

Maybe because in Singapore, owning a car can be quite a burden and I just don't wish to plough my $ into something that is that high maintenance.

A motorcycle is quite different in this aspect. It is definitely cheaper and easier to maintain. Of course safety and protection from elements are the sacrificed factors. Dangers much.

For me, a 2 wheeler just looks cooler. Before I got my bike license, I occasionally turned my head to look at the cool looking bikes like the Harley cruisers. I could only identify a few of the common bikes like Harleys and Phantoms. But now, I am starting to trudge through the internet pages to get acquainted with the various common bike brands and models, and definitely noticing the bikes on the roads more.

I also can't help but wish 3 years (maybe more) will pass sooner just so that I can finally have a class 2 license and seriously start on my superbike journey.

I am, a motorbike person.

eventful 2015

If there should be a description for 2015, it would be “eventful”, even though its not another 10 more days before the world counts down to another new calendar year.

Japan

This was an eye opening experience because its Japan, and also I fell sick within the first 2 days of the 10 days trip. The sickness even carried on for another good month and a half after coming back. It was a really good and memorable one nonetheless and a return is already in the talks even though major trips are being planned for the next 2 years. 

Bali Dive

Bali again. Dive trip again. Same organiser again. Toned down a little but still the same basically. But this time, the dives are truly enjoyable. Not because it is my intended last dive trip but because all the dives done are chock full meaningful sightings. Mola mola mania! Makes me kinda wonder if I am really ready to hang up the old BCD.

Krabi

Back to Thailand but this time to a different area (than Phuket) and towards the end of the trip, a sorta baby sitting experience. More Muslims, more Malaysians, more cliffs, more beautiful. I hate to say this but I enjoyed myself enough to want to go back. This is also a kick off to a year long celebration of our 10th year in marriage ending in a nice adventure in <planning in progress>!

Obtaining my class 2B

Enrolment in mid May, break in June, wobbly at best, failed TP once and now trudging through websites for motorcycle info. Probably my proudest and most fun thing I have done all year.

PNG Foodstuffs

“Should we take over their customers?” was the question posed to me by my father-in-law when the Bukit Batok soya factory decide to wind down their business after 25 years. “Yes!” without missing a millisecond, was my reply. 6 months later, we are all glad we did and to me, economic returns are not the only benefit. We truly learnt much and I am heartened to see Jonathan playing such an active role in all these.

Zaid

Managing someone directly have not been easy. And I do not know how much more I can do this. I am really trusting God in this but I thank God and Zaid for the relief for the stall and hope that things will continue to run smoothly.

Back to Church

And because of the relief at the stall, attending services again is possible even though the spirit is willing but the flesh is really tired and weak. A major concern and a featured item again in the new year’s resolutions.

Lee Kuan Yew

All though much-maligned in his twilight years, he is widely celebrated after death. For me his physical death just paves the way for the second generation of leaders to walk out of his shadow to continue to lead the country. His name is now carved firmly in the Singapore’s history. Right there with Raffles’. People won’t even remember anything else about Singapore. Merlion who?

SG50

Big celebrations most of the year. What was most memorable was the General Election called soon after the big NDP celebrations and PAP kinda walked everyone else over with the patriotic sentiments. Not that I disagree nor agree with the results but the local oppositions need to step up the game but I think PAP has been blowing their competition out of the water. And with the selection of opposition candidates this time around, I think I would rather stick with the incumbents.

2015 is a year of highlights. So many meaningful and memorable things happened and I thank God for all these experiences. I look forward to the new year with courage and joy. 

2B TP Practical Test 2nd Attempt

Passed! But of course not with flying colours. I scored 18 with ticks here and there but none of them are repeat offences. ie 1 tick per category which I have demerits in.

The Expressway Familiarisation Ride (EFR) was quite an experience and I can see why TP would want candidates to do this after obtaining the license. We will be eager to go out and start using our new found skill. But learning and actual riding/driving is different, as anyone who is a qualified rider/driver would tell you. Dangers lurk on the roads, especially for 2 wheelers trying to avoid hazards while keeping the balance.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience speeding down the expressway even though it was guided, and in spite of the rain. I disliked wearing the raincoat. It does not keep you completely dry and the half dry-wet feeling was not pleasant at all. But I guess anyone can argue that better than totally drenched.

I am elated to say the least because this chapter is over and I can start a new one (other projects) but this motorcycle journey is far from over. There will be other form of related experiences. Perhaps I will rent one when we visit Krabi in a few days' time but of course the dangers are there for inexperience riders. Advancements like 2A and 2 are definitely in consideration and who knows, maybe I will own a bike, against all odds.

After the EFR, a letter will be issued to all attendees. With this letter, the TP will then issue the license!

All in, I spent about $1300 for this whole experience. A bit on the high side but it was a fun one.

The Hunger Games, Finale: Mockingjay - Part 2

The much awaited finale of the popular series. Is this worth the ticket price or 2 hours 15 minutes of your time?

Like the tense action and loud explosions in this series conclusion, yes.

The movie follows closely to the plot in the book. But even if you have read the books or someone has already spoilt it for you, its still quite cool to see in motion picture the CGIs are pretty damn cool. The sewers action is expectedly shaky. It serves as “characters trimming” for the story but you can just close your eyes or even have a quick toilet run if you decide to skim-view through it. But in my opinion, its worth watching on the silver screen but catching up on with the previous movies may be necessary especially if you are not a BIG fan of the series.

For me, having read the books about 2 years ago, it was to see the plots in motion. Also, to see how the director and producers gracefully edit Philip Seymour Hoffman’s parts in this movie. His absence is definitely palpable in the 2nd half of the movie but I think they have done a pretty good job, overall.

On a related note, GV Gold Class seats are better than Cathay Platinum ones, on the fact that the seats in Gold Class can recline more. But the partitions in Cathay Platinum make it hard to definitely say which is better.

Spoiler alert

I watch movies and TV shows, over and over again. Especially the good ones. (duh)

I know I am not the special few because otherwise the DVD format would have died much earlier. People won’t bother buying videos to not play them again.

But I play them perhaps a little too often. For example, I like the How I Met Your Mother series and I watch most of the seasons again at least once a month, while doing mundane stuffs. I can almost remember how the episodes will run and even what will the next lines be even before they played through my DVD player. And this is just one example. I have no problems sinking 2 hours of a Friday just to play a movie I have already played on Monday.

I can even replay those movies with a twist ending and not feel like the movie have been spoilt. The inner movie buff will even began screaming (silently), “Get out! The bad guy is coming!” even though I already know this dude will be so dead in about 3 minutes later.

So, what’s the fun?

The details.

I love looking out for the details. Did the director already throw in some hints to the twist of the ending? How will each actor deliver the lines? Did she really deserve that Oscar/Emmy?

And I think this is why people study history and dissects each event for analysis. Some of us are retrospective people. And replaying movies is fun.

Reminders

People need reminders because 1) we can get too crowded in our lives that we forget the important details, and 2) we can get too carried away doing something, from why we did it in the first place.

The CHC case had been sensational news. Not just because the modern society is now tired of religion especially one that can be considered so self-centered claiming that only through Jesus Christ, one can even be considered for afterlife in heaven. The amount of money involved in the crime is astronomical even by today’s standards. People are furious at how some of these religious based organisations and societies abused their authority and used this “public" resource for personal gains.

It is always a thin line cutting across a huge grey surface. But I am not writing on whether I agree with the prosecution or the defense or even the general public views on them. This is a personal take on the whole circus, and the people involved.

Quick context; I attended CHC for a few years in the late 90s and at some point, I have been in close contact with a couple of the plaintiffs, and got to know some of them at a somewhat personal level. I was able to see them in action on a personal level.

This does not qualify me as a good judgement of their characters but my perspective of them certainly influenced my decisions in relations to my religious beliefs then and even now on this post.

I have never fully agreed in spirit on what CHC stood and pushed for. I struggled with this for quite a while and even wondered if I would ever make a good Christian. I did mostly what was taught and even committed myself to some of the activities and ministries as organised by the church. While I would not say I have been greatly blessed spiritually, I had learnt much.

I soaked up all the sermons and bible studies, and I enjoyed the social and communion with the people whom are all banded together in name of Christ, and nothing else. The person who made all that happened? Kong Hee.

 

If you were like me who attended CHC during the late 90s, you would see that Kong Hee had the zeal and tenacity that was so contagious. I was infected. I enjoyed the sermons he preached on Sundays so much that it did not matter that the services ran for 2 - 3 hours. I remember one Sunday, the service ran so much into overtime that staff of the venue we were in were very angry because they had a wedding reception to prepare for. I would imagine them (and the wedding couple) would have been one of the first haters of the church.

Then it got weird. By the end of 1999 and even in the early 2000s, things start to drift, and my spirit was bleeding. I wanted out. So my free spirit led me into the wilderness and that was the last I have heard Kong Hee, at least in person. You can always listen to his sermons online.

Fast forward 10+ years, he is in the news, for the wrong reasons. Just these past few weeks, he was convicted and sentenced to 8 years in prison.

I am not here to rejoice and gloat in the fact that I got out of the church way before things got out of hand. I am not here to tell the 10,000 members of the church that they have been brainwashed. I am here to say that a man I had certain amount of respect for had been convicted in our court of law, and I am praying for him.

This conviction does not diminish the fact that he founded a church from which so many lives were touched in a positive way. So many people have come to know Christ through the church even if the foundation of it all may be a bit debatable. I can confidently say that I have been blessed in a lot of ways through this man. I believe that whatever was done in the past 10 years, had perhaps been because man got distracted, by the shineys of the material world. And man now needs reminders.

A lot of people are rejoicing in the news of their conviction and sentences. I am not. But I know that a jail term is but only a mark in the brief life on earth. It does not matter if people sees him as a man wearing prison garbs with a black mark across his face. What matters is God sees him as someone worthy enough to be called, again.

If that is what it takes to turn your attention back to God again, God will do it, as a reminder.

2 more weeks ...

... before the 2nd attempt at Class 2B TP test. How do I feel? Somewhat rusty but not yet excited. Nothing an RC won't fix.

26th November session 3.

Singing Christmas

The year end holiday is upon us and it means the streets will be buzzing with lights, sales and more lights. And I am not even talking about Deepavali aka Diwali aka The Festival of Lights. I am talking about Christmas.

I look forward to this time of the year because

1) Wedding Anniversary. We are 9 years going into 10. We celebrated in various ways with one year going to a gun range in Lim Chu Kang to shoot at clays. But its mostly ....

2) Oversea Vacations. And this year, we are starting our 10th year celebration with Krabi. Going to be chockfull of fun activities and food, and possibly a baby-sitting detail towards the end. Should be fun!

3) Of course we can't forget that this holiday celebrates the birth of Christ. And I especially like this part of the year because the Christmas themed songs are my favourite.

And I am only allowed to play them without judgement (from the wife) during this period. Happy Diwali, Merry Christmas and to a fulfilling New Year!

"My Life, for Aiur!"

It has been said that Blizzard can probably make good animated movies, and I agree. All the trailers and sequences they have produced for their games had been mouth-watering to say the least, including the latest Starcraft 2 launch trailer.

In my opinion, even if you don't play all the features from the game, just the cinematics alone are almost worth the money. 

But this is just my opinion. Can't wait for the launch for the final episode and see how the story turns out.

Quantified Life

We are constantly surrounded by statistics. 

<social media platform> now has 1 billion users. <new movie> grossed $1 milllion in its first week. I have walked/ran for a total of 1 hour today!

I bought a Misfit Shine in August 2015. Its about S$100 (including shipping) if bought online and about S$30 more in retail stores.

So has it been useful at what it does? 

1) Yes. It does give a good measure of how active I have been in the day and the sleep tracking works fairly well. But only the sleep at nights. The naps during the day are often not tracked, for some algo reason.

2) No. The reason why humans are collecting data on our daily activity is so that we can learn to react accordingly to the statistics. For probably most people, if their tracker tells them that they still have some ways to go before reaching their goals, they will try to meet it by perhaps doing some walking/running before the day ends. But I haven't quite have the luxury of doing that. Knee injury, work schedules and more critically, laziness all kept me from getting my huge ass up and walk off the delicious burger I had earlier.

But now that the knee is almost recovered, I think I will be hitting the goals more often than I have so far. Now I just need some device to jolt my ass off my seat.

The Ghost Writer, Blu-Ray

Yesterday, I dropped in in Funan DigitaLife Mall to kill off sometime and to just browse at tech stuffs and toys. One of my favourite shop in the mall, Laserflair was having a sale. The sale felt like a closing down sale.

It is sad to know that audio and video entertainment in disc formats are no longer popular and is putting such companies out of business. But I guess we have to move with the times but this post is not about that. Its about one of the movies I bought in blu-ray format, The Ghost Writer.

I caught this a couple of years ago on cable while I was some holiday and I remember liking the movie. Could not resist picking it up for cheap.

Classified as a political thriller, this movie is about a writer tasked with continuing with the biography of a politician, after his predecessor died, from what seemed like suicide. The writer accepted task but discovered some secrets surrounding this politician and his political career.

The movie is somewhat darkish but the pace is good and mood is definitely there. When you are finally done with the movie, it won’t feel like 2 hours have gone. All the actors did a brilliant job. 

If there is anything negative, it would be having to listen to Kim Catrall in an English accent. Dont get me wrong though, her delivery was not bad at all. In fact, she is convincing enough. But having seen her in Sex in the City, its hard to picture her with an English accent, even if Wiki stated her as an English-Canadian. 

Bridge of Spies

This movie is as dramatic thrilling as the title sounds. While it is not Bourne or Bond type of spy movies, it is still captivating enough even though it is based on true events.

The synopsis of the movie and the events can easily be found off wikipedia. What is in my opinion the best parts of the movie are how the historical events were portrayed and the actors, especially Tom Hanks.

Of course I would not know for sure if the political context and or if the scenes of Germany are accurate. But I am sure they are, for at least 80%, and they certainly set the tone and mood for the movie.

I think the best part was watching how the protagonist got his way by standing firm on his principles and not bowing down to popular opinions. And of course how he got what he wanted.

Spoilers: The ending is a happy, feel good one.

This movie is long though. Better get comfortable. We did. In Cathay Platinum fashion.

TP 1st attempt - Failed

And accumulated a miserable 32 points. Can almost fail twice over in that.  Its mostly wobbling and insufficient acceleration.

Its going to be a 1st December retest.

The Calm Before the Storm

Tomorrow is a big day for me, because its my 2B TP test. I just came back from a morning of RR + RC and confidence is relatively high right now. If I can keep up with whatever I did today and show it tomorrow, it will be a cake walk.

That's not to say nothing bad will happen, right Murphy?

It's not that I don't want to jinx it. I don't believe in luck and fortune, much less voodoos. But I think when a person gets too confident aka cocky, things will turn for the negative and it shows. My sense for such tests is, the testers will manage expectations, because we are after all, riders with minimal and up to this point, guided experience in riding.

Anyone is liable to make mistakes. It does not matter if you have been riding for 1 month or 10 years. The fatalities show that to be true. So I guess I have to tell myself that, if I do make a mistake (and hopefully is not those immediate failure ones), I will recover confidently and show that I deserve it more than my demerit accumulates.

For now, I am really calm about it. Let's see how I sleep tonight.

New Toy

I have recently ordered a space grey iphone 6s plus. This a.m. it arrived via Singpost delivery.

iphone or iOS is not exactly new to me. My first smartphone was the iphone 3Gs and I used it for almost 2 years before a regrettable action rendered it broken and I was forced to change my phone. I turned to the Samsung Nexus S and never looked back. From then on, it has always been Nexus and Android. Not because I was one of those Apple bashers although iphone 3Gs did give some call related problems.

Samsung phones or even stock Androids had their share of problems too. But I am a big fan of Google and I agree with the design of Android more than iOS.

So after about 5 years and so many versions of iphone later, why do I decide to "come back" to iOS?

As I have said before, I am not someone who feels the need to side with any of them on this. Each has their merits and I want to experience iOS at its current form and perhaps see also how much I miss Android. 

And no, this is not how I see relationships with other humans. Not even close.

RR - Road Revision

In my weekly efforts to keep riding skills afresh before the test next Tuesday, I booked a RR session (19th Oct) to get a feel of how well I do also on the roads.

In a nutshell, not good.

I think it may be because my techniques are still easily rusty if I go without riding for more than a week. While I do not have major issues, the little ones are enough to kill the test off without even having to go into the actual circuit.

So now the dilemma, with only 1 week to go is, do I take up another RR (which is more expensive) or just load up on RCs and hope for the best on the public roads.

Courage

When we hear courage, we expect stories of people doing deeds no normal human being would do. Rescue babies from fire. Bungee jump without ruining your pants. Acting nonchalant when the phone dropped on the floor.

This weekend (17th Oct), I was part of the wedding of 2 very courageous people. Xu Xiuzhu and Christina Toh.

They are not fire fighters nor adventure seekers. And Xiuzhu probably doesn’t use his smartphone the way we do. So why do I use courageous to describe this 2 people? 

Christina comes from a family with disabilities. And despite this (or even because of this), her love and compassion for such people are especially strong and outwardly evident. She throws herself into working with people with needs and people around her are affected by it. She is doing things most Singaporeans would shun or just pay good money for someone else to do. She is courageous.

Xiuzhu is a Taiwanese who is legally blind. But his handicap didn’t stop him from living his life to the spiritual fullest. He is a vocalist in a band who travels the world and give performance towards salvation for Christ. He can’t see and enjoy the sights of these places he has been to but that doesn’t stop him from saying Yes to God. And he is going on an adventure with God as his travel guide. He uses his condition sometimes as a joke to break the ice between social awkwardness. Although he is mindful and sensitive to the people around him on his condition, it won’t stop him from going out to do some of the things normal people are still dreaming about doing. He is courageous.

And now courage is a team.

Praise God.

RC

After more than a week of not throttling on a 2 wheeler, I was back on it in a session 3 RC. Wanted to cancel because of a sleepless night and did not really want to risk myself getting into any rookie danger even though I should be more or less ready by now.

But it was too late and I could only "try sell" the session. And since it's an RC, I don't think anyone wants to "buy" that at the "last minute". So I sucked it up and went for it anyway.

It went surprisingly well overall despite the tiredness, haze and the fact that I haven't been on a bike for about 10 days. 

What's most fun at this session today was, looking at all the other learners at other subjects and thinking, "I was just like you guys, not too long ago.".

Time flies. I registered in May and now I am getting myself ready and psyched for the test.

The Martian

I think it is quite amazing that someone can write about an event that has not happened, make a movie out of it and still make it (probably) scientifically accurate. I wonder what kinda advisors did the producers get to make this one, coz everything seems legit and convincing for me to sit through almost 150 mins.

By the way, we did the gold class for this one so it was not that unpleasant.

I can see why this movie is so well received. It has the necessary thrills and comedic scenes to keep the movie going and the audience engaged, and not overdoing them. The cast are all convincing and like I said, the science are not too “cheem” and definitely easy for lay people like me to understand in a big screen setting. Maybe I will wait for the DVD/Streaming release and then google everything in there. Not.

Of course there will be people who is going to make youtube videos of all the “plot holes” of the movie and they will probably be right. But please just enjoy the movie you have just paid good money for and I can almost guarantee that you will for this one.

This movie is good for: People who loves adventure especially in space. Fans of Matt Damon.

Not good for: Matt Damon haters. People with backaches and/or can’t sit still for 2.5 hours. 

Coherence

noun

1. 1.

   the quality of being logical and consistent.

   "this raises further questions on the coherence of state policy"
2. 2.

   the quality of forming a unified whole.

   "the group began to lose coherence and the artists took separate directions"

from Google.

Purpose of consolidating all my posts I have written since 2008 is, it can be fun to see how things progressed since then and also to just maintain one writing board.

Silence of the Learn(ers)

Okay that was trying too hard to be clever with the title, but I am just going to leave that in for me to cringe at when I read this again in the future.

It won't be very soon when the next post about the lesson in BBDC comes up because I will be taking a break from riding. My next training is RC booked on 13th October which is a little more than a week away.

So this post is to "fill the silence"? Kind of.

I read something that's probably getting a bit old for people who has been using the internet and/or have seen how technology have progressed over the last 20 years. 

People are now emotionally less connected, because of internet.

Meaning, people nowadays are connected so fast and furious via social medias via smartphones that, we don't really bother talking to each other anymore on public context. So how is this related to riding or even BBDC? Ever been early to the BBDC waiting room before training?

Other than the instructors talking among themselves, the talkies blaring communications and the convo between the occasional pairs who are taking their 2Bs together as friends, you could hear the cricket chirps between the learners seated in rows together.

Before you break out the bug sprays, I think it is good that people start to just strike up a casual conversation with each other not to fill the silence because the room is lively enough, but to hone our social emotional skills. Its much easier in the BBDC waiting room context because all of us already have 1 thing in common; We are trying to get our 2B license.

"Repeat how many times already?"

"Which subject are you at now?"

"Your test date when?"

"Haze very bad hor? Got bring N95? No lah, not Nokia 95."

8.01

After a quick island holiday with friends in Bali, came back to itchy rusty hands for 8.01. However, it was a disaster to say the least. To give a quick summary, I have enough demerits to fail this subject twice over.

I (still) do not know if its because I was the first rider of the pack or simply because it was my first time and nerves got the better of me.

Whatever it is, I made so many mistakes that my confidence after was totally wiped. And it was a session 8 (30th Sep) which meant the lesson cost me a cool $60. I just wiped and flushed it but I guess I am that much wiser. 

Went back home, got a hold and told myself, "I am not that bad." I booked another one for 2 days after (2nd Oct), today.

Anyway, this subject is not just test route assessment but also an assessment on defensive riding with the public road route as the circuit. An instructor will follow you one on one and you don't need to stop at any "regrouping" points. He will then assess you based on 3 rounds. So even if you get a pass in TP evaluation, you will not pass this subject unless you can ride "defensively".

And I passed! But of course not without a few glaring mistakes. I have a feeling the instructor passed me out of compassion but I would like to think I was generally ok and those one-offs were plain bad luck and bad timing, which will happen when I ride for real anyway.

It is a bittersweet feeling. I know I have to do better but now I can sit back a little and not worry about having to meet that 2 weeks deadline to pass 8.01 before the TP test.

Incidentally, there was this guy who has repeated this for 3 times, in our same session. Turns out, you can just speak to the administration and they will grant you grace for 8.01. He was given 5 days before the TP test to pass 8.01. I guess the 2 weeks deadline was set to encourage learners to be more active in learning, which means more $$ for the school. 

However you want to look at this, it can only be good for you to brush up on the skills before the test and not waste time and/or money.

Skill = safety, in my opinion.

6.01 and 7.01

Independent riding. Both are conducted on the public roads which is why the PDL. 6.01 are only conducted in session 7 or 8 for traffic reasons. I don't think it's just so that its easier to be on the roads but also not to cause too much inconveniences to qualified road users. 

Mine was on Tuesday (15th Sep) session 8. The traffic was minimal. The lesson is structured mostly for experience sake, especially for those who have no prior road experience. Its not really that daunting because its just riding around the Bt Batok neighbourhood. Don't even need to do U-turns. Just need to know what to hazards to look out for, how to approach crossings and junctions, and when to do the checks. All these are little demerits which will add up.

7.01 (18th Sep session 2) is essentially the same but the circuit is the actual test route, which means U-turn included. A practise session will be done on the circuit before moving off to public roads. So its quite crucial to get the technicals right before then. 

There will not be a lot of opportunities to correct your mistakes once on the public road and the instructors will conduct the assessment regardless of how you did during practise or warm up. 6 of us in the group and we only manage to do the circuit 3 times.

PDL and TP test, confirmed

After a long night of election results and work, finally got to TP licensing counter. Its about an hour's wait but I guess this is the normal Saturday queue, especially after a public holiday of the GE2015.

The process is simple, fill up a short form at the counter (or I think you can get it at a tray while waiting for your turn), show your NRIC (or relevant documents) and a NETs card, take a eyesight test and $25 later, your PDL.

After which, you can update this new information with the BBDC at the customer service counter. I do wish that perhaps traffic police department would eventually share this information digitally and remove this process altogether, especially in this time and age.

6.01 opened up, and of course my practical test is now available for booking. 27th October 2015, 8.15am. Looking forward.

RCx2, 5.02 and PPL 1.03

Over the past 1 week, I have managed to attempt RC twice before going for 5.02, and a PPL 1.03 after which just happened yesterday. This was because I know I have several weaknesses in the circuit and I figure I may as well iron them out before the evaluation anyway. There are probably "natural born riders" who can obtain a 2B without much of a revision or practise, at least not within a school context. But I know I need some and before 5.02 is as good a time as any.

RC is a guided circuit revision, as opposed to SP which is a "own time own target" session. So I guess it depends on your needs and your learning preference. SP will only be available after 5.02.

During the 2 RCs, I definitely improved but not as much as I would have hoped to. Both times, I made mistakes and made me wonder if my 5.02 would be a waste of time. But I managed to pull through with a 10 demerit score and as of this writing, I am waiting to apply for PDL and book a TP test. 

Right after the 5.02, its PPL 1.03. I would not really say that the PPLs are a complete waste of time but, The schedule could have been better. As in, made available for people who prefer earlier timings. The materials can, in my opinion be condensed and be conducted within 2 sessions. The importance of this is understandable but the scheduling for sessions just plain sucks.

In any case, I am glad my schedule is flexible enough and I manage to clear them before they become a real problem.

On an unrelated note, I hope there will be some freak election results announced tonight, on this historically significant day in the history of man, and now Singapore. What an exciting 2015 it is turning out for me.

PPL 1.01 and 1.02, and 5.01

Over the last 2 days, I attended the 2B subjects PPL1.01, 5.01 (session 8) and PPL 1.02 the following day, in this order.

5.01 was passed but not without a gentle reminder from the instructor. My performance on that night was less than satisfactory and he is certain I will not pass the 5.02 evaluation, and I agree. I was that much more nervous that particular night. Not because it was my first time riding in the night, but because I will pillion someone later at this lesson. His life will be my hands, almost literally. But it was not that bad but more on that later.

Session 8 (peak rate) turns out be better than day sessions, for me. Its much cooler and there are less learners in the circuit. The traffic is a bit like session 1 but at better temperatures and a more manageable timing. I am a morning person but rushing for that 7.30am without coffee is not a great idea. Plus I could actually see that 30km/h indicator in front of the bike lighting up clearly. Useful especially when I do the E-brake stretch.

U-turn was simple enough once you master the 1st-gear-half-clutch.

Pillion riding was an experience but we only need to do it for the general riding tracks in the circuit. At the end of the lesson, few of us were thinking we had to pillion each other and go through narrow plank and pylons and the S and crank courses. But of course we were glad we do not need to.

So 5.01 is something like an RC with U-turn and pillion thrown in. So the focus was not as much on passing the circuit items (although you are expected to already) but more on whether you can do U-turn and experience pillion riding. The instructor passed me with some hesitation and strongly recommends that I do some RCs before attempting 5.02. But I guess we should do RCs for good measure anyway because we all can use more experience in riding. For the school, it means more $$ but I can appreciate that because I do not want to waste too much time and or money on 5.02.

PPL 1.01 covered some videos to drive home the point the need for defensive riding. More of this in PPL 1.02 but also at the end, there was a chance to use the simulator. Was not fun and was not realistic at all. But we all could see the point, and that is not to take things for granted.

Reason I did 3 subjects within 2 days was, PPL slots are less often compared to 5.01. So I made a point to book PPL and work my schedule around it. PPL 1.02 (and even 1.03 but I could not attend) was available the following day and so I went ahead. However, if you know you will not be attempting 5.02 just yet (like me), then there is no need to rush them through. 5.02 + BTT pass are needed to get PDL.

BTW, why isn't that called PRL for Class 2B?

4.02

This part of stage 4 is the circuit review. It is broken into 2 routes as clearly written in the manual. The instructor at this stage is to walk you through the circuit routes as learnt from 2.01 to 4.01. And to point out the possible mistakes and demerits you may possibility incur ie. the weak points.

To pass, you have to do decently enough to show that you can do all the previous items without much of a trouble.

I generally did ok with all the items but various issues and bad habits were pointed out. Given a pass but I reckon I have to do RCs to clear them out before eventual formal evaluations.

Passing this stage will open up PPL and RC for bookings, other than the next stage 5.01. It was recommended by the instructor to do PPLs while clearing stage 5, to save on waiting time. 

The schedule for PPLs is not as favourable as I would like them to be. But I guess I will move things around to suit this one and clear them, asap.

4.01

Another first attempt pass! However, it was a rather shaky one. 

This stage looks and reads simple, but it really is not. There is a lot of technique involved and there is really not a lot of time to think through them because each course have to be completed within a certain time. Most of the time I will be more eager to cross that line with the best time possible, than to worry about whether or not my posture was correct. And if I consciously think about my posture, my timing will suffer. I still manage to do enough to earn a pass to the next stage (circuit review) but I think this may even do more harm than good. But who knows. Bring 4.02 on.

3.02

Passed! But with some difficulty. 

During the briefing before the actual practical, the instructor noted that this lesson is now called "Targeted stopping" in lieu of the usual "Emergency brake on wet surface". He said that over the last few weeks, ambulances have been coming to the school to pick students up because of accidents and most of them happened during this stage.

The powers that be felt perhaps students thought that since its called "emergency brake", just slam hard on the brakes and hope for the best. Disaster for 2 wheelers. Slamming on brakes will cause accidents most of the time.

He also warned us that this is the stage where demerits are easily incurred. Speed and timing are very crucial here. Only practise, will then perfect be made.

3.01

The plank and pylon stage. Took me 1 try but I won't say I aced it. All the information on the book will be sufficient to start you off but here is an important tip.

Relax.

I know its easier said than done, especially when you see fellow learners falling off the plank. But there's really no other way around this. By now, your clutch control should be acceptable, if not good. I discovered that relaxing and looking slightly further, helps.

Stage 2

This stage is all about turning, moving off a slope and lane change. Took me a total of 5 tries on this stage. 3 at 2.01 and 2 at 2.02. Can't believe I spent more than $100 alone here. 

My weakness was moving off slope (2.01, clutch control very important here) and lane change (2.02, partly coz of driver's habits).

Tip

Clutch control at gear 1. Can't emphasise that enough.

Riding posture.

Stage 1

is broken up into 3 sub stages; 1.01 to 1.03. It took me 3 tries at 1.02, partly also because I went away on a holiday and stopped lessons for a good 3 weeks.

This stage is mostly familiarisation. Moving and stopping is a large part of this stage.

Tips
Master that clutch control as much and as quick as you can. It helps at stage 2 and 3.01. 

Read up on the lesson prior. It gives you an idea of what you are going to do although it may differ somewhat from your expectation.

And do not wait too long before your next lesson. It really helps to "strike while the iron is hot".

Class 2B Registration and Theory

Registration

... with a driving school is very straightforward. I don't think any of the driving schools would want to complicate this process lest it turns people away. Just choose a school that is geographically convenient to you. 

For registration, bring $150 and all your relevant IDs. I was told to cough up that amount so that I can pay for the enrolment ($58.85) and still have some left in my account (with the school) to book lessons. Yeah, you will have to create an account with the school and remember the pin number. Resetting pins will cost you.

You will be given a skull cap, of sorts. To wear if you use the school's helmet for practical lessons.

Theory lessons and Test

Right away, I was told I have to attend 4 lessons before I can embark on the practical lessons or take the theory evaluation. 2 Basic Theory lessons and 2 Riding Theory lessons. I blocked out a whole day to attend all 4 at the same day. You can spread them out as schedule allows.

After that, its theory evaluation before taking the actual riding test. I aced them but here is a tip. Book 2 theory practise sessions before the eval and actual test. Complete all the 5 books of Riding Theory practise. It will help tremendously if you don't want to waste time and money.

My waiting period for the Riding Theory was 2 months so I needed to do the 5 books again on that day to refresh my memory. And it really helped.

I didn't need to take the Basic Theory test because I already have my class 3 and a Basic Theory pass is for life, fortunately.