Okay, I'll admit it. On a scale of 0 to 10, I probably score -1 when it comes to my driving skill. Yes, you've guessed it. I had a little accident with the car again recently (21 Nov 2008). It wasn't as bad as driving through the garage door last year. This time, I reversed the car into a little pillar outside the clinic. So there is big dent on the right bumper and broken real light cover.
I could blame being sick (that's why I was at the clinic!) and therefore not being able to concentrate while backing the car. I was also pretty sure the rear sensor didn't pick up any signal as the tiang was too thin (which could be it since it was at an odd angle with the rear sensors and I really didn't hear any beeping, I swear). But the fact was, I was careless. My blood pressure shot up, literally. The doctor was perplexed to find my blood pressure so much higher than usual during my visit with him. When he asked if I was under a lot of stress lately, I told him I just had a minor accident outside his clinic!
He was sympathetic. Apparently, he backed into their bloody tiang before too!
I was worried that Alex would really chew my head off for real this time. I SMSed my good friend Lina and she immediately offered to take me home, thinking I had really CRASHED the car.
Then, Lina and another friend, Sze Nam, decided to cheer me up (they know how much Alex treasures his car). They bought lunch and came over my house with their kids. They don't live next door to me but something like 10 minutes away and they would have to come out of the way to get to my house during morning school rush hours but they quickly offered to send my kids to school and fetch them home if the car needed to be fixed at the workshop. So thoughtful of them!
Yes, I was distressed but at least, this time around I had moral support from friends. They even shared with me their own spouses' weird behaviours just to make me feel better. And then, two other friends - Aunty Lilian and Aunty Stella - called and came along with more food! They too consoled me, assuring me my husband wouldn't have my head.
Time passed quicky with those four ladies in the house. I was mad with worry about Alex's reaction but for that 2 hours or so, I had friends to keep me company. Gosh, I never thought it would be so great to have such comfort. When I crashed the car the first time, I was all alone. So sad and pathetic.
And you know what? The next day, Aunty Lilian actually offered me the use of her husband's car! Uncle Alvin is another wonderful person. I was so touched I nearly cried!
I must have made Alex sound like a real monster! My friends were so concerned. Come to think of it, they probably thought Alex is an abusive spouse! Well, let's set the record straight. My husband is not a monster, just overly obsessed with his car.
Thankfully, he was calmer this time. Yes, he was upset, but only for a short while. He didn't shout and rave. He's probably resigned to the fact that his wife is a hopeless driver. Maybe he won't buy big and flasy cars for me to drive anymore. Not that I'm ungrateful for having that very nice Mazda CX-7. It's a fabulous car. It's just a tad stressful for me to drive sometimes. I'll be happy with any car, as long as it comes with automatic gears!
