Come on Sunday Girl

Sorry I skipped last week’s mashup, but today I’m back!

As I shared a few weeks back, I’m getting driving lessons again. What I didn’t explain is that here, before you can get your exam, you have to take two exams. One theoretical and one practical. In the theoretic exam you are tested on your knowledge of our Dutch road rules. Then, in the practical exam you have to take an examiner in your car who will then decide whether your license-worthy or not.

Last Friday, I had my theoretical exam. 25 questions on danger assessment (or awareness, I’m slightly unsure how to translate the Dutch word “inzicht” in this case). For every question you see an image with a situation in traffic, and then you can choose A) brake B) let go of gas or C) do nothing. You had to answer 13/25 correctly. You had 8 seconds for each to answer. And let me tell you, this was hard!! I really thought I’d failed because I had no idea what I had to answer for nearly every question, which makes 13/25 like a long shot.

Then, the second part exists our of 40 theoretical questions, like “Does this road sign mean… A B or C”, or “Are you allowed to drive X kmh here? Yes, No” These were a lot easier than the first, you had to score 35/40 correctly to pass, and I was quite certain that I’d passed this part. However, if you didn’t pass one of the parts, you’d failed the exam altogether.

We (about 50 other people and myself) had to wait for the results to return. I was all the way in the back of the room and the first rows got their results first. I think most people failed the test, which kind of made me fear the same.

But I passed I scored 17/25 on the first part and 36/40 on the second. I was so excited, in those few minutes that we had to wait I was almost certain I’d failed. This was already the second time I took the test because the test only stays valid for one year – the last time I took it was three years ago. If you don’t have a valid theory certificate you can’t take the practical exam.

Anyway, July 28 is my practical exam and I’m nervous as hell for it. It’s the third time I’m taking it and the examiners aren’t known for their kindness or their forgivingness. Actually, they’re known as cruel, disinterested bastards. ;p

Fun & Interesting Articles

Carbon nanotubes could make seawater drinkable @ io9.com – this is pretty fabulous, imo!

One Search Engine for a Million Apps @ Mashable.com – Want to find the perfect app for your phone? Start here.

Infographic: Security Fears Skyrocketing in the U.S. @ Mashable.com – I recently had a class on this phenomenon and I think it’s absolutely fascinating. Calm down, people!

New study shows that deaf people really do have enhanced sight @ io9.com – Real superpowers!!

Mellow Brick Road – a Land of Oz remix @ Youtube, by Pogo – Pogo is one of my favorite music artists. He remixes soundbites from movies (other movies he’s mixed are Alice in Wonderland, the classic Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter), and he’s absolutely fabulous. This remix is his latest creation!

Why Envy Motivates Us @ PsyBlog – and how to tame that Green Eyed Monster…

Writing and Social Media and Publishing and all that

Rolling out the Welcome Mat @ Patrick Thunstrom – I fully agree to everything Patrick says in this post. Don’t make it hard on your commenters to post that comment!

Tools For Writers: 14 Free Alternatives To Microsoft Word @ BubbleCow – with my shift from Windows 7 to Ubuntu, I now use LibreOffice and I have to say, I’m quite pleased with it.

Who We Are—the All-Important Bio @ Mystery Writing is Murder – this is absolutely vital! Make sure you got a good bio! And I know I have to update mine.

When to the Pull the Plug on Your Blog @ Pushing Social – read this for some great advice on how to give your blog a boost!

How To Write Short Stories @ The Creative Penn, by guest Emma Newman – a very interesting read, this one!