When I was in school – and for a long, long time after that – I was nicknamed Tumpang Lam (Hitch a ride Lam). For obvious reasons, friends had to pick me up from my house and send me home whenever we wanted to lepak (hang around) somewhere or have a cup of teh tarik or a mug of beer.
Till today I do not know why I never did pick up driving all these years. Perhaps it was due to a bicycle accident when I was 21 and had to be stitched up in Universiti Hospital. Perhaps it was some deep-rooted unfathomable phobia that I never did confront. Perhaps it was sympathetic and indulgent friends – guys and gals – who went way out of their way to drive me around at odd hours and thus there was no need for me to drive.
