Engineering 101

I still remember the first topic in my ENG 100 class taught by Dr. Reid Bailey. It was about the faulty engineering design. I've to drop this course after a few week due to time conflict and took it again in the spring in that same freshmen year. Nevertheless, the point is , I still remember it clearly in my head even though it has been more than 10 years. When I came back home, the engineering design and construction that are suppose to ease the community is yet to be fulfilled. I cannot help but notice a minute detail of those faults whenever I travel either by public transportation or my private vehicle especially the former.

One of the factor is that, when you travel a lot especially to different countries, you can see all sorts of  discrepancies compared to your home country. Sometime good and sometime, in a bad way. For some people, we sound like trying to underestimate our own country, but there are things that when you see and when you experience it in the first hand, it was an immediate reaction which one is better right from the start.

The first impression is from the public transportation, which lead to the traffic system to the driving rules and regulation and somehow ended at the licensing system. My first country that I've the opportunity to visit or shall I say to live is the U.S because I was sent by the government to study in Aerospace Engineering. I stayed there for 6 years including for my master degree. I managed to get a driving license here at the cost of only $10 compared with RM1000++. I learned driving from my friend in the wide parking lot next to the middle school during the summer before my sophomore year. I passed the written test and the driving test in one trial. Hence, all that the cost was still $10. At that time the currency rate exchange was at 3.8. I could not afford to buy a car yet at that time, so to go to Walmart, I needed to travel by bus. The good about the bus is that you can put your bicycle if you are tired of pedaling. It sound a bit of cheating if it was a Le Tour De Tucson. However, that is not the case, thus it is okay. Another is the transfer card, where it is valid within 2 hours. Therefore, in order to save some quarters, I listed all my necessity, immediately jump out of the bus once it stopped and pick everything listed or if time permits go to BestBuy (just to look around till the time is up) and return to the station. It says 2 hours on the ticket at the time I board the bus. So from the 5th St to Walmart it took like 30-40 min. All you have to do is be fast.