Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The DMV . . . What's Not to Love?

Why is it that no matter where you are, the Department of Motor Vehicles is never a fun place to be. Is it the long lines? Is it that no one really wants to take time out of their day to be there? Is it the rubbing of elbows with the Creme de la Creme of society?

We were privileged to spend a good chunk of our afternoon at our local DMV recently. We needed to get new plates for the cars and new driver's licences for ourselves. (This is what happens when you buy a home in a different state than the one you rented in.)

Before leaving, we gathered up almost all of the important documents that we would need. We almost cleared out the entire fire-proof safe. We would need to prove who we were, where we lived, that we owned our cars, that our cars are insured, that I am indeed married, and that we aren't martians. (Okay, we didn't have to prove the last one, but they may want to look into that one.) Of course we couldn't find our up-to-date insurance cards which meant a stop on the way to pick up new ones. Grrr.

We got to the DMV which is located in a part of town that I didn't even know existed and there was a line out the door. It got better once we got inside and realized there were two lines, one for plates and one for driver's licenses. We tackled the plates first as our old tabs expire at the end of the month.

Once we got through that line we learned that we would have to take a written test to get our licenses. (Never mind the fact that we both took driver's ed and got our first licenses in this state.) But wait--the written exam portion of the office closed at 3 and it is now 3:15. Sorry, you will have to come back and repeat the process. (Oh, and we only allow for that Wednesday through Friday from 12 noon until 3 p.m.)

No worries, though, I will have some good reading material in the mean time--the good old driver's manual.

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