With Reluctance

It was a long day.  It was a really long day.

It started around 8am when I left my apartment.  I drove into incredibly heavy fog which made it near impossible to see street signs, let along numbers on buildings.  Somehow I found the DMV.

Do you have your current drivers license? Yes!

Do you have your current car title? Yes!

Do you have your birth certificate or passport? No!

Do you have two separate documents stating you live where you say you live? Kind of....

Will a utility bill with my name spelled wrong still work? No!

(My first and currently only utility bill spelled my name wrong.  How?  I have no idea.  My service request was made on-line and I know I didn't spell my own name wrong.)

I then drove through the treacherous fog all the way back to my apartment where I searched for my passport.  I also found my signed lease, in electronic form only, and got that on a jump drive.  Then I got on-line and found a Kinkos and was off again.

I found the Kinkos and got my lease printed.  Thankfully the fog had lifted quite a bit and my second attempt at finding the DMV was much easier.

Do you have an appointment? No!

It wasn't bad.  Not as bad as some of the DMV waits I've had in Houston.  Less than a hour.  We started with my car title and registration.

Do you have your smog test? No!

Can you tell me where I can go to get a smog test? No!

I went as far as I could with the title and registration without a smog test, paid $182, then was shunted over to the drivers license desk.

Do you have your request form? No!  The other lady took it.

Have you had any traffic infractions since you've been here? No!

Why, then, is there an "X" next to your name in the system? Ummm...

Turns out I was given a temporary CA license number so I could get my government drivers license for work.  Thankfully it didn't take too long for me to figure that out.

Do you wear glasses or contacts? No!

Are you ready to take the written driving test? What?!

I took a 36 question test and passed the first time. (Did you know it's legal in California to leave a child younger than six years old in a car as long as there is someone older than 12 in the car attending him?)  I got my picture taken.  I paid $33 and got a temp license on a piece of paper.

I tried again.

Can you tell me where I can go to get a smog test?  No!

I was told to Google it.  I pulled out my 10 year old flip phone and my best "really?" face.  Still no luck.  I was told to drive around.

I stopped at two different gas stations and asked.  I have noticed this before but people in California are horrible with cardinal directions.  Horrible!  I actually think it's a skill many people are losing due to GPS, but we really don't need me going off on that topic at the moment.

I finally found a place to get my car smog tested.  For $68, she passed.  Way to go Little Car!  Not bad for almost 13 years old and almost 205,000 miles.

Back to the DMV.

Do you have an appointment? No!

I finally walked out of the DMV with new license plates and a temporary drivers license about 2pm.  My next stop was the local insurance agent to get that transferred too.  My rate in California is almost double.  I got home a little after 3pm.

With great reluctance (and maybe some tears) I took my Texas plates off Little Car and put on her new California plates.  It just doesn't look right.  There is a "Q" in the number, which is a small consolation.

It didn't help that lonely neighbor from downstairs decided to keep me company during this process and kept telling me how wonderful California was and how she was a Cali girl and how she didn't like Texas and how we all talk funny and there are too many horses, cows, cowboys, and dust.  

"You're a Californian now."

I turned and wagged my finger at her, looked her right in the eye, and said, "On paper, yes.  But in my heart, I am a Texan."

It was a long day.