A jolly little update from the
DMV. As part of the unpredictable odyssey of changing from my maiden to my married name I had the pleasure of revisiting the DMV. Twice. In one day. I have been informed that I have visited the DMV more times than a normal Californian would do in a decade. Hey ho.
I have to admit that booking an early appointment is THE ONLY way to do this. I had to wait for a few weeks for an appointment, but the ease with which I strolled to the front of the queue (**actual experiences may vary) and was sent to a booth within 10 minutes was totally worth it.
Sadly, updating one's driving license when not currently an American citizen seems to be such an alien task that they don't carry all the pertinent information on their website, so I was not equipped with my I90 (my actual visa, inside my actual passport with my actual new name in, plus my old passport with my old name, plus my actual marriage certificate were not enough. Neither was accessing my I90 online, despite the fact that it is an online form that you have to print out at home. M'kay.) This meant that, having been ushered swiftly to the front of the queue I was told to book another appointment and come back again.
Swallows throbbing rage. I smiled, went to my car and booked another appointment later that day at a DMV much further away. Still, I was adamant I was going to get this shit sorted in one day.
Seriously though - as if they don't get thousands of people in the same position as me? Non-citizens who want to legally update their details using their passport - the document that allows them into and out of any country in the world. FFS.
Anyhoo, off I trot to my next DMV appointment, a myriad of documents in hand. This is the low point of the day - finding a parking space at the DMV. Yes, the place where you actually get your license, that is not on any public transport network, and that expects you to bring your own car in which to be tested, does not have enough parking spaces. Let me repeat that to allow the irony to fully sink in. The DMV
does not have enough parking spaces. Are you fucking kidding me?
So, having nearly caused an accident in my frustration, and swinging the car round to nab a space, I get in, am swiftly moved from one booth to another, getting rubber stamped at each stage, and come to the highlight of my day: discovering that the theory test can now be completed on a computer!! Welcome to the twentieth century, DMV!
I'm genuinely relieved that they've advanced to this stage - I was starting to get worried. Although now I'm sad for the little man with his red pen who spent all day marking people's tests. What will become of him? And his box of pens? Who will feed and cloth the little red biros?
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