Me and the DMV

Yesterday I went to renew my driver's license. The sad part about that was that after 4 years of a really good picture, I now have a really bad picture. Oh well, only 4 years and 4 days left to a new one. :)

In the spirit of the occasion I'm going to share my first DMV experiences.

First of all, I was excited to get my permit the fall I turned 15, but couldn't take driver's ed before my birthday because I was playing volleyball in the afternoons. By the time the next class came around (in January?) I had been ruthlessly taken to Pennsylvania, where you can't have a permit until you're 16. Sigh. I don't like waiting. Finally we moved back to NC, but still didn't have driver's ed. Finally in late spring I took the classes (besides an eternal fear of railroads, I don't remember what else he taught). And then early summer I got to do the driving part. And finally in something like June/July I got to go get my permit.

Am I the only person who almost failed the written test because I paid diddly squat attention in class/book to all the stuff about alcohol--and that's almot all the test asked about? Not cool. But, fortunately the driving gods apparently approved of my stance aboslute sobriety and I passed with the lowest score possible.

Then time to go home. Well, during driver's ed I had driven just fine, but it was a little car so the station wagon was a little different. I got to drive home from the DMV and everything went well until we got to the house. Father likes the cars backed in so it's a safe getaway when you leave, so I went to back in. Only I'd never practiced backing in an extra long car and before I knew what happened, I'd backed into the garbage can, which then knocked down a section of wire fence. Oops. Fortunately we got it put back together but not an auspicious beginning.

Then everything went fine for several months. No backing-up problems, no accidents. Only a few minor heart attack causers, but nothing actually happened.

Fall came again and I was finally going to be 16. Only my birthday was on Saturday and then the insurance had to all get taken care of, but a short while later Mother and I were headed to the DMV with the best car we had.

I did the driving test and everything went fine until I had to do a 3-point turn. I knew how--had practiced, but it was still hard. The pure physical stamina needed was quite a feat. Later the lady informed me I needed to practice that some more to pass. And that's when I chose to tell her that my car had no power steering. Well, no mercy anyway. She wasn't nice (really, she wasn't).

Drove home from the failed test. And, for the first time in 4 months (during which time I had backed into many spots) I backed in too far and hit the pole for the dusk to dawn light. Mashed the bumper in--but fortunately did not knock over the massive pole. What's with the DMV?

Well, I had to wait another week to take the driving test again. And we borrowed a car (I didn't want to take any chances). And this time I got the man--who was not rude (unlike his co-worker) and I passed the test. The awesome part of waiting was that in that week's time NC had just updated their system to have credit card type driver's license (versus the old laminated paper) so I got one of the cool, new deals. First person at the school to have one! (hoorah for being one of the oldest in your class; good ole fall birthdays).

Happy, with my new license I went out to the car and prepared to drive myself and my mother home. She needed to drop off something on main street, so told me instead of turning right up St. Andrews to go up a block further than normal. Which I did. (So take note: what's about to happen was really, truly not my fault! Though I should have still looked and not just listened.) And about two seconds later I heard sirens and, since I was the only person besides the police car on the road, I pulled over. He told me to come over to his car and asked for my license. My treasured, long awaited license! I gave it to him. He saw it and commented that it must be pretty new (since the DMV had been churning them out for about, oh, two days). "Yes," I told him as I desperately willed myself not to cry, "I just came from the DMV" (you could see it up the road about 3 blocks away). So, turns out that this lovely road I was on turns into a one-way street after the St. Andrews intersection. Not really a surprise since the whole town in mostly one-way streets (including St. A) but WHY at such a random spot? And WHY did we decide to go run that errand right then? Fortunately, after a wink to my mother and a small lecture he let me go without a ticket. But, my goodness, must a trip to the DMV always be so full of excitement?

In case you were wondering, yesterday's trip resulted in nothing more than a bad photo. I guess I ought to be grateful.