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On Monday I spent all afternoon at the DMV. It was truly awful-- worse than dog pee. To be in compliance with California law, I had to register my car and get a California driver's license within 10 days of becoming a resident. However, if I had it to do over again, I would have chosen to not comply with California law, keep my Oregon license and registration, and never set foot in a California DMV. But once I had committed, there was no going back, so here's how it went:
There were hundreds of people there, and I waited for nearly 2 hours from my arrival until I was served. The building was way too small to accommodate everyone-- for the hundreds upon hundreds of people waiting, there were a total of about 50 chairs in the whole (small) building, and so it was packed wall to wall like a crowded subway car with people standing and waiting for their numbers to be called. For most of my wait, there wasn't really even enough room to read a book (though I finally managed to snag a chair through careful stalking and quick reflexes). After I finally got called, I was shuffled around to 3 different windows, where there was more waiting, as well as some confusion over the law and how much I should have to pay to register my car.
To be fair, the actual people I dealt with were surprisingly nice, given the insanity of their work environment. The DMV is a like a zoo on fire, and there are many problematic rules, laws, and staff shortages to contend with, but somehow or another the people who work at the DMV managed to be efficient, empathetic, and as helpful as possible given the constraints. And, because of this, I eventually made it out with my license and registration. I hope that officially becoming a resident has enough benefits (e.g., discounts at Disneyland and Sea World) to make this worth it, and I hope that I never have to go to a California DMV ever again.
On a better note, today was my first day of work! I got my keys, my ID badge, a parking permit, a handbook, and a bit of orientation. Tomorrow is orientation at the clinic where I'll be working most of the time, and Friday is a federal holiday (July 4th, observed on July 3rd). Yay for short weeks! Everyone I've met is really nice-- supervisors, staff, and other interns-- so I'm feeling good about things so far. I've been warned that work will be totally exhausting once it really gets started, so I'm glad I get to ease into things slowly!
1 comment:
First - totally glad you are back to blogging, this is awesome.
Ah yes, the California DMV - much different than Oregon. I remember most that they snatched my Virginia plates from me, as if I would use them for illegal activities if they had let me keep them. Neither Oregon nor Virginia seemed to care about that. Here's hoping you won't ever have to go back!
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