now i can laugh about it, but what a day. guess the good thing is my life will never cease to be crazy.

my driver's license expires next week, on my birthday. thought i could renew by mail. i renewed my last two by mail...but, you can only do that twice. so here i am in north carolina, trying to figure out how i can go to a dmv in california before next wednesday to renew. too bad that instant transporter technology isn't there yet. with all the new technology, why oh why do i need to be there in person? bleh. i haven't (or, now, i should say hadn't) had a ticket in 10 years.

with plans to drive 3000 miles home, as well as fly and visit another country in the near future, i panicked. (paniced? hmm, no think it's panicked. panicced? nah...) went to the north carolina driver's license office with birth certificate, social security card, etc. the 'driver's license office' here is much different than the dmv in CA - there are only 2 women working...it's tiny! they ONLY do lisences there, though. set the little stack of ID stuff on the woman's desk. she sorts through it. asks for my insurance card. i dig it out of my purse and hand it to her.

'oh, i don't think...wait, hang on...'

hmm, this doesn't sound good.

she calls someone and asks about my insurance company, 21st century. (a small company, i guess, never thought about it before. they're inexpensive...) 'no, try twenty one. and the number. ok, thanks'

'sorry,' she says, 'you're not insured in north carolina, i can't issue you a lisence.'

what? i'm insured! apparently it's not 'recognized' in north carolina. but it's the CAR that's insured...and you don't need a CAR to drive, just a license. nope. she tells me to get other insurance. i tell her i make $200 a week and have ALREADY paid for car insurance.

'but not in north carolina...'

so, if i get in an accident here, it won't be covered?

she doesn't answer, but tells me that i will have 60 days to get my vehicle registration changed once i get a license. i tell her yes, but i need a lisence NOW. (mind you, i was polite through this, just frustrated and teary-eyed)

my arguments go nowhere...i leave the office...worried. frustrated. then realize (insert big AHA moment here) i can at least get an id which will get me on a plane and across the border. go back in, go to the other woman working (who was much nicer. when i came home and explained the story to a coworker, he said 'oh, you first went to the fat lady? she's mean!!) who got me the card...with the worst picture ever. i look like i've been crying, my eyes are all puffy and red. well, i had been crying...ah well, i have an id. now to figure out how to get one before i drive cross country...

(insert AHA moment number two here)

i'm flying home may 27 for my sister's graduation. to southern california. where (light bulb goes on) i can get a CA license .

after all that, everything will work out...i need to start believing that before i freak out next time!

now i have to figure out how to deal with this ticket thing...*sigh* (that would be the speeding ticket i got in virginia, 15 miles from home on the way home from the university of massechusettes dave and tim show...) i think i have bad car karma...carma? (ooo, bad pun, i know. resorting to bad attempts at humor here...)