My New York trip was clearly an outlier … I have not really gotten used to the idea that I am carrying a new BlackBerry that enables me to moblog. And even when I remember I’m carrying it, I haven’t yet decided the ethics of using a work device (even though it comes with an unlimited data plan) for non-work activities (New York was really “educational”).
Anyways, because it didn’t occur to me, you were spared the details of my unplanned trip to the DMV this AM. Why uplanned? Because had the stars aligned, I would have renewed my drivers license online and been spared the pain that is a trip to the DMV.
As I said on Twitter, this is largely my fault. There were two ways I could have spared myself the two hours (plus half hour waiting time) this morning.
First, at some point over the last several years, I should have corrected the address the DMV has for me. Why didn’t I sooner? The only thing that had changed was the apartment number. Even the folks at my precinct weren’t sticklers for that, so I put it off.
Second, all I had to do was put a reminder in my Outlook for sometime in June. But I didn’t, thinking that I’d get the renewal in the mail.
Well, maybe I might have had I fixed my stupid address. But I’m guessing that the DMV has an explicit “do not forward” on their mail, and the USPS was not gonna bend the rules. So since the backup plan wasn’t in place, I managed to let my license expire on the 30th of June.
There was some good news to this. First, VA’s DMV does not require you to retake the written or driving tests unless your license has been expired for a year. Second, while a lapsed license means you have to provide proof of “legal presence” I had my birth certificate handy.
But my trip was still a bit fraught with peril. Again, I didn’t help myself. In my quest to be in and out quickly, I didn’t read the stupid renewal form closely, and put my name on the form as FIRST LAST instead of LAST FIRST. Scratching out things on the form is not permitted, so I had to go back and redo it. Oh eff.
The other bummer is that it doesn’t matter how good your proof of “legal presence” is (I had my birth certificate, the woman behind me had a passport), they actually take the time to verify it as a legal document. Tack on another 15 minutes or so for that fun step.
Only after this do they route you to the end of the room where you get to have your pic retaken and then wait for the plastic license.
Anyways, the moral of all of this may be that I am too old to learn how to avoid procrastination. But I did add an Outlook reminder for the car registration renewal later this year.
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Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our modern culture -- especially diet. Beth writes about ancestral health, health policy, & mindfulness. And cats! 
