Friday, June 8, 2018

Can't Make This Stuff Up

Went into my local BMV office this morning to renew my driver's license.  Pleasant lady tapped a few computer keys.  We waited.  And waited.  "This is taking a long time," she said.  "Not a problem.  I'm in no hurry, " I replied.

"Oh, did you mail in your renewals for your license tags?'
"I did.  About a week ago."
"That's the problem.  I see it on the screen.  Someone is using your information to process your tag order, so I can't get in."
"Well, I thought it would make life easier for my local personnel if I mailed it in.  Do you suppose they'll be done messing around if I come back in a couple hours?"
"I surely hope so."

Another trip to the other side of town required.

And do you know about "Real ID"?

Thus I need my passport OR birth certificate, two pieces of mail addressed to me.
"Wait.  I get my mail at a P. O. box."
"Then you will need utility bills or something that has your name and physical address."

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho it's off to Big Brother's we go!

UPDATE

I went back to BMV a couple hours after posting this tale.  I found a utility bill, okay.  A second piece of mail?  I found an item from the alumni association of a former college.  Nope, we don't accept that sort of thing.  I had my property tax receipt.  Nope, it does indeed have a legal description of your property but there is no "physical address."

So the helpful lady said, "Do you have a vehicle registration?"  Of course.  Went to vehicle, got its papers, noting as I returned the office that it did indeed have my name on it, but of course it did not have my physical address, only a P.O. box number.  Lady accepted it anyway.  What is up with that?  She could have looked on her computer and got that info.  But wait.  When she did finally get to the computer after copying my stuff, she found she was still locked out because my info was "still in use."  She walked across the store, picked up a phone and called the office where my "other"  business was being conducted.  Seems they were through  with me but some one forgot to turn me off.  No problem; by this time I'm turned off, pretty much.

But it is all good.  Passed the eye exam (with help and nudging and encouragement from the nice Lady) had my photo taken, paid the eleven bucks, restored papers to my possession and I am good to go for three more years!

And here is what the officer is going to have to look at if he pulls me over:


Lady said I could smile but don't show any teeth.  So I did.

12 comments:

Grace said...

VA is one of those states that has to change to 'Real ID' - if I want to travel using my state ID I only one more year to do so - then I will either need a passport or have to get a new state id - Getting 'Real ID' is about the same as getting a passport. It will be interesting because we have no utility bills, other than the cable bill. G has a passport and passport card and a driver's license but if he doesn't re-new his passport then he will need a Real ID drivers license and aside from the deed to our condo there is nothing with his name on it! Cable is in my name...Oh such joy dealing with all this mishegoss

Secondary Roads said...

Oh the bureaucracy! But we can be assured that we have the best government that money can buy.

Lin said...

Utilities will only use one name on the account, so I can't use the utility bills because they have Joe's name on them. And you know...that whole marriage-same-last-name-privacy thing just throws it all out the window. It's entertaining when I call the utilities now. I just say that I am Joe...and they use "ma'am" and I correct them by saying "I'm a guy!"....and they can't say a thing these days....

Oh, the privacy laws are all here to protect us, right?

vanilla said...

Grace, Chuck, and Lin, I enjoyed your comments and wish you well in your endeavors to obtain "Real ID." Meanwhile, I wrote an addendum to the original post to bring everyone up to date. Again, heigh-h0!

Lin said...

Hooray! Mission Accomplished!

Grace said...

And now your ID is real? Imagine at your age, running around with a fake ID...

vanilla said...

Lin, check. Huzzah!

Grace, imagine that. And I thought I was real this whole time.

Sharkbytes said...

Good grief. I got a Michigan Enhanced license a few years ago which allows me to drive or boat to Canada (or walk, I guess... just can't fly with it), so I think that counts as a Real ID. NY requires it for just about everything.

vanilla said...

Sharkey, grief, but just life in t he 21at century.

Secondary Roads said...

That was a close encounter of some kind.

vanilla said...

Chuck, yes, key digital bass notes for the sub-woofer.

Vee said...

People who set up systems for conducting the business of states need to have IQ scores that are somewhat above the number of a good golf score. Just my opinion. (Or, maybe you can become illegal and get yourself a hassle-free license.)

I still wonder why, after moving back to Kansas, I needed to have a marriage license to prove I, the Lacy, married a Powers in 1956. This after having drivers licenses in the states of Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. But back to my first point. Those applying for state jobs need to take IQ tests and those tests should be used for screening.

As stated in my comment on another post, I should quit complaining.