While I was in Tucson earlier this year,
Rod sent me an article explaining
the new "Real ID" stuff they are requiring
in order to fly, starting later this year.
Of course, my drivers license is a
gazillion years old.
Florida lets you renew online for 10 years
or better. So I don't have the nifty
little gold star in the corner.
And, of course, in order to renew my
license and get the coveted gold star,
I have to go IN to the DMV and
provide all sorts of documents.
One of which is my Resident Alien
card originally issued in 1979.
And we all know that those cards have
started expiring and need to be
renewed each 10 years for a gazillion $.
So...
I did a bunch of searching online.
(From the "spare" laptop at the Town Hall
so it couldn't be traced back to me...
just being paranoid..)
Resident Alien cards issued prior to 1980
DO NOT EXPIRE!
(And if they ever change the rules and they
DO expire in the future, it doesn't effect
your status as a legal alien, it just costs
$540 to renew!)
Phew!
So today was the day.
I went to the Post Office to drop off
some mail for Rod.
Then to the doctor's office to pay
Rod's doctor bill from a couple of weeks
ago when he was sick.
And then off to the DMV.
When I was there a couple of weeks ago
for Kyle's CDL physical,
there wasn't ANYONE in the waiting room.
She said it had been that way for a couple
of weeks!
I made an appointment for 1:15, but went
early on the off chance they weren't
busy again today and I could get in and
out earlier.
But when I got there, the room was FULL.
I was 30 minutes early, but I brought
my Kindle, so I didn't really care.
I got called up to the window at 1:10.
Gave her my old driver's license,
my resident alien card,
and my birth certificate.
She said she also needed my Social
Security card. Which I saw in my
other wallet this morning while I was
getting my green card and my birth certificate.
But I didn't listen to the "little voice"
and left it in my old wallet.
Ok, do you have two pieces of mail
showing your current address?
Not ON me.
Do you have your vehicle registration?
Yup, in my car.
I'll run get it.
I haven't been pulled over since I was
pregnant with JIM!
(So 31 years ago this week!)
I opened my glove box and opened my
little book that I "thought" had all my
stuff in it.
There was my insurance card...
but no registration.
I dug around until I finally found it.
Brought it back in.
Luckily she was REALLY nice,
because it was actually the registration
for my other VW - and expired in 2016.
But all she REALLY needed was the
address, so she took it.
Tested my eye sight (20/20).
Took my picture. (super cute)
Asked all the standard questions,
and then ground to a halt.
Her computer was telling her something
she wasn't happy with.
She started doing some research
about immigration stuff.
I leaned in and told her that cards issued
prior to 1980 don't expire.
She said, Oh yeah, that's not what I'm
concerned about. I'll be right back.
Gotta go see my manager.
Luckily I had my Kindle because she
was gone for a LONG time.
Turns out, my green card says my name
is Buffaloe. But the immigration page
says my name is Stoddard.
But I've been Buffaloe for 38 years!
So she did a bunch of stuff.
And then I asked if there was any way she
could print me a new registration card since
I obviously don't know where my current
one is. She said sure, but it would be $3.
Since I was already spending $65 for a new
license I didn't mind that.
While she was doing some other stuff,
I glanced at my brand new registration paper.
And then I pointed to where it said it
EXPIRED on 11/24/18!
Is that correct????
Yup.
She apologized for not noticing it earlier.
And then charged me $89 to renew it.
So I walked out of there with a new
little sticker for my car,
I went ahead and got one for Rod's car
since his expires in a couple of months
anyway, a significantly lighter wallet,
and a brand new drivers license
with the all important gold star!
She even let me keep the original one!
I'm older.
But I think I still look pretty good.
And I don't have to worry about
getting on an airplane.
No comments:
Post a Comment