I am in a very bad mood and if you are not in the mood to hear me complain you should probably hit the small 'X' in the corner right now and tune back in later on a more positive post.
I can recall watching an episode of "Rocko's Modern Life" when I was little where Rocko, Heffer and Spunky were literally stuck in line at the DMV ALL DAY only to find out later it was really hell they were in (or something like that). Watching this as a child it never really held any meaning but now I can now truly empathize with this episode. I started off my morning very positive, earlier this week I had received a brand new Social Security Card with my new name so I decided it was time for a trip to the DMV. I still had been using my SC drivers license (opps!) So I had to get a NC drivers license and have my name changed. I left the house at 7:40 hoping to get there right when it opened at 8:00 but with traffic I ended up arriving at 8:06 AM. To my horror I saw a HUGE line out the door and onto the sidewalk. The line wound past the Barber shop (next door to the DMV) and past the Family Dollar two stores down. I had my feet planted in line promptly at 8:07 AM. Even though it was slightly after 8:00, I was thinking maybe they were running a little late and haven't opened their doors yet and when they do we will all file in grab a number and sit down as expected...WRONG! Literally the line did. not. move. Now I know everyone and their Grandma hates the DMV and fully expects a horrible time every time they are forced to go there but this was just plain out of control! First of all it was FREEZING outside I swear, it was the first cold day we have had all fall and it happened to come when I was sitting outside for 4 plus hours under an awning with no sunlight anywhere near. For the first 30-45 minutes I was in line I kept thinking ok if I am not inside by 9:00 I am leaving. This continued all day. But after you have dedicated over an hour of your time you start to think, 'well heck I don't want to do this again and I have to do it some time or another so I might as well stick it out.' In NC they divide their DMV's up between licenses and car registrations. I was in the license building and it was 90% teens waiting to take their driving test. I knew to get a NC license all I needed to do was a written test so I kept thinking as soon as I get inside they will realize I'm only taking the written and it will be quick from there. A very rude lady working there would come outside every half an hour or so and see what people were waiting in line for. The first time I saw her I got so excited, I thought; "This lady is going to be my hero and rescue me from this line and take me to a wall filled with computers so I can quickly take me test and we'll live happily ever after!" In reality, when she asked me I said "I have a SC license and I need the NC license and name change" She looked at me and said "testing." and kept walking. "Wait so I'm in the right line for the written test?" I wanted to confirm. "Yes driving and written stay in this testing line" she said. Every half hour or so she came back out and pulled people out of line that were waiting for license renewals (they were the only ones that got golden tickets to the front). This was very frustrating because while the line was getting shorter we were not moving or getting any closer. Most teens were there with a parent and it got to the point where everyone was taking turns in line while the other went and got lunch, jackets, sweatshirts, blankets, snacks, books, magazines, or just went to the car for awhile to sit down and get warm. During the hour from 11:00 AM- 12:00 PM a DMV lady came outside and said, "its our lunch and everyone leaves except for 3 people so the line probably wont move at all till 12:00." While this was annoying to hear it was really no change because the only time the line had been moving is when people renewing were taken out of it. Matt did come and visit me outside on his lunch break. He stood in line for me so I could run to the car and get warm and make a few work calls. But besides that I was totally bored, frozen and tired of standing. I would have sat down on the sidewalk but the man two ppl in front of me had a cold and was hawking loogies continuously in the path we were all walking in so I was afraid where I would choose to sit was probably a previous spot he had spit in just minutes before. Also the lady a few people behind me decided to bring her TWO toddlers with her in this dreadful line and they cried the. entire. time. Although it was incredibly annoying, I cannot blame them! It was miserable and I felt like crying as well. At
12: 45 I was the third person in line to get to go INSIDE THE BUILDING of the DMV. I could see in the windows and inside was an entirely separate waiting area. It looked like the Four Seasons in there though, so warm with chairs and a TV playing a safe drivers DVD. In other words... Heaven. Me and the two guys in front of me and the girl behind me noticed there was plenty of room inside and didn't know why we couldn't just walk in when we saw empty chairs or extra room in line. The people in front of us had just kept saying "we cant go in- we have to wait till they come get us." Well no one told us that so we devised a plan to go in as a group of 4 (comfort in numbers). We all walked in and as soon as we did someone from behind a cubical stood up and said, "NO! If you are coming from outside you have to go back outside until you are let in!" "But were freezing out there cant we just stand in here?" The biggest of the two men asked. "No!" The witch said, "You have to wait outside, there is no room in here." This was frustrating because there was PLENTY of standing room AND unoccupied chairs.
At 1:10 PM I was let inside and was SO excited! A lady came to check my paperwork and give me a number. When I told her I needed my name changed she said, "do you have your marriage certificate?" "No I called 2 weeks ago and they told me my marriage certificate didn't matter, I just needed a new Social Security Card with my new name on it and to bring that" I replied. "No you need your marriage certificate" she said. I told her I would see if someone could bring it to me and she said, "If its not here by the time its your turn you ll have to go to the end of the line which means you should probably just wait till Monday because the people at the very end wont even get seen today- HAHAH!" W.T.F I started freaking out and called Matt (who had only just left me a few minutes ago and had not made it back to work yet) he said he would go get it and bring it back. The crazy part is I was actually scared he wouldn't make it (with the way things had gone all day I should have known better). But he definitely did and when my number was finally called I marched to my station and handed all my documents. The lady opened my marriage certificate and mumbled, "This bride/groom certificate, need probate judge copy, dunno why South Ca'lina do that." (Ummm English please) aka"what do you mean?" She went on to explain that I was not going to be able to take the test till I had the correct copy. She gave me a form and told me if I filled it out and got it notarized I could come back in and get in her line with my old ticket and she would take me. I left so pissed off and got in my car, had a small meltdown, drove to the place she told me I could get it notarized but their notary was not working today (go figure), got back in the car, had another small melt down and found another place that could notarize not too far away. By the time I got back to the DMV she let me back in about 20 minutes later- which was awesome. Finally I had all correct documents. I took the eye test missing a few of the signs (some were just shapes with nothing inside them), took the written test and passed with flying colors (no mistakes!) Then stood in another line for someone to recheck my paperwork and another line to take my picture (which they didn't even let me see!) I walked out of the DMV at 2:38 PM, 6 hours and 31 minutes of my life later!
Moral of the story: I do not ever want to hear anyone from SC complain about their DMV. Mark Sanford made it a priority to make sure every DMV in the state would privide customers with a quick and positive experience. Ok that may be taking it a little far but they have made changes to make sure the DMV's in SC are great (especially in comparison to the ones in NC.) I had to go to a SC DMV in July and I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. South Carolina, when it comes to DMV's you have no clue how good you have it. I realize this post is probably slightly dramatic but I just returned from the ordeal. A whole day was wasted and I needed to vent about it. Believe it or not this is a 'quick' version of the story there are lots of side stories, conversations and charters I experienced, met and chatted with along the way that I could go on and on about but I will spare you. Sorry for the bitching, if you have made it this far in this post you deserve a medal or maybe just a front of the line pass at the DMV... But on the bright side it is Halloween weekend and in a few hours Matt and I will be going out to dinner (with some much needed cocktails) and then to see Paranormal Activity 2. I will post about the whole weekend next week. Happy Halloween!
Until next time....
P.S. Thank God I used spell check because I have now learned that I was unable to spell LICENSE correctly one time in this entire post.
