Wednesday, October 11, 2006

New DL

No matter how funny you find this, I SWEAR to you this is 100 times better than my old license.

The Hillsborough County DMV is quite the place. I was not the only white person there, but I was the only white person with all my teeth and one of the only ones wearing proper shoes instead of bedroom slippers. Many people there came in large groups with translators. It was noisy with shouting, cussing, crying babies, and the frustration of attempted communication in several different languages. I brought my book but didn't read it. Instead I sat alertly, watching all the drama and felt more than one pair of creepy eyes crawling on me.

When I was finally called up and I told the calm (bless his soul) man that I simply wanted a new license with my married name he gave me a couple options.


DMV guy: "Do you want to remove 'Anne' [my middle name] and replace it with F*** [my maiden name, not the "F" word]?"

Me: "Would that be a permanent, legal change? Or would I still keep my middle name?"

DMV guy: "No, it's not a legal change. It's just that we can only put three names on here."

Me: "Oh. I see..."

DMV guy: "Many newly married women find it easier to keep their maiden name on here."

Me: "I know! I'm sort of having a hard time letting go of it. It's all I've ever known!"

DMV guy: "Um, no. They find it easier when they're still changing over credit cards, bank accounts, that sort of stuff."

Me: "Oh. Okay. That sounds good."

10 comments:

Jenn Siva said...

I did the same name thing at the suggestion of social security

Anonymous said...

i love you, you're beautiful, but your eyes in your dl picture look like you'd seen things you've never seen before while waiting fo your turn... were they impressed with all your teeth?

Natalie said...

Nothing impressed them at this point. My eyes were buggy from being blinded by the poor dye job of the woman in front of me. Her hair color was not natural to her ethnicity. And it was louder than the crying babies.

Runner Girl FL said...

I have been to our DMV. It is all true. I bring not just a book but an MP3 or radio or something. The problem is that you can't jsut shut it all out because when it gets close to your number you then still have to pay attention.

Natalie said...

rg~Hmmm... I think having headphones on would have rendered me with a vulnerability I would not have wanted in that situation.

dad~I'll take a picture after feral cat day and see how they compare- I'll have to airbrush out all the scratches to make any sort of comparison though.

Scott said...

The funniest description I ever heard of the DMV was that it looked like "that bar in Star Wars."

It's so true. Is there a private DMV somewhere in the world where all the normal people go to? Or, heaven forbid, are those normal people?

Nat, thanks for the encouragement on my blog. I've been absentee, but it's nice to hear your words. When I have a few chapters written, I will definitely put them online. Why not? I have a good feeling about what I'm doing, and my teacher is a real novelist. A real good one too. I'm not into his stories, since he is a crime/mystery writer. But his style is tight and tuned.

Oh, his name is David Daniel. I'm working madly on an outline so that I can get his opinion about my overall plan. When I walk away from the class, my outline should be worked out, and a couple chapters written at least.

Natalie said...

scott~
That is funny. On Seinfeld it was described as a "leper colony". Both accurate.

Even if you feel weird putting that stuff online, I would still like to be able to read it by email or something. I'm not a writer but I'll read just about anything I can get my hands on and "knowing" an aspiring writer is an exciting thing. Keep up the good work. You can always count on me for encouragement!

Big Feet said...

I think that Polk County's DMV is rather entertaining too, it's basically a hole in the wall place, right next to a day care center so that people can drop their kids off while they go inside!

I have four names already, I was born with them...they let me put my first two, my other middle initial, and my last name. Maybe I'm just more special than you are :)

Big Feet said...

I think that Polk County's DMV is rather entertaining too, it's basically a hole in the wall place, right next to a day care center so that people can drop their kids off while they go inside!

I have four names already, I was born with them...they let me put my first two, my other middle initial, and my last name. Maybe I'm just more special than you are :)

Natalie said...

Or Polk county is more lenient... I think we are both special until you get married and have FIVE names. Then I will concede, you are more special.