Anticipation

A new laptop has been ordered and should arrive in the next week or so. I hope it's much sooner rather than later, because this being a one-computer family really sucks, especially when my husband needs the computer for important job and Patent Bar stuff, which sort of, kind of trumps my "but I need to blog!" whining, I suppose.

Ash actually just started a brand new, shiny full time job. In one of those funny little twists, he's been hired as an immigration attorney-- a field in which he didn't have a particular interest, per se, but I certainly did. It's a very small firm, which means that he's getting excellent experience from the start. In fact, he'll be handling his first case in court next month. I'm so happy that he's getting this opportunity. It's going to be fantastic for him.

In other news, I have officially become a resident of Our Fair State. In the process of doing so, I have become convinced that this is, without doubt, the most bureaucratic state in the Union. We're talking French levels of bureaucracy.

For example: in order to get a driver's license, you must prove that you are a resident of the state. The way that you prove that you are a resident is to show two pieces of evidence from the following list: a lease, a mortgage, utility bill, tax document, W-2, or a weapons permit. As of September, when I wanted to actually take care of this, I could produce only the first item. Our utilities are included in our rent, so we don't have separate bills for them, and the cable is in Ash's name. And wouldn't count anyway, as cable and mobile phone service are not considered "utilities" by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. So I had to wait until I received my W-2 for the year to get my driver's license changed, despite the fact that I had a lease and a W-2 from last year, because those are considered "expired" or out of date now. I took the documents together with my marriage certificate to the BMV. You have to go to a desk to get a number, take your documents to a second desk when your number is called, where you will fill out a form and show your documents-- and it should be noted that they did not look at my documents. They only glanced at the papers in my hand to see if they existed. I could have given them old worksheets from Spanish for Lawyers. Then you go to a third desk, where you answers some questions on a touch screen while a BMV worker yawns at a chair behind the desk. Just to be clear, the worker does not ask you the questions or in any way participate in this process. You read the questions on the screen and pick your responses from a list of choices. Then you go to a fourth desk where your picture is taken. A few minutes later, they give you a driver's license with a big, red "TEMPORARY" stamped across it. This is because your picture has to be run up against a database of some sort before your official driver's license is issued and mailed to you. Presumably they're checking to make sure that you're not a terrorist or something.

Getting my license plates has entailed multiple trips to a different agency (which, seriously, is still blowing my mind-- why are plates and licenses handled by two different agencies??), with a different set of required forms and proofs. It also took exactly four weeks longer.

Now, I just have to find the WD-40 so that I can get the screws loose from my old plates, and I will be totally legit! Hooray!