tales of an ordinary girl

I was given the opportunity to take off work early today, so I did. I went to the DMV. Let me give you a little clue about what the DMV is like in Kansas. (Yep, this is likely to be not all that interesting, but I'm a little drunk, so bear with me.)

I just recently moved back to Kansas and my tags are expiring. My house is in an adjoining state. Pick one and you're probably correct.

The first thing you do in the Kansas DMV is get a number from the machine. First you have to figure out what button to pick, but it's pretty easy. They're labeled something like, "Title", "Renewal", "Not currently in Service", etc.

Once you have your number you sit and wait for the first call. I waited about 35 minutes. The waiting room isn't bad. Today it was crowded. I should have realized tht being almost the end of the month. But since I didn't realize my tags were about to expire until I happend to look at my license tag this weekend, it was about the only choice I had.

So I clutched my papers, dear, dear papers, and I read. I read Beware of God: Stories while trying to keep the title hidden. This is Kansas. Short review: "The War of the Bernsteins" and "Somebody Up There Likes You" are funny, "Bobo the Self-Hating Chimp" is cute, and "Heimish Knows All" is disturbing. Probably all of them are disturbing, but I found "Heimish" the most disturbing. I just can't get past.. well.. that'd give it away.

I read, I listened a bit to some music, I waited. They finally called my number and I went up to the desk for my "pre-evaluation". Turns out I didn't have my current year's registration with me. So, I was rejected, but told if I could get back in an hour I could come right to the front of the line. But an hour from what? It was already 35 minutes since I'd pulled the ticket and I lived 15 minutes away even at a good pace. Oh, and it was then that I realized that I still had a meeting scheduled in 15 minutes that needed to be canceled.

I rushed home and canceled the meeting (5 minutes late, but who's counting other than the people that dialed in and listned to the waiting music?). I found my reciept, which I'd accidentally put aside for the year before's receipt earlier in the day. I rushed back and went back to the counter (which was empty) and managed to get processed despite the fact it was 67 minutes past when I pulled the ticket. Either she was generous or the hour started later.

Less than five minutes later I was called up to another desk. I guess I was the lowest number, so I was next in queue. And ten minutes later I was on my way home with a new tag in hand.

I stopped at the grocery store for dinner. I made a yummy chocolate, espresso, fudge cake tonight. I dutifully unloaded the groceries and did the dishes from last night. Then I proceeded to get smashed. It was a celebration of sorts for finishing the project. I thought I needed to relax. Except I didn't really relax and now, again, I can't sleep. I feel irresponsible.

Tomorrow is my planned half day and a massage appointment, then an interview. I should relax, at least for a little bit.