Ya know, once you reach a certain age, no one asks for your I.D. anymore. I'd like to think I look pretty young for my age, but apparently I don't look "that" young. I swear my license was valid through my birthday this year, but - YIKES - it expired in 2012!!! Luckily one of the first tasks we had to perform in our new roles was to set up travel profiles; otherwise this inconvenient little fact probably would have been discovered at the airport.
"Hey boss, thanks for the new position and everything, but can can you come bail me out of jail?"
Besides the horror of realizing I've been driving illegally for nearly two years, this lack of I.D. presented another thorny problem because my new position requires travel 3 - 4 weeks every month for the next 18 months.
A quick perusal of the DMV Website confirmed my worst fear: I was going to have to take the written AND the skills test. And I had to get everything done in 14 days. Just to throw in a little extra curveball, Nevada does not issue the license on-site; they mail them. So, I was gonna have to spend the better part of my day off waiting in lines to take a driver's test and then wait for a permit to arrive in the mail. Next it would take another day to take the skills portion and wait for the actual license to arrive in the mail. Meanwhile I would be on the other side of the country when the permit arrived in the mail. Clearly this wasn't going to work. So, I decided to just get a non-driver's identification card. At least this way I could fly. I wouldn't be able to rent a car, but I could fly.
So, last week I spent a lovely day hanging at the DMV. At least they had a snack bar. As I'm finishing up about an hour before closing time a super helpful DMV rep informs me that the Website is incorrect; I actually will NOT have to take the skills portion. Two of his colleagues concurred. Unfortunately, this meant I had spent the day in the wrong lines. And the line I needed to be was serpentined to the door. Thus the need for today's trip.
I really wasn't sure that my DMV friend was correct, but it was worth a shot. It only took about two hours of standing around to get into the testing room. I got 49 out 50 correct - success on my first try! - which was good because it cost $25 dollars. So now I get to order my license, right? Hold on there. Go get in that other long line to get a number to wait in an agonizingly long line.
So, with number G748 in hand I could hit the snack bar and find a comfy plastic chair. But first the guy handing out the numbers tells me that there card processor is down and they are only accepting cash. Of course there is no ATM in the building so off a go to the convenience store a 1/4 mile away. Oh, and remember I'll be walking because, yeah, I don't have a driver's license. I ask they guy if I had time to get back before they called me and, with a smirk, he pointed to the now serving number: "G502". Seriously?
Oh well, the walk was pleasant, especially after sitting for so long. When I returned with cash in hand they were serving G512. Yeah, this was gonna be ugly.
I started getting a little concerned when the line was down to only 100 people in front of me. I started timing the pace I found that it took 2-1/2 hours to get through 50 people. With people still in front of me we had only 1 hour 15 minutes until closing. It's starting to get hot and really smelly, so I decide that a little fresh air was in order. This was definitely the highlight of my day as two pigeons were fighting and there were people "betting" on which one would win - only in Vegas. It was hilarious; lots of chest butting and wing flapping. Just when one seemed to be getting the upper hand a guy came blustering by and scared them away. Crap.
Oh well, I only had about an hour before closing anyway. Good thing I went in when I did because now there were only 6 people in front of me! So, I made it. I will have an I.D. in time to fly out to California for our two day on-boarding meetings and I will have my actual license in time to fly out for first 3-week trip. Thank you, Lord!
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