No love for (or from) the DMV

The coolest thing about my new home (at least in my mind) is that it's a swing state. Which means that, unless the Secretary of State does something off kilter, my vote might actually mean something.

Now, Ohio claims that I was supposed to switch my license & registration over as soon as I accepted a job here (last November) or took up a residence (last July). They also require that I have a copy of my title, which took over 6 weeks for me to obtain from the state of Michigan.

Since the sky wasn't falling, my motivation to go to the DMV was pretty low. I do, however, need to register to vote at least 30 days prior to the election, which means the end of next week.

I decided that Friday morning would be the day. When I reviewed the requirements online, I realized that I needed my social security card (it was at home - far from work & the DMV location that provided written driving exams). My passport (in my car) would not suffice, in spite of the fact that 1) I needed a soc card & a birth certificate to get it and 2) it actually has a photo & would be much harder to fake than a soc card. Whatever. We don't approve of travel in this here state. And, you can use your pilot's license instead! Your boating license! Grrrr.

But I still wanted to get this done, so I drove home from work to fetch my card. Then, I drove to the DMV and, without study, bs-ed my way though the written test & passes. Happily walking to the other room (past the sign endorsing one political candidate for governor, thanks to some "pro-family" agency renting space next door) to get my shiny new license & registration.

I was immeadiately informed (along with a room of 25-35 sad, degected looking souls) that the system was down. For the entire state of Ohio. No idea when it would be back up. *You should all go home.*

Having been warned by a coworker that she has NEVER accomplished her goal with one trip to the DMV, I burst out laughing and walked to my car. I giggled for about half a mile, then used some of the Panera gift cards that I won from the United Way (I won 2 contests - one for showing up at the department fundraising kickoff meeting & another for pledging in the first week) to get myself some free lunch.

I lost 2 hours of my work day and about 2 gallons of gas (but I stayed late & worked through lunch to make up a bit of the time). No license, no vehicle registration, no voter registration.

I'll try again on Monday. Wish me luck!

Death before breakfast

Nearly every morning, while I'm getting ready for work, I watch CNN. Generally, the only thing that annoys me is Miles O'Brian's habit of making pointless remarks ("Why doesn't GM just make cars consumers want to buy?" OMG, Miles has solved it! Thank you, o idiot savant savior of the auto industry!).

But Tuesday and Thursday this week were different. Tuesday and Thursday, I was threatened with - Death!

Bum Bum Bum

In an ad that should have been produced (as satire) for the Daily Show or some YouTube version of The Onion, the horrible folks at one of those We're-not-a-political-party-so-we-can't-mention-them-by-name-but-it's-pretty-damn-obvious-who-we-support type organizations informed me that

Terrorists Want to Kill US

(cue pics of twin towers and evil, freedom-hating terrorists)

and, just in case you missed it,

They Want to KILL US

Appartently, we did nothing to stop the terrorists for all the of the 1990s. (I think they want me to blame our last president for this. However, though they certainly don't mention it, I happen to know that the same party that now controls Congress has been controlling it since 1993 - and, um, they were more interested in stopping sex than stopping terrorists.)

Did we mention

THEY WANT TO KILL US.

So, um, I guess if I don't vote the way the ad people want me to vote, Imgonnadie.

And I haven't even had breakfast yet. Damn it.

Octoberfest

Last week was a busy one for me. I went to a baseball game on Wednesday with other new employees from work, which was fun. Saturday, I played phone/e-mail tag with my cell-less former roommate (Leticia), who was in the country on a business trip. We finally managed to get ahold of one another, and then we attended my city's Octoberfest celebration - aparently the biggest one in North America.

And here's the part that will make everyone jealous. We got to participate in (eat your hearts out) the World's Largest Chicken Dance. Oh yeah. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Meep-Meep-Meep-Meep. Plus, there was struedal (sp?), and some very good German beer. Like all of this town's many festivals, it was all about the food. Then, I got to show Leticia my new place, and my dog got to attack her. I think she liked the dog more than the place (he is adorable, after all).

Today, I walked across the Purple People Bridge to Kentucky with an old friend from high school, who just happened to move here (for a boy, it's always either a job or a boy) a few months before I did. I really like the bridge, and it's great to have an old friend nearby, but I don't understand why people pay money to climb the bridge- the climbers are only about 15 feet above those of us who take the walk for free....

I also pulled one of Toby's teeth (he still had a loose baby tooth in front of an adult one, and the adult one was a bit crooked as a result. Hopefully, it will right itself now). I'll put some pics of Toby attacking Leticia up soon.

Just Kidding

4:21pm Receive e-mail with links to various organizational news stories.

4:22pm Open link to story on (anticipated) reoganization of my department. Expect that it will say that changes for my organization have not yet been determined.

4:24pm Read that my organization will be broken up into 2 parts, part going to an IT group, the other going to a business group.

4:25pm Commence asking coworkers "did you read this e-mail?" while printing and forwarding the e-mail for those who have not yet received it.

4:29pm One coworker at my site calls a coworker at another site to see if she knows more. She has not yet received the e-mail.

4:31pm Discuss the implications of the split and the move. Generally agree that it might be a good move.

4:46pm Continue to discuss implications of reorg plan.

4:52pm Inform coworker seated at site, but away from group, of the move. Repeat discussion of implications/motivations for/minutia of split.

5:03pm Go back to my desk to finish up for the day.

5:12pm Receive e-mail stating that posted story is untrue. Details of reorganization have not yet been decided.

5:22pm Go home to walk dog.

The many moods of Toby

These are a few weeks old. Enjoy :)