Monday, December 10, 2012

Hangover Post

I just came back from renewing our car's registration.   A perk from living in a smallish town - - I renewed the tabs online and then went across the street to the courthouse to pick them up, where I had to stand in line for only about 3 minutes. 

This last election our state voted for same sex marriage and legalized marijuana.  Let this be known - - I am NOT anti-gay in the least.   But I AM against changing the definition of marriage.  And I AM anti-legal marijuana.   So I felt like I kind of went 0-2 on those two issues.   But this is not a political statement.   It is more of a declaration that, inspite of what I personally think are a few negatives, I love it here and feel it a blessing to call this my home.

My car registration renewal cost me $43.   In California, I remember paying hundreds of dollars every year to renew the tabs on my car.   When I renewed my driver's license in June there was no one at the DMV (DOL), so I was only there for about five minutes.  That never happened in California :)  

I DID almost get run over in the crosswalk, though.   An old lady.   I think she put her foot on the gas pedal instead of the brake.   I didn't know I could move that fast!  She missed me by six inches!

So, I am kind of babbling.   Nyquil hangover.   I'm sure I'll make more sense and be more entertaining tomorrow.  

18 comments:

  1. It is nice not to have to wait. A couple weeks ago, I had to register the truck. Walked in handed them a check and got the new sticker.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After living in California my whole life, it was such a treat to have little or no lines for things like that up here!!!

      Delete
  2. How long have you lived in WA? I ask b/c the year we moved there, 1999, we had to pony up nearly $800 to register our cars. There used to be tons and tons of abandoned cars along the highways back then, and I knew a lot of people who had OR plates. Enter Tim Eyman and his initiative to roll back the car tab fees which won by a landslide and the following year it was only about $100 for 2 cars and I stopped noticing abandoned cars. I guess people could afford to register them again. We'll have to agree to disagree on the gay marriage and pot thing though. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, I've learned to agree to disagree with people on LOTS of issues - - Makes for a better friendship :) We've be in WA for almost 12 years. I was just telling my sister who lives in California and has two cars to register this month how wrong it is! You buy the car, pay the registration, the sales tax, and then every year you're still expected to pay the renewal fee, which almost requires a loan!!!

      Delete
    2. We have to pay excise tax on our vehicles here in MA each year on top of the yearly vehicle inspection (not smog though) and registration. These states have their hands out at every turn, yet they continue to cry 'poor mouth'. Ya have to wonder where that money's going!!!

      Delete
  3. I found JoJo's comment interesting about all of the abandoned cars due to the very high registration fees. Then someone with some sense (apparently Tim Eyman) rolled back the car tab fees to something affordable and all of those abandoned cars disappeared. Huh. Makes you wonder why some people have common sense and some don't. Anyway, glad that the lines are short and the old lady didn't run you over in the crosswalk. I think that mistaking the gas for the brake (or vice versa) is something that we all have done when we are tired, sick, or just not paying the attention we should. Or maybe she had foot slippage. Man, that is scary when that happens. Anyway, the important thing is that YOU were paying attention and were able to MOVE FAST to avoid being mowed over. There was definitely potential for disaster in this little scenario. Glad it turned out well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, you're right Robin - - I've never mistaken the brake for the gas or vice versa, but I'd have foot slippage :) Maybe I'll just have to use more common sense in the future and wear shoes with tread when I'm driving!

      Delete
  4. I'm SO happy you were quick on your feet! And I too like the small town DMV office! Here in northern Michigan, you're in and out in about 5 minutes. Down in the Detroit area you might as well pack a lunch and dinner! I have no problem with gay marriage either, in fact I'm for it, being the mom of a gay son but I'm a little skiddish on the legalized weed. For medicinal purposes I think it's absolutely a plus. I partook when I was going through my chemo but just an umbrella legalization, I'm still weighing the pros and cons. My main concern are parents who smoke it with children in their care, or any adults for that matter and the driving while under the influence.
    Feel better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always love love love your opinions and thoughts on these kinds of topics. You are totally awesome and I love you!!!!

      Delete
  5. Don't drink NyQuil and drive, hehe. My brother went to the DMV once in CA. He got his number and waited and waited and waited. He left (a no no) and was gone for at least an hour. He returned and hadn't missed being called. He sat there for 3 more hours before he got to do whatever it was he was trying to do. Here where I live, most everything is done by mail. You have to get your license renewed every so many years and you can do most of that by mail. You just have to go to the DMV (only open certain hours and 3 days a week) and get the new picture taken.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That reminded me of the time that my husband (before we were married) had just moved to SoCal. He had a cough so his mother sent him some super duper cough syrup with codeine. He didn't measure, he chugged it from the bottle and then got in his VW bug to hop on the freeway and drive to work. He drove about 5 miles past his exit before he realized it.

      Delete
  6. I think I'll try the Nyquil affect in a couple of months when it is time to renew ours! Ours is much like a Bingo Palace with a number caller G-42! Hours later someone yells Bingo! :) Now renewing the drivers license w/pic ID has suddenly turned into handing over DNA. Loved it this last time, I used my DL for proof of ID and they said I couldn't use it! Oh I questioned this as they were the issuers of that ID and learned that your picture ID issued by that establishment is not proof of ID when renewing the same DL. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is SO crazy! How could they not accept the DL that THEY issued as proof of you id when you went to renew your DL? So so stupid.

      Delete
  7. The wait for any sort of DMV thing in Chicago is, as you can imagine, horrible. When my folks still lived in IL, I would go out to their neck of the suburbs to the DMV office there. No waiting! Glad you survived granny behind the wheel!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great great advantage in living in a smaller town when it comes to renewing those things!

      Delete
  8. Glad she missed you!

    For some reason, I've never had to stand in line long here in New York, but I have been amazed at how much things like registration costs—much, much more than I had to pay when I lived in Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Yikes!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I detect so much appreciation in this post, Judy !
    your home, your town, the "cheap" registration, absence of lines .. but most importantly your survival !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glad you managed to get out of the lady's way! I tend to do a lot of our DMV things online here in Southern California. I tell you, I thought registrations were high in California, but when we lived in Montana and I went to register our van after we moved there, WOW! They don't have sales tax, so they do property tax on vehicles. Talk about sticker shock! (but it was a short line :)

    betty

    ReplyDelete