TO-THE-DMV-FOR-THE-RANNEYS

it'd become apparent that our addresses in washington were probably no longer valid/legal and we should probably 'sign up' for our new address on the east coast. that, of course, involved a visit to the friendly, neighbourhood dmv.

abbie's been pushing getting this part of the transformation over while i have reluctantly been declining...

abbie: it's already been two months since we've moved, do you think we should get our licenses changed?

scott: no, i think i'll wait a bit.

abbie: really?

scott: yeah, you can go if YOU want to, but i think i'll put it off as long as i can (of course, that can't be good with the whole CDL-elephant-in-the-room.)

that was the end of october- we went in on Nov.24 as that was a day we both had off and we agreed to hit the office EARLY, like 6:45, just-opened-the-doors-early, to try and avoid any and all dmv-esque related bumps-in-the-road. being that it was our joint day off, we didn't get out the door until 7, which really put the doubt in my mind that we were in for a day-long ordeal.

i couldn't be more surprised! wow. unbelievable!

this experience almost completely changed my view of dmv offices-almost...those washington offices will always have a certain priority for what i loathe. anyway, back to VT dmvs...

we walked in, and they had "12 step process". 

first window, get your forms you'll need to present to the dmv rep. nice-no waiting so far...go back to window for a number.

number's called, go to window right after paperwork is filled out. write check or pay cash, of which we did both. take picture. walk to the front of the office, they call your name, give you license, you're on your way. if i didn't have to deal with the CDL lady (who didn't know exactly what to do), we'd have been out of there in 15 minutes! but that was where the wait was, and it wasn't too bad (maybe 10 minutes).

during their review of my paperwork, the question of my citizenship never came up (which was CLEARLY stated on the form) and on top of that, i guess previously having a CDL exempts one from taking the basic can-you-see-the-3rd-line test (aka, eye test). i guess vermont doesn't care if someone is a blind, illegal alien.

we both brought books to pass the time, but, of course, neither were needed. a pleasantly surprising trip to the dmv, for sure! when i went back to the window to pick up my license (that's right, no temp cards here), i inquired about changing the 4 runner's plates and the lady asked if i'd like to do that now, but i declined- mostly because i wanted to cherish the visit i had already experienced. but that looks like it won't be as easy as the license event was...i'll report back the findings.

moral of the story: if you need a new license, vermont's the place to do it!