Still, I recommend books on tape/CD

By all means! I don't remember what radio station coverage was like on the east coast, but driving in the western states I needed something because I'm not a huge C/W fan and sometimes that's all I could find. Or Rush Limbaugh. ::gag::

I think that's stupidly true for everyone born in PR, right?

Yeah, everyone born after a certain date. (Not sure what the cutoff is.)

I'm gonna pimp Audible for audiobooks without having to carry around a bunch of CDs. Most rental cars these days will have an aux-in jack for your iPod, and if you're the only one in the car with opposable thumbs you don't want to be switching out CDs.

Libraries also have downloadable audiobooks for free.

Right, you don't have to be a citizen to get a drivers license, just a legal resident.

And a passport proves both. If anything, it's overkill.

(Though in all honestly, I *love* listening to crappy C/W stations when driving through the middle of nowhere. It's a total guilty pleasure.)

Also, if you haven't done audiobooks while driving before, I highly recommend getting a book you enjoy that you've already read. Otherwise, I find them distracting, especially when not used to driving while listening.

I wonder if the proportion of non-citizens with driving jobs is higher in NYS....

Than in Texas? I'm not sure.

The whole needing a SS card has made us think about whether or not I really want to legally change my name to Jon's. I was hanging on to Morgan on my SS card for that reason.

DJ, I have Morgan relatives! In WV, not Texas or LA, but still.

The only reason I ever even used hub's last name was because I was in college at the time and the registration line is shorter if you're a B than if you're an M.

I am rolling my eyes at my 21 yr. old self.

Brostitutes with Tim Roth.

In California, I couldn't get away with just my NY license, I had to show a birth certificate or passport and, annoyingly, the name on my license had to match it exactly, so, even though I just wanted to use my middle initial, like every other document and credit card I carry around, I had to use my whole middle name.

This was the problem I had. I use my middle name, on everything, even my taxes (!), but my NJ driver's license had my full legal name (which was the beginning of all my name troubles), and Virginia DMV wanted me top prove that the person with THAT name lived at my address. They wanted a utility bill, and wouldn't accept any of mine because they came to Elizabeth Lastname, not Firstname Elizabeth Lastname. I finally had to mail myself a letter, using my full name, to my old address in NJ, to get it back with the Post Office yellow sticker that showed the new address. THAT, the VA DMV would accept. They wouldn't accept bank statements, nothing, but that yellow sticker did it. RiDICKulous.

Right, you don't have to be a citizen to get a drivers license, just a legal resident.

Which I guess was their point, but still.

I've been advised to change my name legally to the way I want to use it, and I guess I will, but it irks me that I have to jump through legal hoops because my chosen name doesn't fit in the liitle boxes. It's not like I made up an entirely different name for myself!

The whole needing a SS card has made us think about whether or not I really want to legally change my name to Jon's.

A friend of mine recently capitulated to familial pressure and finally changed her name to her husband's. She said she regretted it because it's been such a pain to change everything. At least the new name is easier to pronounce. I haven't changed mine yet basically because I just don't want to deal with it.

Also, if you haven't done audiobooks while driving before, I highly recommend getting a book you enjoy that you've already read. Otherwise, I find them distracting, especially when not used to driving while listening.

I forgot to mention this -- if I'm the driver, it HAS to be a book I've already read, or I'll drive right into a ditch because I've gotten sucked into it. David Sedaris almost killed me on a drive to Mansfield one time. Me Talk Pretty One Day should have a warning label on it.