Buffistae, I have been dreading for months renewing my driver's license.
The last time I had to do it it took arriving at the SF DMV at 8am to be greeted by a long line, an hour to even get inside the building, and then waiting until 5:45pm to have to pass a written test and it was so horrible and dreary and long and back aching. Nine hours spent on a flimsy plastic chair and being unable to leave for fear of my number being called while I got coffee.
But we're flying tomorrow and my license expired on my birthday last week and I've been having sleepless nights worrying about it. That TSA wouldn't let me through.
Emmett also had ongoing DMV stress as he had tried to renew his license last September and it never got mailed to him, and he similarly had to go from line to line with lots of documentation and never the right thing and it was stressful and shitty. Plus now he had a change of address and needed to do his car registration.
And I had a little escape hatch in my brain when I realized, "You know...this is a California legal thing not a San Francisco thing. If I got to a different DMV it would probably be easier."
I pitched this to Emmett saying, "Maybe we could do a DMV in the East Bay."
And he said, "That's probably not going to be much better, but when I got my license up at Petaluma I was out of there in 45 minutes and I didn't have an appointment."
So we decided to do a road trip to the Petaluma DMV! Got up at the ass crack of dawn to hit our local cafe for lattes and breakfast sandwiches and headed North on the 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge. Reverse commute so no traffic. Got to Petaluma in 40 minutes.
Turns out Wednesday is the one day of the week they open at 9am instead of 8am. Okay. We sit in the parking lot finishing our coffee and delicious egg sandwiches.
At 9am we walk in, no appointment, each clutching piles of paperwork proving address and identity.
Go stand in the information line which has one person in it. Info lady says, "Oh, you're just doing a renewal? Take this paper, go to that kiosk, fill it in on the computer and write down the file number. Then come back here."
We both do that and are back in a few minutes. We both get window numbers that are next in line. Before I even sit down Emmett's number is called. I pay for his registration and the lady reaches into a drawer and just hands him his new sticker.
No waiting in the mail. He's been dreading and avoiding this task for months and now it's done in minutes. No extra proof required for change of address either.
Oh, and he had a pending application still on file so he didn't have to pay and the only reason he never got his license is because they forgot to tell him to get his picture taken at the SF DMV.
So that was the only hold up, which meant he had no valid license for 9 months.
After I pay for his registration I get called to my window. I don't have to take a written test again. She checks my file, confirms my new address, looks at my old card and I pay $41. That's it.
I get into the picture taking line and there's no line. Get my picture taken with my glasses on and he says, "Okay, you're done. Get out of here. Check your mail in two weeks."
Emmett follows right behind me, get his picture taken and we walk out the door.
I check the time. It's 9:12. We both got our licenses renewed with address changes and Emmett's car registration and it took twelve minutes, without an appointment.
I cannot stress you enough how it is NOT LIKE THIS in San Francisco.
We were literally giddy and laughing the whole way home, praising the Petaluma DMV and were back home by 10am.
Highlight of the month? Trip to the DMV.