Fully legal!
Well, I finally did it: I got a Texas driver's license. And it is a motorcycle license too, so I can drive our scooter with impunity. Hello, California rolls!*
There was only a minimum of drama in getting the license. I was worried they'd be anal about me having to have my social security card - no idea where the original one is - but I had my school transcripts and they have my social security number on it, so it worked out. Probably the first and last time I was glad to have my privacy violated by having my social security number splayed over non-official documents. Also, I had to wait nearly an hour before they called my number, and when I went up to the window, it turned out you had to use black ink, and I'd - GASP - used blue ink. And yes, I had to fill the damn things out again, but fortunately, they didn't kick me to the back of the line.
I'd taken the motorcycle riding school course and passed it, so I didn't have to do the behind the wheel portion of the motorcycle test. All I had to take was a written exam, which, thank you very much, I aced. Of course, of the 15 questions I was asked, probably three of them were things I learned in the riding course; the rest were just common-sense. But still.
So I had my picture taken - where they insisted on removing my glasses, even though I wear them pretty much every waking moment - and in two to four weeks, I'll have an actual license. In the meanwhile, I have a lovely piece of paper that indicates I am legal to drive in Texas.
This all happened Wednesday afternoon. By Wednesday evening, I'd had my first accident on the scooter. No, not what you were thinking. I'd taken my glasses off to get my helmet off - it's one of those that covers your whole head - and set the glasses on the scooter's seat. Unbeknownst to me, the wind blew my glasses to the ground, where I promptly stepped on them and broke an arm off.
The really strange thing is that while taking the eye exam for the license earlier that day, I'd gotten a 20/50 rating. I used to have 20/10 with my glasses on, and it made me realize that this pair was 4.5 years old and maybe the prescription needed to be changed. Breaking your only pair of glasses is a great incentive to hie yourself to the optometrist. Now I have an appointment for Tuesday, where I have to pick out a new pair of frames. O the pressure of picking a look for the next few years. And I found a good repair place that was able to temporarily weld the glasses frame back together so I don't have to walk around with scotch tape doing the job.
* I was very surprised to learn that people from other states also call it a "California roll" when you don't make a complete stop at a red light/stop sign. I thought it was just us Californians who did that. Come to think of it, it's kind of an insult...
There was only a minimum of drama in getting the license. I was worried they'd be anal about me having to have my social security card - no idea where the original one is - but I had my school transcripts and they have my social security number on it, so it worked out. Probably the first and last time I was glad to have my privacy violated by having my social security number splayed over non-official documents. Also, I had to wait nearly an hour before they called my number, and when I went up to the window, it turned out you had to use black ink, and I'd - GASP - used blue ink. And yes, I had to fill the damn things out again, but fortunately, they didn't kick me to the back of the line.
I'd taken the motorcycle riding school course and passed it, so I didn't have to do the behind the wheel portion of the motorcycle test. All I had to take was a written exam, which, thank you very much, I aced. Of course, of the 15 questions I was asked, probably three of them were things I learned in the riding course; the rest were just common-sense. But still.
So I had my picture taken - where they insisted on removing my glasses, even though I wear them pretty much every waking moment - and in two to four weeks, I'll have an actual license. In the meanwhile, I have a lovely piece of paper that indicates I am legal to drive in Texas.
This all happened Wednesday afternoon. By Wednesday evening, I'd had my first accident on the scooter. No, not what you were thinking. I'd taken my glasses off to get my helmet off - it's one of those that covers your whole head - and set the glasses on the scooter's seat. Unbeknownst to me, the wind blew my glasses to the ground, where I promptly stepped on them and broke an arm off.
The really strange thing is that while taking the eye exam for the license earlier that day, I'd gotten a 20/50 rating. I used to have 20/10 with my glasses on, and it made me realize that this pair was 4.5 years old and maybe the prescription needed to be changed. Breaking your only pair of glasses is a great incentive to hie yourself to the optometrist. Now I have an appointment for Tuesday, where I have to pick out a new pair of frames. O the pressure of picking a look for the next few years. And I found a good repair place that was able to temporarily weld the glasses frame back together so I don't have to walk around with scotch tape doing the job.
* I was very surprised to learn that people from other states also call it a "California roll" when you don't make a complete stop at a red light/stop sign. I thought it was just us Californians who did that. Come to think of it, it's kind of an insult...
posted by Her Ladyship @ 9:49 AM
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