DMV reconsidered

I'm still not going to say anything bad about my experience at the DMV, however, I didn't realize some of the downstream implications.

Specifically, the temporary ID they gave me is laughably fake. It's a slip of paper that comes off a bad black and white inkjet printer. Huan laughed out loud when he saw it. I figured that lots of people get temporary licenses, so everyone would recognize them.

Wrong.

At the casino a ordered a diet coke, and for some reason the waitress decided that required her to card me. Really? I thought. I'm definitely over 21, and I'm definitely not ordering a drink with booze. Nope, she still required the ID. So I showed her my temp.

Waitress: Sorry, I can't take this.
Me: But it's state issued. It's the only thing I have.
Waitress: Sorry, it's not plastic.
Me: But I'm only ordering Diet Coke.
Waitress: I might need to ask you to leave.
Me: [dumbstruck]
Me: Well, I have my old DC license that they used a hole punch on to invalidate it.
Waitress: Oh, okay [examines the invalidated DC license]. That's cool. I'll bring you your drink.

I tell this story to Huan and we have several immediate concerns. First, we were going to meet some people for a drink, and it now seemed unlikely that I could get into a bar, much less order a drink. Second, I was driving home from the casino, and we both felt it unlikely that a police officer would accept my fake license if I were pulled over (especially since I had trimmed it down to fit inside my wallet).

Luckily I wasn't pulled over, and the bar didn't card me. But I've got to get through another week, so we'll see how it works. I'll also figure out if there is a way to communicate just how fake this thing looks via the Interwebs.

Comcast and WA DMV: not as sucky as expected

It's been a weird week. My expectations for customer service from cable providers and DMVs are indescribably low. If a Comcast tech comes to my house and doesn't rob me or fall asleep I consider it a success; if I can get out of a DMV in under 12 hours I consider it a success.

Which is why I'm stunned by my experiences this past week.

Comcast was scheduled to come this past Sunday between 12-4. I told several people back East to give me a call in that time frame, since I was certain that no one would show up until 5 or 6 or Thursday. Thus I thought it was a prank when the Comcast guy showed up at 12:30. He showed up, quickly installed my cable box, helped me set up my cable modem, and left. I actually wrote on the survey "This was my only positive experience dealing with Comcast in seven years."

This morning I set out on what I assumed to be a day-long effort to get my drivers license and WA tags. Strangely, you can only get your license at the DMV here, while you must go to a private company to get your tags and title. Sweet! I thought... two opportunities to wait in line. So I packed a couple of magazines and a granola bar and set off. It took me 30 minutes to get my temporary license. Stunning. The DMV employees were actually nice and helpful.

Thus I figured the real wait must be at the place to get tags. I drove over and put 1:15 on the parking meter, figuring it would be a debacle. But no! I walked in, filled out a form, waited 5 minutes, and got tags, a title, and registration. Quick and easy. Painless. And incredibly boring to write about. Sorry for the long post with no payoff.