DMV or VMD?

 

After waiting three months for our Department of Motor Vehicles appointment, the big day finally arrived. Due to the pandemic, everything takes a little longer and is a little bit more difficult. My husband and I prepared for this appointment as if we were going into a battle zone. We had a bag full of every possible document, food, drinks, and a wrench to remove our license plate in the parking lot. Eager for the ordeal, we arrived 45 minutes early and got a front row parking space. We were ready for the DMV or the VMD as I call it, the Vehicle Mania Bureaucracy.

Upon arrival, the appointments were already an hour behind. Masks were required as we stood in a line six feet apart according to our appointment times. The line didn’t work because no one wanted to move back a step to let new people in. So the DMV employees had to walk up and down the line every fifteen minutes calling out the next appointment time to enter. Having a loud voice helped!

People watching made the time pass by. The young man in front of us had earrings and wore a cannabis shop T-shirt. There were people in pajamas, shorts, and wild TShirts. A woman showed up in her exercise clothes to stand in the disability line with others on canes and in wheelchairs. I felt sorry for the elderly standing in the heat waiting for their turn.

An hour later, we finally got called to enter the monumental brick building that hid the chaos inside. The DMV employees wore face masks, uniforms, and had plexiglass walls between them. My husband and I were called to separate desks on opposite sides of the high ceiling, noisy room. After a successful interview, I was sent to the photographer's line. There is a new rule that you have to tuck your hair behind your ears and remove both your mask and glasses for your driver’s license photo. After waiting in the long, photo line, I was barely smiling by the time it was my turn. My photo neglects to show me clutching my glasses, mask, purse, and paperwork so that I didn’t have to put them on the dirty floor. 

When I was done, my husband was still in process. It turned out we left our car registration document in the glove compartment. I convinced the guard to let me run out and get it. By the time I returned, the clerk had found it online. I was surprised to see a DMV snack bar for hungry customers. Who has an appetite in the middle of chaos? I lost my appetite just standing in line. 

What did I learn from our DMV adventure? Be overly prepared and don't forget to check in the glove compartment. Bring sunglasses and anti-bacterial hand gel. Be polite and don’t engage crazy! Appreciate your hard-earned driver’s license and license plate. We earned them by the end of the ordeal. Be grateful for your job. Hopefully, it is calmer than working at the DMV. I think all the DMV employees deserve a bonus for working in chaos during the pandemic. I think by the end of our visit that the DMV was a 'Daring Manic Visit' that we survived.