Saturday, April 5, 2008

The differences in DMVs

I'll bet you've never considered the differences between DMV offices in different states. It's not something one lies awake at night pondering. "I wonder if Alaska DMVs have brown counters or tan counters..."

But I must admit that I was surprised and delighted when I visited the Palmer DMV to get my Alaska Driver's License.

I've seen several DMVs in California. Here's my impression. Mellybean will appreciate this.

Everything is brown... F**king brown... Brown again...

Brown, tan, cream, beige, neutral, whatever you want to call it. No wonder people who work there are so bitchy. I'd go nuts spending eight hours a day, five days a week in a dry, airless, brown building where the customers get so bored they start off with an argument just to wake up again. And the workers reply in kind.

Here's the first thing I noticed at the Palmer DMV: Quilts.

Quilts hanging on all the walls behind the counters. The walls were pale green. The counter tops were pink and the walls under them were teal. Only the carpet was brown. (Considering how there's a lot of dirt and gravel and mud everywhere here, that was probably a good choice.)

The guy I got to talk to the first time was chewing gum. He yawned just as I got up to the counter. I thought, man, this place is lax!

I didn't see a single person having an issue with waiting. Or with any of the workers helping them. They actually looked like they enjoyed being there.

Imagine, enjoying something as mundane as a visit to the DMV!!!

Well, I flunked the test the first time. It was my first time using a computerized test, so I guess it's to be expected. But I passed the second time the next day.

That was another thing: For some reason, I remember having to wait a while between taking the written tests if you flunk. Is that still true? Here, I got to take it again the next day. I was still a bit miffed because I was doing this on my days off, but at least now I'm an official Alaskan Driver.

My picture actually turned out decently, too. That's the true miracle.

2 comments:

Miss Mel said...

Brown!... And the small dog says "I'm not happy with my wash."

LMAO! I love ewe!

Sparklecat said...

Maybe I should try talking to guys in race cars. "Are you happywithyourwash?!" (Ooh, I think I tweaked my neck!)

Yeah, I'm not happy with mine, either, small dog. But at least I got friends who can make me laugh about it!

I love ewe, too!