Day 155
Friday August 1st
Okay here we go, August 1st, which means many things to many different folks. This day the major significance for me is quite simple-- another round with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Aspirin in hand, paper work in order, credit card at the ready, 14 cheap paperback novels in tow I head out to the DMV. Much to my surprise the whole ordeal this year took all of 12 minutes. Flabbergasted was I, and that is an absolute understatement! I still have difficulty believing it but I have the bloody sticker to prove it!
Let me put this in perspective: the first time I tried to register the car in California it took me almost four months to do so. First off the car would not "pass" the CA state smog inspection. Why? Because the dang thing was a brand new PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle) and every smog test registered absolute zero pollutants. Every single state registered smog inspection station in this frikin town tested it and concurred that instead of the car emitting emissions so minuscule the machines could not register it, their machines were erroring out and I had to go somewhere else. That was just the beginning. Eventually I had to have the dealership back in Maine send a notarized letter attesting to the fact that the car was a brand new PZEV that met California emission standards. I then had to have the dealership here certify the letter and add a copy of the SAME document to the file. Add a little more red tape here, a few more hoops to jump through there, endless hours of hair pulling and arm twisting and voila four months later I am legal to drive in California.
Jump ahead a few years. In 2006, it took 13 months, two trips to traffic court, endless hours waiting in line at the Ventura & Oxnard offices, 50+ phone calls to the most obtuse state employees, and an estimated 379 gay hairs to do so. Registration was due August 1st 2006, it was not until mid-September that it went through. My 2007 registration was officially granted in March of 2008. That there is a whole other headache in and of itself. We will save that for another day. For now though I will relax and bask in the glory of a brand new registration and a whole 12 minutes to get it. Yah...
Friday August 1st
Okay here we go, August 1st, which means many things to many different folks. This day the major significance for me is quite simple-- another round with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Aspirin in hand, paper work in order, credit card at the ready, 14 cheap paperback novels in tow I head out to the DMV. Much to my surprise the whole ordeal this year took all of 12 minutes. Flabbergasted was I, and that is an absolute understatement! I still have difficulty believing it but I have the bloody sticker to prove it!
Let me put this in perspective: the first time I tried to register the car in California it took me almost four months to do so. First off the car would not "pass" the CA state smog inspection. Why? Because the dang thing was a brand new PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle) and every smog test registered absolute zero pollutants. Every single state registered smog inspection station in this frikin town tested it and concurred that instead of the car emitting emissions so minuscule the machines could not register it, their machines were erroring out and I had to go somewhere else. That was just the beginning. Eventually I had to have the dealership back in Maine send a notarized letter attesting to the fact that the car was a brand new PZEV that met California emission standards. I then had to have the dealership here certify the letter and add a copy of the SAME document to the file. Add a little more red tape here, a few more hoops to jump through there, endless hours of hair pulling and arm twisting and voila four months later I am legal to drive in California.
Jump ahead a few years. In 2006, it took 13 months, two trips to traffic court, endless hours waiting in line at the Ventura & Oxnard offices, 50+ phone calls to the most obtuse state employees, and an estimated 379 gay hairs to do so. Registration was due August 1st 2006, it was not until mid-September that it went through. My 2007 registration was officially granted in March of 2008. That there is a whole other headache in and of itself. We will save that for another day. For now though I will relax and bask in the glory of a brand new registration and a whole 12 minutes to get it. Yah...
DMV 2009
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