The Trials and Tribulations of letting go of Texas...

So, it is with frustration that I write this Friday the 13th…

Lately, I have been trying to tackle those things that have been hanging over my head. I have finally made a list and am knocking them off one-by-one.  Most of those things involve tedious paper work, phone calls or long lines; some of these aggravating tasks involve a combination of all three.

One that has been at the top of this list for some time involves changing my driver’s license over to New York State.  I have been here for six years this month, and my Texas License still reflects that I live with my parents on Harper Drive in Marshall, TX.  For about five years, my hesitancy to make the change had to do with nostalgia – every time I pulled the license out of my wallet, I was filled with that inexplicable Texan pride, and it made me think of home.  Changing over to New York would feel as if some sort of transmutation had taken place and that I have lost a little bit of me somewhere.  Jamie says that I am a New Yorker now, and family members say that I “talk like a Yankee,” so maybe that is true. I know, though, I will always be a Texan at heart.

Getting a driver’s license in a small town like Marshall is a relatively painless errand.  Shortly after moving to NYC, I lost my Texas license.  To get one in New York State without my Texas one to trade in, I would have to apply for a license, give them an organ or two, and possibly take the written test plus the driving test.  Driving in NYC can be difficult and scary to say the least, but the thought of doing it while a stranger is watching made my stomach do flip-flops.  In fact, my husband still has his learner’s permit and can only drive with another adult sitting in the passenger seat because we just haven’t been up to going through the rigamaroo and hoop-jumping it would take to do the road test.

So, I decided to just get a new one on my upcoming trip to Texas.  Traveling to Texas was a bit of a problem, but after presenting my expired passport and an extremely personal pat-down of body and belongings, I made it. When I went to the DMV in Marshall, I did not have the proper documents, but it just so happens that a girl I went to high school with was sitting behind the counter.  She hugged me, said “hello,” took my picture and I was out in ten minutes – actually, I lie, make that 20 minutes – I spent 10 minutes catching up with Sherry, who sat behind the counter.  She even let me mail the new license to my New York address, so my parents would not have to send it to me since I don’t really live at their house…I just pretend to.

Anything that involves a government office is not so easy in the Big Apple.  I will say that there is a DMV two blocks from my office, which is terribly convenient, but that is where it stops being handy.  About a year ago, I tried to go in to make the change because a New Jersey cop (this is a whole other story) told me that I was breaking the law; I knew that already, but decided to try to comply. I went to the website to see what I would need.

The out-of-state license must show “the date that the license was issued,” and as luck would have it, Texas is one of the only states that does not provide that information. If date of issue is not provided you must contact your state’s DMV and request a “Driver’s License Record Letter.”  Okay, so I went to the Texas DMV site and you can order online – for the mere cost of $24.95.  You can opt to have express delivery, but that is another $27.95.  A month later, I had that very expensive piece of paper in my hand, I set off for the NYDMV.  After waiting in line for an hour-and-a-half, I proudly stepped up to the window to present my documents.  Well, apparently, there is a new rule that states that you must present a social security card when applying to change your out-of-state license. Uh-oh…I haven’t seen that thing since around 1991.

That Monday, I said I would be late to work.  Forgetting that it was the first of the month at the social security office in Harlem, I waited for two hours in line.  I got to the window, and a snotty woman told me that a scanned copy of my marriage license would not do, that I had to have the original.  She told me I was welcome to go home and get it and come back and wait in line.  Rather than punch her in the nose, I just decided that I would get the card with “Moseley,” instead of “Moseley-Bennett.”  I had really been aching to have all of my identification reflect that I have a wonderful husband, but so be it.  Three weeks later I received my social security card.

So, yesterday, after nine months, I decided to brave it again.  The DMV opens at 8:30 and I got there at 8:15 only to find that the line stretched around the corner of sixth avenue well into the middle of 33rd Street.  I sighed, and went to the end of the line. I counted as far as I could see and there were 99 people ahead of me, not counting the people around the folks around the corner, so I stepped out of line…

Today, I went back with a better attitude and I got there at 7:45, armed with ipod and an iced coffee.  This time, there were only 25 people ahead of me and at 8:30, the line started moving.  Once upstairs, I felt triumphant that any second my goal would be reached, and was fourth in the out-of-state line.  I stepped up and the woman looked at all of my docs, only to ask me where my “proof of birth was…”  "Well," I said, “I have my social security card, my Texas Driver’s License, my marriage certificate, and all of those prove that I was born. And by the way, are you kidding me?”  She replied with a “nope,” and then called me “ma’am.”  I have to have either my birth certificate or my passport, both of which are at home.  Shit…

Considering that my Texas License does not expire until my birthday of 2012, who knows when I will go back.  Maybe Texas just isn’t ready to let me go yet…