Learner's Permit

Today is 6 months out from Alison’s 16^th birthday, which means it is the first day that she is eligible to get her learner’s permit.  Ali did all of her classwork online, so even though she ended up passing her “test” at the end of the class, she still had to take her test at the DMV before she could get her temps.  I am pretty sure that with Sarah we just had to show up and give them a check, because she took a two week course after school for an hour a day and then passed the test at the end of it.

We got there right when the DMV opened.  There were a bunch of other people there already when we got there at 8:28, so I assumed they had opened the doors.  Nope!  I suppose, being a government agency, they have a HARD opening and closing time.  Not a second earlier, nor a second past the posted times would they remain open.

Once we got to the info desk and gave the person working there our paperwork, Ali got her number.  We only had to wait for a couple of minutes before they called her.  Then when we went to the window, the woman behind the counter had her do her vision test and I think a couple of other things before sending her off to a different room to take her test.  Before going though, she had to leave her phone with me.  The lady was very helpful, but was a low talker.  Why is it that the DMV always has people like that working there?

I thought it might take about a half an hour or so, but she was done in about 10 minutes.  She ended up with a 46/50, and there were at least two questions she was mad that she missed, because she knew the answer, but the question was a graphical one and the picture they showed with the question was very confusing (according to her).  Knowing how things at the DMV work, I wouldn’t doubt it.

The longest part of the day at the DMV was waiting to get her permit.  They called her right away to get her photo taken, but then we had to wait for over half an hour to be called to go back up to the counter to pay the fee and get the paper copy of her temps.  Then when we got back up to the window (we had the same lady who helped us the first time) the lady made her take the vision test again.  Apparently she either forgot, or forgot to note on her paperwork that she already passed.  Again, who would have ever thought a DMV employee would do that?  It wasn’t a big deal, but just more typical of what one would expect from the DMV and why they get a bad rap.

It took a little while, but we finally got it, and we were back to school by 10:00.  I asked if she wanted to drive home, but she thought it would be better if I drove.  We were on a little bit of a tight schedule because she was only excused until 10:00, so it was probably best that I drove back home.  Now the fun starts, being the passenger while she drives and not freaking out.