License & registration & inspection... expired.
This sucks.
Yesterday I get pulled over, three blocks from my house, on the way to work. Complete confusion. Why in the world am I getting pulled over? I was going the speed limit, I didn't break any laws, I didn't do anything wrong.
The police officer tells me that my registration expired two months ago, and my inspection expired last month. Well, that came as a surprise. See, this is what happens when your parents try to "shelter" you from the world and don't let you have a car in your name until you're twenty-eight! Yes, it's nice of them, always buying cars for me and taking care of all that stuff for me--even though, mind you, I never asked them to, in point of fact have asked them not to, maybe that makes me ungrateful, wanting to do for myself instead of always having mommy & daddy step in and swoop it out of my hands, but then you get to be twenty-eight and you don't know little things like "the vehicle's registration needs to be periodically renewed" and, I don't know, when and how to do things like that. Twenty-eight and I need a cop to tell me that I have to register my vehicle! Damn it!
Now that's something a lot of people are going to think is just stupidity on my part. And maybe it is. But it's the same idea I try to dig in to my coworker's heads about the kids: if you don't teach them, they don't know. True, I'm not a three-year-old, but neither was I born with the entirety of the Pennsylvania Vehicle and Driving Laws plugged into my brain. Do I feel stupid? Yes, I do. And poor. I feel very, very poor. Because between the ticket and the registration fees and the cost of inspection, I'm going to be broke for a good long time. So, I feel poor, and stupid. But it would have never occurred to me to look at that registration sticker, or to ask about whether or not it had to be renewed; so help me, I thought it was something the state did automatically for you; I didn't know. Maybe that makes me dumb. It certainly makes me annoyed.
The inspection, that was just me not paying attention. I simply didn't realize that it had expired. My bad.
While we were on the subject of Things That I Was Doing Wrong, I told the officer that there was a problem with my license and would he please tell me what the problem was. He started to get an attitude with me--probably thought I was trying to BS my way out of yet another ticket. Once I explained the situation to him--the short version--he agreed to check and get back to me. Some of you may not know that there's a situation with my license, so allow me to explain.
The License: We moved back to PA nearly 2 years ago. I went to the DPW to get my NJ license transfered to a PA license shortly after we moved. PA tells me that there's a "problem" with the license, and they can't do anything for me. They can't tell me what the problem is, and direct me to New Jersey's DOT.
Two years later, I still can't get a hold of a real person on the NJ end of things. I've tried internet, phone, fax, and snail-mail. I would gladly show up in person, if I had the time to jaunt over the border and spend a whole day--or two, or three, or however many it would take to move up the rungs of incompetence and find someone who could help me--sitting around in various NJDOT offices digging up the problem. But I confess it's a Low Priority for me. I've got a job, a home, and a son, and those three things keep me plenty busy. NJDOT just doesn't even make the Priority List, beyond what phone calls &etc I can squeeze in here and there.
So, no PA license, and the problem with my NJ license remains unresolved.
I explain all of this to the officer, and ask him to please, for pity's sake, get me some information to work with, even if it means another ticket, because I'm at a loss and I just do not know what to do.
The officer comes back from doing whatever it is they do in their cars when they've pulled you over, and he tells me that, according to New Jersey, I HAVE NO LICENSE. Now, the damned thing is in the officer's hand, with another two years before it expires, and NJ is saying that it simply doesn't exist.
Well, what am I supposed to do now? That's what I ask the officer. He tells me that I'm going to have to go through the whole process again in PA: learner's permit, written test, all of that. I'm actually relieved. At last, an answer. I was thinking that I'd get in some kind of trouble going through all of that nonsense for a brand-new license when I already had one issued to me--like some kind of fraud attempt or something, you know, claiming I didn't have a license when I clearly did, trying to fake out the system or whatever other nonsense, because really the State makes no sense to me and I honestly thought there was a rule somewhere about that sort of duplicity. "Trying to get a second license, when you already hold one, eh? We don't go easy on your sort, you know..."
But if the NJ license--against all evidence to the senses--just doesn't exist, then that does simplify things, doesn't it?
The only problem is that I have no car and no license and no money, so I'm now completely dependent on Steve.
The whole thing has me very nearly non-functional, overwhelmed, ill, and despairing. It doesn't help that I'm off my meds--a debacle that I just don't feel like getting into right now--and the chemical crash certainly isn't helping my situation. I was out sick yesterday and today is a legitimate day off. Writing this is my Attempt at Mental and Emotional Catharsis for the day. I just can't bring myself to do anything else.
Steve doesn't seem to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. He's been having mini-hissy-fits about taking Nate to school. Today he gave me his paycheck and told me to cash it.
"HOW?" I asked.
"Go to the bank and cash it," he told me.
"In what car? With what license?"
"You have a car. You'll have to risk it."
I was dumb-struck for a moment or two. "Can't you go on your lunch break?" I finally managed.
"No," he said, as if it was the dumbest question he'd ever heard. "I don't have time."
This went on for a while. It got quite ridiculous.
Finally, I snapped, "do you realize that I could get thrown in jail for driving that car? Unregistered? With no license? Jail, Steve, jail! Take it on your lunch break!" I then locked myself in the bathroom for a good five minutes, and when I came out, I went straight to bed.
I still don't think he got the point.
So now I have to convince him to take me to the DMV tomorrow, even though we have visitors coming, and yes, it really sucks, but I'm going to have to miss hanging out with his aunt & uncle so I can get this pesky license & registration thing taken care of, but I'm sure they will understand that I'm not avoiding them and given the choice I really would not like to be spending my whole Saturday at the DMV. And then I have to convince him to take me back to get my driver's license, and that's provided that I manage to get the permit and registration tomorrow, which may not happen if they're too busy. And I'm sure he's going to have a fit when he has to drive me around all week, until I have my car inspected and my license in hand, but that's really too bad, because I'm not going to jail just to make his week a little easier.
This whole thing has me really, really stressed out.
Yesterday I get pulled over, three blocks from my house, on the way to work. Complete confusion. Why in the world am I getting pulled over? I was going the speed limit, I didn't break any laws, I didn't do anything wrong.
The police officer tells me that my registration expired two months ago, and my inspection expired last month. Well, that came as a surprise. See, this is what happens when your parents try to "shelter" you from the world and don't let you have a car in your name until you're twenty-eight! Yes, it's nice of them, always buying cars for me and taking care of all that stuff for me--even though, mind you, I never asked them to, in point of fact have asked them not to, maybe that makes me ungrateful, wanting to do for myself instead of always having mommy & daddy step in and swoop it out of my hands, but then you get to be twenty-eight and you don't know little things like "the vehicle's registration needs to be periodically renewed" and, I don't know, when and how to do things like that. Twenty-eight and I need a cop to tell me that I have to register my vehicle! Damn it!
Now that's something a lot of people are going to think is just stupidity on my part. And maybe it is. But it's the same idea I try to dig in to my coworker's heads about the kids: if you don't teach them, they don't know. True, I'm not a three-year-old, but neither was I born with the entirety of the Pennsylvania Vehicle and Driving Laws plugged into my brain. Do I feel stupid? Yes, I do. And poor. I feel very, very poor. Because between the ticket and the registration fees and the cost of inspection, I'm going to be broke for a good long time. So, I feel poor, and stupid. But it would have never occurred to me to look at that registration sticker, or to ask about whether or not it had to be renewed; so help me, I thought it was something the state did automatically for you; I didn't know. Maybe that makes me dumb. It certainly makes me annoyed.
The inspection, that was just me not paying attention. I simply didn't realize that it had expired. My bad.
While we were on the subject of Things That I Was Doing Wrong, I told the officer that there was a problem with my license and would he please tell me what the problem was. He started to get an attitude with me--probably thought I was trying to BS my way out of yet another ticket. Once I explained the situation to him--the short version--he agreed to check and get back to me. Some of you may not know that there's a situation with my license, so allow me to explain.
The License: We moved back to PA nearly 2 years ago. I went to the DPW to get my NJ license transfered to a PA license shortly after we moved. PA tells me that there's a "problem" with the license, and they can't do anything for me. They can't tell me what the problem is, and direct me to New Jersey's DOT.
Two years later, I still can't get a hold of a real person on the NJ end of things. I've tried internet, phone, fax, and snail-mail. I would gladly show up in person, if I had the time to jaunt over the border and spend a whole day--or two, or three, or however many it would take to move up the rungs of incompetence and find someone who could help me--sitting around in various NJDOT offices digging up the problem. But I confess it's a Low Priority for me. I've got a job, a home, and a son, and those three things keep me plenty busy. NJDOT just doesn't even make the Priority List, beyond what phone calls &etc I can squeeze in here and there.
So, no PA license, and the problem with my NJ license remains unresolved.
I explain all of this to the officer, and ask him to please, for pity's sake, get me some information to work with, even if it means another ticket, because I'm at a loss and I just do not know what to do.
The officer comes back from doing whatever it is they do in their cars when they've pulled you over, and he tells me that, according to New Jersey, I HAVE NO LICENSE. Now, the damned thing is in the officer's hand, with another two years before it expires, and NJ is saying that it simply doesn't exist.
Well, what am I supposed to do now? That's what I ask the officer. He tells me that I'm going to have to go through the whole process again in PA: learner's permit, written test, all of that. I'm actually relieved. At last, an answer. I was thinking that I'd get in some kind of trouble going through all of that nonsense for a brand-new license when I already had one issued to me--like some kind of fraud attempt or something, you know, claiming I didn't have a license when I clearly did, trying to fake out the system or whatever other nonsense, because really the State makes no sense to me and I honestly thought there was a rule somewhere about that sort of duplicity. "Trying to get a second license, when you already hold one, eh? We don't go easy on your sort, you know..."
But if the NJ license--against all evidence to the senses--just doesn't exist, then that does simplify things, doesn't it?
The only problem is that I have no car and no license and no money, so I'm now completely dependent on Steve.
The whole thing has me very nearly non-functional, overwhelmed, ill, and despairing. It doesn't help that I'm off my meds--a debacle that I just don't feel like getting into right now--and the chemical crash certainly isn't helping my situation. I was out sick yesterday and today is a legitimate day off. Writing this is my Attempt at Mental and Emotional Catharsis for the day. I just can't bring myself to do anything else.
Steve doesn't seem to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. He's been having mini-hissy-fits about taking Nate to school. Today he gave me his paycheck and told me to cash it.
"HOW?" I asked.
"Go to the bank and cash it," he told me.
"In what car? With what license?"
"You have a car. You'll have to risk it."
I was dumb-struck for a moment or two. "Can't you go on your lunch break?" I finally managed.
"No," he said, as if it was the dumbest question he'd ever heard. "I don't have time."
This went on for a while. It got quite ridiculous.
Finally, I snapped, "do you realize that I could get thrown in jail for driving that car? Unregistered? With no license? Jail, Steve, jail! Take it on your lunch break!" I then locked myself in the bathroom for a good five minutes, and when I came out, I went straight to bed.
I still don't think he got the point.
So now I have to convince him to take me to the DMV tomorrow, even though we have visitors coming, and yes, it really sucks, but I'm going to have to miss hanging out with his aunt & uncle so I can get this pesky license & registration thing taken care of, but I'm sure they will understand that I'm not avoiding them and given the choice I really would not like to be spending my whole Saturday at the DMV. And then I have to convince him to take me back to get my driver's license, and that's provided that I manage to get the permit and registration tomorrow, which may not happen if they're too busy. And I'm sure he's going to have a fit when he has to drive me around all week, until I have my car inspected and my license in hand, but that's really too bad, because I'm not going to jail just to make his week a little easier.
This whole thing has me really, really stressed out.