I actually got something done today! I went out to the DMV on a whim, finally deciding that getting my driving permit has been put off far too long. We kept saying, “Oh, we’ll do that next week.” As such things go, all those “next weeks” have amounted to almost two years. Silly, eh? So my Mom and I went out, I stood in line with my trusty book open. (That poor copy of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ has been dragged along to so many offices and waiting lines.) But, of course, when I get to the information desk to get my form, they refuse my military ID as proof of my social security number, despite the fact I checked other DMV information this morning and it said that would suffice. The Information Lady tried to convince me that I didn’t have to prove my social security number when I got my military ID. Funny, I didn’t know just anybody to go to a military base and get their own ID card! Why did I have to go through all that hassle and all those forms and have my Dad come and swears his life and career to the fact that I exist? Strange how those things work out.

I had to run back home, get my social security card (that I didn’t even know I had – I’d never seen it before in my life), and then go back. I got my form, waited in the seating area, reading my book. But after a few minutes I looked up and over my shoulder; there was a guy in line that was standing out. Then it hit me! It was Bob, the Toe Guy – the fantastic man who made my prosthetic toe for me. He was there in line at the DMV at the exact same moment I was. Imagine the odds. 🙂 So I smiled at him, waved, and he winked back at me and started laughing and waving. Once he got his form, he came over and sat next to me. It was the best way to wait out the horrendous bureaucracy that is the DMV.

Turns out Mr. Toe Guy is going to be on Montel Williams in December, and that the Discovery Channel is going to do a special on him. Then he said that he wasn’t that excited about it and explained that he’s literally afraid of cameras. I’d never made that connection before – he spent 25 years in the CIA as a spy, evading surveillance cameras. It must be really odd for him to actually face cameras now. He says he can’t stand it.

We waited for a while, then finally my number was called. I passed the vision test, and then on to the permit test. I was only slightly nervous – it had been quite a long time since I last studied. We were originally going to get my permit when I first turned 16. So I studied the manual like crazy back then, but then the procrastination started. I’d read it occasionally since then, but I’ve always been really confident in my knowledge of the rules of the road.

I walked over to booth number 6 and began the test. I got all of the road signs perfectly, and only missed three really obscure questions on the final section of 25 questions. They were really inane, like the exact percentage of how much more likely a drunk driver is to have an accident. Is that really an important factor for a driver who’s never going to drink, and has no bearing over whether or not I get hit by another drunk driver? Does it matter if I know whether it’s 7 times or 12 times greater? Not really. So I’m fine with missing my three questions – I passed the first time without really studying too hard over the past week.

Now I have my permit. Whoopie. Still haven’t touched the steering wheel of a car, but that’s my own choice entirely. I refuse to drive either of my parents’ cars because they’re both ends of the spectrum. My Mom has a HUGE suburban from back when they really built those things like tanks, and my Dad has an itty-bitty little Japanese sports car. If I hit anybody in the surburban, I’ll run right over them and probably end up killing someone in an accident that normally would have just been a fender-bender. In the itty-bitty car I can’t see *anything*, and if someone hits me I’ll be the one that’s crushed like a beer can smacked up against someone’s forehead (and that person is 7 times more likely to get into an accident, and 10 times more likely to get a really bad headache.)

And now I think I’d better get some sleep. Good night!