Survived my first experience at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles

My RMV resembled this one in California. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoomzoom/3129422274/

I had to go to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles the other day to convert my out-of-state driver’s license to a Massachusetts license. My New York license was about to expire, and I decided to get a Mass. one so bartenders, cashiers and bouncers wouldn’t sit there for 30 seconds trying to locate my birth date on my license.

Plus, I have no plans to leave Massachusetts in the near future, so why not get a Mass. ID? The one drawback is it costs $100. It would have only cost $64 to renew my license in New York. Actually another drawback is I had to wait for about two hours in a room full of crowded people.

Had I gotten my license renewed in upstate New York, where I’m from, I most likely would have gone to the Wampsville Department of Motor Vehicles. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere so crowds aren’t a problem.

I ended up going to an RMV just outside of Boston. I thought it wouldn’t be too packed as I was getting there after lunchtime. I was definitely wrong.

There were so many people I initially couldn’t find a seat on one of the benches. I eventually got a seat right in the front row. Unfortunately, however, when someone sat down on the other side of the elderly lady sitting next to me, the lady chose to compensate by moving up against me. It was a painful two-hour wait.

I ended up getting a no-nonsense RMV lady. Without a “Hello,” she said “You need to give me “this,” “this,” and “this.” But before I had a chance to hand her the documents she questioned me about my New York license.

“Hmmm,” she said. “This says you are ‘C A Laubenstein.’ Is that correct?”

I said “Yes”, assuming she probably knew the “C” and “A” were just initials. She then goes: “Your first name is ‘C’, and your middle name is ‘A’?” She was serious.