I HATE THE MVA

Ok, so after my long hiatus, I have finally found something worth writing about.

I am a disorganized person. So the only way that I know to go renew my tags is when the police pull me over and tell me they are expired.

I actually don't think this is a horrible thing. But I guess the police and the MVA would disagree with me.

So...sometime late last year I got pulled over for expired tags. I got a ticket for expired tags. Then, the police officer told me my license was suspended. He gave me a second ticket, and informed me that there was a mandatory court appearance for ticket #2. I was really confused about that, since I have never had a moving violation. It also seemed kind of weird to me that I had never received notice of any suspension.

So, I didn't worry about it too much, and assumed it must be a mistake. The officer then told me that I wasn't allowed to drive home. I, having no experience with these things, assumed he really meant it, and that I had to sit on the side of the road for hours with my screaming child in the back seat (the officer previously having refused me permission to reach back and put his pacifier back in his mouth).

Eventually, seeing how dumb I was, he informed me that he just had to tell me not to drive, and that while it would be taking a risk, I should probably go home. So I did.

Then, I began the long process of trying to figure out what to do about this problem. The officer said that maybe they hadn't mailed me notification that I needed to renew my tags because I hadn't done my emissions inspection. So, I went to do my emissions inspection, except that I couldn't find the emissions inspection place for a really long time, and that sucked. But I did find it, and they waived the $100-or-so late fee, which was nice of them.

So then I still couldn't figure out what was going on, so I asked Sacky, since I didn't remember ever getting a ticket. He said it must be a red-light ticket that I got in the city, so we paid that, and then called the MVA to see if everything was straightened out.

After 3 or so days of trying their phone over and over again (busy), they said, no, there is another ticket on your record. Apparently, in 2004, I was also pulled over for expired tags, and never paid the ticket. So they gave me the number for the ticket, and told me I had to go to the courthouse to pay for it.

So, I did. I went to the courthouse and gave them the number for the ticket, and paid the ticket, and assumed all was well.

Then I got my court summons, and Sacky decided it was best to hire a lawyer, since they can send you to jail for driving on a suspended license. The lawyer costs $500.

We went to see the lawyer yesterday. He said that the worst that could happen would be probation before judgment. Then he said he needed us to get him a copy of my driving record.

So today, I went to the MVA to get a copy of my driving record. The line was out the door. In the waiting room, there was a sign that originally had read something like: "Thank you for your patience," except that someone had blacked out a few of those letters, and the sign now reads: "Thank you for your pa i n," which I thought was a lot more appropriate, since very few people there were very patient, and no one was very happy.

After nearly an hour, they finally got to my number. So I went up and requested a copy of my driving record and they said: "There is a suspension on your license, so I'm going to take it. You have to pay this ticket to get it back."

I was pretty mad, because I knew I had already paid the ticket. I told the lady so, and she said that I needed to bring the receipt back to them to get the suspension lifted. So she wrote down the number of the ticket and I went home, passing my old history teacher, who apparently was having a similar problem. He asked where my cello was, offered some sympathy and shared his own horror story.

So, once home, I found my receipt, which did not match. So I had to go to the courthouse AGAIN to pay the old ticket, instead of the recent ticket, which is what they had, in error, told me to pay.

Then I went back to the MVA, and got a new number. Decided to get my license renewed at the same time, since I already had had to cancel all my plans for the day.

1 hour later: Sacky gets bored and decides to go shopping.
1 hour 15 minutes later: The baby gets hungry. I breastfeed him in the MVA. The guy sitting next to me looks visibly uncomfortable, because he is apparently an uptight idiot.
1 hour 20 minutes later: The baby gets squirmy, and as he comes off the nipple, my left breast creates a stream of milk that shoots across the room, reaching the chair in front of me. The aforementioned guy looks a little less comfortable.
1 hour 30 minutes later: I, not having had the time to refasten my left breast into its receptacle, am called. I hope no one will notice that I am half bra-less because I have a big coat on. I get my license picture taken holding the baby (down very low so as not to be seen). I resolve to have as silly a smile as possible- I will post a picture below. Although I think that I could have done better if I had really tried, I am still pleased with the result.

1 hour 40 minutes later: I am told that I need to get A NEW NUMBER to get my driving record. I am not happy.

1 hour 50 minutes later: Sacky returns from his shopping trip. He is amused by my driver's license photo.
2 hours later: I am called a second time, and FINALLY get my driving record from a lady whom Sacky has dubbed "Ultra-Crab."
2 hours 5 minutes later: We finally leave. We drop off the paperwork at the lawyer. Then go home.

It irritates me to think that a lot of this could have been avoided if the MVA would PLEASE COMMUNICATE. It should not have taken a week's effort to get WRONG INFORMATION about what to do about this problem- not to mention that any notice that my license was suspended ought to have been sent certified mail.

Now I have to go to court about this on Friday, and I don't want to.

I hate the stupid MVA.