Happy Birthday to Me! I hate you DMV

I am writing this in hopes that it will save someone else in the state of Utah a lot of wasted time and frustration. This morning my eyes popped open and I thought "Oh blast, it's my birthday and I need to renew my driver's license!" So I got up, got dressed and looked quickly online. Nope, you can't renew online in the state of Utah. (Lame, my husband didn't go through any of this when he renewed a few years ago. He didn't pay or do anything. They just sent him a renewal sticker in the mail. But then he'll have an under 21 license until he's 30. hehe) Now you need to be there in person with positive ID (birth certificate), social security card, and 2 proofs of address. I searched, but couldn't find my birth certificate. My license is positive ID is it not? So I hurried because I wanted to be there before it got busy. I got there and they said I can't even start my application without a birth certificate. The DMV is 40 minutes from my house. At least the scenery is nice on the way there and back.

 Hurricane, UT is gorgeous.

 If you pass this rock you have gone too far.

I went home did some more digging through boxes and found my birth certificate. (I really need to be more organized. :S) Drove back to the DMV, where I  stood in line again. Then they told me that my birth certificate wasn't valid because my name isn't spelled correctly on it. In the area where I was born, English was not the predominant language. So a French spelling does not even compute. Someone at the county clerk's office christened me with a Hispanic name.  My parents filled out the paperwork to get my name changed, but instead of changing the actual document, they stapled a little piece of paper to it saying that the spelling was incorrect. Over time this piece of paper fell off and was lost. When I needed my passport I requested a new copy. Again, official certificate with a post-it stapled to it.  The DMV told me that this was not valid.  My birth certificate is not valid? That's great. What in the free world am I supposed to do about this? It took me three months to get my invalid one last time. I might have gotten really frustrated, except I had brought my passport, RN and marriage licenses as back up. I promise I am who I say I am. I would not spend my birthday at the DMV otherwise. Then I waited for an hour and a half. When they called my number I stood up and said "I won!" like I got a prize or something. A few people around me laughed. The employees probably have heard that a thousand times. Or maybe not. It seems that the only people who even pretend to be happy to be at the DMV are those getting their license for the first time.

So I got up to the desk and my forms of address are not sufficient. One of them is a magazine, and that is not valid.(I was in a hurry.) My vehicle registration perhaps? Nope, old address. Auto insurance? Nope, doesn't have my address printed on it. I went out to my car where I found some junk mail and another magazine. No good. So I have to go back. If I go back today I don't have to wait in line again. I don't know if I can bring myself to go to the DMV for a third time on my birthday. At least they gave me a temporary license that's valid for awhile. The people there are nice, they just have to enforce some stupid rules, and I suppose it's not their fault that the county DMV office is located miles from anything. And on the bright side I think it's the best driver's license picture I've ever taken. And I had a couple of hours going back and forth that I could rock out to the radio instead of to something toddler-oriented. And I have some lemon Cheesecake Factory cheesecake to console me. :) Painful lesson learned: Rushing does not save time.