Fun with the DMV

A friend of mine just posted a story about how the CA DMV sent her a refund for over paying her tags unprompted. It made me think of a couple fun stories.
The first involves my grandma. She passed away when I was in college. A few months later she got a notice to appear from the courts over some ticket. A violation that was committed after she passed. I don't remember the violation. I do remember watching my dad crack up as he read the letter demanding my grandmother present herself in court. He showed up for the court date and explained to the nice judge that she had passed, but that if he could actually force to appear we did have some questions for her.
The second involves my jeep. After moving out of CA I eventually registered my Jeep in my new state. Then my dad, who had co-signed on the jeep loan, got a notice from the CA DMV that the registration was past due. My dad told them that the jeep had actually been registered in CA, so there was no registration due. They wrote back that the late fee had been increased. He double checked with me that I had new plates and everything and then passed the info onto the CA DMV. They wrote back the late fee had grown again and I was in serious trouble.
Eventually the letter wars culminated in my dad having to take a photo copy of my registration down to the DMV. He found someone that had worked there forever and they figured out that one itty bitty boxed hadn't been checked. The nice guy even figured out how to erase the stupid late fees.
Those are my stories. Nothing too exciting. Must say though when my dad called upset that I hadn't paid the registration my stomach knotted up. I was 28 and had been living on my own for years, but that tone of voice immediately made me think I was going to be grounded. Then I realized I was 28 and lived on my own. Then I realized I had registered in a new state. Go figure.

Simple things in life

School has started and is kicking my butt already. Managerial accounting at least makes more sense than the other accounting classes. Still, its no where near easy. That means I'm up late reading and often rushing from my desk at work to my desk at home. If I'm lucky I get the hardest stuff done before the caffeine buzz wears off. If not I have to debate the benefits of another cup vs how late it will be before it wears off and I can sleep.
Fortunately my fiance is a gamer. This means that as long as he has a game to play (and food in the fridge) and he won't really notice I've been gone until I show up again. He offers to run errands for me so that I can cram in more study time, and he's fed me dinner after class. Usually he feeds me because I have had a coffee midway through class and once again there is no food in my fridge. He knows me well enough now that he knows when to pack me back into my car and send me home so that I fall asleep at home and not in the car.
Long way of saying we have to snatch bits of time together. This past weekend I worked from 8am to 6pm on Sat. That's normally my study and catch up time. So Sunday morning I decided we needed quality time together more than we needed to go to sermon. We grabbed coffee and the Cuban coffee shop across the street from our church (I love Seattle) and went for a walk.
It was absolutely beautiful out. The leaves are turning and the air was nice and crisp. We found a little park near by and played on the swings for a bit. Then we kept walking and found a bridge over this huge ravine. The ravine was filled with huge trees and lush green plants. It was gorgeous. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I had an incredible time on our impromptu date. I got to talk to him and focus on just him for more than a quick break between study sessions.
It was great.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

The happy times together we've been spending
I wish that every kiss was never ending
Oh Wouldn't it be nice