i {heart} the DMV

ok, that might be a little strong.

i s'pose entangling oneself in bureaucracy is never going to be pleasant, but i definitely have increased respect for new jersey's motor vehicles department. once upon a time, visiting our local branch was a nightmare involving a tortuous stroll through a confusing variety of indistinguishable paperwork, followed by a protracted wait in a long line to get your forms, a second wait to turn them in, and potentially a third wait if you failed to complete something correctly. these days there is a concierge to give you the right forms for what you need to do, who also checks that you have brought the correct documents and credentials to complete your task.

i was in and out in about twenty minutes. in that time i managed to pay awdrey's sales tax, acquire a new jersey title, obtain my registration and transfer my license plates. in fact, the longest part of the process was attaching said plates to awdrey's bow and stern. of course, i was prepared: i had every conceivable paper pertaining to both my old and new cars. i had two forms of picture id. i had a screwdriver for the license plates. i had a book in case of a delay and a granola bar in case of a long delay. i didn't need 90% of what i took, but hey, you never know!

i'm not the only one to notice marked improvement at the DMV. apparently even the state of new jersey is impressed by the better service and faster turnover. so much so that i hear they're considering changing their official slogan from,

"DMV: Pack a lunch, make a day of it!"

to

"Yeah, well, we hate *YOU* too!"

and that, my friends, is progress, indeed! :)