southern not-hospitality

today our van officially became a south carolina resident. we put it off as long as possible due to the very inhospitable vehicle/property tax that we had to pay before we could register the car. not only do residents have to pay it when they register their car, they have to pay it each year when they renew their registration. the tax is 5% of the purchase price (maximum being $300). it's outrageous. our michigan registration was set to expire in september, so we figured that waiting until september to register the car would be a good idea. that way, if/when we move at the end of jeremy's residency (in august), maybe we won't have to pay the tax again next year.

is it just me or does anyone else feel that a trip to the DMV is comparable to a dentist appointment?

the level of unpleasantness is certainly close, if not equal to visiting the dentist. (although if i were to choose, i guess i would go for the DMV over the dentist).

i don't know if there has ever been a time when i have gone to the DMV and actually done what i came to do in one trip. no matter how many papers, forms, and proofs i bring with me, there is always something more that is needed. it is so. frustrating.

today i showed up armed with all the papers we own about our van. the kids were secured in the stroller and i had two lollipops in my pocket for when they got antsy. i had even filled out the paperwork in advance, so i thought i was good to go. (still, for some reason i get very nervous when it's my turn at the counter and the seemingly unhappy worker glares at me, asks what i'm there for, and starts going through my pile of papers).

despite all my preparations, i was missing something - jeremy's signature. who knew that we both had to sign the form? there was only one line and nothing that said both owners needed to sign. alas, i dragged the kids out to the car (both were eating their lollipops by this point) and off we went to get jeremy's signature. my level of annoyance was quite high at this point.

the story ends three-and-a-half hours, four lollipops, and two emergency happy meals later when we finally walked out of the DMV with our new license plate. by that time jobot was screaming and a man actually jumped up from across the room and ran over to hold the door open for me. i think everyone was just glad that i was leaving at that point.

whew. it wasn't as bad as when we got our driver's licenses. that took three trips to the DMV and i think i actually cried at some point. but still, today was frustrating.

since we moved, life has often felt like a lot of paperwork...addresses to change, health forms to fill out, student loan deferments, health insurance paperwork, preschool forms, and on and on. it tempts me to move to a remote area far from civilization and live off the land. but, that would present a lot of problems as well. i just get tired of life being about papers and tired of my desk being covered with papers to deal with.

meanwhile, our michigan license plate has joined all the other ones we have saved from past states and cars. someday we will have a garage where we can display all those reminders of frustrating trips to the DMV. ha.