The good ol' DMV

September 24th - Ok, so I am now down to the wire. My Florida tag expires in a matter of days. I have to study for the Oregon driving test so I can retake it with the hopes of not being humiliated again.

I decide, first, I need to go for a run - but instead I ran late and missed the group so I thought I would get on the bike for a while and force myself to read the driving manual. Ten minutes into it I was extremely bored and decided to try out a Kick Boxing class. Which I have to say was truly hilarious. I have not done an organized aerobic class in probably 10 years.

I went in the wrong direction, had others facing me when I was supposed to be turned around, had arms going in the wrong direction, legs flailing trying to keep up with the moves - nearly kicking my neighbors and tried to convince myself I was getting it. I just had to laugh knowing others could see how idiotic I looked through the windows. But you know, whatever! I actually had a decent workout and am willing to go back for more! One thing I have learned as I get older is you only look as foolish as you feel. Typically, you are not the only one trying it out for the first time and if you are -LAUGH AT YOURSELF- it actually feels refreshing.

Off to the DMV - after a shower, of course. I stopped at the Starbucks next store to get some caffeine in me to help with my need for alertness and improved concentration. I walked in the DMV and it was empty. Good sign - I thought. After I checked in (the new lady today was friendlier and even had a sense of humor) I asked if I could sit down and study. I was feeling pretty good. I was by myself at a table. Nice and quiet. I felt calm. Brought back memories of the college library. When...

I hear the woman call a number and no one answered and I thought, "how strange" so I looked up and made eye contact with a young woman (in her twenties). I got a wierd feeling in my stomach (as I often do right before something out of the ordinary happens). She looked a little strung out and a few seconds later she realized it was her number. She went up to the attendant and proceeded to get a tag. A question was asked of her for which she did not know the answer so she yelled out to the young man she was with. He proved to be not so nice.

He came right up to the counter and let the attendant have it. Not in your typical way such as "what am i missing or what is the problem?" He basically told her she was "white tr--- and did not know what the h--- she was doing and that she was a b----." Further asking her how she could not realize what the young girl had was the correct information. The young girl stepped away. He was asked to take an seat and calm down.

At that point I thought hmmmm "is he armed?" " Where could I go if I needed to hide since I chose an area to study furthest away from the door. The bathroom was my best bet.

He told the attendant he was not going to calm down since "he was not worked up" and yelled out to her "do you want to see the end of your work day?" I tensed up. She asks him to leave. His body language changed - very angry, fierce, agititated - Cleeeearly anger management issues!

Probably was in some anger management classes, history of mental health treatment, or had a probation officer. If not I thought he could use some sort of therapy/medication or should have a probation officer. Trying to make light of the situation I thought, I'll be the ARNP so "Let's assess this guy and the situation." Maybe Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Impulse Control Disorder, or some type of personality disorder (which would be the scariest scenario since that is the hardest to treat). Or just a criminal, although most criminals probably could be given a diagnosis.

He walked towards the attendant again (I, of course, never made eye contact with him) and he called her a "fu----- horror" and "useless c---". Not a young man with much manners but did make his point. He goes towards the door and still cannot pull himself together - yelling at her some more (other words you can imagine) and shoots her a nice bird.

So much for a calm environment. I start to wonder if he was going to come back with some sort of firearm and let loose on us. The attendant did follow him out to try to get his tag. I am not sure if she was able to for he spun off quickly. Well, he did have some sort of a brain so as to know he needed to get away quick. Such classy people in the world! Like he should be behind the wheel of a car.

This situation did shed some light on why the DMV employees (who clearly have training on how how to handle situations like this for they followed the steps right from the book) are not the most warm and fuzzy people and are cynical. It still does not mean I should be treated like the way I was treated last week or any of you, of course, unless you behave badly.

Long and short of it is, I passed my test, did not get shot, and looked cute in my photo. I did, however, ask if the photo came out "ok" before I walked away. Funny enough she says "Yes, I think it came out fine. You know you really have GREAT HAIR!" I just had to laugh.