I Can Explain!

I have a good reason for not posting yesterday. The car my brother gave me (the 1993 Acura Legend) is overdue for its vehicle registration and state inspection (about a year and a half overdue). And I have to get both of those done because I have two outstanding tickets for driving with expired tags, and I've been warned that it qualifies as an abandoned vehicle if I park it anywhere outside of my garage. But before I can get the registration done, I have to transfer the title to my name from my older brother. And before I can get the inspection done, I have to get the blinker bulb replaced and get the Check Engine light to turn off. So I took off work yesterday and headed to the tax office in the courthouse.

After waiting in line for 30 minutes, I saw the sign (that I think should be posted on the front door) that said they only accept checks or cash. So I got out of line and got cash from the ATM in the hallway. Then I got back in line (in the back). After another 45 minutes of waiting, I finally made it to the counter. I laid out my five completed pieces of paperwork (proof of insurance, application for title transfer, the title itself, affidavit of vehicle gift transfer, and a signed explanation from my older brother as to why the title had the wrong name on it). That's when the super-helpful government employee told me that I was missing a photocopy of my older brother's driver's license.

So I got back out of line, called my brother, had him email me a scan of his license from his office in Chicago, found a Starbucks to get WiFi, downloaded the scan to a flash drive, located a FedEx, printed the license scan, ignored the four fast food restaurants I was passing at 2:15pm, and went back to the tax office, where the line was longer than ever. So I waited over an hour and got back to the counter to speak to a different super-helpful government employee. And she said that I had every bit of paperwork I needed to transfer the title and get the registration. I was so happy that I could have cried. Then she told me that she couldn't accept an affidavit of vehicle gift transfer that was a photocopy. I politely explained that I had to fax the affidavit to and from Chicago to get my brother's notarized signature, but she was disinclined to acquiesce my request (means "no"). That's when I actually cried.

Then I drove home and attempted in vain to fix the blinker and the Check Engine light. I gave up when I realized I had no idea what I was doing, and I had my head positioned directly below a two-ton vehicle sitting on a 17-year old jack. So, to recap, I took off work to get registration and inspection, and after 4 hours in the tax office and 3 hours working in my garage, I'm no closer to getting that done. The only bright spot was that I got free tacos from Jack in the Box when I finally had time to get lunch at 3:30 in the afternoon. Anyway, that's my excuse for not posting. Good enough?