Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Finally: Registration
In spite of the efforts of the Georgia State Department of Motor Vehicles, the Georgia Department of Revenue (twice), Georgia Department of Driver Services, Dade County Tax Commissioner's Office, and the entire state of Georgia itself, I can now legally drive my car, Liesel The Volvo, in the state of Georgia. The car registration saga spanned 5 months and included, but was not limited to: several steps backward in my sanctification, 2 trips to Trenton in a single day, getting lost in Trenton thanks to poor GoogleMap directions, false instructions to send everything to the Georgia DMV, $0.67 in postage, a free donut, seven 30-day drive-off tags from the guy who sold me the car, $301 in sales tax, a $100 "structural integrity" inspection,
$3 ATM withdrawal fee, $48.50 to register the car and buy a license plate, a third trip to Trenton, and three phone conversations with a semi-helpful lady named Zell.

But now, Jane I. Moreland, Dade County Tax Commissioner, affirms that my car is in fact legally streetworthy. My only solace in all of this comes from the fact that I cleverly avoided having to pay a $10 fine for failing to register my car in a timely manner by simply refusing to open a bank account until the registration process was nearly complete. Count TheMan as having had it stuck to him.