San Francisco DMV
September 21st, 2005 - One CommentI almost forgot my nice trip to the DMV here in San Francisco this morning. I had to take care of the registration for my Tahoe as for whatever reason it did not make it to me as did the other registration and my driver’s license update. So, I noticed that the local DMV wait time was only 8 minutes on the DMV website which is pretty darn cool. So, I drive over, grab a parking space in the huge lot they have right in the middle of the city and go inside. The DMV in San Francisco is divided up into two sides (with separate entrances), one for driver’s licenses and the other for registration. So, I head on over to the registration side and enter the building. Right when you walk in the door, there is a big blue sign reading, “Registration. No Appointment” on the far left side of the building against the wall. It has those movie theater line separator things (for lack of a better term) with chairs line up on the other side. There is a sign to the right of the one I mentioned that reads, “Appointments. Disabled” with 3, blue, handicapped signs next to it. Of course the 3 people that are standing in line on the RIGHT side consist of a 6′-8″ male (about 45 years old, wearing “athletic” gear), an oriental woman carrying a baby and with her mother, as well as an elderly woman in a walker. There are a few people sitting in various chairs along the way. I look at them, look at the “No Appointment” sign again and setup into the “No Appointment” line. The woman behind the counter is talking to an elderly woman who is there to get some kind of pass to drive in the diamond lane. Whatever she was doing it took about 5 minutes. As this is going on, about 3 more people get into the “Appointment” line. I take a gander at them to size them up. The first guy is on his cell phone and has a folder with his paperwork in it. The second is a 30 something girl and the fourth is some dirtbag. A minute or two later, some guy from behind me (I didn’t know there was anyone behind me), two people back, asks me if I am in the right line. I look at him, look up at the sign over my head and as I look at the old lady in the walker standing to my right the woman in the walker says to me, “I think you should be in this line.” I smile and proceed to ask the oriental woman if she has an appointment. She smiles at me and nods one time. Still looking at her, she smiles again and nods. I realize she has no idea what I just asked her. I look at the guy with the folder and he says he has an appointment. The girl behind him looks away, signaling that she has no appointment. That is when the guy behind me tells me that he thinks we are in the right line and that he will stand behind me. I laugh, smile and turn around. The line to my right moves up when the big dude that was up at the front of the line when I walked in walks up on the other side of the right line and asks me if there are two lines or one line. I just stared at him for about 30 seconds, looked up at the sign above me and then looked back at him and told him I am in line. He walks to the back of my line. So, I look at the guy, still on the phone, with the folder and ask him if he will say something to the DMV lady when he goes up next. He gets called about a minute later and begins by telling the woman that the people in the “no appointment” line are getting hosed. She doesn’t bat an eyelash and just stares at him. He turns, looks at me, and shrugs. I laugh. He then gets his ticket to be put in the queue and the woman says, “next in line” looking right at me. I was in.
I am not really sure why I am telling this story. I think it is because I really don’t understand what is wrong with people. People can read, yet many like to pretend that they have no idea what is going on so that they can get in front of some other person they don’t know. I was afraid I was going to have to go postal on someone in there if that lady did not call on me soon, knowing that more than half of the people in the “Appointment” line did not have an appointment.
I think you mean “Asian” woman.