I remember the bad old days of bureaucracy in New Jersey. In order to renew your driver's license or register a car, you had to take a half day off from work and stand in line, shoulder-to-shoulder with other sweating, stinking riffraff at the Motor Vehicle Commission, all muttering and grousing, bonding in shared annoyance at the endless waiting. And God forbid you forgot to take a book or newspaper with you to read while you waited.Maybe some of you from other states or other countries have the same problem. We can all band together in our disdain for government employees, the ones who don't give a crap about our time, who are just putting in the hours, counting the minutes until quitting time, collecting their paycheck and to hell with serving the public.
I just renewed my driver's license, and may I tell you, MVC, you're not getting older, you're getting better! It was, literally, 30 minutes from home to MVC and back home again, new license in hand, smile on my face.
Of course it helps that NJ built a new, modern facility five minutes from my house. And it helps that I knew about the multiple proof-of-identity requirements so had my passport, social security card and a credit card already in hand. And it helps that I waited until the mid-afternoon lull to go.
But really, NJ civil servants have come a long way, baby. They couldn't have been nicer or more efficient. And they even let me keep my four-years-younger, ten-pounds-lighter picture! Go, MVC!
All in all, a trip to the MVC has changed from an afternoon of hell to a few minutes of, well, not exactly pleasure, but certainly no pain.
Thanks, MVC. Thanks, New Jersey.
Now if only they could take those ten pounds off me for real...
