And today, I tremblingly ventured into the DMV.

Yeah, I know I should have gone in early January, but there was snow, and a broker's class, and I decided I could only fill my brain with so much useless information at once. My brain has some hard mileage on it. Plus, I still own the address in FL that is listed on my license and is now occupied by my daughter and son-in-law, so it's not like they couldn't look me up in about 47 seconds if needed. So, of all the things I had to get done, I let this one slide until I had no other more urgent things to get done. And because I was slightly freaked out by the thought of flunking the test.

I haven't had to take a written test for a driver's license since....the last time I got one in NC. When we returned to FL in 1993-4-ish, I just had to do an idiotically easy 10 questions on the level of: "What does that red sign that says S-T-O-P mean?"

NC's test is more like Trivial Pursuit for traffic nerds. I flunked the online preview, and that freaked me out - but I'm sorry, off the top of your head, can you answer this actual question from the online sample test:

9. Which of the following statements about pedestrian deaths is (are) correct?

I. In cities, 2 of every 5 people killed in motor vehicle crashes are pedestrians.
II. Most of the pedestrians killed in all traffic crashes are teenagers.
A. I only C. Both I and II
B. II only D. Neither I nor II

I think the correct answer is A, but can't swear to it even now. See what I mean? WTF does that have to do with testing the ability to drive a freaking car? WTF is going on in Raleigh? Can someone please find a better hobby for the statistics nerd who came up with THAT question?

Anyway, I had to deal with this, because I have to have an NC license in my hand when I get the approval from Raleigh to sit for the RE exam, and because I'd procrastinated long enough. And so I felt my heart beating a little too fast as I sat down at the computer, but I lucked out - the random questions were all on actual driving things, except for one driving statistics nerd question which I missed because who gives a shit, but I got all the others right. I am now a licensed NC driver, and everyone can sleep better tonight. Okay, I can. :-)

While I waited for my turn at the examiner's desk and answered questions like: "Are you a registered sex offender?" "Do you have a problem with alcohol?" (Answers: No I'm not, and no problem at all, I'm very fond of it) I people watched.

In case you were concerned, the hairstyle known as the mullet is alive and well in Western North Carolina. Mostly on people my age, which is I guess less alarming than if the teenagers were wearing them. Likewise the plaid pajama pants worn in public, though not necessarily on the same people. Oh, and I saw many sightings of jeggings, but mercifully not on anyone also proudly sporting a mullet. Counting crimes of fashion passed the time, and I certainly wasn't one to cast the first stone, as I posed for the driver's license picture I'll carry for EIGHT YEARS in dire need of a haircut, and not dressed for a picture that I would want to see on local TV. And I no longer have that annoying task looming over my to-do list, so yay, me.