Sunday Thoughts Part I- Of Bathtubs, Current Events, and the DMV

Note: I must admit I'm somewhat copying the delightful Miss J.B., who posts a weekly "Saturday Stream Of Consciousness." Hope you enjoy my version.

Right now I'm lying on my bed, enjoying this peaceful Sunday evening. Well, mostly peaceful. My two-year-old brother Jerome (depicted above) decided a short while ago that it would be a good idea to join my little sister in the bathtub while wearing polar fleece footed pajamas. A few minutes later, he was a wet, angry, boy standing on the floor mat in a soaked garment. Life can be so disappointing.

On another note- I've been driving with my dad. I got my permit a few weeks ago, and have been trying to accumulate hours so I can get my license next summer.

I hate the DMV. I was willing to "bring proof of school attendance" to get the permit as the handbook instructed- which for me was a signed document from the county Homeschool/Truancy Department stating that I'm in compliance with state testing laws. But no- it was not enough. We were forced to LEAVE THE DMV office and drive to another bureaucratic institution to pick up a special little slip of paper the handbook never said I had to bring.

The other thing I hate about the DMV is sheer inefficiency of the whole thing. My local DMV office is full of tired looking moms, teenagers, and immigrant types all needing important things. But the desks are staffed by irritable people who move very slowly and plan coffee breaks while everyone else in the room just sits.....and waits.

So, thanks to bureaucracy- I spent three hours in Dante's circle of Hell. (The fact that people seem to think homeschoolers and truants are related further irks me.) No, I do not stay in my pajamas and watch Hannah Montana all day.

But you know what? I was being a sort of truant that day. I could have been home working on an essay on Virgil- but no, instead my mom and I had to sit and listen to elevator music (am I the only one who calls it that?) and a DMV employee telling a perfectly normal looking middle-aged woman next to me that she can't have her license because of issues with the "Department of Homeland Security."

I appreciate institutions like the DMV- but what kind of service can you expect from the government?

When I learned that under the new federal heath care plan (which passed in the House yesterday) health insurance will soon be available at DMV- I was ticked.

Speaking of the bill- we watched c-span coverage last night. My mom remarked to my brother that it was somewhat of a historical time. She told him someday he'll be able to remember what he was doing the night the government officially plunged the country into unfathomable debt. I am not ashamed to say at the time I was stuffing myself with licorice and drinking peppermint tea. I probably won't remember that, but then again- I'm pretty sure what kind of oatmeal I had the morning of 9/11.

I think I'll go to bed. But I might possibly have nightmares about this kind of situation......