I know I’m late for “What I’ve Learned Monday”, but the past 2 days I’ve been running around dealing with more Immigration issues and driver license stuff.Everything is all set with my Green Card, I just have to wait 90 days for them to send it, which means technically I’m not allowed to leave the country until I have it in hand. Well, I can leave, but I just can’t get back. The only problem with that is I need to fly to Italy in 2 weeks. What’s happening in Italy you may ask? Well, that’s one of the races the Irish relay team will compete in to try and get closer to qualifying for the Olympics. So I kinda need ta be there.
Without going into too much detail, I explained to The Man at my finger print and mug shot appointment that I needed to leave the US for a week in June, so was there any way I could get some form of documentation to show I’ve been approved for the Green Card, but am just waiting its arrival. He told me I had to go to the Immigration Office to have my passport stamped. I looked at him confused, looked around and then looked at him again. “Sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but am I not at the Immigration Office?” And the answer to that would have been “No mam, this is the Biometrics office. You need to go to the main Immigration office to get your passport stamped”. Lovely. More forms, more running around and more waiting in lines. As soon as I get home I apply for an appointment to get my stamp. I’ve no idea how long it takes to get this done, all I know is I only have 2 weeks. Fortunately I got an appointment for Monday morning. Unfortunatley it was at 8.30am, right in the middle of rush hour traffic, which meant I needed to get up at 6.30am just to ensure I got there on time. I did, they stamped my passport and I was out of there by 9am. Nice one.
Tuesday was a whole other ball game. My driver’s license recently expired, so I needed to go and get myself an unexpired one. I wanted to get to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) early, cos I knew this place would be busy, it always is. I also had a bitch of a training session to get done this day too. So I got to the track early to get the job done there and then head straight to the DMV. However, I was so beat down après session, that it took me longer than I’d hoped to crawl off the track. I eventually got there and once I did, I was greeted with a line that went from the entrance all the way out into the parking lot. Are ya f*#king kidding me?? I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before but I don’t do queue’s. I hate them, they make me aggressive. I’ve been known to leave the bank, post office and various other places of business because of long lines. I wait till the very last second to get on a plane, 1. cos I don’t want to sit on the plane a second longer than necessary and 2. I refuse to wait in line shuffling my way towards the entrance, while various people block up the aisle getting shit out of their bags, settling their pillow, digging for their water, snacks and books while we all bottle neck behind them. Seriously, step into your seat, let everyone else pass and then do your fussing around. Its just good airplane etiquette. But that’s probably a whole other blog.
Anyway, I reluctantly join the damn line and pass the time mentally bitching about the whole ordeal. Once I’ve bored myself with that, I begin to check out the other people in line. That’s when I start to think, why do the people at the DMV always resemble the type of person that likes to hang around bus stations late at night? Seriously, this is a very dodgy crowd I can’t begin to tell you. Also, these very situations have a habit of bringing out my inner snob I’m sorry to say. It just feels like the bad side of town. The place your parents always told you to stay away from. I do my best to just switch off and go through the necessary motions in order to get my license re-newed. But its hard when the guy standing near you is having an argument with himself, and the large old lady, wearing no bra, (I think we can all picture the sagging that was being represented here) is yelling at no one in particular, that all she wants is a handicapped sticker, why can’t she just get a handicapped sticker? Top it off with a man standing directly in front of me, carrying a baby with a loaded nappy or diaper for my American friends and a bunch of teenagers talking fast and furious about how, Oh my god, like, their whole life, will like, change once they get their license. Then you have some idea of the sights, sounds and smells I was being exposed to. But on a positive note, at least I had a variety of things to think about and focus on as I waited my turn in the never-ending line. It did take a good 2 and a half hours but I eventually got my brand new license. Result.
So after all that, what have I learned? Well totally unrelated, I finally learned to set the aperture and shutter speed on my camera. I’m still trying to master metering, but slowly its all starting to make sense. Let me emphasis the slowly though. I’m still at the point where I need to do a lot of thinking about the camera settings before I take the shot, but I’m working on it.
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