Wow, has it been a week! After last Tuesday's experience with attempting to get the driver's permit for my son, we decided we just go back there on Thursday rather than going into the next county on Wednesday. (Hindsight says we should have prayed and asked God what to do and I bet He would have spared us 'the rest of this story'.)
We saw on the sign that the Driver's Examiner would be there from 9-12 and 1-3. We figured if we came at 10:30, we'd be OK. Before leaving the house at about 10:05, I saw the reading proficiency certificate (RPC) on the counter, which made me look in my purse to ensure that we had the social security card and birth certificate. We did. Off we went.
We got there at about 10:30, the place was packed! As we pulled up, my son asked me if the RPC was in my purse. Of course it isn't, it's on the counter at home! Why would I pick it up when he should've. UGH! He ran in to double check the times and back home we went. We debated along the way about if we should come back here—because of that hour lunch issue—or go to the neighboring town, which will be busier but have more examiners. We opted to just come back and we'd wait over lunch break if necessary. But we really thought he could take his test and be done in 15 minutes (lot we knew).
We got back to the Tag Agency and I dropped my son at the door while I looked for a place to park; who knew there would be even more people there than the hour before? When I walked inside, my son was sitting waiting, so I sat down beside him. I asked him if he'd found out what to do yet and he said he would in a minute. Well, after we'd been there about 15 minutes, he finally got up to the lady and she asked if he was signed in. No? Then you won't get seen today. WHAT? It is only 11:45 and I'm not going to get seen today? For crying out loud! They said their computers had gone down, but really, that's ridiculous. We wonder how the teens in that county get their permits—do they have to skip school?
We went to the other town. First, we go into the tag agency and stand in their small line of 3 people. I read a sign that said something about testing being done in the rock building across the street. So, I went to the other side of the counter and asked. Sure enough, go across the street.
Upon entering the rock building, we see lots of chairs with lots of people in them. The number on the display was 699. My son went up and took a number from the number dispenser—749. Oh, I did hope that the numbers would go fast. After standing around for a few minutes, we decided to go and have a seat. There were two seats on the front row, beside a lady. During our first 10 minutes there, only one person was helped . . . it was 12:30. I said something to the lady beside me and we struck up a conversation. [This is something I learned to do in college. Prior to college I was a VERY shy individual and talking to someone that I did not know, was not something I would do. But during college, and especially during the long lines of registration, I learned the art of small talk with a total stranger, who happened to be stuck in the same situation as I was.]
Come to find out, she had number 721 and had been here for about 3 hours or so. The computers were down for a long time and many people left. But then we later saw that many came back after having eaten lunch or what not. To make matters worse for her, she had been there the day before and had to take another half-day off from work because she either didn't pass the test or forgot some papers or something. Anyway, we ended up making the most of a bad situation. We waited for 2 hours. My son did pass his exam for his permit, just barely. Back to the other building across the street. Thankfully, we were able to be helped right away.
Come to find out, if the computers go down in one tag agency in the state, they go down in ALL of them in the whole state!!!
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About a month or two ago, my sons went into Radio Shack to find an adapter to connect both our VCR and antenna wire to the television at the same time, all the time, so we don't have to keep switching between the two on the back of the television. This adapter and the cable that you need to connect it all, would cost around $60. We decided we'd just wait and see if we could find one cheaper.
Well, we walked into the Dollar Tree, right next door and they had the adapter we needed for only $1. They didn't have the cable we needed but hey, we already drastically reduced the price of this connection. Well, while my son was taking his RPTest, I went into the Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree just a few minutes away. To my surprise, there was the cable we needed. I got 2 of them. So now we spent $2 on the cable and adapter that Radio Shack wanted $60 for. Albeit they were not the same quality as the expensive ones, but we did not need something that great, just workable. Praise God, He provides.
It is funny too, because I felt like I was pushing the time for him to be done with his testing and I almost skipped the Dollar Tree, but I really felt like I should go in there. I am very glad I did.
Have a great day,
Michele ºÜº
PS. Please drop me a line or post a comment. It really keeps me motivated to write, if I know people are reading.
(Me and my dd, Tiffany on an easy to climb tree limb on vacation in VA in 2007.) These are my ramblings on homeschooling and whatever else comes to mind.
Counting Down
The Holidays are over and I'm not quite ready to start a new count down yet. Maybe I should start a counting up the number of days I've stayed on my "diet".
Well, after we'd been there about 15 minutes, he finally got up to the lady and she asked if he was signed in. No? Then you won't get seen today. WHAT? It is only 11:45 and I'm not going to get seen today? For crying out loud! They said their computers had gone down, but really, that's ridiculous. We wonder how the teens in that county get their permits—do they have to skip school?