Getting my license renewed

[fbhjr]

I need to get my license renewed this fall. I’ve still got over a month, but last time they lost my paperwork and it took 2 months. As I’ll be in Australia in 3, I thought I should do it early.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has a website where they show all their branches and the waiting time.

Lowell: 5 miles away, 45 minute, 9 second waiting time.
Worcester: 45 miles away, zero waiting time
Framingham on the turnpike: 50 miles away, zero waiting time
Wilmington: 15 miles away, 42 minute, 17 second waiting time
Lawrence: 15 miles away, 1 minute, 5 second waiting time

I decided to go to Lawrence.
As I turned towards the highway, I got a strong feeling I was going the wrong way.
“Go to Lowell,” my precog said. “It will be faster.”
“It’s only an extra 20 minute drive,” I replied. “And, it is 44 minutes less time in line.”
“Go to Lowell or you’ll be sorry,” it said.
“Then I’ll sit in Lowell for a long time saying ‘I shouldn’t have listened’”.

I drove to Lawrence.

I walked in. A woman held out a number and said “It will only be about a minute”.
Before she even let go of the number she was handing me, someone came up and whispered to her.
“What do you mean all the computers are down?” she asked.
The other person whispered something else.
“Have a seat,” she told me. “We’ll be right with you.”

Ten minutes went by while she ran back and forth between people’s work stations trying to get things running.
Then, she came over to the group of us waiting.

“Everything is back up except driver’s license processing,” she said. “I still don’t know about that.”

Ten more minutes passed while people with car registration went to the desk.

“I don’t know how much longer it will take,” she told me. “Maybe you can give me your number and I’ll call you when it is working again and you can come back?”
I consulted the “told you so” in my head.
“I’ll wait 7 more minutes,” I said.
“Why 7?”
“Then your computers will be back.”
The guy who was in front of me in line gave his number and walked off.

Seven minutes later she was back.
“Go to window 4, that one computer is back running,” she said.
“Thank you.”

As I got my thing done the guy who had been in front of me came back in.
“I got the call!” he said. “I was in front of that guy!”
“I’m going to finish with him, then get to you,” the woman said.
“But, I was first!”
“He was here when it started working again.”

I got it renewed. I’ll get the real one in a bit and have a paper one for now.

I’m still not sure if I saved time or not.
If the computer problem was just that branch, I probably didn’t.
If it was system wide, I probably did.
My little precog voice says it was only that branch. But, what does it know?

Comments

[belleweather.livejournal.com]

I do things like this allllll the time. Why do we not listen to our superpowers?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

But, that web site data was so compelling...

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I think it was an all over problem

[peterb.livejournal.com]

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Not too far off...

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

what does it know?

EVERYTHING.

but we so very rarely listen. lol.

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

I am glad you got it done.

[merilune.livejournal.com]

Huh interesting that the website shows you the data like that. I like it. One of our internal websites at work tells you the average wait time to see a doctor in emergency. I wish they would show that for the patients, so that some with minor complaints would go to their GP instead :P

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Some places around here put up billboards along the highway with wait times as various emergency rooms nearby. I am glad I have never needed that information...

[merilune.livejournal.com]

Of course, if you are experiencing emergency symptoms like difficulty breathing, chest pain etc. You will get in straight away guaranteed. But a lot of people treat the ED like a doctor's clinic and come in for minor things (I often look at the ED waiting list out of curiosity)

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

Big crash / truck rolled over (?) at 290 and 495 this morning. I somehow managed to escape, getting off 290 just before the 495 interchange and where all the right lights were quickly showing up. A few coworkers were a little late.

Coming home from my studio tonight, it felt like "Drive like an Idiot Day"….So anyway glad you were finally able to renew your license.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I saw it on the news and went up 110 to get around.
Pretty sure that's not what knocked out the RMV computers...

[meathiel]

Do you have a glass ball? Or do you read tea leaves?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I never did well with the glass.
Cards work. Tea can.
Generally I don't use anything I just get feelings.

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

wow and didn't she ask you why you knew about the 7 minutes?
I'm impressed.

congrats with renewing the license. We don't need to do that over here. Only if you drive heavy trucks you need to re-new