The New York Department of Motor Vehicles

I told the woman at the desk that I would surrender my driver's license, but not my accent. She laughed and said, "$40, sir."

I have now become one of them. I got my New York Driver's License today. I feel like my Southern identity has been stripped away, but I had a Cheerwine and now I'm over it.

They took three pictures of me and let me choose which one I wanted on my driver's license. One had my eyes closed, and one looked like Baby Huey. I went with lesser of the three evils, I mean chins, I mean pictures. Actually, it wasn't too bad, except they don't give you the actual license when you go in. It has to be printed in Albany and mailed to you. I'll scan it when it gets here, though.

The experience at the NYDMV was much, much different than the NCDMV. For one, there was no line. Liz and I were in and out of there in seven minutes. Plus, the people are relatively nice, and the eye chart is in big bold print directly behind the counter. If you can read 3" tall letters at a distance of 2 and a 1/2 feet...you're in! There is no driving test, no signs test, nothing. You just give them your old license and $40, and you're good to go. The $40 though, was the major difference, but there's no property tax on vehicles up here.

I don't feel much like a New Yorker yet, though. Liz is going to help my transition further by making a buffalo wing cheese dip tomorrow night, and supposedly, it will instantly make me a Bills fan, and force me to buy Lottery tickets.

We'll see how things go. As for now, Cheerwine in hand, I'm still the same old Southern Mike that says "Ya'll" and "Ain't" in front of the children at school, and they, in turn, think I'm speaking Japanese. They understand very little of what I say on a daily basis, and I'm constantly slowing down and interpreting. The other teachers think that the way I talk is "comfortable" and are enthralled when I put more syllables in a word than the word should have. I didn't realize I was such a bumpkin until I moved here and let everyone point it out.

Unfortunately, it is not I that talks strangely, it is them. The sooner they realize that, the better off we all will be.

Good night for now...much more this weekend! -Mike