I'm in a Pennsylvania state...officially

[illusionofjoy]

In New York, they are called Department of Motor Vehicle or DMV stations. In Pennsylvania, the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has cleverly named the places where one applies to or renews one's driving privileges "Licensing Centers."

I spent three hours in one of these places today, effectively making myself an official resident of the state of Pennsylvania. My New York driver's license is gone, replaced by a spiffy Keystone State lamination:

It certainly took long enough to get the damn thing. missjoi and I arrived at the offices, thinking we had all the info we needed to prove that I indeed lived where I claimed to live. Unfortunately, after the two-hour wait to get to the issuing window, one of the documents I had brought as my proof of residence (my phone bill) lacked my mailing address! The representative told us to go home and get another form of proof of residence and simply come back to the same window. We didn't even have to take another number and wait in line again!

While waiting was a drag, overall, I give these centers bonus points for the fact that the employees I encountered defied the usual DMV stereotypes: they were courteous, attentive and efficient.

When it came time to get my photo taken, I was given the option of registering to vote as a Pennsylvanian, which I did of course (one less set of forms to worry about). Now I can legally drive in the state and sway its polls towards the Democratic party...all in time to start my new job on Monday.