Dealing with the DMV

I got it in the mail a week or so ago: a notice that it was time to renew my license plates. The only problem was that my registration was still in my maiden name. I'd changed my driver's license last year; I went on a Saturday and read a hundred pages (and finished a book) while I waited for my turn. It was so busy that day that the DMV had to stay open past the posted hours to serve everyone who had come in before then. They didn't want to change my title at the time, so my registration didn't get changed either. That meant I had to renew my plates in person. Not wanting to repeat last year's wait, I decided to go in this evening (since they have later hours on Tuesdays).

I thought I was prepared by bringing another book (two, actually) with me, but I never had a chance to read. A middle-aged guy with a short ponytail saw my Beatles purse and kept talking to me about them and other classic rock artists. But the wait wasn't terrible; it took between 30 and 40 minutes before my number was called. I went up with renewal notice and driver's license and checkbook in hand. But no sooner than I started to explain what I needed than the woman said, "We don't change the name on the title until you sell it. Go over there to get a sticker." So I did, and they didn't seem to care about the name change either. Since my maiden name is still part of my full name, perhaps it's not that big of a deal. The main thing that irks me about this whole affair is that next year around this time, I'll have to go into the DMV again, wasting more of my time, instead of simply renewing online or via snail mail.

I wonder if it would be worth selling my car to Eugene for a buck so he can sell it back to me, thus requiring a name change on my car title. I'd hate to think what the bureaucracy would make of that, though. They'd probably make me wait in line twice as long.