Okay, so as everyone knows, I was in a wreck and got arrested 3 months ago because unbeknownst to me my drivers license had been suspended because I didn't notify the state of Georgia in writing that my insurance had changed. Well, it took 3 months, lots of bus rides and carpooling, and $3, 192 dollars, but I finally got my license reinstated and my tags renewed -- but what an adventure it was!

I drove from Memphis to Nashville, and picked up my best friend Maurice, who was the licensed driver driving my car to Georgia to get my tags renewed. Luckily for me, the DMV and the County Clerk's office is open on Saturdays in Atlanta. I have to admit, road tripping with Mo is definitely fun, and we should road trip more often! So we get to the DMV, which opens at 7:30 am, and the longest part of getting my driver's license reinstated was standing in line to get the numbered ticket that you have to have to get to the counter -- that alone took and hour! Once I got the ticket though, I was in and out in 5 minutes. Go figure!

So of course, because I bought my car in Atlanta and I had expired tags, I needed to take my car through emissions. There was an emissions booth in front of the DMV, but it would have been an hour and two cars in front of me to wait, so I drove at first to Loganville (where I used to live) and was told that THEIR emissions testing machines were broken, so I wound up driving over to Grayson (the next town over) to get my emissions tested. That took another 20 minutes. The car passed, like I knew it would, so then off we were to the Mall of Georgia to the County Clerk's office.

***Sidebar*** So for those of you who don't know, when you buy a car in Georgia, you don't pick up your tags from the dealer -- you actually have to go and make sure that the ad valorem taxes have been paid by the dealer; if they haven't then it is your responsibility as the buyer to get a release form of some sort that says that you just purchased the vehicle and that you are not responsible. Then you pay the current year's ad valorem taxes and pay for your plates, which are a flat $20 dollars, and off you go. I didn't know all this when I bought my car, and found out the hard way when I had my wreck, because I let my tags expire and couldn't get them transferred. Which brings me back to my trip.

So I get to the tag office, and I get to the front of the line -- which is moving way faster than the one at the DMV. I get to the counter, and tell the lady (Leah was her name) what I want, which is to register my car. I give her my bill of sale, my emissions certificate, my Georgia Driver's License, and my insurance policy and ID cards for my car as well as the receipt for where I just paid the insurance last month. She takes everything, pulls up the computer, and then proceeds to tell me that she can't give me a plate because as far as the State of Georgia is concerned I don't have any insurance, because my insurance company isn't in their database. I once again point out that she has the original copy of the insurance policy in her hands, and that she has a keyboard in front of her, so why can't she enter my information and give me my tag? She then tells me that my insurance policy had to be issued in the State of Georgia for it to be considered valid insurance and that as far as the state was concerned I didn't have any insurance. Mo watched me tear up because I was really about to start crying at this point -- I had gotten SO close to having all my problems solved and then I get told this bullshit -- which is really all it was!

Thank goodness Mo used to sell insurance at Met Life -- because then he jumped in as the voice of reason (and let me tell you, a 6'5" big ass black dude towering over you is NOT someone you want to piss off!) says to Leah, "Let me get this straight. If she gets pulled over by a police officer and he asks to see her proof of insurance, and she shows this Tennessee-issued insurance, she won't be penalized because a cop doesn't care WHERE the insurance comes from as long as she has it?" Leah said "Yes, that's right." Mo then says, "However, when it comes to getting her car registered, because she didn't get the insurance in the State of Georgia, you won't give her a tag that will prevent her from getting pulled over in the first place?" Leah then said "Yes, that's right." Mo then said, "And you won't give her a temporary tag to get her out of here to straighten out the insurance issue because as far as you guys are concerned she doesn't have insurance??" Leah then said, "Yes, that's right." Mo's next question to her was priceless:

"Do you not realize what a dumbass you just made yourself look like by answering my questions the way that you did, and do you not realize how stupid this all sounds???"

At this point, 2 years of living in the two most ghetto places in the South (Memphis and Atlanta) took over my better breeding, and I told that woman, "Look -- I am going to stand right here and get some other insurance on the spot if that is what it takes. You guys close at 4pm today right? Well get ready to be here a while because ain't NOBODY leaving this building without me getting a metal plate today, even if I have to climb over that counter and get the damn thing myself!!!"

I then called Geico, and told the guy who answered the phone (bless his heart!) "I don't care what you have to do today, but I need Georgia-issued insurance, and I need it now so I can get my tags and get the hell out of this place!" The guy on the phone was very nice and could tell I was very upset, but he got me some great insurance and -- just like the commercial says -- I saved myself $50 dollars a month by switching to Geico! -- go ahead and laugh, because every time I think about that I fall out laughing!!!

So I stood there, got the insurance, waited for the fax to come across, and finally walked out the door with my plates for my car (grand total cost: $141 dollars for the tag and taxes), after being in the tag office for about 2 hours and a lifetime worth of bullshit. I also re-established my permanent Georgia residency, which I will keep until I either get rid of that car or get it paid off and the title in my hands, whichever comes first. After all that, all I wanted was a drink and to get the hell out of Atlanta!!! Which I did with the utmost haste!!!

So here are the grand total mileages for that trip:

Memphis, TN to Nashville, TN: 212 miles from my doorstep to my sister's doorstep
Nashville, TN to Atlanta (Lithonia), GA: 276 miles from my sister's doorstep to the doorstep of the DMV
Atlanta (Lithonia), GA to Grayson, GA to Buford, GA: 33 miles from the DMV to the emissions testing shop to the Mall of Georgia
Atlanta, GA to Nashville (Antioch), TN: 282 miles from the Mall of Georgia to my uncle's house where we met up with the rest of my family
Driving around Nashville the rest of the weekend: we'll round it off and say about 60 miles
Nashville, TN to Memphis, TN: 212 miles from my sister's house back to my own house

Grand total miles put on my car from June 6-June 8, 2008: 1,075 miles and $250 worth of gas fill-ups in Memphis, Manchester, Atlanta, Nashville, and Hurricane Mills, TN.

Believe me, I'm STILL sleeping this trip off!!!

And the moral of the story is this: 1) NEVER BUY A CAR IN GEORGIA UNLESS YOU PLAN ON NEVER LEAVING THE STATE!!! 2) If you think you might be in a car wreck, make sure your license and all your stuff is in order so you don't have to go through what I did!!! This has been the most expensive lesson I've had to learn in my life!!!! And finally, 3) NEVER BUY A CAR IN GEORGIA UNLESS YOU PLAN ON NEVER LEAVING THE STATE!!!!