Love of the mundane
Despite the weather being so crappy, I've been so excited to have a four-day weekend. My office was closed yesterday, but most people were working, so it was a nice opportunity to attend to a whole boatload of things I'd let slip: I finally went to the credit union to stave off these notices I've been getting threatening to turn all my money over to the state because of inactivity on the account; I renewed my driver's license; I went to the jeweler to get a watch battery and get my rings all sparkly and shiny. Such completely boring stuff that made me inordinately happy. I really like being able to cross things off my mental list and to feel as though I've restored some degree of order to my life.
I am fascinated by the Motor Vehicle office. I went in all prepared with my renewal form completed, six points of identification and $24. I'd never been to this particular office before, but they're all remarkably similar: harsh lighting, uncomfortable chairs, a faint cover of dankness, oodles of disgruntled people, a couple of vending machines. But the system was actually fairly efficient, at least for license renewals (the line for driving tests seemed unwieldy, though, and fairly disorganized); I waited less than 30 seconds for the triage person at the receptionists' desk to direct me to a woman with a laptop, who checked me in and told me to wait to be called. I got about a paragraph into an article in the New Yorker I thought I'd have time to read cover-to-cover when they called my number. I spent another minute at the window where I paid, had my photo taken at the same window, and read about another three paragraphs before I had new license in hand. Literally, like seven minutes, all told.
I'd stopped wearing a watch probably for the last year, first because the clasp wasn't functioning properly and second because the battery ran down. Last weekend, I found a little hole-in-the-wall clock shop where the guy behind the counter fixed the clasp in about a minute and wouldn't let me pay him for it, but I for some reason felt guilty asking him for a battery, as well (when we went into the store, he was tinkering with a bunch of clocks, and although he would probably have been able to do the battery, I for some reason felt it'd be an imposition for me to ask. I know -- I'm a total weirdo).
So yesterday, I headed up to our family jeweler (that sounds kind of dirty, I know), because I'm supposed to get my engagement ring checked out every now and again to make sure the stones are secure, and also because my rings were filthy and dull from our trip to the beach, and the cleaning stuff I have at home just does not have the same miraculous effect as whatever the jeweler uses. He also hooked me up with a new watch battery (also free, which he doesn't need to do to keep me loyal, but I appreciate it) while I admired all of the sparkly estate jewelry.
Before heading home to my hubby for Akeelah and the Bee (waaaaaaaay better than Bee Season, and I totally cried) and dinner at Red Robin, I stopped at my sister's to drop off my karaoke machine for my niece's birthday party next week (to which I, fortunately, was not invited. I love my niece, but an evening with seven eight-year-olds doing karaoke would definitely put me over the edge).
I don't think I was quite prepared for the afternoon at my sister's. The three kids (the boys are 3 and 5, and my niece will be 8 in a couple of weeks) were just stir-crazy, I guess, with all of this yucky weather, and my poor, endlessly patient sister looked exhausted.
"So...school starts next week, huh?" I ventured.
"Oh, I can't WAIT for them to go back to school!" she admitted, seeming at once ashamed and relieved to have said it out loud.
Both my niece and my nephew -- who'll start kindergarten -- are feeling a little stressed about going back to school, and the anxiety is manifesting itself as regression. There's whining, baby talk, stubborness, feigned helplessness; there's pinching and refusal to share and general willfulness. There were a lot of threats: "Try that one more time, and Aunt Tangent's leaving and taking the karaoke machine with her."
It was gray outside but not actively raining, so we went out to play and everyone actually benefited from the change of scenery. We all played some wiffle ball -- the five-year-old is actually a really good athlete, and all of his bad behavior vanished once he had a chance to run around -- and my niece and I did cartwheels on the lawn (I couldn't believe I can still do a cartwheel, but it actually came back pretty naturally) while the boys took turns riding a bike and a scooter around the driveway. I had a really fun time with them, although I was definitely ready to hit the road after a couple of hours.
And boy, for my sister's sake, do I hope the weather improves before school starts next week.
I am fascinated by the Motor Vehicle office. I went in all prepared with my renewal form completed, six points of identification and $24. I'd never been to this particular office before, but they're all remarkably similar: harsh lighting, uncomfortable chairs, a faint cover of dankness, oodles of disgruntled people, a couple of vending machines. But the system was actually fairly efficient, at least for license renewals (the line for driving tests seemed unwieldy, though, and fairly disorganized); I waited less than 30 seconds for the triage person at the receptionists' desk to direct me to a woman with a laptop, who checked me in and told me to wait to be called. I got about a paragraph into an article in the New Yorker I thought I'd have time to read cover-to-cover when they called my number. I spent another minute at the window where I paid, had my photo taken at the same window, and read about another three paragraphs before I had new license in hand. Literally, like seven minutes, all told.
I'd stopped wearing a watch probably for the last year, first because the clasp wasn't functioning properly and second because the battery ran down. Last weekend, I found a little hole-in-the-wall clock shop where the guy behind the counter fixed the clasp in about a minute and wouldn't let me pay him for it, but I for some reason felt guilty asking him for a battery, as well (when we went into the store, he was tinkering with a bunch of clocks, and although he would probably have been able to do the battery, I for some reason felt it'd be an imposition for me to ask. I know -- I'm a total weirdo).
So yesterday, I headed up to our family jeweler (that sounds kind of dirty, I know), because I'm supposed to get my engagement ring checked out every now and again to make sure the stones are secure, and also because my rings were filthy and dull from our trip to the beach, and the cleaning stuff I have at home just does not have the same miraculous effect as whatever the jeweler uses. He also hooked me up with a new watch battery (also free, which he doesn't need to do to keep me loyal, but I appreciate it) while I admired all of the sparkly estate jewelry.
Before heading home to my hubby for Akeelah and the Bee (waaaaaaaay better than Bee Season, and I totally cried) and dinner at Red Robin, I stopped at my sister's to drop off my karaoke machine for my niece's birthday party next week (to which I, fortunately, was not invited. I love my niece, but an evening with seven eight-year-olds doing karaoke would definitely put me over the edge).
I don't think I was quite prepared for the afternoon at my sister's. The three kids (the boys are 3 and 5, and my niece will be 8 in a couple of weeks) were just stir-crazy, I guess, with all of this yucky weather, and my poor, endlessly patient sister looked exhausted.
"So...school starts next week, huh?" I ventured.
"Oh, I can't WAIT for them to go back to school!" she admitted, seeming at once ashamed and relieved to have said it out loud.
Both my niece and my nephew -- who'll start kindergarten -- are feeling a little stressed about going back to school, and the anxiety is manifesting itself as regression. There's whining, baby talk, stubborness, feigned helplessness; there's pinching and refusal to share and general willfulness. There were a lot of threats: "Try that one more time, and Aunt Tangent's leaving and taking the karaoke machine with her."
It was gray outside but not actively raining, so we went out to play and everyone actually benefited from the change of scenery. We all played some wiffle ball -- the five-year-old is actually a really good athlete, and all of his bad behavior vanished once he had a chance to run around -- and my niece and I did cartwheels on the lawn (I couldn't believe I can still do a cartwheel, but it actually came back pretty naturally) while the boys took turns riding a bike and a scooter around the driveway. I had a really fun time with them, although I was definitely ready to hit the road after a couple of hours.
And boy, for my sister's sake, do I hope the weather improves before school starts next week.
2 Comments:
Weird question, but were you at the DMV in Edison? That place is AMAZING -- I got a new license in about 30 seconds flat when I went in there... I actually wanted to say a little prayer to thank to DMV gods who I had cursed so many times before.
By
KARCHAMB, at 10:58 PM
It was Edison! But I also had a pretty good experience last time around in Lawrenceville, and my mom and sister have both marveled recently about how efficient the Morristown office was. Maybe they really are shaping up....
By
tangentwoman, at 6:24 AM
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