I've been busy with Haiti and Monkey!, and thus this morning was my first real opportunity to take the theory exam, and also my last chance to take it before the 3-month point preceding my 30th birthday, and thus the last date on which to do it and still achieve my goal of getting my full license before inaugurating the beginning of my 4th fucking decade on November 25th, baby. No dice. Instead:
-15 minute bike ride downhill through industrial district
-found office
-sat down to wait my turn
-DMV worker yells 'there's no theory exam Fridays!'
-I say 'oh!'
-he yells 'there never has been a theory exam on Fridays! It doesn't exist!'
-I say 'what days?'
-he yells 'Tuesday to Thursday!'
-30 minute bike ride uphill to the office, 15 minutes early.
At least I didn't fail. Oh well. Will have to adjust the goal to getting my full permit before turning 31.
By the way, this incident is a prime example of why Belgians have a reputation for being morons, despite, if I'm honest, being no more organizationally inept than any non-Dutch Europeans. Things are at least a little inconvenient all over the continent. But here, when faced with a deficiency in the system, participants tend to say something like 'it doesn't exist'. When obviously, if you have a modicum of imagination or education, you know it does. Just not in this shithole. The same thing happened to me last night at the petstore when I wanted to buy a toothbrush for my cat. I admit it sounds like a made-up thing, but Sugarplum and San Francisca both have had good results with them, and I knew the petstore stocked toothbrushes for dogs. So I asked a lady who worked there, who looked baffled, and who asked her manager, who insisted that such things didn't exist.
What do you say to that? Nothing. That twitch that's starting over my right eye when I get annoyed is just the cost of doing business here.
4 commenti:
31? Boy, yr young.
wait a minute. i'm doubtless missing something here, but are you taking a driving "theory" test? as in, the theory of driving an automobile? this is something required?
Yes indeed. The Theory of Driving an Automobile. Sounds like the title of a shitty Martin Amis novel, doesn't it?
San Francisca had exactly the same reaction, by the way, and for the first time in my life I wanted to be American. Sounds like they just give out the permits like candy there, and here I have to have a little exam on the difference between a class A and a class B cyclomoteur, as if I give anything like a flying fuck, before I even sit down on the driver's seat.
that twitch in the eye always reminds me of Dryfus (sic), Clousau's (Pink Panther) boss in the movies.
best cinematic eye twitch
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