I broke my "wear a white shirt" mantra and am regretting it...

Okay readers, I don't normally post this much (two days in a row -- woohoo!), but had the strangest experience at the Secretary of State's office this afternoon that I just needed to get it out....

So, my birthday is on Monday. And, like most blue-blooded Americans, I waited too long to renew my license and vehicle registration on-line or through the mail and need to head over to the Secretary of State's office. Monday is the worst possible day, since it's the last day for voter registration before the November election, so that day was out. Ever since moving to the Lansing area close to 15 years ago, the only Secretary of State's office I've ever visited is the one in East Lansing in the Habitrail.

I thought I was safer going there today than tomorrow, since it's MSU's Homecoming and things are likely to be crazy down there and all. So, I arrived at the office, picked a number (#21) and saw that they were on #99, ready to start all over. I plopped down in a seat and started gathering together all the stuff I needed: wrote out my check for $100, made sure I had both my forms for the registration and license renewal, and opened up my little binder that stays in my glovebox with my insurance info and expiring registration....only to find that my insurance paperwork wasn't in there....Call for numbers 0, 1, and 2....Crap!! Where could it be?!? Quick! Rechecked the binder thoroughly...checked my bag to make sure it didn't somehow slip out.....call for number 3.....Ran up to my car in the parking structure (level 2) and tore apart the glove box. (What's Leo and Nicole's wedding program doing in here?!?)

So, dejected, I headed over to the nearest AAA office on Saginaw, just west of US-127 and had a new proof of insurance printed. I really didn't want to have to do this on another day, so I headed right back to the Secretary of States with hopes that they hadn't reached my number yet b/c I literally was gone only about 15 minutes. This was a day that none of you would have wanted to have been in the car with me. [P.S. Anyone out there harboring doubts as to why the Honda Civic is one of the most tricked out cars out there?]

I was lucky enough to score a meter spot outside of BW3. Now that's good karma talking! Rushed across the street to the Secretary of States, and was immediately bummed out when I saw that they were on #38. Nuts! So, I picked a new number (#81) and took a seat. I double- and triple-checked my paperworked (check -- check!, renewal sheets -- check!, proof of insurance -- check!!). Then, I took out the Clapotis shawl and started to knit. Hey -- why not? I've got 30-minutes on the meter and a wait ahead of me. The gal sitting next to me leaned over and asked what I was making. I showed her the shawl and she seemed genuinely impressed. Then, she hands me a number (#66) and said that when she had sat down, someone else gave her their number b/c someone else had given them a number that was left behind (#45). [Bonus!]

Soon enough, her number was called and off she went. Her seat was taken up by another girl, who had #91. I asked her if she wanted to skip 10 other people and handed her the #81 slip. "Heck, yeah!" was her reply. Life is so good when you share the wealth.

At any rate, my number was called. Down went the needles and off I went to the counter. I handed the clerk all of my paperwork, only to have her hand me back my insurance papers, to which she said, "Oh, I don't need this..." What?!? What?!? WTF, man? When did the Secretary of State no longer need your proof of insurance to register your vehicle? No wonder there's so many dishonest folks out there driving around without it! And, to make matters worse, she asked for my driver's license, which I gladly handed over, expecting her to stick a sticker or something on it b/c my license renewal form explicitly said "eligible for renewal by mail," which I took to mean that I didn't need a brand-new card. Instead of a sticker, she promptly clipped the corner and stapled a piece of paper to it. "Wait a minute! You mean, I need to have a new photo taken today?!?" Crap!

"Uh, can I come back on Monday for that? I mean, I'm not wearing a white shirt." Yes, folks, I actually said that. Right about then, I'm sure she was hitting the security button that's hidden under the counter to let the folks in back know that she had a live one on her hands. Let me explain a little bit here b/c you're probably wondering just as she was...I have been very blessed to have had all (but one) of my license photos be fabulous. And when I say fabulous, I mean fabulous. My hair looks great. My smile is great. The photo is clear. And, I'm in a white shirt. The only photo that didn't turn out was one of me in a black shirt. In addition to wearing a shirt of the wrong color, my haircut was bad, my smile poor, and I had a very strange, oily, flash-bulb glare on my forehead. Yuck! So, today, my hair was in poor shape (did I mention running up stairs in the parking structure, and running from the meter to the office??). And, for the record, I was in a maroon twin-set and jean jacket.

Snapping back to reality, I realized that avoiding Saturday and Monday at all costs was really why I was there in the first place. "Oh well, I already wrote out the check," was my quick cover and was delivered with an uneasy smile. "Okay, please step over to the monitor and read me line 2," which I did rather poorly after pulling off the totally gross paper forehead keepers that were on the vision checker doodad. "Um, do you wear contacts?" "Well, no." Should I? [Note to self: schedule an appointment with the optometrist soon.]

So, I did it folks; took my photo in the wrong shirt. Sure, they gave me the opportunity to preview the photo. But I felt guilty b/c all the while, the office was getting more crowded and they were already calling numbers in the high-70s. Crooked smile. Shirt collar off kilter. And I knew that a re-take wouldn't help. I really needed to come back with a white shirt.

Now, I need to know: if I lose this license that will come in the mail in two weeks, can I just retake the photo or is it now on file and they'll insist on printing me a new one from there?