I (heart) Red Tape

So, I read last night AND this morning and somehow I think that grants me a blogging break, despite the fact that I have nothing of note to say today.... so I will talk about parking.

Pasadena has this law, which they only have posted on one sign somewhere on the outskirts of town, probably behind a tree, that there is NO PARKING on any city streets between 2-6am, except by exceedingly-difficult-to-obtain permit. Hence, the ticket on the moving van on night #1. So, I go down to the city permit office to obtain a permit. This, however, requires some rather pesky obstacles. First, you must submit the auto registrations of every registered automobile at your residence. So, for me to get a permit, I had to make my roommate copy her registration and fill out a form too. Second, your registration must reflect the address at which you are applying for a permit. Well, funny now, but when you change an address with the DMV they don't send you an updated copy of your registration which reflects your new address. So I only have one with an Oakland address on it. When I call the city to bring the extreme difficulty of this procedure to their attention (because I am sure I was the first to notice, and do so), they tell me to get a second copy of my change of address form when I go to the DMV. I mention to them that I was a good citizen this time and submitted my address change before I moved, via the mail, and have no intention of returning to a DMV anytime soon to fill out a form I already submitted, just so they can stamp it. So, they decide they will accept my Oakland registration and a copy of my student ID (???).

In the meantime of all this, until I gathered all the requisite pieces for my permit application, I had to call a phone number every night and leave a recording describing my car and stating where it is parked and where I lived, so they wouldn't ticket it. Now, I have a temporary permit that is hanging in the window while I wait for them to decide whether or not I deserve a real permit. My temporary permit expires on Thursday, so I have to go back to the parking office by then to renew my temporary permit so I don't get ticketed while I'm waiting for my permanent permit, which will then expire on 12/31 and I will get to do this all over again for next year!