Californified

That has to be the cutest fake mug shot I've ever seen. (I'm not sure if it's okay to display your plate number on the web, so I pixelated it just in case.) R and I received our CA driver's licenses and new plates after taking a surprisingly challenging written test the week before last. Here's a sample question:

To avoid last minute moves, you should be looking down the road to where your vehicle will be in about ________.

A) 5 to 10 seconds
B) 10 to 15 seconds
C) 15 to 20 seconds

What the heck? There were 36 questions like that. I passed, but just barely. R, being the over-achiever she is, aced the thing.

The DMV also requires a smog test when you register your car. Of course they don't do this on-site and can't even give you the name of a convenient place to have it done. You have to find your own automotive shop and spend another $50 and half an hour... in my case, it took just long enough so I couldn't make it back to the DMV on the same day, making the process a two-day affair. But let's focus on the positive: we are now officially California residents. I, for one, am proud to call myself one!

By the way, the correct answer was B.