I have been living in Texas since the end of January. Legally I was suppose to register my car and get my license by the beginning of May. I, however, did not get around to it until this week. There were some factors though, that led to me not doing this sooner.

One, my car’s title was still in my mom’s name. I was suppose to get this changed before I left CA, but never got around to it, so it took awhile for my mom to change it.

Two, I found out I also needed my actual birth certificate to get my license, so my mom had to mail that to me as well.

Three, when I went in to register my car the first time in May they did not like the fact that I had a CA title, but it had my TX address on it. It looked like I bought the car from CA and if that was the case then I had to pay TX taxes on it. But my mom actually “gifted” it to me, so I had to have her sign and send me this paper that said she”gifted” it to me.

I finally made time to deal with all of this on Monday. The wait ended up not being too bad there, what was annoying though and took longer was when I was finally being helped. Because I have been in the state for more than 3 months the lady had to check to see if I needed to pay a gift tax. The office she called hung up on her twice after being on hold, so this took forever. And I did end up having to to pay the gift tax. This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard and just another way they found to take my money. Next thing I know they are going to tax me for the birthday and Christmas presents.

I then went on over to the DPS. Side note: I think it is ridiculous that I have to go to two different places to do my registration and license. In CA it is one place, one line, but here I have to stand and wait in 2 long lines. Kind of annoying. OK, back on track. Everyone told me go to the Georgetown office, so I did, but guess what, I think everyone knows that secret. Thankfully my line didn’t end up being that long, but as the day went on it got worse, I know this cause I was there for quite awhile. I also found out later that the line was so crazy because new laws were being introduced Tuesday, so everyone was trying to get in on Monday before things changed.

What I’ve also forgotten to tell you is my license actually expired on my birthday back in May, so I have been driving around illegally. But I will tell you this: it may be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Because I was so afraid of getting pulled over I paid more attention and drove the exact speed limit, which is not something I use to do. I use to be a speed demon. But not anymore.

When I finally got to the front and was being helped the lady saw my CA license and told me that because it was expired I would have to take the written and driving test. WHAT?! Am I 16?! Right then and there she had me do the written. I didn’t even have a chance to flip through the book. It was 10 years ago that I took that test in CA. Who really remembers the facts like “If you are going 50 mph and throw your breaks on, how far will you travel?” On either side of me were 15 year old kids trying to get their permits…I felt like I was in high school. Thankfully I have great guessing skills and I passed. They were also able to fit me in for my driving test later that afternoon, which gave me enough time to go get my car washed. My car was thrashed. I had not washed my car in over a year. It was disgusting. But now it is so fresh and so clean, clean. 🙂

I came back to take my driving test. The only thing I was nervous about was parallel parking. In CA, I did not have to do that for my test when I was 16. I learned how to do it, but was never tested. I don’t go anywhere, where I have to do that and if I do, whoever is in the car with me switches and does it. I never do it. I will park a mile away before I do this.

Another funny thing is that it is not a driving instructor that gives you the test like in CA. It is a real officer. That’s a little intimidating. I hadn’t put my new plates on my car yet because I didn’t have a screwdriver, so they kind of flipped out about that and found one in their office to make me do it before I took my test.

So, the cop gets in my car. And what’s the first thing he asks me to do…pull around to these two poles and parallel park. My heart literally fell to my stomach and I said a prayer, “Jesus take the wheel” lol. I pulled in and I did it. It wasn’t the straightest park job, but it was good enough.

He took me around the neighborhood, I tried to do small talk, it kind of worked. But because I was obviously not a new driver my test was pretty simple. When it ended I of course passed, but he warned me that I need to look more and when I stop at a stop sign and there is no white line, I need to stop before the sign.

So, I am officially a Texas driver. Here is a pic of the Texas Jetta:

And when I get my TX license I will include it in a post.I also want to do something cool with my CA license and plates, so if you have any ideas let me know.

From talking to some of my friends I have heard some great stories when it comes to registering cars and getting new licenses. I would love to hear more stories. So, feel free to share in the comments and maybe if anyone has any tips for people who need to do this in the future you can share it below as well.

Until next time…PEACE OUT!