I lost my wallet about 3 weeks ago (oh, wow, has it really been that long?). It's the first time I've ever lost my wallet, and I was sorely disappointed. Not because I had to call and cancel all my credit cards, but because I didn't want to have to go out and buy a new wallet. I still haven't bought a new one. I've perused a few stores, but nothing has caught my eye as of yet.
Unfortunately, I still had a CO driver's license even though I moved back to AZ in May. So, because I lost an out of state license, I had to retake the tests in order to be issued a brand-spanking new AZ ID. Now, I was not expecting to have to take these tests. I don't know what I was expecting, but I never thought that I would have to endure graded parallel parking after my 16th birthday. Alas, it was not to be.
But before the parallel parking comes the written test. Immediately after being informed that I would have to retake the tests (WHAT?!?) I was handed the written test and told to sit over in the corner. I sat down, blinked a few times and read, "When following another car at night, what is the minimum distance you should dim your headlights? a. 100 ft b. 200 ft c. 300 ft" Oh no, thought I, this isn't going to be fun. Why couldn't they have made it obvious? Something like 100 ft, 500 ft, 1000 ft? That would have helped. Suffice it to say, I did not pass the written test with flying colors, but I did pass. What's my brother's phrase? "D is for Diploma." Now I understand.
After handing in my written test, a short Indian man who obviously thought he was funny, took me for my road test. In my dad's car. Man. Do not take a road test in an unfamiliar car. It is absolutely nerve-wreaking. The parallel parking wasn't so bad, not as bad as I remembered it. Of course, the first time I took my driver's tests I was in a 1980 station wagon with poor steering, so I guess the boat I was in this time wasn't so bad. Of course, the first time I took these tests I scored a 30/30 on the written section and, for some reason, wasn't too worried about the driving. Turns out, there wasn't any reason to be afraid this time either, I passed again.
What did I learn from all this? Don't lose out of state driver's licenses. Oh, and in my experience, each subsequent license picture is better than the last. Thankfully.