THE DAILY DIVERSION

Today I get to do one of the most time consuming things on the planet. I get to sit in line at the DWV and wait for my turn to get my 1998 Honda Civic tested for emission standards. Yes, it's a whole bunch of fun! You line up behind 30 other cars and sit in the heat and humidity with your windows down or A/C on for as long as it takes. This is one of the highlights of living within the city. We have to make sure that we're not polluting our air with our cars. I'm all for that, if I actually drove my car, ever.

However, what about all of the people that live out east, in the county, that drive down here every day? They don't have to be tested for emissions, and they're the one's the do most of the driving, right? I'm still working on figuring this one out. I would think that if you worked within the city limits you'd have to have your automobile tested for emission standards. That's just me though!

Last year I had the goofiest thing in the world happen while I was going through this exact process. I failed. Now, it wasn't miserably, but my car failed nonetheless. However, it wasn't that my car failed that was so silly to me. It was the fact that the two cars on each side of me passed (as far as I know anyway) that was ridiculous. To my right there was a late 80's Cadillac with a trunk that wouldn't close and a battered in passenger side. To my left was a 1982 Chevy Cavalier that didn't have a bumper nor any rear taillights. Yet my 1998 Honda Civic, in pristine shape didn't pass? Yes, I'm as confused as you.

So, I read over the paper they gave me that listed possible reasons for my failure. First and second on the list were "in need of an oil change" and "change out air filter". Well, I knew I was a little overdue for an oil change, but since I hadn't driven my car more than 700 miles since my last oil change I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. As for the air filter, I didn't remember the last time I had changed it out. So, I paid to get my oil change, which, if I had a place to do it, I would just do it myself and save the coin. I also went and paid $8 for a new air filter and replaced that. I returned to the emissions testing center and, surprisingly, passed with flying colors.

This year I went ahead and had the oil changed this last weekend and replaced the air filter. I'm not a big fan of doing something twice if I don't have to! Wish me luck!

At least I can just mail in my registration stuff, instead of walking down the street and waiting in line for them to take care of something that takes a total of 30 seconds to complete. I wish I would've started this blog when I first moved here, just so I could've told the stories of my getting my driver's license and my car registered. That was a ton of fun. Oh, and I almost forgot about registering to vote. I'm still not sure my vote was counted? Maybe Memphis is the reason we got another four years of "you know who"?