Caren Explains Where She Has Been

So I went MIA for awhile, which even my mother was quick to point out. But I'm alive. Since last we met, I traveled to Austin, Denver, DC, New York and I am soon-to-be-in Durham.

Hours of sleep I've logged: few

Friends I've missed: everyone

Concerts I've caught since last we met: 40

The Decemberists
Ryan Shaw
Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts
Manchester Orchestra
Kevin Devine
Peter & the Wolf
Oneside
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
Golden Bear
Brent Keith
DeVotchKa
Ben Lee
Midlake
Bob Dylan
Patterson Hood
Common
Ghostland Observatory
My Morning Jacket
Andrew Bird
Fionn Regan
Aqueduct
Apples in Stereo
Morning State
Tyler James
Andy Davis
Interpol
Liars
The Booze
VHS or Beta
Winter Sounds
The Drownout
Homer Hiccolm & the Rocketboys
The Black Kids
Air Traffic
Tacks the Boy Disaster
American Babies
Harlem Shakes
Hallelujah the Hills
The New Frontiers
Chase Pagan
Office

I'm exhausted just typing that... if you want to know about any of them, let me know... I have plenty to talk about.

Here is a cool set-list that Jason snagged from Wilco's taping of Austin City Limits, and gave to me. Good friends are nice to have.



CK

Caren Explains: Bureaucracy at Its Best

My insurace coverage lapsed over the summer. I called the county Tax Commissioner's office to make sure they knew I had new coverage and to see if there was a fee. There was not one on record.

Then I moved counties and changed my address.

In some bizarre chain of events, the county mailed an insurace fee notice to my new address, but the postman delivered it to my old address, despite a very clearly written address... this happened twice.

Then I got my "Suspension of Vehicle Registration" notice, meaning I can't drive my car until it is paid.

So I call the Tax Commissioner's office of my new county. This is when I find out that I must do the following things to get my car registration back:

1) Pay a fee for moving to a new county (one mile from my old apartment)
2) Pay the vehicle registration fee for my lapsed insurance coverage (four months ago)
3) Get an emissions inspection, even though I had one completed less than a year ago (in case my car emits different fumes in one county versus another?)
4) Pay the sum of the fees in person (a few hundred dollars, not $25 as the suspension notice said)

Here is a Catch-22 for you... if my vehicle is suspended and I am not supposed to drive it, how am I supposed to get it to an emissions inspector? My suspension states that "operation of a vehicle with a suspended or revoked registration is a misdemeanor and may result in the impoundment of the vehicle by law enforcement if discovered."

Isn't the government then requiring I break the law in order to abide by the law?

That confirms it... I need to move to a city where I don't need a car.