Survivor

Chris and I spent the afternoon with a variety of state employees.

One was a nice experience and one was pure hell.

We attended the retirement party for Chris' dad, combined with the retirement of two others, and it was a very nice occasion put on at the expense of their co-workers.

No taxpayer dollars were used in this celebration and while I usually celebrate saving taxpayer dollars, it is an insult that as an employer the state doesn't fully honor their employees.

The Big Lug Nut could do with one less of his numerous spokespeople which would more than pay for cake & punch.

The only other downer was Charles Krogmeier's inability to learn the names of the two other retirees and pronounce the one he read correctly.

Come on Chuckles you had a thirty minute drive, with knowledgeable subordinates who could have briefed you, to show proper appreciation for people with 20+, 30+ and 40 years of service.

From there our day degenerated as Chris needed to renew her driver's license at the Iowa Motor Vehicle Division Building in Ankeny.

It's were happiness goes to die and the scientific community is united in that fact.

There was a long line when we got there just to get a number to speak with an employee.

It took at least thirty minutes before we got to the front to get a number, it was at that point that some bureaucratic genius decided to open up two lines.

With number 617 in our possession we sat down and waited for the bingo game/crapshoot that is to be played.

That's the only comparison I have because they called numbers in the 100s, 200s, 500s and 600s randomly.

This segment of our lives took forty minutes, during which we watched many of those that came behind us called up to the desks.

During that time I kept telling Chris, don't get sick because this is how government run health care will be.

Finally 617 was called and Chris answered a few questions, although they wouldn't listen to me when they questioned her mental stability (she did marry me after all and that should raise a few eyebrows).

After payment it was off to wait at pictureland.

Total time at this fun experience was well over 1 1/2 hours and as I walked out the doors I lifted my arms and shouted -- FREEDOM!

I was surprised Chris got an actual license and not the paper substitute.

As part of the government's new anti-fraud measures they will mail the licenses to your residence, because they've apparently never heard of mail fraud.