i think she really means it…

How I Spend My Summer Vacation

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 | Random Thoughts

I am so spoiled! It is so wonderful to have the summer off…of course I won’t see another paycheck until the first of October, but I am grateful for the time to relax.

I have been doing a lot of relaxing these past few weeks. It feels great to sleep in ’til 8:00, and stay up way past my “bedtime!” I’ve been cleaning the house (top to bottom), making bread, cooking dinners (not out of a box), and spending time with friends and family. Last week, however, I had an unexpected adventure. It all began when I went to AAA to renew our car’s registration…

“I’m sorry,” the nice young (am I really getting old?) man behind the counter told me. “You have an outstanding parking ticket on your record, and I can not give you your registration sticker until you clear it.”

“We paid that back in March,” I replied, oh so nicely.

“Well, it hasn’t been cleared from the DMV records yet, so you’ll have to bring the canceled check in,” he told me.

The following day, I went to Washington Mutual where they gave me a copy of the canceled check. Canceled, I might add, on April 7, 2007. I dutifully took the copy back to the AAA office where I, unfortunately, was waited on by another man who didn’t quite know what he was doing and asked his boss for help. The boss was a lot less friendly and said I needed to obtain an “abstract” from the courthouse who issued the ticket.

At this point, it might help to explain how we got the parking ticket. Back in January, Nate and I went to the Science Center in Exposition for a lecture on the bioethics behind nanotechnology (don’t knock it, ’til you’ve tried it! It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning). We parallel parked along a curb (in a marked parking stall). There were no “No Parking” signs posted, and we parked our car between two freshly painted “red” curbs. Between is the important word, here. The place we parked had red painted scratched off, and had two “L”s painted on the street designating it as a parking spot. After enjoying the lecture, we came out to the pouring down rain and a ticket on our windshield. Apparently, we were parked in a “red zone” and our penalty was a $70 parking ticket.

We took pictures of the curb and how we were parked, and wrote a letter to the ticketing agency protesting our ticket. Nearly two months later, we got a response…”Not enough evidence to support your case, please pay parking violation fee.”

So we did.

Back to my DMV story…

According to the paperwork, the ticket was issued by the “CA Science Center, Malibu Courthouse, P.O. Box 2730 Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, CA.” And AAA gave me a (213) number to call. Now I was really confused! Who gave us the ticket, CA Science Center, Exposition Park, Malibu Police, Huntington Beach, city of LA? Where will I go to pick up an “abstract” (what is an “abstract,” anyhow?). I had a feeling this was not going to be easy!

First I called the (213) number. The friendly DMV does not make getting in contact with a real person easy! If there are too many callers on hold, they simply tell you to call back later. After 3 separate phone calls, I finally got through to the “hold” section. Honestly, I am not making this up, I was “number 78 in line.” I can’t tell you how long I waited for a real, live person, but finally, a woman answered my call.

“I’m sorry,” she told me, “We don’t have any record of that ticket on our computer. Do you think it was issued by the city of Los Angeles?”

I was a little frustrated, but I did have the time, so I called the city of LA.

“I’m sorry,” the person on the other end of the line told me. “We don’t have any record of that ticket on our computer. Do you think it was issued by the county of Los Angeles?”

So, I called the county.

“I’m sorry,” was again the response. “We don’t have record of that ticket on our computer.”

So, I called Exposition Park. They don’t even have a parking violations department. I literally spoke to a security guard at the Natural History Museum!

Next, I called the State of California, simply for more information. At this point, I had been on the phone for over 2 hours! The gal at the State level, was so kind and helpful. She ended up giving me the number for the DMV’s “Office of Executives.”

I immediately called them. And, low and behold, they had record of the ticket and when it was paid. “We’re simply waiting for the ticketing agency to ‘clear’ it from the system,” she told me. “Let me give you their number. It’s 213…”

You’re kidding me! After two and a half hours on the phone you’re sending me back to that number!!!???

Needless to say, I had enough of phone calls for that day, so I decided to put it aside and enjoy the weekend.

Last Wednesday, I drove to the Malibu Courthouse. It was a gorgeous drive, 13 miles up PCH. It’s very difficult to be frustrated when the ocean is right outside your window. The courthouse was nearly empty, so I was able to see the city clerk right away.

“We have no record of this ticket,” the man told me. In fact, the courthouse number listed on your document, doesn’t even exisit!”

Words can no longer express my feelings at this point…

After talking with the Sheriff’s Department across the hall from the city clerk and calling yet another number (the parking bureau), I left without an “abstract.” I drove straight to the AAA office and told them my story.

They had me fill out a “Statement of Facts” explaining everything I had done to get proof this ticket was paid, and issued me my registration sticker. It was very anti-climactic.

I asked the gal who gave me my license sticker how I would know the DMV had taken care of clearing the ticket and she replied, “If it doesn’t clear, they’ll get back to you…”

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