GUIDED BY VOICES

I got home yesterday to a piece of mail from the DMV. Puzzled I opened it. My registration isn't due until July. It was a congratulatory notice telling me that I am lucky because I can renew my driver's license through the mail. My first thought was whoa! five years just flew by. I distinctly remember going to renew it the last time, at the last minute before I left town to celebrate my birthday because I was going to need to drive a rental car and they won't let you do that with an expired license.

And the fact that I did it at the last minute is evidenced by the photo on the license that I've been carrying around for the last five years. I was in a hurry and didn't really grasp the concept of digital photography. I take crap pictures to begin with. I'm not photogenic. But there's something about digital photography that just makes me look crazy. And in my driver's license photo my eyes are staring off into space, a bit to the right, like I'm listening to voices that only I can hear.

I look insane.

So even though I am "lucky" and could, if I wanted to, renew my license through the mail and carry that crazy lady photo around with me for another five years, I think I'm going to make an appointment and put on a little makeup, brush my hair and go down to the DMV to renew my license in person and get a new picture.

And hopefully this time I'll take a good picture. Or at least one where I don't look like I need Thorazine.