Meanderings: July 16, 1999

Friday,
July 16, 1999

Well, yesterday's was a cheery entry, wasn't it?

I'm sorry -- I'm just so pissed off about this driver's license thing. You would think that giving Vägverket (the Swedish Bureau of Motor Vehicles) six weeks' notice would be more than adequate. It's times like this that I realize just how spoiled we are in the States -- you walk into a BMV, plunk down your money and the correct paperwork, do the written test, do the driving test, bam, you walk out with a license. And all it takes is one day's time. Here, you have to jump through the most astounding hoops before you can get permission to apply for a license. Not the license itself, just permission to apply for it. Astounding.

However, I think I may have a line on options. I'm going to call around to the various driving schools on Monday -- a lot of them offer intensive courses, and Lyndon suggested that they must block book for their students in order to get the license quickly. If I can sign up for an intensive course (been driving for fifteen years, have experience in all weather and driving conditions, am a superb driver -- yep, passing should be no problem), they may be able to get me into a test slot before we leave for California.

And if that doesn't pan out, I'm going to try calling around to a Vägverket office farther outside of Stockholm and see if I can get a fast appointment there (working on the basis that a city office is always going to be more busy than a rural office). Please keep your fingers crossed for me -- I need all the good wishes I can get.

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