I
had been told that changing my name would be a hassle, but did I listen? Of
course not. I impatiently waited for the marriage license to arrive in the mail
and when it did I was off and running. Who wants to wait up to a month to get
appointments at places like the Social Security Administration and the DMV? Not
me. I had to start with the Social Security Administration (DMV checks with
them), so I decided that if I got there 30 minutes before they opened I’d be
all set. I arrived only to discover that there were already 30 people in line
ahead of me. I sat in the waiting room for close to an hour and it was
miserable (mostly due to a few people who hadn’t showered in a very long time
and a woman who was watching a video on her phone trying to learn English).
That
was Monday. On Thursday I went to the DMV. I randomly woke up at 5 a.m. and
decided that I should have breakfast and then make myself look pretty for my
picture (they make you get a new license picture, which I was annoyed about
because I love my old picture). Based on my experience at the SSA, I decided I
should arrive at the DMV an hour early. I got there and there were already six people
in line. It was pretty cold out so I was wearing my puffy and UGGs. The guy in
front of me (who was just there to be with his girlfriend) was in a t-shirt. I
thought his goosebumps were going to pop off his arms and start attacking
people. Poor guy. But the second guy in line had clearly been in line at the
DMV before. He had brought a pool chair that fully reclined and he was
ensconced in blankets. Aside from standing for an hour and a half it wasn’t
nearly as bad as the SSA.
The good
thing about all that waiting in line was that I got to catch up on some reading
(I also got to wait in line and read for 40 minutes at the post office so that
I could mail off my passport). I spent the rest of the week making phone calls
to various places, writing emails, typing letters, copying my marriage license
(the bank that holds my retirement account told me that I’d have to send them
my original marriage certificate and that I should put a post-it on it that
says I want it returned because otherwise they won’t return it), and filling
out forms online. It’s amazing how many accounts I have. This is the problem
with getting married in one’s mid-30s—one’s life is fully established already.
I would advocate that women get married at 18 (before they have too many
accounts to keep track of) in order to minimize the name change blues.
I registered
for the SCBWI conference in L.A. that’s at the end of the summer. I had such a
great time there last year that I’m really looking forward to going again. This
time I also signed up for a manuscript consultation. I’ll get to meet with
someone (agent, editor, or maybe author) for 15 minutes to discuss a manuscript.
Now I just have to figure out which manuscript to share. I have to decide by
the end of May when submissions are due.
What
I’m reading: I’m currently only reading The
Emperor of All Maladies (I know, so unlike me to only be reading one book).
Ken Burns made a documentary based on this book that aired on PBS so I’ve been
watching it too.
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