Permanent move

What constitutes permanent residency?  I pose this question because we went and got our Minnesota driver's licenses last week which is one of several steps I think it takes to become a resident of a state. 

It was interesting because despite the fact that we both have been driving for more than a decade, the state of Minnesota requires everyone who is getting their license for the first time in the state to take a forty question test.  You need an eighty percent to pass the test.  We both passed.  With an eighty percent.  BOOM!  The test had some questions that you would never think of.  Like, 'how many feet are you suppose to leave between you and someone biking on the road?'  It's something you never really think of.  Then they would have a question like, 'true or false:  Alcohol impairs your judgement when operating a vehicle.'  There were some questions that were no brainers and others which made me think how did I pass this course in the first place when I was fourteen and didn't have the experience?

So we both got our licenses, but that is just one of things it takes to be a permanent resident.  The biggest thing has to be living somewhere.  The first two weeks we were here, we lived with my uncle so we didn't technically live anywhere.  We were out of our lease in Wichita and had no address in Minnesota.  We missed our one opportunity to get off the grid and disappear forever.  At the beginning of September, we moved into our apartment and step one was completed.  Although there are some that would not consider living in an apartment a move towards a permanent residency because you could just be here for a year and be gone.  However, we're here for the long haul, so I'll count it.  Step one:  completed. 

Step two and three go hand in hand.  Driver's license and license plate for your car.  Both of these things expire eventually, so no matter how much you delay, you eventually have to get them both.  These are the things that are the biggest road blocks when it comes to becoming a resident just because they cost quite a bit of money to get.  Okay, so not a ton for a driver's license.  It was twenty five dollars.  License plates can be expensive, around one hundred dollars.  I am waiting until July to get my license plate because that is when it expires.  The license plates in Kansas come with property tax and it cost around one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty dollars depending on how new your car is, so I am getting my money's worth out of my Kansas license plate. 

So it isn't until those three things fall into place that you become a permanent resident of a state when you are an adult.  You can't hold kids to these standards because they can't drive.  

Deer driving

Growing up and learning to drive in Michigan, one of the biggest dangers we were warned about were the deer.  And it's true, you look at the sides of the highways and you see the dead deer, especially in the fall.  Most of the deer are pretty big too.  They can get up to one hundred and fifty pounds.  That's the size of a grown adult.  You run into one of those going down the road and it can do serious damage and can even kill you. 

As we drove back to the Soo, we planned to stop a little over half way because we didn't want to be driving at midnight or one in the morning because the deer are moving around and when it gets dark, they move even more.  The last forty five miles were the most tense I have been behind the wheel in a long long time.  Even with your headlights and high beams on, they are difficult to see.  It's not like they got a ton of white hair on them to reflect back, oh no, they have to be brown.  They are very tasty, but I don't really think about that when they are splattered along US 2. 

I've driven in blinding blizzards, no problem.  Pouring down rain, sure why not?  Icy roads?  Just go slower and don't crank the steering wheel.  Hell, I've been stopped on the Mackinac Bridge with the wind not only moving my car, but the bridge as well.  I've heard the stories from my parents about the wind being so bad that it actually pushed a car over the side.  No seriously.  In 1989, the wind came up through the grates and threw a Yugo over the edge.  The reason that these things aren't much of a problem for me is because I can help control what is going on.  I can realize that the weather is bad and can slow down and take my time driving.  When dealing with the knowledge of deer running out onto the road, you can't control that.  You have to be on extra high alert for anything that moves.

When it gets dark this time of year, you keep your eyes on the sides of the road.  A downed tree can look like a deer.  A clump of tall grass takes the shape of a deer.  The reflective discs on guardrails look like eyes.  It's a sense of alertness and paranoia. 



You can never be too sure when one will run in front of you.  

Driving lessons

We passed a student driver on the way back from dropping our friends off at their apartment this past Sunday. The first thing I noticed was the nice spacious vehicle they had. I learned to drive in a Dodge Neon. Do you know how to cram four high school kids and a driving instructor into a two door car? Very carefully.

As I passed the kid going the speed limit (lame) I glanced over and saw the typical ten and two hands on the wheel. The only time I really have two hands on the wheel is during the two snow storms that occur each year or when I am making a turn (and that isn't always the case). Hell, I once drove fifty miles on the highway just using my knees in my Cavalier.

The kid was also up on the steering wheel. As close as you can get without actually removing the steering wheel and holding onto the steering column. I remember being that kid. I can remember driving south on the highway back home for fifteen minutes and getting off the highway and turning around and going back. It was exhilarating. Now....not so much. And then I thought about it, I have been driving for thirteen years. People that are taking drivers ed. in high school right now either were not born or just born as I was getting my learner's permit.

What a difference a city makes

As I was meandering around Michigan (Flint to Grand Rapids to Detroit back to Flint in a four day span) I did a lot of the driving.  My in-laws are not fans of driving in big cities, I can handle it just fine though.  While we were in and around Detroit, I started out driving five over the posted limit.  And in the mean time, was getting passed by blue hairs.  I did the only rational thing....sped up to the flow of traffic.  And before I knew it, I was going twenty and twenty five over.  A fact my friend Marc would be most proud of.  And I was still getting passed by some people (although I was doing more passing than being passed).  Holy shit.  

I didn't think much of it at the time because I was going with the majority of the flow of traffic.  But when I got back to Wichita, that drastically changed.  I hit about five over the limit and was passing everyone.  It is funny how things like that work.  Just recently, the city police set up a bear trap and nailed someone for going about thirty five over the posted limit.  That right there is why I don't speed too often.  I have no desire to be the person sitting on the shoulder of the road while other drivers laugh to themselves (at least that is what I do when I see speeders pulled over on the highway and/or in the city).  There is nothing wrong with setting up a bear trap.  It helps maintain.  

Big cities like Detroit have crazy drivers.  The way Marc described driving in Atlanta was the following.  'Just go.  The drivers behind you are paying attention.'  He tried to pass this mentality onto me while we were in Dallas a couple of years ago.  My brain doesn't work that way.  I need to look, I need to know what is going on around me.  I understand the thought process behind it, but can't bring myself to change lanes blindly.