To vanish into oblivion is easy to do

First - the good news: The Ramada in Arizona was very nice.

Second - the bad news: Everything went downhill once I got into Cali on Thursday. Well, things Thursday were okay - just moving in and unpacking. It's really amazing how much shit I had boxed up and really should have just thrown away. Ah well. Friday morning the cable guy came over to set up my HDTV service. Unfortunately, he managed to do this incorrectly, which I didn't figure out until hours later. A service tech will now be coming Tuesday afternoon, cutting into my bar review coffee time. So I'm not thrilled about that.

Friday morning I woke up early so I could go to the BarBri office to get my books. For some reason some of the books are 11 x 14, which I find relatively obnoxious. I'm going to class in West LA (which at the time I thought was a good idea so I could see a "Live" session, but now am regretting due to the commute from downtown) and discovered that the parking situation is pretty poor over there. I asked the BarBri guy about it, and he gave me a map with large parking lots posted. However, I was unable to figure out where these lots actually were, even after driving around for some time. I think Monday morning I'm just going to leave early and find some street parking a few blocks away.

Friday afternoon was DMV time, as Cali requires you to get your car registered within 10 days before you start racking up fines. I had a 2:30 appointment, but arrived a full hour early, which got me stuck in the no-appointment line. I explained to the number-hander-out person what I was there for - car registration and license - and he gave me my number. I waited for about 1/2 hour before talking with the DMV person, who then explained that I would need a smog test before I could get my car registered. I didn't even know what that was, nor was it on the list of things I needed to do according to the DMV website - but I figured I could at least get my license first. I did, but not until after I failed my first written test (which is written horribly, so I put way more thought into it than I should have). That whole process took an hour and a half. I then went across the street for a smog test, which cost me about $45. Then I went back to the DMV, drove my car though the verification line - which also took much longer than one would expect - then went through the DMV line inside to actually give my paperwork to someone else. 3 1/2 hours later I left. But at least I'm done with that place for the time being, and have new Cali license plates to show for it.

That would have been enough of a hassle for the week, but my car started acting funny the moment I left the DMV - I actually though I was getting hit from behind every time I hit the gas. I had no idea what was wrong, but once I got on the highway things seemed to be working ok so I pretty much ignored it until today hoping that the problem would solve itself. No such luck. On my way out to Target in Pasadena this afternoon, the same problem happened again, and on came the ominous "Service Engine Soon" light and the battery indicator (at least I think that's what it was). By the time I made it home from Target every auto place was closed, and I have no idea if there is a legit mechanic in downtown. To top it off, with BarBri Monday morning I don't have any time to deal with this sort of thing. After freaking out for a bit, I made reservations to pick up a rental car tomorrow morning, talked to my apartment manager to get an extra spot for Sunday night, and will come back from BarBri Monday afternoon and try to find a place that I can take my car which isn't too far from downtown. I have the rental car booked from Sunday through Wednesday, so ideally that will be enough time for them to figure out what's wrong with it. Argh.

I'm starting to feel pretty good about my decision to book a hotel during the bar exam.