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I have an appointment this morning to renew my driver’s license. If you never hear from me again, at least you know what happened.

10:30 UPDATE: The DMV has no record of my appointment. Also, if I had wanted a Real ID so that I can fly on airplanes, I should have brought my passport, Social Security card, and a current bill. I have none of that. Anyway, without an appointment I have to go off to a little room and fill out an application on one of the computers.

10:45 UPDATE: All done!

10:46 UPDATE: I’m at the first window. Do I have my confirmation number? No. You should have written it down. There’s a pen at every station. What was I supposed to write it on, my hand? Oh, they’re supposed to give you a piece of paper. They didn’t. Can you look it up by my last name? No, sorry, here’s a piece of paper. Do it again.

10:53 UPDATE: My second attempt was successful and I have been assigned # G249. We are currently serving # G193.

11:15 UPDATE: We are up to # G219.

11:40 UPDATE: For some reason, the G series has stalled at #G248.

11:49 UPDATE: # G249 has finally been called!

11:54 UPDATE: No credit cards are allowed. Only cash and debit cards.

11:55 UPDATE: Off to the camera line.

12:04 UPDATE: Done. That’s 94 minutes from start to finish. Is that good or bad these days?

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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