9:00 AM - Wake up and run to the DMV.

Me: hello, I want to renew my license!
DMV Lady: can I have your I-20, I-94, Passport, Social Security Card, previous license and California form.
Me: here it is (and I hand her a huge package of things)
DMV Lady: ok your name doesn’t match between your passport and your SSN card, so you have to go to the SSN office and change your name.

9:30 AM - Run from DMV to SSN office (about a 5 minute drive)

Me: hi, I was trying to get my drivers license renewed, but the DMV says my name doesn’t match my passport so you have to change my name
SSN Lady: are you U.S. Citizen?
Me: no
SSN Lady: do you have a green card?
Me: no
SSN Lady: are you an F1 student and already have an SSN number
Me: yes
SSN Lady: so you need to fill a form, have your passport, I-94, I-20, employer’s letter and a pay stub.
Me: why do I need that, I already have a number assigned to me, I just need to change my name!
SSN Lady: we need that to prove that you have a need for an SSN number.
Me: so if I’m not working you will take my SSN number from me?
SSN Lady: not really
Me: so why does it matter if I have work or not?
SSN Lady rules (her eyes read: “yes. you need that because we suck”)
Me: so just a letter saying I’m working at USC?
SSN Lady: yes, that will be enough!

10:00 AM - Go to work, spend all day there repairing computers and jerking around.

Me: Jeremy, could you make me a letter that says I’m working here, I need it so I can change my name in my SSN card
Jeremy: yeah sure, I’ll write it.
Me: thanks a lot!

3:30 PM - I run to the SSN office (again), they close at 4:00 PM

Me: hello, so this is the second time here today. I have all my documents and I need my name changed in the SSN card so I can get a license from the DMV.
DMV Man: ok, so you need four documens, I-20, I-94, Passport and a letter from your employer.
Me: here it is (handing him the whole package)
DMV Man: ok this letter is not enough because it doesn’t say your employment start date.
Me: they said it only had to say the department I work on and that I was currently employed.
DMV Man: well, you need a new one, let me ask somebody what it has to say.
Me: ok…
Five minutes go by…
DMV Man: come to this window and talk to that lady
Me: ok…
DMV Man and Lady: so you need a letter with this same information and also specifying the date of employment.
Me: sigh…
DMV Lady: I’m sorry, but its the process…
Me: so if I bring this, you won’t ask for anything else?
DMV Lady: yes…

4:10 PM - I run back to the office to get a revised offer letter. I get the offer letter but its too late so I can’t get anything fixed until Monday.

And there you have it…it seems almost impossible to correct a mistake that the SSN Office’s made in the first place a few years ago…

Yes, I’M PISSED!

 

 

I hope this helps someone.

Last time I wrote here, Leopard had just come out and I had some time in my hands. I’ve been busy or unwilling to write (most likely because I was getting some sleep) for the last few months.Everything has been going great. I got an internship in LucasArts (Yeeeeahh) over the summer, so I’ll spend 3 months in beautiful San Francisco, working along the force-wielders. I’ll make some posts as soon as I have some time but for now, you can feast on the image of the game I’m working on for the iPhone. Its a port of a Gamepipe game called Sizzzling Stylus.