the next time you are at the registry of motor vehicles (in the US), and you are thinking about how much it sucks, remember what i'm about to tell you.  compared to the registry in the netherlands, the massachusetts RMV is a holiday.  i spent 4 hours at the RDW (the dutch equivalent of the RMV) in schiedam today.  i know it's a little early to register a motorcycle, but i want to get it out of the way.  also, there are some really nice days, and it would be sweet to take the bike out occasionally. so yeah, i was there for 4 hours this morning.  i waited to get inspected, and once i passed inspection i had to wait for paperwork, then i had to wait to talk to a tax guy, and then i had to wait for him to tell me how much i had to pay him in taxes.  the upside to all this waiting is that the bike is so old that i didn't have to pay any taxes.  the downside is that they don't give you plates when all this waiting is over.  they send you a piece of paper in 5 days or so with a plate number on it, and then you have to go to an autoparts store to order a license plate.  then you have to wait for the license plate for another week or so.  that is far worse than any session i've ever had at any RMV/DMV in the US.  i don't know how people with jobs deal with it.  what takes a few hours in the US takes weeks here, at least as far as registering vehicles is concerned.

until next time, 

jim