First final

In mere moments, my fellow first-years and I will have access to our Spreadsheet Modeling final exam, which must be completed within 24 hours. A previous e-mail about it suggests it will not be long, though. But I'm hanging around to get a look at it before I scoot off to the DMV, where I need to spend the next several hours becoming a Connecticut resident.

John, why, you might wonder, must you go to the DMV today? What a boring question, with a boring answer. To park in my 'hood, one needs a sticker in one's car. I have The Sticker, but it expires Sept. 30. I got a renewal form in the mail, but it specified that I could renew only if I were now a Connecticut resident, and otherwise I needed to go back downtown and stand in lots and lots of lines. It also happens that one is supposed to get a Connecticut license within 30 days of moving here. It also happens that my Texas plates expire at the end of October. So the stars are all lined up, and I can put it off no longer.

Why is the DMV such a disaster? Or, really, why is the DMV a real place? In these modern times, with our Nintendo and MTV and polio vaccines, we should be able to go online and check a box to do this. Instead I have to take 1,600 documents to some building miles away and stand in lines for hours. Hours, I might add, during which I could be working on my exam, enhancing my knowledge and ability to be a better leader for business and society (Yale SOM's mission). So, world, you'll have a slightly less capable leader, because of the GD DMV.

Meanwhile, my buddy Matt, who is my roommate's boyfriend, is in town for the weekend. Fun'll be in store.