Oooo. Perdy new International Driver's Permit came in the mail today. "But the one in this photo says 2007?" Well of course. Why take a new photo when this is identical to the one I got in 2008, and 2009? Sillies.

While people who actually passed the test and got their Japanese Motorcycle License have pride in the fact that they passed. And I think that is just OK. Pride is dumb in general, and I have my own brand of dumb pride. I enjoy the fact that every year I get an I.D.P. from AAA in the USA. It reminds me that I will not play Japan's "little" licensing game. I complained about this 2 years ago, but I decided after my brief and unpleasant experience with Japan's rider exam that I would not give them another yen to try for a license that actually costs MORE than if I get a piece of paper from my own country that says I can drive.

It costs me $15 for this piece of paper, and with it I can drive any size motorcycle and any car that I find with the keys in it, left running in front of a convenience store. How convenient! It cost me $100 to fail the Japanese Fascist Licensing Game. $30 just for a translation of my WDL...$10 for their rules and regs book, $33 to take the written test, $7 for my photo, some money for an eye exam ($6?) and $10 to use their bike to test (you cannot use your own). I saved $16.50 because I failed though, cuz you have to pay a PASSING FEE if you pass. All these fees REALLY pissed me off. I was waaaaaay over the gov. fucking me in the butt every time I bent over in the US, and I was just totally not ready to take anymore of it here. I was pissed off when I fell off their narrow metal beam, and did not make a new appointment to retest, but that meant when I calmed down and decided to test again a few weeks later, they told me I would have to spend another $100 to start all over again, including another translation of my license, eye test...tests to make sure I was still stupid enough to walk through the maze and get the cheese.

So yup, still holding that grudge. And while that might not be very intelligent, I am rebelling against that which I find even less intelligent. This is my badge. It is less rude than getting a bronze badge of a middle finger that reads "Japanese Dept. of Motor Vehicle Licensing" on it.

Labels: Motorcycle license