Officially a Texan

In the mail this week came a little booklet called "How to apply to be a Texan." I've rented a house, obtained gas, electric, water, cable and phone service, opened a bank account, and started a new job but until I complete all the steps required by the Texas Department of Safety, I'm not officially a Texan. The first step is insurance coverage, which in a nice bit of timing, was due for renewal shortly after I moved here. Then comes something called a state inspection. Assuming the vehicle passes, you take the certificate and title and proof of insurance to a title office - along with a passle of money. To complete the process, one has to go to another office, taking all the papers you've accumulated so far, plus Social Security card, and passport or birth certificate, to get a Texas drivers license.
Heading the warnings not to carry one's SS card around, I'd very carefully put it someplace safe months ago. Yeah, some place so safe that I couldn't find it. So after an afternoon of sorting through file boxes of "important" papers - and throwing away many which were no longer in that category - I finally found my card - yep, in the place where it should have been, where I thought I put it and already had looked several times. AARRGGHH! Friday afternoon I appeared with all the right papers, endured the 90 minutes of waiting by working on my Spanish vocabulary, posed for my glamour-not shot, signed my name, pressed each thumb on the appropriate scanner, wrote another check and walked out with my temporary card. Now, I'm officially a Texan.
Not that I'm any where close to being a REAL Texan. My guess is I could spend the rest of my life here and never achieve that status. I've been here long enough to figure that would require far more than three pieces of paper and payment of a few fees.