Some people wake up on their birthday and indulge in a special breakfast followed by a day at the beach. Or on a plane winging to a much planned for destination. That is not me. I am a world class procrastinator. I really struggle to make decisions. If I can find a way to put off doing something then I will. So it was that I found myself waking up on my birthday and remembering that I had to renew my driver’s license. The greatest gift the California DMV could give, was letting me know that not only did I need to renew but I would have to take the written test. I actually did go pick up the booklet a month ago and kept it nearby. Understanding I wouldn’t learn through the osmosis of proximity I admit to cracking it open and studying, not deeply, but a bit. How hard could the test be? I’ve been driving safely since I was 16. That’s 54 years. Turns out it was pretty hard even gratuitously mean. One of the questions was about driving on packed snow. Which is my explanation for how I managed to fail it twice. Twice!!! I now have a temporary license and can take the test one more time before I must go through the entire process all over again. I take comfort in hearing from many friends that they too failed and found it strangely difficult. I have found a study partner who failed thrice. I anticipate we will laugh a lot.
But that wasn’t the whole birthday. My girlfriends were bugging me about doing something special so I decided we should go to Funke for an adult evening out. It turned out to be the perfect decision. First off Evan Funke and I not only share a first name, but a birthday too. Although obviously not the year part. And I count Shannon Swindle, the pastry chef of the Funke empire as a friend. My friends and I kept remarking on how much the room at Funke feels like the 80s restaurants we constantly frequented. We had a great time reminiscing and complaining as girlfriends do when getting together to eat way too much excellent food.
Happy belated! Looks like a delicious time. Imo the only valid LA driver's test would be to observe the driver merge, while signalling, on that pesky 110-10-101 section in DTLA.
I absolutely hate those DMV tests. They’re clearly designed by sadists who hang out in smoke-filled rooms devising ever more difficult questions to humiliate desperate drivers. Sorry your birthday was marred by their cruelty, but glad you found a perfect remedy at Funke. Happy Birthday, Evan!
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