The Law of Entropy and the Department of Motor Vehicles

I'm at the DMV, so inevitably, the system is down.

I'm at the DMV trying to change my driver’s license, plates, and registration to California versions of everything I already have because according to Google that's important. And because I'm at the DMV, inevitably, the system is down. 

What's the system? Unclear, but life is at a standstill until it's up again.

The kid next to me is studying for a psychics exam, so I keep accidentally studying for his physics exam too. The yellowed pages of his used textbook are unfortunately and embarrassingly alluring in a weird “grass is always greener” way.

Entropy is the scientific concept associated with a state of disorder and a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.

In other words, physicists have an explanation for everything, including unpredictability.

There’s a toddler bouncing on her mom’s knee to my right. She goes in and out of crying, like she sometimes forgets she decided she was upset, and then remembers again. And frankly, it’s distracting me from my studying.

Layla this isn’t even your exam you little freak-

The second law of thermodynamics, known as the law of entropy, states that the total entropy of a system either increases or remains constant in any spontaneous process; it never decreases.

In other words, a cup of coffee dissipates heat until it becomes room temperature. Water evaporates into the air. Ice can't help but melt.

Why do I even need to get another license, the one I have right now literally works fine, plus the NC one is cuter than the California one, and what if I get a job in another state in a year and just have to move all over again-

The Theory of Entropy identifies ordered states as infinitely improbable, saying every system in the universe will always be found either in the state of maximum disorder or moving towards it. 

In other words, chaos is an inevitability. Stagnation is impossible, spontaneous evolution is not.

I could leave and try to get my plates changed later, but what if the minute I leave everything boots up again-

We try to reduce entropy. We make lines and numbered kiosks and checklists and to-do's. Yet the coffee still grows cold. The DMV system still shuts down. And I still sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair, sandwiched in between strangers, typing a Listserv article out on my phone's notes app.

God the sunk-cost facility has me in an absolute chokehold, just because I’ve been here for five hours doesn’t mean I have to stay for 500 more-

I prepped for the chaos. Came hours early, took off work, brought a book and a water bottle with me. Yet, entropy persists.

My back hurts, I'm hungry, and I haven't even had an inch of caffeine yet today.

But who am I to deny the natural state of things? Who am I to act holier than thou when the “thou” is inevitable chaos? If the Big Bad in my life is disorder, I guess there are worse things to fight.

I thought I might have to take a driver's license picture today so I literally put on mascara, and if I leave now that's a waste of mascara, not that it really matters, but it's just the principal of the whole thing-

The employees in the kiosk across from me are scrolling through TikTok together, three bodies hunched over a single iPhone. The man who's phone it is grins wide and unabashedly. He speaks in a dichotomous monotone voice, like he isn't excited that his co-workers are sharing 10 second laughs with him. His co-workers can't see his expression with their face turned down towards the screen. I think he knows that.

We try to reduce chaos, because that's what we do. It denies our efforts, because that's what it does. So instead of getting my license today, I share in mutual frustration over entropy with 50 people I've never met, and I watch us all waste time in our own unique ways.

Oh well.

I'm at the DMV, so inevitably, the system is down.

New survey: https://forms.gle/btGkwuwobPP1rDKCA

Love,

Layla

*My proof of life this month is a photo of me and Roxanna at the Olivia Rodrigo Guts tour!!! It was so good, I screamed so much! I LOVE LIVE MUSIC! I LOVE LIV! #livlaughlove