...I'm officially a Dickerson! The lady from Social Security called me last week while we were at the airport to tell me that she had finally managed to procure a certificate number for my birth certificate, so I could come on back to the office. So I went down this afternoon to get this name changing business taken care of. Of course, it didn't go exactly smoothly. She needed my ID, and the only real one I have is now expired. I gave her my temporary CA license, which she had to go ask about. Her supervisor's original answer was no, she couldn't use that, but when she explained who I was (I'm known down there), she said to go ahead and use it. Which is good, because I can't get my real CA license until SS changes my name, so that would have been a handy little disaster. But it's done, it all went through, I have an official receipt, and should have my new card in 2 weeks. She proclaimed me "Mrs. Dickerson" before I left, and I signed the paperwork "Jessica H. Dickerson," 'cuz that's who I am now.
And now, a photographic representation of how I feel about this:
Next stop: the DMV. When I tried to think of a photo that would represent my feelings on returning there, all I could think of was slimy disgusting mold, and google's image search finds some really nasty things. I'm not posting them on here. You're welcome.