OK, now the bad news.

First, the enforcement officer lied to me. He said that the paperwork would be mailed to Richmond the next day (15 AUG). It wasn't mailed until a week later.

Second, the fact that I found the title notation on the DMV website doesn't mean that there's a completed title. Apparently, that is just the initial notation of my application, and it has to be completed by the title department when the officer's paperwork arrives.

Third: Their solution to the problem . . . wait another couple of weeks.

Fourth: I can't get plates on Friday.

Fifth: My insurance application will probably bounce.

After I hung up the phone, a quote from Conan the Barbarian came to me. I'm not exactly sure why . . . well, maybe I am . . .
What is best in life?
To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.