Am happy to report that I received my PIN via snail mail today. Because I thought there was an error (it turned out not to be) I called DPS. As a part of my very pleasant conversation with the lady who answered, I asked how long it might take for my application to be processed. She said that since I'm from Houston, Harris County, there is no way to estimate time as Harris County has a big backlog in processing applications. Sigh......waiting is hard but guess I'd better get used to it.
I've learned a lot from reading this forum and I want to thank all those who posted previously. The last thing I want to do is get in trouble with something that's supposed to keep me out of trouble.
5/14/09 - CHL class
5/15/09 - Mailed application
5/19/09 - Application received by DPS
6/24/09 - PIN received
X/XX/10 - Application approved
X/XX/10 - Plastic in hand (I'm not optimistic it'll come in 09)