Oopsie

I was told by one of my students today that according to a report he'd read, 60% of all Germans are mentally ill...this was after he'd made comments about BSE and the English. We didn't, however talk about the war, just for once.

I had to go and collect my car from the garage where it's been recovering from a supposed oil leak.
Woman #1 greeted me by name, asked for the registration of the car & tried to find the keys. When she failed (maybe she's still a teenager at heart?!) Woman #2 got involved.
She asked me for the 'Abholschein'*, I told her I didn't have one, she asked if I'd had a call to say the car was ready.
I probably gave her a look that said 'durrrrr, cos I would be so stupid to just turn up, on the offchance my car was ready, so that I could wait around, twiddling my thumbs'.
As revenge she then asked for my passport...in Germany most people carry formal i.d., I refuse to carry my passport around with me, when** I get stopped by the cops and reprimanded for not having sufficient i.d., then and only then will I change my ways, maybe.
I asked her why she wanted my passport, afterall I only wanted to collect my car, she said that anyone could come in off the street and request a car and so they needed i.d. - I can see the logic, but she was sat a metre away from Woman #1 who had recognised me and greeted me by name...

Meanwhile, just don't ask about the teen's latest misdemeanor, he's walking the dog in the rain as punishment.

* my onboard dictionary translated this to be 'collection ticket' but then logic intervened - how would I get a collection ticket from the garage if I have to come to the garage to collect the car...doesnot compute...

** I say 'when' and not 'if', I know the time will come, I will most probably being driving too fast or parking illegally or having too much fun in a confined space