I'm a Lady Driver

So yesterday I rented a big cargo van to go pick up some furniture and things from a family in our ward who are moving back to the states soon.  First I couldn't get it into reverse and had to go ask some mechanics how to do it while another guy in his car was waiting for me to move out of his way.  They didn't speak English.  Turns out there's a ring on the stick shift you have slide up with your fingers while you are shifting into reverse.  (I haven't see an automatic transmission car yet.)  I got all the stuff and brought it home.  Turning into my driveway I creased the side of the van on the fence pillar.  So I had to report that when I returned it.  The rental car insurance I had covers everything except for a 1000 Euro deductible.  That's $1500.  They'll send me a bill.

Then, I drove to a city an hour away because a dealership there had a used van that looked really good and for a great price.  (Leasing a van big enough for our family would be 700-900 euro per month.)  I took it for a test drive and got it hopelessly stuck in mud.  I went down a side street that was paved and (in the dark and rain) the paving all of sudden ended and I was in a field!  So I had to call the salesman and he came to see and then called a tow truck from the dealership.  The Germans are pretty blunt so he was telling me how "Oh, this is bad" and "The tow truck driver is pretty upset and is saying "How did she do this!""  He didn't mean to be rude or offensive, he was just reporting to me what was going on.  It was past closing time by now and I asked him if I was delaying any plans for the evening.  He said his girlfriend was waiting for him but he had already called her. 

He took me back to the dealership before they got the van free so I don't even know how long that took.  I wanted to buy the van so we filled out the paperwork but I can't pick it up for a few days.  I guess they want to clean it up and do an inspection on it (standard procedure).  I was so embarrassed I forgot to be flustered.  Well, I'll never have to see them again, oh wait--I'll have to see the salesman again in a few days.  Drat!!

On a lighter note.  This is what they call a bidet in Europe.  We have one in our bathroom that Jason, Hayley, Lizzie and Miles use.  Jason and Hayley call it the "Butt Scrubber"  None of us has ever used it...

Except Miles.  He thinks it's his personal hand washing sink.