I don’t know if anyone has been wondering what that status on my amateur radio license is. The last I wrote, I was waiting for a call sign.

Then, last week, I got a letter from the Federal Network Agency saying and I admit that I was a little nervous opening it. In my mind, I was already photographing it to send to my wife. I was already ending my emails to my dad with ’73 de DO…something!’ I was going to be a ham!

You can guess that there was not a callsign for me in the letter.

There was, instead, a letter saying that I would have to send a recent proof of registration (fun fact: you have to register in Germany, not unlike a dog), presumably to verify that I am a German resident and a copy of my residence permit, presumably to prove that I live here legally. (Did they think I would be able to register if I didn’t have a residence permit?)

It doesn’t matter, I have a residency permit. I just needed to run into town and, for five Euros, get a current proof of registration. No fun, but dooable.

Then, today, I made time to run into the city. Hopped on the bike, took off.

The office where I could get the registration, it turns out, is closed. Today and tomorrow, it’s closed due to a software update. Fun. I get to try again on Thursday.