Why bother taking a passport if nobody's going to check your ID anyway? This time around, I almost managed to do the entire trip without getting my ID checked. On the flight to Milan, I slipped through the various stages of boarding at Amsterdam without anybody asking me for an ID. That's the third time in total this year... and I almost added a fourth time on the way back from Milan, but at the very last moment when boarding the plane, they demanded to see my passport. I guess I'll try again next time.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I understand the need for security, and I am not too keen on having people on board whose identity is completely unknown. On the other hand, I do bristle at the fact that my ID needs to be checked at all when traveling. It is an imposition. Argh. I hate real life. It's so much easier to live in a dream world...