Such a vista

For those of you who have never been on a low altitude approach over the city of New York in the evening on a perfectly clear night have missed out on one of the most breathtaking sights to be witnessed from a plane. Coming over the south tip of Manhattan, otherwise known as lower Manhattan you are overcome by the sight of row after row of unbelievably high skyscrapers all with their lids lit up with the whitest of white lights. Almost like rockets ready to take off to planets soon to be discovered. These buildings were seemingly impossibly close together begging the question if there were even roads separating these colossal structures. There was the usual banter emanating around the plane until someone in front of me in a window seat barely whispered, there it is. Nearly 5 years later flying directly over the site of the world trade centers still brought the entire plane to absolute tomb like silence as all eyes were diverted out of the window and a humbling thought pervaded the minds of all. Even five years later the large gaping hole in the cluttering of buildings still feels wrong like the gap in your mouth when a tooth falls out. You can’t stop rubbing your tongue against it for it just feels awkward and wrong. I don’t think until a new tower is built to replace that we will ever get used to that gap.

Continuing north over this metropolis you pass over the area of Times Square. With unbelievably bright neon lights reflecting off every glass surface it looks like a theme park celebrating mardi gras. Even from our altitude you can sense a vibe an energy from this area, the constant movement that must be going on this very second. Overlooking the entire city there is a glitter of millions of lights in every possible direction and height. It is like the largest refracting diamond ever discovered. In this area designers took more liberties with the lighting designs of their buildings adding reds and blues to the pinnacle of the towers reminding us more of a happier time in December more than the stark truth of white light. And just as quickly we pass into an area utterly devoid of light, it takes just a moment before you realize it is central park. A cornucopia of nature devoid of technology to blemish its image. And it too passes back into the standard chaos of lights, buildings and roads that make up this unbelievable city. What a sight to see, let it never take our breath away.

Stepping out of the airport and into a waiting cab I realize how remarkable one of our traits is in comparison to logic and reason. I think virtually everyone who lives in the United States these days automatically puts on their seat belt upon entering a private vehicle either as a passenger or driver. It is not a matter of thought, more a robotic subconscious action engrained to us over time. And yet somehow when we enter a taxi I have yet to ever seen someone do the same action. Arguably some of the best drivers but more than not some of the most aggressive drivers on the road what can we possibly be thinking to not perform such a basic task. I am as guilty as the next one as I was flung from one side of the cab to the other as this Nascar amateur devoured the road from the airport to mid town. I think next time a simple click will be acceptable, even in the great coolness factor.

More later on this adventure of a trip, but for now it is customer presentation time.

Never an uneventful flight

With the number of people flying on the increase and with most airlines not increasing capacity yet flights are being increasingly more full. On my standard flight to Denver they were in an oversold situation and even with all my elite status I was not only in couch but in a middle seat. I would like to point out to point out to my avid fans that yes even I have to occasionally sit in the back of the plane, and does so without complaint. Most people on planes are at least a but understanding and sympathetic to the person in the middle seat, none of us like being that person so we tend to be a bit more forgiving. So here I am in the middle seat and this ‘gentleman’ on my left is as thoughtless as they come. Both sleeping and awake his incessant kicking of my leg has left it battered and bruised. While working on his laptop his elbow seemed to find its way into my side on a number of occasions. Now granted we are in a tight confined space so a certain amount of jostling is expected, usually followed by apologetic smile maybe even a verbal remorseful recall of better days with more space on the plane. None of that was present with this ‘gentleman of the skies’. It wasn’t until approximately halfway through the flight when he popped open his sleek silver laptop to begin work did the name of his company appear in vivid detail on the desktop. Comcast. Is it no surprise that a company that treats its customers with disdain and deaf ear have employees who do the same to people they meet? Accident? I think not.

Otherwise an uneventful trip. I am out in the suburb of Saint Louis with the only thing around being a gas station and a store with the not so subtle name Lippo Dissolve. I can only imagine what wonderful things for society this business does. Maybe if I find time tonight I will wonder in for a quick cleaning, maybe come back a changed man? Alas I don’t think I will have enough time tonight.

Just another humorous anecdote on the road of just another lonely business traveler.

This is called relaxing in the city. Not half bad. 

Just a casual day of watching a family take their kids out for a walk on their matching Segways. 

Just another day in the city

First a tribute to a good friend who solved a problem for me that was plaguing me for weeks. Plaguing is an accurate word, for I could not walk without pain shooting in and around my knee for a number of weeks. It was getting worse with each passing week and I was powerless to stop it. I tried heating pads, ice packs, even a knee brace but everyday when I got up and went to work the pain was worse than the day before. Hoping it was possibly just a sprain I refrained from cardio gym activity which in and of itself was frustrating. Finally in casual conversation I talked to L, a volunteer firefighter, a wealth of medical knowledge and an overall great guy. He mentioned it could be everything from a sprain in the ligaments of the foot (which would affect the knee, go figure) or possibly old shoes. Old shoes? You have got to be kidding. Well apparently I have been wearing the same two pairs of shoes (casual and business) for over 9 months and have created a very particular wear pattern. On further investigation the heel of both sets of shoes is significantly worn down, most pronounced on the right foot which just so happens to be the side with the knee pain. A son of a scientist I had to put the theory to test. I grabbed my newest running shoes and wore them for the day, viola no pain. Taking it a step further I went out and bought a new pair of business shoes, which I wore for another day, and viola no pain. Unbelievable, something as seemingly trivial as a worn down heal can actually lead to pronounced knee pain behind the patella. Live another day, learn another tidbit.

But onto a great day. Today I decided to rediscover city relaxation in the urban recreational areas. In plain speak, I decided to find a park and chill. I walked up to golden gate park, which due to a great friend last week I have discovered is a mere 23 minute walk from my front door. Found a good piece of grass, and promptly relaxed for the better part of four hours chatting with friends on the phone, reading a sumptuous book, and watching the world go by while listening to tunes on my ipod. Can you think of a better way to spend a perfect San Francisco day? I watched an affluent family taking their kids for a walk, well I guess the better term would be ride for as in other parts of the country kids ride the stylish razor scooters, these privileged youths rode matching Segways. There was the pickup game of ultimate Frisbee played between groups of Japanese tourists vying for a place in line to see the Flower Conservatory, oldest arboretum in the United States built in 1908. There were the jocks, the Goth, the domestically challenged (homeless), the hippies, the yuppies, the religious, the tourists, and the dogs all mixed into one park for a glorious day without rain. Have I mentioned I love this city?

But onto a new topic, if you who are reading this happen to have cable television, check out the show The Real Orange County Housewives. A show of 5 women who, if we call them privileged we would be undercutting their status, living in houses worth millions wearing clothes worth what many of us make in a month. They face the same problems normal people do, over controlling husbands, rebellious youths, unrealized dreams, and frankly too many cars to choose from. Ok maybe not all the same problems we face, but close. Watch the show and wonder what would happen if you were in their situation. If you had the means, would you buy your kids a car? Would it be a new or used, or Mercedes or Honda? Before you answer this with derision or scorn in your voice, isn’t it the goal of most parents to be able to afford to give their kids things they dream of, maybe not everything but many things. If your means were higher might that include a car? The line of where providing for ones family and spoiling can be a fuzzy one, interesting to see where each of these families drew that line. Check it out, if you get past the TV glitz and drama, you see an interesting view point on raising privileged youths (keeping in mind one of the wives at 24 is barely out of youth herself).

Tomorrow I fly to St. Louis, and then to NY, back on Wednesday night. Good first half of the week to all.

So this is what a dumping ground feels like

A hidden pleasure of my new position is anyone and everyone who thinks that the way we are marketing our new message or the manner in which we are going about distributing it to the field, well get to just unload on me. Yes I am available 24x7 by cell phone, desk phone, home phone, text message, email and pager to allow them to tell me everything my team and I are doing incorrectly and should improve. The best part of this hidden pleasure is although I have the responsibility, I do not have the authority so my typical response must be something to the respect of ‘yes sir, we will take care of that’, or ‘yes sir, I will see if we can accomplish that’. As compared to the response I would much prefer to give something closer to ‘I will be happy to give that comment the attention it deserves’. Well not every day can be peaches and cream. Next week I am flying to St Louis for 36 hours, then 12 hours in NY, followed by a night flight home so I can sleep in my own bed by Wednesday night. Got to love those air miles to keep United Airlines in business, one of these days I am really looking forward to taking some special someone with me on some exotic vacation.

But not everything is gloom and doom, one of the not so hidden pleasures of working in an office environment is helping others celebrate their birthday. Yes this is one of those times where it is perfectly acceptable to take colored paper, pieces of latex and even edible concoctions and vandalize someone’s personal space. Granted that is defined as candy, balloons and crepe paper, but the idea still stands. So I got to spend Thursday testing my artistic skills to hopefully make someone smile on a day when everything was fated to go wrong and the stress seemed insurmountable. Best two hours of my life when you see that smile (granted a pretty big gasp preceded the smile).

So life here is just the usual rollercoaster of ups and downs. Get closer to some friends and more distant from others. Receive a selfless gift from a friend whose motives I never quite figured out, and a lecture from one whose I thought I knew. A bit of sympathy for someone who is going through an incredibly rough time with her family, and a celebration for another whose life is finally taking a turn for the better. I think this is what we call life, it may not be easy, its not always fun, but it is one hell of a ride.

Nothing like Irish dancing in the rain, with a pancho, in puddles, between lighting strikes. If this doesn't make great dancers I don't know what does. 

Long overdue some pictures from a very wet St. Patty's day parade in San Francisco. Is this the friendly skies? Nope just the UPS plane, wouldn't that be fun to watch landing over tha bay. 

Although this picture does not do the site justice, one can hopefully appreciate the clarity and the beauty of such a simple sight. 

The flower conservatory in golden gate park, built in 1890 it is the oldest arburitum in the country and was recently renovated after fire destroyed part of it during earthquakes in the 30s. Some of the plants survived and are over 100 years old. 

A fantastic tranquil waterfall in the Japanese gardens. Fastidiously developed by a Japanese American couple who were rounded up during WWII, cared for by a neighbor and later donated to the city. Thank goodness for forgiveness. 

Holding ones breath

Well I consider us incredibly lucky, this weekend there was not a smidgen or even a hint of rain. Without a single cloud in the sky and weather upwards of 68 degrees it was an absolutely perfect weekend. Saturday was spent with a friend touring Golden Gate park and some of the gardens available to the public, not to mention the Haight-Ashbury district with its eclectic collection of shops and restaurants. Who would have known, it is all located maybe a 20 minute walk, 7 minute bike ride or a 30 minute drive (driving in the city is clearly not the most efficient means of transportation)? Sunday was spent with another friend her kids (and a tag-along) touring through the ever impressive and spacious San Francisco Zoo. Lions tigers and bears, oh cool! The highlight of the zoo was a mix between the sand box at the playground and the merry-go-round, is it possible that kids really appreciate the smaller things in life and we should learn something from them?

But here is the key, through all of this there was just beautiful weather, which is a massive relief considering the fact it has been raining here almost daily for the past couple of months. Here is where the irony kicks in, first thing Monday morning around 8:30, the skies opened up and a torrential rainfall came down and barely let up until evening. It is as if someone up above was holding their breath to provide a wonderful weekend and then as if they could not hold it any longer, just let it all out. It is still raining today.

However all is not gloomy, due to unusual environmental conditions the bay area was treated to one of the most gorgeous rainbows to be seen for miles around. The conditions include a very strong front of moderately heavy rain followed by a patch of cloudless sky where the sun shown through as strong as a hot august day. The effect was a near perfect rainbow that extended fully over an entire arch embracing the city. Every color (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Indigo and Violet if you were curious) was as strong as a pallet in a painter’s shop with a clear space for each one. The colors were brilliant and people at a shopping center I was parked at were standing in the rain looking upwards in awe and amazement. The rain on the face and shoulders were forgotten as we once again appreciated beauty that can not be captured or recreated with money, must just be appreciated in its rare and wonderful natural form.

Then just as quickly as it appeared, the patch of sun was swallowed by the clouds and the rainbow was lost. People quickly went back to their shopping, or scolding their kids, or honking at the car in front of them as if nothing ever happen.

Got to love Green Beer and Beautiful People

Last night was the day for the Irish, when everyone loves to wear green and speak with horrible lisps while professing their heritage in hopes of receiving a congratulatory kiss, as if where your ancestors fled from is reason enough for an intimate moment. I decided to play this holiday down a bit and no go to the Irish section of town, rather to my community bar where I could relax with the bar karaoke singers and the regular gang. Now for those of you who are possibly new to this blog let me clarify something to help with this story. I am straight, I like women, I love breasts. Although I live a few scant blocks from the Castro, I live in the underrepresented and rarely mapped straight part of the Castro. I have determined that when going out on the town in the evening I very much need a wingman, preferably a straight one. I finally met the owner of my community bar, E, a native Chinese resident who studied in Hawaii and later moved to San Francisco. He is as gay as you can imagine in the city but equally a wonderfully generous kind soul who always has a smile and a hug and a free drink for all of his regulars. Well last night somehow I must have put on the wrong deodorant for I had more drinks purchased for me in one night than in all my years put together, and all by young men looking for the same. I asked my good friend the bounce T, ‘so these guys know I am straight right?’ She responds with a knowing smile with, ‘of course they do, they just like you’. Frankly I have no problem with this, but it was certainly an interesting experience, however the tide seemed to change around 1:30. A fairly attractive female was sitting by herself at the bar a few stools down as her friends had recently left. Somehow we got to chatting right before she went up to sing, fortified by a couple of shots of cactus juice (tequila, really hurts in the morning). She is actually a classically trained singer who is still petrified of singing pop songs in public. Maybe twenty minutes later she is joined by a friend, another female who I am introduced as her lover (figures). They start to talk amongst themselves as if I am not a scant 2 feet away where the originally young lady, J, actually asks her lover if she could bring me home with them. While images of me as the friendly neighborhood cat run through my head the other friend looks at me, foot to toe as if examining the better qualities of vegetables on the street corner and responds with, ‘maybe not tonight’. Then without further ado both stand-up and walk out, J with a small apologetic smile and wave over her shoulder. I laugh as E comes up gives me a big consolatory as I leave to trudge up the hill to my waiting bed. Never a dull moment in the city.

On a separate note, I have many times previously talked about the homeless in the city. Walking down a main street today in my own little world listening to my podcasts on my ipod, I was pushed aside quite strenuously by one as we were waiting for the light. As I turn to look and of course check my wallet, I see he actually has dropped his sleeping bag and black garbage bags and is sprinting into a busy intersection ignoring honking of speeding black SUVs. Thinking simply that he must be one of the many mentally ill on the streets I am jolted as there is an hunched over elderly man with a cane struggling to cross the street as he has now wandered into the busy intersection. The homeless man ignores all vehicles and helps this impeccably dressed elderly man to the corner and then returns back without a backwards glance for his belongs continuing on his way. Sometimes I think we all have something we can learn from the most unlikely of places. In this case a man with arguably no social standing going out to help another for no better reason than it is the decent thing to do. May this be a wake-up call for us all.

So a happy St. Patrick’s day to all, I hope it was filled with fun and excitement, possibly a kiss or a drink with a special friend. Tonight I think will be a recovery night curling up on the couch with some popcorn and a good movie. Surely not every night needs to be an adventure.

Beware the Ides of March

Yes 2050 years ago today Julius Caesar was killed by his own Senators. E Tu Brute? Of course we know none of that backstabbing in today’s corporate environment. Everyone of course is looking out for the greater good and not being selfish about their own needs. Maybe history really does repeat itself.

Its amazing how we completely get into a force of habit. I met someone from work for an early dinner while we discussed certain items, and then I drove back home. The humorous aspect was when I just pulled to my house and force of habit was trying to figure out what I would eat for dinner. Was not hungry at all, but go home late at night and tired that is the first thing I think about. It took me a couple of minutes before I realized like hey, already had dinner. Amazing force of habit.

I would love to add more here, but frankly it has been an incredibly long day that started at the tender hour of 4am and it is a struggle to keep my eyes even open. More on this topic tomorrow.

Just another day in the city

I was quite pleased to host my father in the city this weekend, well rather on Saturday where the weather was approvingly exceptional. Walking from the Palace of Fine arts next to the arena around Fisherman’s Warf, along to the Ferry building and finally down Market street I have got to say this again, I absolutely love San Francisco. A mix between quaint small town feel with joggers along the streets, quiet tree lined streets, and yet still the big city feeling in the down town area, not to mention fantastic restaurants at every corner.

Sunday returned to the dreary drizzling day that has been overhanging our fair city for a few weeks now. I ran out to get some food and just happen to run into a large St. Patty’s day celebration. Frankly like most towns our police and fire force is made up of a good portion of our friends from Ireland so attendance was heavy with the forces in class A dress uniforms. Humorously enough the entire parade route was simply three blocks long with it beginning around the corner of the city capital building and ending around the other corner. But bless the Irish, ever present steady rain and occasional downpour did not dampen the spirits of celebration. Beer was bountiful in every hand with more than a few cigars to help clear the air. Young girls soaked to the bone yet marching in step to the grandstand where they quickly performed a fantastic Irish jig, water splashing them from the puddles they slam their feet into. In just seconds of marching away from grandstand they are covered in towels, jackets and blankets by proud parents. A large group of a native dogs for Ireland that looks like something from Hound of the Baskervilles, standing almost 3 feet all and many 6 feet long, completely soaked and bedraggled scare some of the smallest children. A number of floats by the different trade unions bring up the rear, each more proud of their Irish ancestry than the next. A fun way to round out the weekend even if I did come home dripping.

As of now I am flying to Cincinnati, yes I know a hot bed of excitement and entertainment where I will be spending a blissful 18 hours before returning home for almost two weeks, the excitement abounds.

Lunacy in the world around us

Although I use this blog to predominately disperse tidbits of information about my own life and the world around me this entry will attempt to move that circle out a little more as there have been a number of news stories that I have a strong opinion of and would like to expound on them.

First I believe we have all been touched by tragedy in our lives from a medical perspective, if not ourselves someone we were either friends with or possibly a family member. When a medical event is life threatening past grievances tend to take a backseat to matters of literal life and death. Recently Sheryl Crow, former fiancé of Lance Armstrong founder of the Livestrong campaign fighting cancer, was herself diagnosed with breast cancer. Although undergoing surgery and being chemo treatments most notably absent from her side is her former fiancé. Although we are not privy to the details of that is going on in their lives, one would like to see past grievances put aside to support one that you used to love. At this point my best wishes out to Sheryl for a speedy recovery.

It was recently disclosed that Wal-Mart in an attempt to improve its corporate image is actually utilizing private bloggers to spread their corporate messages. Now although this is absolutely a form a free speech it does beg the question of how far will a corporation go to mask its negative policies rather than fixing them. Lets take a moment and examine some of the policies they claim are misunderstood by the public from the past couple of years. It started with a broad reaching policy or accepted practice of hiring illegal aliens to work in their stores cleaning from sundown to sunup at incredibly low salaries. Although indicted no charges were brought as they were able to show documentation that although incredibly common throughout their stores nation wide it was against written company policy. They rectified that situation just be thrust back into the spotlight when it was revealed a number of months later that as part of company policy they actually lock their cleaning staff employees into the store for the entire night while they clean. There is no key on-site, rather they need to call a manger-on-call to come and unlock doors if there is any kind of emergency. This almost led to tragedy when one of their employees had a heart attack and paramedics were unable to gain entry for an excessive period of time. Most recently of course the CEO of Wal-Mart went on record expounding the benefits of their plan to have an incredibly low percentage of their employees with any type of health insurance or medical coverage, due to fiscal necessities. Of course we ignore companies like Starbucks and Barnes and Noble who give full health insurance for all their employees and yet somehow they remain profitable. I am certainly glad Wal-Mart is employing bloggers to try to change perception rather than change policies, wouldn’t want to jeopardize profits for small matters like the law.

And finally we could not examine news without turning to politics. But this entry is of a more comical nature to someone who might like a bit of history. If I am not mistaken, and I very well might be, I thought Republicans stand for smaller government and fewer central government programs leaving it to state and local bodies to support the people, for after all they are closer to the citizens. What I am failing to grasp is why under Clinton as a democrat who of course wants big government we had a balanced budget and now under Bush as a Republican we are actually the thickness of a dime away from the cap of national debt. Yes we have a cap that our federal government is never to exceed for our nation debt, somewhere on the order of 7.9 trillion if memory serves. We are virtually at that debt amount and what was the solution recommended by the Republican congress? Lets raise the debt limit. Now help me out here if you understand this, how does this promote smaller government?

Ok moving away from news for a moment, I am currently flying to Boston and I have to reflect on one last thing. I am sure as long as movies have been made studios have frequently competed for similar story lines to push very similar movies at adjacent times. Examples can be as simple as Bug’s Life and Antz, Armageddon and Deep Impact. Both pairs were released within months with almost identical story lines. Usually one is a far better success with vastly improved acting, directing, and overall story-line. Well recently is no exception. First was released Aeon Flux, a mildly entertaining flick that kept the audience guessing until the very end. Relatively good acting with impressive special effects would give this movie maybe a B-. This is compared to the recently released (and recently watched in my case) Ultraviolet. I can honestly say one of the worst movies produced by Hollywood with terrible acting which is understandable considering the incredibly poor writing of the script. Special effects were meant to be this movie’s salvation, however to no avail with poor cutovers between CGI and live action and unbelievable action sequences even to one high or some illicit drug. Hollywood is struggling to understand why ticket sales have been struggling, could it possibly be because the quality of movies is decreasing?

That is all for now, hope all are having a good week.

Karma

Do you believe in Karma? Do you believe that at the end of our life the sum total of our good deeds weigh against the sum total of our well not so nice ones? Or even if we extend that question a little further, is it a running total that is constantly evening itself out at eat step in our life? I would like to believe in it, when life is going so well there must be a fall that is in our path for no comfortable road can last forever. Isn’t that after all why we sometimes feel compelled to do good things for others for we might need it ourselves some day? I don’t know if I believe in Karma, but I will say this, like a child I hope. I hope there is such a thing as karma that bad people get what they deserve, but more importantly good people will get theirs in the end.

Moving on to this nice cold and rainy weekend, I have successfully squandered another day doing work and finishing my taxes (yes Uncle Sam you will be receiving a sizeable check from me, are you happy?). Yesterday I had the pleasure of working the Orchard Supply festival where we treated a whopping total of 2 patients in 9 hours and both were needing no more than a simple band-aid for paper cuts. Thus there was quite a bit of time to wander the booths and enjoy watching people go crazy for free samples. The caulking booth was particularly popular with free 1/8 size tubes of caulking, but wait it gets better. The paper towel section was giving free samples of paper towels, now before you get excited these were not individually packed samples, they literally had a toll and handed out a single sheet to each person. This would be compared to handing out samples of printer paper by buying a ream of paper and handing out a single sheet per customer. The crazy thing, they had a line of no less than 40 people at their booth at all times. Was this paper dipped in gold, was I missing something? It is amazing what some people will do to get free stuff, remarkably it is the people with the most money at times that are the cheapest and the most vicious about getting their free samples.

The remainder of last week went by in a flash. A tv interview, a recording of my own podcast and a couple interesting fate experiences. I frequent the gym at 5:30am everyday I am in town. This is less about looking good and more about trying to wake up and start the day on a fun activity. Anyway there are very few crazy, rephrase dedicated individuals at that time of morning, and frankly we are all regulars that know each other. But Thursday was different, there was a young lady in there none of us had seen. She was friendly (which frankly at 6am is a rare trait in anyone) and pretty (again even more rare after an hour on cardio) and at a tech company (ok all engineers, most rare of all). I like my privacy and solitude during my gym time, so although I appreciated I enjoyed my time and went about my day. Remarkably enough the same day as I am about to record my podcast and am checking in with the admin for the recording studio, who ends up being the admin? You guessed it. Pictures of her boyfriend adorn her cube, but I kind of just enjoyed the randomness and irony of life. Of all days to see someone in the gym, and then of course of all days to be in a different building who just happens to be someone else’s home, go figure.

Temporary Upgrade

Due to the rampant rise in crime in the 10 feet around my car I brought my car yesterday to a dealership to get fixed. The moment I pulled into the dealership I realized this was not going to be like any other repair experience. Keep in mind that bringing a car into a luxury dealership is something that everyone should try at least once.

Dropping off the car was literally that, you drive into the main driveway and your car is valet under a nice awning to keep any stray raindrops in CA off your nice new suit. You are escorted in to a waiting area complete with plasma screen tv and couches far superior to my living room. There is also a coffee bar adorned with espresso machine, fresh pastries, and soft drinks, as well as a business area with cubes and internet connection far superior to my own cube at work. The waiting area overlooks the repair shop which is cleaner than my apartment ever was with a polished floor and mechanics working with latex gloves and khakis. I was kept waiting for approximately 5-10 minutes, barely enough time to try a delectable pastry before being escorted into an office where they went over the plan for rectifying all that is wrong in my world, well at least with my car. Paperwork is filled out and I am walked to the car loan desk where with a simple swipe of my drivers license I am given a 2006 brand new luxury SUV with all the trimmings. I always thought a loaner was supposed to be a beater so you felt relieved to return to your own, instead I never wanted to return for what belongs to me. I was in and out within a few minutes complete with pastry and a bottle of water for the road.

Alas my car was fully repaired and returned to me, although not quite a 2006 it was still great to have my car back in one piece, now we just need to find out how long it stays that way.