Back Again and Better Than Ever

Yesterday I had a most pleasant surprise. After I finished my volunteer tutoring in Roslindale I decided to drive to Norwood and to see when my car would need its first service. The onboard computer is telling me another 4000 miles for my first oil change. But since my xDrive 328i was one year old on June 1st I wanted to check.

So, I spoke to my salesperson, David, who is now in the finance department. I asked him to recommend a service consultant. I knew that Kim, so kind and so efficient, had left the job a year ago. At the time it felt like losing friend. I'm sure anyone who has experienced any stress related to car maintenance can identify.

Well, was I ever thrilled when David said those magic words, "Kim's back!" She had taken a few months off to spend more time with family. Talk about a dream come true or the answer to a prayer!

It may sound and seem silly but the confidence I have in Kim and the way she does her job by going that extra mile ie well founded. Just today she made it possible for my car to have that first service, including oil change, replacing windshield wiper blades, checking car pressure, getting an inspection sticker etc. The BMW $0 new car maintenance for four years is a priceless relief.

When the Ordinary Is Special

How you ask! Well it began with getting a good night’s sleep last night – so not the usual occurrence. I am in Reston, VA spending time with my dear cousin. It is our annual get together built around the Red Sox playing the Orioles at Camden Yard. The coming weekend is sure to be fun. So, anyhow this morning I was relaxing as I read the Times, did the puzzle (well part of it), sipped some delicious coffee and watched some morning TV. The View would have Whoopi coming out at 11:00 AM in a green Celtics jersey all set to root for Boston against Los Angeles tonight! What a lovely surprise!

At around noon I headed for the pool on the top floor. It was a perfect time to read my almost finished book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. Later when I went for a swim it was refreshing and there was the added bonus of two friends who were both entertaining and educational. Both women were of Afghan descent but much Americanized. One has a mother who works at the Pentagon. Both of them could get six figure jobs working for the US government as interpreters but are unwilling to subject themselves to the danger of returning to their native land. To make the conversation even more interesting the life guard was from Russia and spoke about how controlling her boy friend back home is with his 20 calls a day. We all advised her to run the other way and one of the other girls offered to set her up with one of her cousins – too funny!

After returning to the apartment I got myself ready for a walk to Plaza America only about 20 minutes away. I meandered around Whole Foods and then had a soup/tuna roll lunch. By the time I headed home it was raining, not a downpour but enough to get pretty wet. Back home I came to find out that the Sox were edged by the A’s 9-8. What was that about ‘run prevention and very little offense in 2010!?!

Time to catch up with my favorite TV series, Nurse Jackie. You see I don’t have Showtime and must depend on visits to family to get caught up on season two using On Demand. Cousin Curl is putting in twelve hour days unfortunately but she’ll be home for the opening game of the NBA Finals Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers. A Celtics victory would be the highlight of a near perfect day.