Thoughts on things

IN THE SPIRIT OF SHARING
I have to give a shout out to another namesake I found recently: iron stef! I can't remember who's blogroll I found her on, but in addition to the hilariously apropos name she's got great content. (Cooking of course!)

BIKE MUSINGS
Yesterday morning was the Bike to Work Day event run by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. I have distinct memories of last year's event as it occurred the first day back on my bike after my trip to Amsterdam. (Bicycle capital of Europe) As I recall, it was pretty neat in that a lot of free stuff was given out (water bottles, tire irons, key chains) and there was a bunch of coffee (I think even w/cream and sugar but I could be wrong), water bottles or vitamin water or something. This year there was just one table, no freebies and they were giving out black coffee(no accompaniments) or warm juice (from the jewels poured into a to go cup) i wonder if they have lost a lot of their sponsors? Which seems odd as a lot more people are biking this year what with the cost of gas and all.

KID STUFF
Today they are having a "graduation ceremony" at Miss D's preschool. I was confused as to whether or not all the kids are participating- or just the ones that will be moving on to kindergarten, but apparently it's for everyone. Seems odd to me as she will be back their on Monday anyway, but what do I know? I must scramble to pick up a healthy snack somewhere downtown and look forward to an hour and a half of awkward mingling with other parents. I guess it is a good opportunity to use my fledgling networking skillz!

BEAMER BLUES
Our beautiful, beautiful car, a 2004 BMW 325i with SMG, is in the shop. The warranty was about to expire and they are replacing the clutch among other things. We were supposed to have it back today but found out yesterday that there is a country-wide back order on a part and we may not have it back for another 3-4 weeks! In the meanwhilst, we have a dealer loaner- a 2008 328i automatic. The body style was changed in 2005- the new body style resembles many other sedans. The interior in the front seat feels much roomier (ours is more "cockpit" style) but other than that the gears and gadgetry look pretty pedestrian, like we could be driving a Taurus. Also, even though the interior materials are the same as ours (leatherette, faux wood) it feels....cheap. Maybe because of the color (grey- ours is black) but it just looks cheap. Not like what you expect from a beamer. It has a starter button- no key. what this means is you have a fob, with the buttons to lock and unlock the car just like most electric keys but with no key part. The fob must be entered in a slot though and then you press a button to start the car. Your foot must be on the brake to start the car as well. i thought this was kind of neat the first time I did it- but as Husband pointed out it's really no more convenient than turning a key is. So-kind of stupid. I will say that it has amazing pickup for an automatic car. Our car has a sport package and this one doesn't so it is in general a softer ride. (I like, Husband doesn't) It is definitely quieter in this car. Husband could no doubt give you numerous more reasons why this car is inferior to ours but I'm going to stop here. The one good thing is that we will save on gas because we will not feel compelled to put the good stuff in this car!