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WENDY'S NEWS					.
November 5th	On two occasions since I got Wendy she has failed to start. A jiggle of the battery connections has been all she needed and I've been waiting for the Mini dealership to open in Houston so I could take her in for a checkup. This morning she wouldn't start again, and the jiggling trick didn't work either. So I drove John's car to work and called John Lloyd at Roadshow Mini in Memphis. He told me to call Roadside Assistance and have her taken to the nearest dealership. Dallas or Austin or Baton Rouge? That's the end of the bad news. I not only discovered that Momentum Mini's maintenance department is now open, but I took off the battery cover when I got home and discovered that the connections were indeed very loose. They're tightened. Wendy started, and we're off to the Mucky Duck for some British food and good live music (Will Kimbrough). Don't think I could have handled the torture of seeing her hauled away on a flatbed truck.
November 3rd	Wendy's been in the garage all day. It's been raining and I didn't want to ruin her wax job or get her mirrors frizzy. Good time to publish the U.S. sales figures just released:
	MONTH Mar 02 Apr 02 May 02 Jun 02 Jul 02 Aug 02 Sep 02 Oct 02 TOTAL	Cooper 716 1,477 1,365 1,432 1,388 1,441 Wendy> 1,536 1,533 10,888	Cooper S 71 82 431 1,165 1,478 1,748 1,431 1,312 7,718	TOTALS 787 1,559 1,796 2,597 2,866 3,189 2,967 2,845 18,606

November 2nd	Big excitement! Wendy and I received two parcels in today's post. The first one contained a thermal coffee mug with the Mini logo, a tiny Samsonite Mini luggage catalogue, and a brilliant CD with videos of the Mini and owner instructions. Just click on any part of the Mini, rotate 360 degrees, and learn stuff such as how to operate the A/C, check the oil, etc. etc. Absolutely brilliant! There was also a "MINI NOTE" in the parcel saying: By now you've realized that some cups don't fit in your MINI's cup holders. This may have forced you to use the old legs-as-a-cup-holder technique. But your MINI likes turns, and your latte is hot. A potentially bad combo. The enclosed mug should be just the ticket. Fill 'er up. Motor on. P.S. We've also thrown in some stuff to help you get to know your MINI even better than you do already. Enjoy. The other parcel had several items wrapped in red tissue and a large black rubber band with "LET'S MOTOR" printed on it. Enclosed in the rubber band were: A black blank (elastic close) travel book with a Mini on the front. A book of Mini's financial services A tiny tiny Mini clothing catalogue Mini Bingo travel cards with closeable windows. Very, very cute A Mini Roadside Assistance Card A pen with a Mini in the top half. If you hold it upright the Mini "floats" from New York to Hollywood. And it's a chili red Mini with white top :) A MINI Messaging Kit. This consists of cards in a CD holder. The cards read: - DELIVERY. Will return in a few minutes - EMERGENCY. Please send help. - PARKING METER OUT OF ORDER (this will come in very useful for me) - HEY, SEXY. (so will this one) - PUT DOWN THE CELL PHONE AND ENJOY THE RIDE - NICE SMILE. Some blank cards were also enclosed. The end of the Mini message reads: . . . we've enclosed a few messages to get you started, but by all means, feel free to write your own blank cards. I can already think of stuff to put on the blank ones. Useful for holding up while waiting at traffic lights. - IT'S A MINI COOPER - HER NAME'S "WENDY" - BMW - $16,900 BASE - THANK YOU. I THINK SO TOO The MINI NOTE enclosed reads: Dear Catherine, On behalf of everyone here, I'd like to thank you for buying a MINI and welcome you to the world of motoring. Enclosed are a few things that will help you out along the way. I'll bet you're pretty excited about your new MINI. As a matter of fact, a lot of people are excited about your new MINI. And it's only fair to warn you, this may cause a few minor inconveniences. For example, don't be surprised to find noseprints on your window from curious passersby. Or to have people ask you to take their picture next to it. Or when the car ahead of you slows down, just to get a better look. When this happens (and it will) try to be patient with people. Forgive them their curiosity. After all, it's not every day they see a MINI. And remember, a true motorer takes it all in stride. Jack Pitney, General Manager, MINI USA
October 28th	Can't believe I lived in Cape Cod for five years and never got to see the Fall foliage. This picture was one of many taken by a Mini owner during a weekend Mini foliage trip in Virginia.
October 27th	Who'd a thunkit? They're going to be all over the place soon.
October 17th	2000 miles
October 16th	Check out the Mini convertible.
October 15th (later)	Just found another awesome website detailing a Mini owner's drive from Salt Lake City (where he bought his Mini) to Seattle (home) via Los Angeles. These Mini fanatics are starting to make me look normal.
October 15th	I never did mention how the TV show went. Channel 11 ran it last Tuesday, but had edited it so much that not even the lines made sense. Scottie did, however, give me three copies of the original tape which came out really well. Something for visitors to look forward to :)
October 14th	The new temporary tag arrived from RoadShow Mini. It's good until November 9th. Wendy is now legal and back on the road.
October 13th	Wendy is grounded. The FedEx man did not arrive yesterday and her tag has expired. I can't risk getting another ticket. Wail
October 12th	Another Mini website. They drove theirs from Memphis, too!
October 11th	I applied for vanity license plates for Wendy four weeks ago ($40 a year extra, but she's worth it). Even though Texas is the second largest state, we are only allowed six letters and spaces. So I was very pleased to receive a letter from the Texas Department of Transportation today informing me that my choice was available. I got . . . WENDY2 Wow! Unfortunately there has been a delay in getting Wendy's title, so I can't pick them up yet. Tomorrow the Memphis Mini Dealer is FedExing me a new temporary tag. Patience.
October 10th	Wendy's got her parking decal now, so I can park her under cover. I can still see her from my office window. Can you spot her? John was laughing at me yesterday as we left the UH campus. I decided to test Wendy's power against a Mustang Cobra. As the light turned green we sprang forwards -- zero to 60 in only five seconds -- well, maybe a few more. The driver of the Cobra caught on and stepped on his accelerator. I've never heard such an uncouth roar. We were left in a swirl of dust. I don't know why John found it so funny. Today on my way home from work I tested her against a Mercedes. We won easily this time. I don't think the driver knew I was trying to race him, though. In fact, he probably didn't even see us. That's all with the racing. Wendy and I aren't like that. She has nice run-flat tyres and we'd both like them to last as long as possible.
October 9th	I recently discovered a Mini Cooper message board and am meeting all sorts of Wendys and Me's, one of whom just e-mailed me a link to his website. So you can stop worrying about your aunt's/friend's/second cousin who should be removed's/sister's/whatever's sanity.
October 8th	Back to normal. Wendy and I went to Conroe today to dig for maps. Two employees from the Appraisal District Office saw her from their window and walked outside to make a fuss of her. There was a road rage shooting in Houston today. If everyone drove Minis I'm sure this wouldn't happen. There's an article on the Mini in today's LA Times. It appears that a lot of dealers are charging more than the sticker price for Minis. To set the record straight, I paid the recommended retail price. No more and no less. My Mini with the premium package came to less than $20,000. Actually, I'll be honest. The floor mats pushed me just over $20,000.
October 7th	Not Wendy's best day. I don't think the constant drizzle helped. She got yelled at for the first time. We were trying to make a left turn into an inspection station at 5 p.m. but got held up by oncoming traffic. The mean driver in the black SUV behind us didn't appreciate the wait and blew his horn and flashed his lights. Wendy has to realize that there are maybe 1 in 500 people who don't want to make a fuss of her and tell her she's cute. This was confirmed by the grumpy people in the inspection station. She passed the test, but the guy who filled out her form scowled at me and said, "what is it? A Honda"?
October 4th	Today was the shooting for the TV show. Nathan, the cameraman, arrived at 9:30 a.m. and we filmed for nearly two hours in the blazing heat. I'd put on a red shirt to match Wendy, but after about half an hour it was drenched and I had to change. It was a lot of fun. Scotty is very good at what he does. As you can see by the Austin Powers teeth and glasses in the right-hand picture, he has no inhibitions whatsoever. He has the gift of the gab, and rarely needed more than one take. He fixes cars for a living, but also has a twice-weekly TV segment called "Crank It Up With Scotty." On Saturday mornings he answers 'phone-in questions from people with car problems, and on Tuesday mornings he features something car-related, usually with outside filming. This is when Wendy will be on. If you're in Houston, tune in at 7:40 a.m., Channel 11. And don't be late, because I don't think it's very long. I had four lines!
October 1st	I took Wendy to meet Ted today. Even though he'd cautioned me about buying a new car out of state, he seemed to like her. And I could tell he completely understood my enthusiasm. He declined a test drive but listened to her engine and took a look under her bonnet. He'd never seen a car with headlights attached to the bonnet; i.e. you lift it up and the lights go up with it! I hadn't noticed that, either. His advice was not to open the power windows completely as that apparently makes them wear out. And the good news is that he will be quite happy to take care of her when the 36,000 mile/3 year warranty expires. She'll be in good hands.
September 30th	Wendy had her first trip to Rosenberg today. She continues to draw admirers, on the road and in the car parks.
September 26th	The Houston Chronicle featured the Mini today. A 17-year-old gets a brand new one? And a Cooper-S to boot. Hmmm... Mee-ow.
September 25th	The car man on Channel 11 wants to do a interview/feature with me and Wendy on his show. They'll be filming (shooting?) next Friday, October 4th.
September 24th	Wendy and I drove to Anahuac (alligator country, population 2100) today. It was our first out-of-town business trip together. As usual, she got a whole load of attention.
September 23rd	I spotted a yellow Mini this evening while driving Wendy to her first car wash. That's four so far in Houston, including Wendy. I have yet to see a red one or a female driver.
September 22nd, 2002	1,000 miles
September 18th, 2002	Wendy doesn't have a parking sticker yet, so I'm parking her in the long-term visitor parking area at work. I can see her from my window on the eleventh floor.
September 17th, 2002	I saw another Mini today while driving north on I-45. This was a silver grey one. Not as pretty as Wendy, but I blew my horn and we waved to each other. I've heard that Momentum BMW will be opening a dealership in November. This is good, because I'll at least be able to take Wendy in to be serviced there. Right now, if she breaks down she has to be towed to the nearest dealership, which is somewhere in Louisiana.
September 16th, 2002	As I was heading downtown this morning, lo and behold, on the other side of Montrose on Clay I spotted a blue Mini with white stripes. We were facing each other and both trying to cross Montrose. I got across first, and pulled up alongside it. We (the drivers) just stared at each other and smiled. We both opened our windows. He didn't look like a Mini owner. He was a big guy with a buzz cut and tank top. We managed to get out a few words while blocking the traffic. He'd driven his from Miami. We both agreed that we loved our Minis, and then we parted. No doubt I'll see him again. We have plenty to talk about.
September 15th, 2002	I've never really mentioned Wendy's specifications. And I'm only just finding out about some of them. She is a Mini Cooper (not a Cooper S) and came with the premium package which includes: Cruise control Multi-function leather steering wheel Dual-pane panoramic sunroof Automatic AC with carbon air filter On-board computer that provides a detailed trip odometer and tracks her average speed, fuel consumption, the distance you can go on your remaining fuel, and outside temperature Front fog lamps Six air bags 1.6 liters/transverse 4 cylinder 115 hp 28/37 mpg city/highway 5-speed manual She is my first new car since 1989 and I can't stop playing with the automatic windows.

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