Swallowing my pride

We have a great alternative to buying a car (and all the expenses that go with it) by using the Cambio Car Share program here in Brussels. We are saving money and I also feel pretty good about doing my part in helping the environment. The problem I run into when I do use the car is that since other people use the cars too, other drivers treat the cars as most people usually treat rental cars--crappy.

There are five of the same type cars at the pick-up-point I usually use. Out of five cars, only ONE of them has all four hubcaps on it. I try to over look this, but the problem is that when I am using the car, it is usually because I am going to meet some other people. There are a variety of expats over here and all of the companies provide different types of relocation packages. However, (unlike the Wall Street Journal) most other people get a company car with their package. I am not talking a little Camry or Honda--their choices are usually a BMW, Mercedes, Audi or Volvo. So when I am going to meet these other people, I usually find myself trying to figure out which side of my Cambio car has the most hubcaps and then strategically parking so that the majority of hubcaps are visible. Trust me, between one way streets, parallel parking, and the lack of hubcaps, this is a challenge.

My Catholic guilt mind is saying, "You should be thankful you even have a car to drive. Others aren't so lucky. Stop being so vain." So I am trying to learn to just swallow my pride and be a little bit less shallow, but trust me, when you pull up next to this you kind of feel like this.