Well, it’s the holidays! Happy holidays!
I got thrown a curve recently. Two, actually, but the second was the biggest.
In November, I got the word that I was going to be laid off, along with all the other folks in my division. It is not a huge group; six of us all told. They gave me six weeks to find a new job.
Oddly, I’m not worried. I keep thinking of losing the back end at a buck fifty, or taking a sweeper ten faster than I had before, offline, because I just completed a pass. This is very like knowing you are going off road. You keep looking where you want to go, never stop driving the car, and don’t fixate on the wall.
It’ll work out. I have stopped doing driving events until I find some income, so it fucking better work out soon! I’m running out of track here.
I am recovering from Bell’s Palsy well. My face is almost back to normal, and my eye no longer rolls oddly when I blink unless I am very tired. It’s good to get something back that you normally take for granted.
I broke a hub last time on track, which was exciting. The right front let go, with the wheel held on only by the brake caliper and bracket. I was in the slowest section of the track, and the car went from turning hard left to going straight. I managed to get him stopped on pavement (a cross road) and waited for the tow truck. Then, we had to skid the bad wheel up on the hook, and then transfer the car from the tow truck to my trailer! We did this in a manner that was sort of like diesel vehicles mating, but it worked. I took the rig home and changed the hub in front of my house, under the oak trees.
One of the other reasons I love this hobby is moments like that. Warm weather, working outside in a light breeze, with the sounds of the trees all around me and the neighborhood cats for company.
On that same weekend, Sheri got MUCH faster. We put her on sticky tires for the first time, and she took to them like she born to run that way. She is way, way past the Porsche Cayman in her class, and working her way up to the Carerras. And she’s in an automatic trans car.
Going to take a crack at running all the NASA time trial events in 2009. I don’t think I can win the thing with the skill level I have, but there’s no way to learn except to drive the car fast. I can’t wait to make this effort.
It’s going to be a good year.