Wishing everyone a great day!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that their needs to be a level playing field in sports. You have people that excel at something and they should be recognized.  However, I think that so much is placed in winning that we have forgotten what sports should be about.  Yes, winning is important but so is teamwork and learning to work well with others. Plus my father wasn’t like all the other dads pushing me to be in sports and all the hoopla that went with it. I wonder if we would have had an even better relationship if he had.

I got to thinking about this Sunday evening because I came across the 2012 Nascar Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it started bringing back memories.

In the mid 80’s I got into NASCAR.  I started watching the races every Sunday afternoon.  It was something I understood.  I understand the basics of football for the most part but to get into a drawn out discussion on who’s best and why is something I’ll never have.  NASCAR was different.  I understood cars.  I could understand drafting, cars being too tight or loose.  I liked Speedways and short tracks.  I had my drivers that I followed religiously.  My favorite was Davey Allison and Bill Elliott.  Earnhardt was the “enemy” however I do miss how he made the races exciting.  I always had a dream of being on the last lap of the Daytona 500 and tapping Dale to take the win from him.

So during high school, my junior and senior year, this is what I wanted to do.  I mean, we had another Hampton Roads native, Ricky Rudd, who made it why couldn’t I?

Well I guess maybe I was not hungry enough.  This sport takes money and it was something I didn’t have.  The closet I got to being in the mix of the sport was in 1988 during my senior year of high school I became a helper on a race team from Portsmouth, VA.  It was a lot of fun that year.  I wish I had have tried harder to have made it into Winston Cup.  I think it would have been great! Here is my 1988 Nascar drivers license I discovered.

Especially when the Busch Grand National (Now Nationwide Series) teams came to Langley Speedway in Hampton, VA.  Those guys tore that little 1/4 mile track up like we were at a Nascar Winston Cup (Now Sprint Cup) event.  It was exciting to watch.  On our team once the race started, we were not doing anything.  The Bush team came in and they were tearing into pits, changing tires, rushing back out. 

In fact it was at the last Busch series trip to Langley that I got few of the drivers signatures on my license, it was the only thing important on me at the time I could get.  I have Larry Pearson, Elton Sawyer, and Rob Moroso, who was getting ready for Winston Cup series and died in 1990.  I’m tempted to find out if these signatures are worth anything in todays sports market.  I don’t think I could sell this but I do intend to get it protected better.

My favorite driver, Davey Allison died in the 90’s in a helicopter accident.  A few others I followed got killed in unrelated driving accidents so as the years have passed I sort of fell out of the sport. In the 90’s I did get to go out to Martinsville, VA to see a Winston Cup race but since then I haven’t made it to any events.

Watching the Hall of Fame show this evening, I realized I missed my favorite sport. I do plan on watching and figuring out who should be my driver to follow and start to enjoy the sport I understand front and back again.

I said in high school I wanted to do this for a living.  That hasn’t happened but there is an opportunity for me to experience my dream if just for a moment.  There are driving schools and The Richard Petty Driving Experience, that operate at over 20 tracks and you get to get behind the wheel and experience what it is to race a stock car.  There are several packages that you can try and The cost is not cheap but you know what.  I am going to live on this Earth only once.    There is a package to drive 8 laps at Richmond International Speedway which is only an hour and half away from me.  The nicest package is the Daytona Speedway package for 30 laps.  May not have made it as an Auto Racer, and at my age, I don’t think I could now with the younger drivers but how many of my friends will be able to say they did this?

Something nice to think about while I’m sitting at my desk enjoying my boring, desk job.

I wish I owned this townhouse. The 70′s dark panel walls would be out of here.

Posted from WordPress for Android

I can’t seem to get moving this morning. It’s all her fault. The smart phone. First thing this morning when I turned her on she started beeping. Then when you think you can get away she starts beeping again. Ignore and she then starts vibrating and getting louder…

Never knew a phone could get so possessive.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Please come back tomorrow to watch a video  to learn why we are opposing this legislation and how it will affect internet freedom, and if you agree with us, take action.

Walgreens no longer accepts my insurance so its the joy of transferring. I went to Rite-Aid yesterday evening around 8:30 pm. Was told it normally takes 24 hours to get the information from Walgreens.

Called this evening… After 5 minutes of spelling my name, I was told it wasn’t ready yet but should in 30 minutes…

Next comes showing my insurance card and having the clerk tell me its going to cost more than it should.

Thanks Walgreens. Since it was a surprised you’d drop Anthem / Blue Cross, I’m just going to drop doing any business with you.

Fair?

Just thought I would post a pic for the update on the beard. Last year was the first attempt and I was surprised it worked…

What’s also interesting is the number of people, mostly women, who hated the stache but gush over the beard.

Why is that?

Now… Do I leave the grey in or try to color it out… I’m now told it makes me look distinguished. I don’t know.

I didn’t find a viewer app but did find their Cox connect app.

The app lets you do things such as checking voicemail but the best thing is setting your DVR to record programs. I was visiting a friend in Virginia Beach watching the People’s Choice awards. The show really sucked last night but they said Faith Hill would be singing and I knew I’d be driving home when she came on.

Went to the app, and told it to record…

Came home, had the show waiting.

What else can technology do to make life easier? If you have Cox check Apple’s Appstore or Android market. I’m sure other cable providers offer something as well.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a dream I remember most parts to. I can’t say I was scared in this dream.  I didn’t wake up in a sweat but it was unsettling to say the least.

The dream started off weird to begin with.  I was a passenger in an SUV with Jill Zarin from the Real Housewives of New York.  Told you this was weird.  We are riding in my neighborhood and we stop and get out in front of a Townhouse that is across the street from where I live in the real world.

As we get out I notice several snakes moving around in the grass in front of the townhome. At this moment I large snake, must have been a python, launched in the air towards me and missed.  I turn and look down and I see the snake looking at me and start to open its mouth as if it was ready to attack.  I quickly slammed my foot down on the snake’s mouth, however, the snake’s jaws were very powerful and it was able to open them and cause me to lose my hold.

Then the snake sprang towards me and I woke up.

As I said, I wasn’t in fear, shaking, etc. but this was an unsettling dream.  A co-worker who is an associate minister of a local church told me that it sounded like it was a warning of a potential enemy.  It was someone I knew and would see them coming.  The snake shooting towards me in the air and surprising me was saying I was going to be surprised by their actions.  She said my putting my foot down on the head and not able to keep the mouth shut meant another course of action was going to be needed to get out of this attack…

So what do you think?  Do you believe dreams have meaning?  Or do you believe it’s just the brain trying to sort things.  Some sites I have read said this could be your subconscious trying to warn  you of things, or that there are items in life you need to face, etc.

Lots of people put a lot of emphasis on making resolutions for change this time of year.  I’m not going to sit here and make a lot of resolutions.  Sort of silly to think you need to wait till the start of a new year to change what needs to be changed in your life.  The only resolution I will make is the need to give up cigarettes.  Everything else will change as I see they need to be changed. 

This past year has been a stressful one for me as I am sure it has been for everyone here in the states.  There’s a constant feeling that things aren’t right.  People are guarded in what they say a lot of times.  Lot’s of negative feelings.  So like a sponge I soak them up and it’s toxic.  It’s so bad there are times I am out with people and I start to let colorful words fly without giving it a second thought.  Not usually like me. 

July of this year will mark 10 years since my father passed away.  This past year I feel like I have waken up and am asking myself where did the last ten years of my life go.  There was a lot of family drama and fallout surrounding my father’s death. I am on good communicating terms with maybe 3 or 4 of my family members on my father’s side.  In the process there’s still anger issues I am dealing with.  Things I have not been able to let go.  Hurts and wounds that don’t seem to heal.

I have gotten to the point I listen to negative people around me and soak up their failures and feelings to the point that I have lost confidence in myself.

So here are my goals: Stop the negatives in my life.  Stop the negative thinking, stop the inaction in life.  Take the drama of the past and learn from it and leave it. Something I should have done years ago.

Stop comparing where I am at with others.  I have been doing this a lot lately and it’s brought me down.  I look at someone who is married with a family, or at a better position career wise and I start to sell myself short based on what I am seeing in others.  This doesn’t do me any good.  It’s part of that negative mindset that I am needing to change.

Start getting off the couch more and become more active.  Get back in shape so I can enjoy my summers soaking up the rays at the beach.  My one major way of stress relief.

Start realizing what is good in my life and be thankful for what I do have in life. It’s easy to forget how fortunate we are when you see what other’s are going through.

Will I be successful?  I have no choice, I have to be.  Will it take a few months or the whole year?  I don’t have a clue but all I know is I can only take things one day at a time.

I have a friend that gave some good advice a few years back.  He said if it’s out of your direct sphere of influence you need to not worry about it.  Easy words. A lot harder to follow through on.  There are a lot of external things in life that are out of our control but impacts our lives greatly.  Take the current mess we call government.  Take prices of food, fuel, etc.  Take low wages.  Most of these things are not in our immediate control yet they can bring us down if we dwell on them.

I’m tired of feeling old. I’m tired of feeling as if it’s too late to make changes in my life.  I’m tired of avoiding things in life I need to confront and learn from and leave them behind.

I’ve said in this entry that I’m tired of a lot of things.  Let’s see if I can get my butt in gear and make the changes that are necessary.

If you have things you are trying to fix just remember you are not alone.

Happy New Year! Be strong!