(no subject)

Of the random:

Race starts at 1 tomorrow. Speed coverage starts earlier. Yo, B, arrive whenever. *g* I'll be there and just vegging out.

***

Ever since my parents started talking about my cousin's townhome and the niceness of it, the cost, FHA loans, etc., I've been inundated with "single women buy homes too!" online and on TV. So today I sat down and went on Realtor.com and looked at homes.

1. It's reassuring that I live in an area where I can easily afford a decent house. Not just a townhome or condo, but a HOUSE.

2. I refuse to look at anything that doesn't have a washer/dryer hookup. Seriously, who would advertise a home without a washer/dryer hookup? Okay, so some are older, and that's why, but still. If I'm buying my own home, I'm doing my laundry there.

3. I also refuse to look at homes that were built before 1965 (because it's one thing to buy a home - it's another to increase the chances of major maintenance). I might consider before 1965 based on very select criteria, including previous owners that were as anal retentitive about maintenance as my Gran and Pop Pop.

4. Gas and propane heating? Ain't gonna happen. I know, it can be less expensive, but I'm used to electric heat. Central air is also a must. No window units!

5. Is it just me, or would anyone in their right mind run from a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with 3.6 acres when it costs $55,000? I'm not kidding. I saw a listing like that. I was trying to figure out if it was a shell of a house with a giant hole in the middle, or if you'd have to fight the crack whores daily for residence. It's especially scary when houses for sale on The Hill (where you have to fight the drug dealers and crack whores to get out of your driveway) go for $80,000-$95,000.

6. A pool? There's a house in my price range with a pool? Hell no. LOL I'm too lazy to clean a home properly, let alone a pool!

7. It's hard to accept that a house that I can buy in my price range would be not the home I'd spend the rest of my life in. I'm such a man in that regard. But on the plus side, I can paint and decorate and do it my way.

***

I forgot to watch Dr. Who last night. Dad has it taped, so hopefully I can borrow from him.

(no subject)

Oh yeah. Best part of last night watching NASCAR Nextel Cup qualifying?

BILL LESTER MADE IT IN!

Highest of the field fillers, baby! *dance, twirl*

Here's the annoying thing about motorsports, which is hard to explain to folks when they have a mental image of it as redneck - it's expensive. To get into this sport is horribly expensive. There aren't sponsors from the time they're 5. They have to build their own cars with dad. Money is tight. Finding sponsors happens slowly and they're living hoping for an opportunity that's a crap shoot on coming. Unless you've got money and start early or are born into the sport, it's a hard uphill battle. Now imagine growing up in any area of the country that isn't big on motorsports. How to you build interest among kids in New York City in a sport that they have no connection to? Heck, honestly? I love the sport, but I'm frugal. If I had to choose a sport to try and go pro in, I'm going with basketball. All you need is a ball and a hoop and some friends and game on!

It's hard to explain to folks that NASCAR as a sport has created a lineage, and you have to have some connection to the lineage to get in. It's rare for a guy who hasn't been raised in the sport to get in. Bill Lester, regardless of race, wasn't raised in the sport, and that's big for him. He talks about it, the fact that it was an up hill battle to make his way. He had a six figure engineering job and put that aside to go after his dream full time...and folks, for this sport? He's old! He's 45 in a sport that has become increasingly youth obsessed.

Bottom line, though? He got in, and he's working his shot like crazy. He's a nice guy who can race and who worked hard to get where he is. No matter color of skin, gender, economic background, the chance is equal in the big show (well, as equal as team technology can make it) to show strength and potential. A guy who can wheel it is a guy who can wheel it, and what NASCAR is striving for is the way to make the sport diverse so that Bill Lester's kids won't be 20 years down the road and the next African-Americans in the show. As one driver put it, the program is all about providing the opportunities from the ground up so that one day it's no big deal when an African-American driver, or a woman, or a Hispanic driver get behind the wheel on a regular basis.