18 Paint Scheme

I just think Kyle Busch's Doublemint is too cool . . .

Montoya

Better haul his crybaby butt back to Columbia for the holidays. That boy is lucky he already has two children because of Stewart gets ahold of him he won't be able to reproduce again. That's all I have to say about that.

Sad because Mark Martin didn't win the championship. Sick of cheaters winning but we all know what is going on. Such is life. Yes, I am crying because my boy didn't win, either.

DragonCon

This is where I will be, from tomorrow at noon until Monday night. I might check in, I might not, I will definitely post to Facebook and post pictures/notes when I get back. Like Tuesday. Monday night I will be sleeping in front of my computer trying to catch up on my reading for next Wednesday's class, which I sure won't be doing in Atlanta. Yes, the Cup race is in Atlanta on Sunday night, but I am not driving down there (from Ohio, NOT) so I have no transportation to the track, which is half an hour south of Atlanta, and my daddy told me I am not allowed to hitchike under any circumstances, nor I am allowed out by myself for a night race. I'm still working on a way to get there . . .
(for some reason, I am unable to create a successful link to the DragonCon site, which is www.dragoncon.com - Blogger keeps inserting www.blogger.com in front of www.dragoncon.com when I try to attach the link to the picture.)

Bobby Labonte

Yes, Otin, I did see that Labonte got ditched and someone involved must be legally insane. I actually screamed out loud when I saw that, and thought I had misread it until it showed up on Facebook, too. What is wrong with people?
Now, I don't have anything againt Erik Darnell, who sure knows how to rock the truck series, but when we talk Bobby Labonte, we talk champion; we talk bringing the Interstate Batteries 18 to the top for Coach Gibbs in 2000; we talk about Tony Stewart's Cup series mentor. Yes, he will be returning for five more races in the 96, but to pull him at all is like cutting off an arm. Sponsorship issues seem to be the reason, and that makes sense to some extent, but even though Darnell brings his sponsors with him, that doesn't mean he will rack up success in the seven races. That's a lot for a new kid in the big show. Yates claims intention to keep Labonte for another team next year; we'll have to see what happens.
I have Bobby Labonte 18 house shoes (like flip flops); a Bobby Labonte 18 keychain; and this lovely fish. Aside from being talented, smart, dedicated, hardworking, successful, and a family man, Labonte is hot hot hot hot. I love the Ask.com commercials where the mom in the NASCAR family is always drooling over him. I am so jealous because the actress got to grab his butt. I'd pay to do that job.

NASCAR Sponsors

This post was inspired by Michel, who was excited to see that Little Debbie is a NASCAR sponsor. You would be surprised by who is a sponsor of NASCAR and/or specific drivers/teams . . .

DIRECTV
Mars (as in the candy company - so M&Ms, Mars bars, etc. - official chocolate of NASCAR)
Kellogg's (official breakfast food of NASCAR)
Nabisco (they are the official cookies and crackers of NASCAR)
NicoDerm
Prilosec (the official heartburn remedy of NASCAR)
Tissot (the official timekeeper and watch of NASCAR)
UPS

Target
Taco Bell
McDonald's
Long John Silver's
Great Clips
Dollar General
Beringer Vineyards
U.S. Border Patrol
Dr. Pepper/Snapple

GameStop
Holiday Inn
Macy's
several casinos and resorts

And, of course - Coca Cola, Budweiser, Crown Royal, Jim Beam, Miller Light, Budweiser, Jack Daniels, Red Bull, and Coors Light.

This is not an all-inclusive list - just a few of the more interesting ones.

I can't belive Eileen is not a dollar store treasure hunter - they are way fun and not only can you find good deals, but cool fun stuff that you won't find anywhere else. Take my dinosaur hat, for instance - and it is my hat, not my daughter's, although I did let her wear it when we got home. I was the one who wore it throughout the store and didn't take it off at the register - the cashier just scanned the label off my head.

Old Guy T-Shirts

An older gentleman approached the circ desk this morning - he's a regular, always smiling, harmless flirting with us girls, it's cute and fun - wearing a t-shirt that said "Wanna Play Army? I'll Lay Down and You Can Blow Me." I asked him to come closer so I could read it. He giggled and turned red, and I read it out loud. I stood there speechless for a moment afterwards, and then started cracking up. I told him it took a lot of nerve to wear that, and I thought he was very brave. He was proud of himself after that, and smiled as he strutted through the building to grab a newspaper. I love old guys.

My boy Tony is going to rock the Glen this weekend. Last week's race sucked big time - Tony's car was a problem; his tenth place finish was a nightmare, although he successfully defended his first place standing in the Chase race. Robby Gordon got bent over a chair big time - I am so hoping he beat the hell out of David Stremme. Bobby Labonte was super-pissed at David Ragan, but really, I didn't see that the child did anything intentionally, but I do love Labonte and was upset at his on-track reaction to the wreck - love ya, Bobby! He's a good man, great driver, and super hot. Here's to an exciting race on Sunday, without the disaster that Pocono was last week.

Chicagoland 14

Time lapse video of Tony's crew decaling the 14 for this weekend. Go Tony!

Fireworks, for Real This Time

Here are the fireworks for Eileen, from lovely downtown Akron. In the first one, my daughter is the second from the left - work summary from jazz class, last Friday. Will snap some pics of the Circle today, too, when I'm not busy getting ready to ditch work early - I have Mario Kart tournament to run first - and head to Sharon Speedway for the race tonight - with Tony and Kasey Kahne, and Dave Blaney. Yee ha!

Otin - I actually like Kyle Busch - he reminds me of Tony ten years ago. Temper temper! He's a great driver and I expect him to win a championship or two down the road - and I wouldn't expect him to be happy about how Saturday night's race ended. He was going to Victory Lane to 'talk' to Tony after he got out of his car - and four officials had to restrain him and direct him to the med. Tony would have, and has done, the same thing a few years ago, and maybe now.

On the other hand, I can't stand Kurt Busch. I met him last year and got his autograph - how could I not? - and he was very nice. My mom said, he's so nice, why don't you like him? Maybe because he is a jerk - Tony punched him two Februarys ago, in the NASCAR trailer, when Kurt messed with him on the track, so Tony's not above taking it out back. But what happens in the trailer stays in the trailer, so no video or pics - unfortunately. There are a lot of vids and pics of Tony going off on other drivers in the past 15 years, so there's plenty of testosterone to love. Kurt is a good driver, too, I will give him that, but I don't know that he doesn't play dirty if he can get away with it. Not as bad as Jimmie Johnson, but then he and his crew chief are the masters of cheating. A couple of little girls if you ask me. I like a man to be a man, but play it straight and win fairly. Kick some ass if you have to, but if you have to cheat, you might as well be wearing pink underwear.

Eileen - you don't let your kids have sparklers? What in the heck? And they're boys? And the dog treats are only for potty rewards. My parents are very strict with this dog - he is a Cairn terrier and they are very difficult to train. Which is why I don't want a dog - but who else is there to dogsit but me? I expect to be drinking heavily when they return.

Six Uninteresting Things

I was tagged by Pastor Sharon to list six uninteresting things that I like, so here goes:

1. Henry James - I think he's interesting, but no one else does. It's pretty bad when I know more about him and his work than any of my teachers do.

2. Buttons - my grandma had a button tin, and I inherited it. No one else wanted it, so there was no question of my taking it. She told me to take it when she was dying, but I wasn't going to haul it off while she was still breathing - that would not have been cool. There are a zillion different buttons in there, collected over a good fifty year period. I used to take them out and play with them when I was a child, and I still do, usually when I am missing her more than usual.

3. Lemons - I adore them. I need them. I started craving them when I was pregnant with my son and I still love them. I eat the whole lemon, like everyone else would eat an apple. Skin and all. They are my Prozac. As soon as I finish this post, I am running out to Quizno's for my fifty cent iced tea refill, with all the lemons I can fit in the cup.

4. Literary agency - the history and nature of literary agency is a huge part of my doctoral dissertation. I'm in bed with it 24/7. Move over, Henry James.

5. NASCAR - Not uninteresting, but I can't think of anything else to write. Of course I find everything that I think is interesting interesting, so it's hard for me to think of something that might be uninteresting. People are often surprised at my affection for racing, so that's why I am including it.

6. Chinchillas - I adore my giant mouse friends!

Networking

A former boss of mine used to go out of his way to pee in the 'executive' restroom on the floor above us. I asked him why he would make this effort, especially in an emergency. He smiled smugly and said, "networking." Gross. Haiku inspiration!

Urinating in

the executive restroom -

It's called networking.

I hate this Burger King guy - he scares me. There are always a lot of Burger King commercials during the NASCAR races, and I have to cover my eyes.