A New Beginning

Since the rest of the family has pretty much abandoned the family website and Dad keeps talking about shutting it down, I figured I should carve my own niche into the blogging world. I think starting my own personal blog was the most difficult thing. I had to think of a decent title to the blog, choose a layout, and from there it started snowballing. I'll probably be fiddling around with it for a while. I can't say that I won't be learning by doing. Robyn has been insistent that I start my own blog so I can keep everyone up to date on my new adventures on the East Coast. I wanted a blog that would last for years to come. Here's to hoping I have accomplished that!

Robyn also wants me to post pictures from some of my adventures while I'm out here. I have a couple of pictures from my first week here and I also have some pictures that I took in Charlotte when I was shopping with one of my friends. I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet so I will have to get those posted later. I'd have to say that I am like Jonathan and Daija when it comes to picture taking so don't expect too many. :D

I just finished my first class at NTI and I can't say that I could have been any happier with the results. I got a strong A in my class (96%) and there were only a few boys that beat me. I was the only girl in my class and that is probably going to be my story for the entire time I am in school. My first class was a basic engines class and it was a lot of fun. My teacher was a great teacher and had a lot of funny stories about his racing days. I think I learned a lot of new ways to cheat in racing and not get caught. I've decided the sport is just as much about who can drive the fastest as it is who can cheat the most and not get caught. Let's just say there is a good reason that everything in NASCAR is measured down to 1/10 of a thousandth of an inch. There's been a few things on Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson pushing the limits of legality for the race car and it just makes me laugh because EVERYONE is doing it. If they aren't pushing the limits of it they aren't being competitive enough and there is no way they even stand a chance of possibly winning.

There are a couple of girls at the school that I got to know at orientation. Unfortunately only one has morning classes like I do and our first class wasn't together and neither will our second be. The other girl has class in the afternoon but we still text a bit. Both of them race and Anna, the girl that has afternoon classes, said she will take me to one of her races because I have never seen dirt track racing before and I really want to. The other girl, Ashley, is done for the season so maybe I'll get to go another time with her. I actually went shopping with her last Saturday for a dress for her racing banquet. And yes, you heard that right, I went shopping. We found this gorgeous dress that was normally $200 and she got it for $50. I called GG right away and told her of the savings. It may not have been me saving that much money but we can all appreciate saving that much. After Ashley and I were done shopping we just drove around Charlotte for a while and just looked at all of the beautiful houses out there.

Next week I start a new class and I have a new set of classmates. Some of them will be the same kids from my engines class and some will be new so I get the opportunity to meet a lot of different people. This next class is service writing. I've heard that it's one of the most boring classes so I'm glad that I am getting it out of the way right away. My engines teacher said that a lot of kids struggle with it after they have had a class that is mostly lab/shop time because they are used to doing things hands-on and then they get stuck in a classroom setting for a majority of the time. I don't know why this class is an actual class and not just a day in another class because I honestly don't know what could possibly make it worth having a three week class on it. I mean, it's writing up a service order (you know, the estimate you get when you bring your car in). I'm hoping there's a lot more to it than I think and I hope that it's not all just a bunch of part numbers to memorize.