Perfect Weekend

So this weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season. Good Ole Memorial Day weekend. This is a time where people get together, grill out, go out on the lake, watch some baseball, relax, and basically just be American.

Two things that are definitely American, and Southern specically are Coca Cola and NASCAR and the connection between the two. That's right, I'm talking about the Coca-Cola 600 that is on tonight. This is more that just a race. This is four hours of nonstop, 200 MPH, night racing. It really doesn't get any better than this. This is the marathon of racing. It is like going from Atlanta to Washington D.C. is less than four hours.

Some people might ask, "Ben, since when did you become such a NASCAR junkie?" My response to that is that NASCAR has been shown on Sunday afternoons in my house since I can remember. I grew up a fan of Mark Martin in the 6 Valvoline Car, when the Earnhardts and Elliot and Wallaces were still ruling the track. Jeff Gordon was just breaking onto the scene. Now I call myself a Carl Edwards fan, absolutely despise the scum of NASCAR Kyle Busch, and wish that Junior could actually carry on the family name and win a race every now and then.

To me NASCAR is more than just racing around in circles making left turns all day (which is what they do in horse racing and in track). If you think about it, all sports, when broken down to their basics are very simple. Baseball players hit a rock with a stick and run in circles. Basketball tries to get a ball into a basket. Football tries to get an inflated piece of animal skin over a line.

I'm not saying that other sports aren't complicated. I'm just saying that NASCAR gets a bad rap for "just going in circles." There is so much strategy going on that people don't even realize. The teams must consider tire pressure, pit windows, drafting, how much wedge to add. Every little tiny detail must be considered. If a lug nut on the tire is fastened as tightly as possible, after racing 30 laps at 200 mph the tire can and will come off.

So if you are looking for me this glorious Memorial Day weekend, you can find me hanging out with my friends, grilling steaks and burgers, drinking Coke, watching NASCAR. What else could you ask for?

My Confession

So I have a confession to make to everyone. I fought it for a while, but I eventually started admitting it to a few people. Now I am ready to admit it to the entire world, or at least to the 5 people that read this thing.

I drive a girl's car.

That's right. My car is a car that a girl should drive. It is a 2002 Jeep Liberty. This is the part of the story where all guys will say, "You know what he is right," and all the girls will say, "No, that is a cute car and I really want one." That is exactly my point. The Jeep Liberty is a "cute" car. I was drawn to it originally because it was a Jeep and I associate Jeep with "Man."

That association quickly went out the window. Driving around Columbia, I notice Liberties a lot more than I used to before I had it. (When I owned a Nissan Altima) The thing I have noticed about my car is that I am one of the few men driving it. Look at the next Jeep Liberty you see. Odds are there is either a college aged girl, or a middle aged woman driving it. There will also be her initials written in script on the back window.

Thinking about my girl car makes me wonder, what are some other girl cars? Here are some that I consider to be girl cars in no particular order. Please don't kill me men if you drive one of these cars.

1. Mazda Miata
2. Ford Mustang (not counting the original 60s versions)
3. Mini Cooper
4. Volkswagon Jetta
5. Ford Focus
6. Pontiac Vibe
7. Volkswagon Beetle (the new ones)
8. Chevy Tahoe or any other abnormally large SUV (this might seem like a reach but just look at who drives them)
9. Jeep Liberty
10. Toyota Rav4

So that is my list of girl cars. Guys, if you drive one of these cars and didn't realize it, then I'm sorry, but you needed to be told. Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. Now I must leave and go downtown where girls will see my car and be jealous of my cute mode of transportation.

The End is Nigh

So it is 7 in the morning and I am awake. I hate that point. I didn't go to bed until about 2:30 last night. I also hate that point. Why am awake after getting to bed so late? I'll tell you.

Finals.

Finals to me are bittersweet. On one hand summer is almost here and I am free to do whatever I want to do (work 40 hours a week and not get paid a dime). Then on the other hand there is a seven day span that has five finals in it. Thats the bitter part.

Now keep in mind, I'm not going off on the education system that judges solely on standardized testing or whatever some people get angry about. I, for one, love trying to completely bubble in the little circles. I'm just saying that I don't like taking five huge tests all in succession.

With all the bad that finals contain, there is good. That good being that today in two hours is my last final of the year and that I have successfully (hopefully) completed my first year of pharmacy school and am now halfway done with my college education.

But here is the bad, I have to stop typing and start studying so that I can pass Biochem and not have to take it again.

At least the end is nigh.