Tales From The IRL, Vol. 1

I thought that moving from the newspaper world to the corporate world would free up my schedule to do other things. It has, but I seem to neglect my blog and apparently cut off any contact I have with anyone who wanted to keep up with me anyway.

The Month of May is finally over and now, we head into a really busy summer. Next week, we'll be in Texas, then there's the first test at Milwaukee, then the U.S. Grand Prix and the Richmond test.

Did I mention that this job gives me "free time?"

A Rare Day Off

This month has been so hectic. Work is crazy as the preparations for the Indianapolis 500 sweep into full gear. And though my social life is moving oh so slow, I left the house with the intent of having fun for the first time in ages tonight.

So all in all, it was good to get away from the track today.

Sleeping in was a big help. I've been mentally drained since getting the news about Casey last week. And it's been hard to concentrate on things knowing I couldn't go to the funeral in Massachusetts.

Tonight was one of the parties associated with the race. Spent the night talking with some race drivers, had some free drinks, and hung out with some friends from the race track.

Now, it's time for bed. Tomorrow is another busy day.

In Memory Of A Friend

Casey Kane

PLEASE SAY A PRAYER

About a month ago, I got a letter from my friend Casey, who has been battling non-hodgins lymphoma for the last three years or so. Yesterday, I got a message from another one of my old friends back in Anderson. Apparently, Casey has taken a turn for the worse, and the outlook isn't good.

I've been given the advice not to get too close to the race drivers I work with, because if something happens to a friend, it will be harder to deal with. I usually just brush that off, but I think I know what they mean now.

Sometimes life isn't fair. Casey deserves to be healthy. I can't think of one person who has ever met her, who doesn't like her.

I never did get around to returning that note to her, and now I feel guilty.
I just hope my call will get there in time for me to tell Casey how much I valued her friendship the last few years.

A CAR CAN WAIT, FOR NOW

I was sharing the joy of getting a new car with some friends over lunch the other day and joked "I should take Dan Wheldon with me to the dealership. Maybe he can get me a better deal." (Back story: Dan became the first Honda driver to win at Honda's track Twin Ring Motegi, so he's quite the hero to Honda. He's also one of the drivers in the IRL who calls me by name and says hello when he sees me, so he may have gone with me anyways.).

That's when someone chimed in. "No, you should talk to T.E. (Honda's P.R. Guy)." I brought it up again as I talked with Dan Wheldon's P.R. guy and again he mentioned that I should talk to T.E. With that, my plans to have new wheels by the weekend have been put on hold indefinitely. Now the plan is to talk to T.E. during the month of May and see if he can order my car, and in turn save me some cash, but I may have to wait for a while.

SOUNDS OF SPRING

A familiar sound has returned to Indianapolis. Cars are running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Things will be quiet this week, but we are a week away from kicking off the Month of May, which leads to the IRL's biggest event -- the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

So much has happened since my last post.

* I had a birthday. I'm 31 and eight days old now. Seems weird that I am really 31, because I actually can't prove that I am 18, much less 31.

* To celebrate my birthday, my mom and dad came for a visit. It was good to see them, and their visit was with mimimal parental strife. Second best thing about Mom and Dad coming to visit: I have food to eat for weeks.

* I've decided to get a new car -- hopefully this week. My car is almost 10 years old, and it's time for me to get a nicer car. I've decided to get a Honda Accord EX Coupe with the V-6. I test drove one last weekend when my dad was in town, and I think I can get a good deal out of it.

* I finally got around to posting the photos from Japan. Check them out here

Well that's all for now. We'll leave with something funny, something sick, and something educational.

Arni