Sprint Cup Race: Dover International Speedway (May 31st, 2009)

I used to keep up my blog on Yahoo 360, and one of the main topics I blogged on was the weekly race. I was sifting through all my old blogs on there and got to thinking, "I've got a new blog now; why don't I just continue my thoughts on each race?" So that's what I'm going to do.

I missed the first 85 laps of the Dover race today. (The church took me, my parents, the music director, her husband, the church secretary and her husband and four other people out to lunch after church today) For the most part, the race was pretty boring. A few wrecks here and there, but nothing to really scream about.

At least, not until the last 15 laps. Boy, was that exciting! Why? Tony moved around Greg Biffle to take the lead! He lead for 12 laps, putting him in the points lead and giving him a few extra. I really thought he'd win, because he seemed to have a fast car, but he didn't; alas, Jimmie Johnson (aka the NASCAR cheating driver) won. They interviewed Tony after the race, and though I don't know him personally, I could tell he was upset and disappointed. REALLY disappointed. You could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. Total disappointment. He IS first in points though, which is good news. But, I'm being pessimistic about it. why? Well, Kyle Busch was 1st in points this time last year, and everyone thought he'd win, but he didn't; Johnson did, so I'm not keeping my hopes up. I mean, Tony is awesome, and I want him to win the Cup, but yet, I don't want to get overly optimistic. I did that with Kyle Busch and he was at the bottom of the points by November.

On another note, I sent an e-mail to Darrell Waltrip to notify him that I'm sick and tired of he and his buddies gloating over Earnhardt Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports. Jr., number one, has no talent, and number 2, is only famous because of his dad. Johnson, on the other hand, is a known and proven cheater, as Chad Knaus said in a race in 2007 that they would pay the fines and keep cheating for as long as possible. There are some other drivers down on that track who deserve a little more publicity. Drivers who may actually have talent and who are struggling to make it in NASCAR. I told DW that if Johnson wins the championship this year, I'm out of being a NASCAR fan. Johnson has won the past 3 championships; 2 of which he didn't deserve because he and his team cheated.

Also, Jr needs to take responsibility for things he's done. But he's even said, "I deserve respect because of my dad and of who I am." Oh please. The guy can't even win races half the time, and the last race he won he only won because everybody else ran out of gas.

Okay, so I'm done griping for now. Haha. I will blog next about my experience at the vet clinic on Wednesday; I'm starting my volunteer session tomorrow and will be working through the summer. (working but not getting paid, lol). Also, on Saturday I'm taking my SAT test so please be praying for me then. I sure could use it! Sunday afternoon\evening I'll blog about the next race. Wherever that is.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

My parents and I saw night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian yesterday in IMAX. While I love seeing movies in an IMAX theater, I was disappointed with the movie itself. If you're wondering on whether or not to go see it, don't. Wait until it comes out on dvd before you waste 10 or 12 dollars.

Why wasn't it that good? Well, it wasn't as funny as the first one; at least I didn't think. The language was about the same; there wasn't that much crude humor in it though. (something I don't mind). And I thought the whole Egyptian tablet thing was overplayed. not to mention it was creepy.

So I wouldn't go see it in theaters. I think my money (or rather my parents' money) would have been better spent in going to see Up by Disney\Pixar.

Honoring Our Veterans-Offended by Our Flag?

Yes, I know this post is a little late, considering that Memorial Day was on Monday, but I just have to share this video with you.

http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/nascar#nascar/13653235

If you're not able to see the video, go to nascar.com, Select Video at the top, then look for "NASCAR Honors Our Veterans."

But if you can't do either, here's what happened: The Coca-Cola 600 was rained out SUnday afternoon. So they moved it to late MOnday morning\early afternoon. At 3:00 p.m., all the flags were lowered to half-mast, the cars were brought around to the front stretch, the engines turned off, the pit crews standing at the edges of their pit boxes shoulder to shoulder, the fans standing in the stands, the announcers silent while observing a moment of silence for our heroes, who have served, died, and who are still serving this country today. This is the only professional sport that does things like this. How many sports can you name that will pray in the name of Jesus, and will allow the mention of things like prayer, God and Jesus? Only 1. And that's NASCAR. One main reason this sport is so great is because they acknowledge the existence of an Almighty God; they do things like what is in that video to honor our veterans and current military personnel. This sport reflects some of the ideals and virtues that this great nation was founded on.

To move on, I heard a news report today that at a hospital in Mansfield, Tx. a worker was offended by the American Flag and took it down from a fellow co-worker's wall. Yes, OFFENDED. She was offended by our flag. The woman who had hung the flag (whose husband and children have been in the military\are serving currently) said that this woman is not American, yet she's over here enjoying the benefits and freedom represented by the flag. The hospital administration said, "this wasn't about the flag or what it stands for; this is about the size of the flag."

Yeah right. If someone gets offended at Ol' Glory, then they need to leave the country. If they're offended by something that men and women have fought and died for, then why are they here? I plan on sending an e-mail to this hospital and letting them know that if people take offense at the American flag, the flag that has stood for freedom, justice and liberty for all, then they should live in another country.

I can only imagine how sad this must make veterans and soldiers fighting. How someone can become offended at a symbol of freedom and liberty is beyond me. How someone can even dare to be offended is ridiculous.

Class of 2009

My grad party was today! Yay! I wish more people would have shown up, but oh well. One of my good friends graduated from home school the first of May, and her parents did this little ceremony where they talked about homeschooling. That's what we did; below is a copy of my 'speech.'

I’ve been homeschooled my entire life. My mom gave up her job to be a stay at home mom to Rhyan, then when she was old enough, a teacher. Then I came along, and she homeschooled both of us, which wasn’t easy. A lot of people criticized my parents for choosing to home school us; they thought that they were trying to isolate us from the world. But those weren’t the reasons; mom and Dad continued on despite the criticism, despite the sometimes hurtful remarks because they wanted the best education possible for us. God had called them to home school; if you’re not called to do it, then more than likely you won’t succeed. I’d be lying if I said that this road was easy, because oftentimes, it was very difficult. It can’t be taken lightly; because you must be determined, diligent, persistent, patient, willing, and committed. My parents were all that and more. They knew that people might look down on us because we were homeschooled. People didn’t always approve of that decision, but it wasn’t their decision to make.

My parents taught us the usual subjects: math, reading, science and the like, but more importantly, they taught us how to live Godly lives, not only through their words, but also through their actions every day. They taught us to not let others dictate who you are or how to make your decisions. You should make decisions the way that God leads you to make them. They raised both of us to be God-fearing, Christ-following young women, and though I often slip up and make mistakes, I have a good solid foundation, built upon by my parents. I also have a close relationship with my parents and sister, and I attribute that to homeschooling. It gave us the chance to be a family, especially because of my dad’s job, which would take him out of the house for a long time certain days and weeks. I loved being homeschooled; I loved the flexibility we had as a family and as a class. I’m leaving one part of my life and moving onto the next that will be more challenging, exciting, and sometimes scary. But I will always remember how my parents sacrificed time, money and popularity to educate us with a Christian curriculum. I was asked several times if I wanted to transfer into public school and I said no each time. My mom and I would often talk after assignments were given, and those are precious memories. That is a big reason why homeschooling has been such a blessing to me and my family; the ability to get one-on-one attention and to be able to talk at the same time.

So a tremendous thank-you to my parents, who stuck with it and didn’t give up, even though I’m sure they felt like it. I wouldn’t be where I am or who I am without them.

Gearing Up for Graduation

It's 2 days before I graduate! Can you believe it? I know I can't. My mom, grandma, and myself started setting up the fellowship hall at church for Saturday. We have to get more things tomorrow, but that's okay. We were laying out how we wanted things to look. We're picking up the cake tomorrow. Yay! I was also told to get together a little "speech" for Saturday. Yikes!!!!! I am NOT a public speaker. But, if it'll help people understand how homeschooling has affected my family, then I'll do it. 

Maybe, I should start writing it now....

To Boldly Go...

My dad and I got to see the new Star Trek movie today. And for what it's worth, if you're rating it based on 5 stars, it gets 5, or if on 10 stars, 10. Absolute excellent movie, definitely well worth your time and money. Maybe not great in the way of Trek content, but definitely an awesome movie. 

I really expected it to be a little heavier than it was; but it was a mild PG-13, of which I'm glad. The sexual content that it was rated for really wasn't as bad as I was expecting, nor the language. All-in-all, one of the cleaner Trek movies (and that's surprising, because STar Trek III has some of the most language and it was made back in the 80s!) 

About the actors: I fell in love with Bones the very minute he appeared on screen. If anyone nailed the performance, it was Karl Urban. Bones is my favorite character of Star Trek; so that character was important to me. I didn't need to worry because he was perfect. My dad made the comment that he looked and sounded almost exactly like Deforest Kelley. He was on top of all the others in performance and he deserves two thumbs up. ;) 

Chris Pine was a good young Kirk. I say good because he just isn't William Shatner. I guess I'm spoiled on the original series and films starring Shatner, but he just isn't; in his defense though (Chris') he gave an awesome performance and also deserves two thumbs up for a job well done.

Zachary Quinto was also a good young Spock. The whole two Spocks thing confused me. I'm wondering why the timeline wasn't automatically reset with the destruction of Nero's ship, but Quinto gave a very convincing performance of a younger Spock who was in conflict and who was dealing with his human side. 

For the rest of the cast, their performances were sub-par. Uhura was probably the better out of Chekov, Sulu, and Scotty. I don't know why, but the other threes' performances just didn't impress me. Chekov did NOT have that thick of a Russian accent. You could pretty much understand everything he was saying; this new guy, hardly a word. 

But director\producer J.J. Abrams should be proud of this movie. He made a film that will\would appeal to an audience who maybe aren't Trek fans. He made it interesting without going overboard. He made the right choices (for Kirk, Bones, Spock, and Uhura) in casting decisions...and especially one in casting Nero. Eric Bana was awesome as the main baddie. 

The violence was also less than I expected. I could have done without the whole bug-in-Captain-Pike's-Mouth thing, because that just was creepy, but the rest of it, amazing and well-done. I also loved how the original series' theme was incorporated into the credits at the end. 

Go see it, even if you're not a Trek fan. You certainly won't regret it if you're an action\adventure kind of person! 

Senioritis

I have a bad case of senioritis. Every senior knows what that is. Graduation is just around the corner, and every senior is itching to graduate. Seems like it's worse with homeschooling. I've hardly done a regular day of school in about 2 weeks. I'm ready to get out of high school and get on with life. My SAT is in June. Then, I'll have a THEA test to take (equivalent to the TAKS test since I don't go to public school); then hopefully, onto North Central Texas College in Gainesville. I won't be living away from home for the first year; I'll be commuting back and forth, probably 2 days a week. I'm sort of graduating early; I'll only be 17 when I graduate in less than 2 weeks.

But I'm excited. Excited at what college life will bring. Excited at what God will do through me in the coming months and years. Excited at what I can become, even though I don't know what it is right now. I'm not sure what God's leading me to be. I'm trying not to worry about it right now because I know that He'll reveal it to me in His time and way. 

Oh, and I'm excited for this weekend; my dad and I are going to go see the new Star Trek movie Friday. I'm planning on paying for his birthday (which was last Saturday).