Downtime

It’s got to be about  58 degrees in this building. I’m just taking a break from working on senior design projects to rest my mind. All I’m being drawn to, however, is the fact that it is really rather cold. I prefer the hot days and warm nights of summer to the chill of winter. I was out of state for the weekend and came straight back to class on my way home. The heat is still turned off and even though I’ll probably get home around 4 I fully expect that the house will be colder still.

I’d been teaching Japanese to engineers planning to work abroad via an in-house exchange program but unfortunately with the economic downturn I find myself unemployed for the time being. Several friends in the area have been looking for more work longer than I have with only limited success so it doesn’t bode well for me. This season of autocrossing I may have to run in a borrowed car since I have doubts about even being able to afford prepping mine with new tires. On the other hand it gives me more time to work on personal projects and study. In December I’ll graduate and I can start looking for a job using my graphic design and Japanese skills; then I can (hopefully) earn some real money and finally get my car tuned to the limits of the class. Or maybe I’ll try to find work overseas. I wonder if DoriTen [Drift Tengoku] has ever considered hiring a US columnist/editor/designer/crazy person to take part in their DVD series…?

A few days ago we had a brief period where it would reach 63 degrees or so–tshirt weather–and it was so nice. One of those days where you can’t help but go for a cruise with the windows down and the wind blowing. Mike and I were talking, he brought up how excited he was about the warm weather and the upcoming season; it made me really look forward to getting behind the wheel again and letting loose…but now that it’s reverted to cold again it’s all I can do to handle the day to day. It’s still too early to think about solo 2.

Season Wrap-Up: part II

As for the season itself, it finished up with some excitement. There was one event left and I trailed in 5th position. I had the narrowest of margins from which to claim 3rd in the regional club and was going to give it my best shot. Unexpectedly looking behind me I saw that the 6th place driver was also so close as to have similar chances. We have about 8 points races per year and only the best 5 finishes count. In other words, a driver combines the highest 5 point scores together for a total score so it’s possible for someone who has had some inconsistent performance (in my case due to being rusty and having some tuning troubles) to manage an impressive finish if not a seasonal championship. In the very unlikely even of a tie it then goes to the highest points including 6 instead of 5 but as points are measured down to the hundredths so I’ve never seen it happen.

Much to my surprise the driver who held 3rd didn’t show up at all and the 1st, 2nd, and 4th place drivers competed in friends cars in other classes. The first and second place drivers were untouchable with the amount of points they’d amassed so the logic makes sense, but it opened the door for someone lagging behind to make a big improvement in their 5 best finishes. Typically I was finishing around 4th with an occasional 3rd or 5th but here I had an opportunity as I was the fastest driver there–of the usuals. Unfortunately it’s no secret that I’m not driving the fastest car there. Robbie, the guy in 6th whose personal autocross machine he’d had to sell, was competing in the (borrowed) fastest car in the class. It showed and even though his heavier frame helped to offset the (probably) 250 pound weight disadvantage a 240sx has versus an STS civic he took first and I trailed by 6 tenths to second place. This finish narrowly let me advance into 4th for the season.  Interestingly I advanced past both the 4th and 3rd place drivers (by only 1.52 points!) but Robbie slid past me with his better overall scores into 3rd. Basically, he’d only attended 4 races and so was in a better position than it appeared. Winning generally grants 100 points which let him advance past many people as he finally completed his best 5 set. Most of which he did using a borrowed car, but he was the one driving it so congrats to him.

Now I’m longing for warm weather and for the next season to get underway so I can keep learning but the increased demand from my final 2 semesters is keeping my mind off the wait. Some new parts are in the works but with the economy as it is I’ll be lucky to have adequate tires to compete on this season. I may have to do like Robbie and co-drive all season or even take a hiatus, we’ll see.