Adult Soap Box Derby (not that adult)

So this weekend was the ever popular, Marble Falls Adult Soap Box Derby.  Instead of Boy Scouts or children's groups, professionals (Mechanics, Oil Change shops, Grown-ups with some mechanical aptitude) build some out landish racers and they race down a gigantic hill down the middle of town.  There are tons of people watching and screaming (and drinking, not sure on the law of public consumption but if you had a can coozie, it was filled with beer.  Didn't matter if you passed the police who were also racing this weekend).  Needless to say it was a fun weekend watching people hurl themselves down a road at 30+ mph for a trophy.  I posted some pics on Facebook, but I'll try to put some up here so you don't have to go there (go if you want, that's always cool and my +Klout score will thank you haha).

On Sunday, after the time trials were over and before the finals, they had a race called Jamaican.  What this consists of is the team pushing their derby car down the hill and one person jumping on the back to gain more speed and weight.  There is a point where the team has to stop pushing and then the two man car has a series of slaloms to complete before the drag race down the rest of the hill.  It's insane, and I was surprised no one flipped, until the last Jamaican race. It was double elimination and one derby car had not lost and during the championship run, they were neck and neck so the person on the back stood up and started leaning forward and thrusting himself forward to try and get more momentum.  They woman driver didn't know this was going to happen and one of the thrusts put her of course and she over compensated and like many action movies, the car skidded sideways and rolled on top of the woman, throwing the back teammate over it all.  Luckily they both had helmets, but that's it.  Just T-Shirts and shorts.  It was scary as both members lay motionless at the bottom of the hill.  They didn't move for over 3 minutes while people were sprinting down the hill to come to their aid. There was only one man (The finish line flagger) trying to help both racers.  The crowd went silent, Mads and I were sitting next to the family of the team that flipped.  Needless to say they were all rushing off the stands to get to the aid of their loved ones.  A paramedic came around the corner to take care of them.  Finally after about 20 minutes, the announcer (who also ran down to the crash) and a member of the team, came back up and said none of the injuries were life threatening (Thank God).  Just shock and major road rash, the driver had a severe cut above her eye (And I would bet a consussion, you don't lie there motionless for that long without being unconscious).  Needless to say, other than that crash, it was a great weekend.  I'm not sure if Jamaican is a very smart way of celebrating Soap Box Derby unless some more safety measures are put in place.

 Even the Marble Falls Police had a car in the race, with working lights. Or else they have some budget issues.

 Some cars had front facing seats, this one's name was "Love Sausage". These people are way too crazy for me.

 The derby cars came in all shapes and sizes, the "NO RULE 10" car's body kept wiggling as it went down, we all thought it was going to break apart like a Victory Auto-Wreckers car at the bottom. It stayed in tact all weekend.

 The license plate says OUTATIME and Doc is in the passenger seat

 The woman in the purple tri-racer was the one who flipped later in the day. As you can see, there isn't much keeping her in the racer. It has a couple 45 lb weights in the back plus the weight of another man who jumped on back during Jamaican making it pretty heavy and not fun when it lands on you at 30+ mph. Thankfully she is ok.

This is the back of the "NO RULE 10" car, nice comfortable seat. I like the slogan on the back. Maybe some day, I can get a crew together for this competition.  It looks a lot of fun, we may not participate in the Jamaican section but straight-up racing would be fun.  Team FIBS, who's with me?

The Stars at Night, are Big and Bright, Cause I Moved Down to Texas

As many of you probably already know (and for those who don't keep reading) I recently moved down to Austin, Texas.  My girlfriend Madeline works down here and I thought it was high time I did something about it.  So I packed up my stuff and moved down here. I've been here two days and already I've experienced rain (which they say is not that often), 60+mph winds, tons of lightning, and now, tropical heat. I've spent these two days revamping the resume and applying to about 10-15 jobs already online. Tomorrow I start the physical store to store applicationing.  I am hoping that my hand will last long enough or else I will find some newfound ambidexterity so I can fill everything out.  I'm nervous, excited and excited even more.  I was in the market for a change of pace and boy is this a good start.  I can't wait to see what life has in store for me in the Lone Star State. If anyone has any suggestions as to where I can find a job in Austin, let me know.  I'm all ears!! or eyes, since you will most likely be typing your response. More to come!!