Going into the Holidays Differently... Maybe a Racing Charity?

In 2008, it snowed on Christmas. It snowed so much, people were advised to not leave their homes. I wouldn't have been able to leave my home even if I wanted to. I was trapped and alone with nothing but an empty stocking, a box of Hamburger Helper and "A Christmas Story" on DVD.

At first it was quite sad. It felt lacking. No family. No cheer. No tasty holiday treats. No presents. Nothing. It was just quiet and still. It felt like the beginnings of the worst Christmas of my life.

Ironically, it wasn't.

I can't even begin to explain it. Definitely wouldn't be able to capture the feeling in a blog. Regardless of the fact that my Christmas last year contained hardly any ingredients required for a perfect commercialized holiday... it felt more like Christmas than any other I can remember. And it was a lasting feeling too. There wasn't any of that depression lingering once the presents are opened and the meal is devoured.

Apparently being isolated on Christmas day gave me the opportunity to realize that the only things I really want and need in life can't be bought, sold, traded, borrowed, or gifted by another. The only things I truly want and need simply require hard work, determination and a little faith on my part. Everything else is just... "stuff."

So this year my plan is to enter the Christmas season a little differently than I have before. This year my gift to my family is going to be taking them out for the afternoon and letting each person in my family pull a name off a giving tree for kids that truly do need something more this holiday season. Once each of my family members chooses a gift for their child (or teen/adult/senior) of choice, I'll buy that gift as a donation in thier honor.

So my gift to my family (especially my little nieces... who have EVERYTHING) will be the joy of making someone else's life brighter. Because no one in my family, like me, needs more "stuff." It also will double as a chance for us to spend some quality time together. After all, time spent with the ones you love is better than anything that can be wrapped up in a box.

I'm also requesting that they don't buy me any gifts this year either. Instead, the money they would have used to buy my gift(s) can be used to buy more gifts for some needy kids, or to purchase a few gift certificates to grocery stores to ensure that at least a few additional families out there will have a meal to eat on Christmas.

Originally I wanted to help a racing family (or families) that may have been hit by some tough times due to the economy. (Well... technically I can still do this if someone gets me the name of a family quick!!!). But I wasn't quite sure how to go about locating such a family...... this year. But I'm seriously thinking about maybe slowly building a charity that would help racing families during the holidays in the coming year. The racing community is so fantastic. I really think some amazing things could be accomplished by the racing folks in the off season when many are starving for something to focus their attention on. I know I am. :)

So anyway... those are just some thoughts that have been running through my head at a time when the anxiety and questions over what to get this person and that person starts consuming your life. Maybe the real question is are you just buying "stuff" or are you changing the course of humanity?

The Offseason is a Time for Reflection...

Part of me absolutely hates the racing offseason, for obvious reasons. Another part of me looks forward to the offseason being that it gives me a chance to reflect on the past so I can go forward in the future more enlightened/refreshed. However, this offseason is going to be so much more intense for me. I can sense it. Part of the reason for this is because on practically the very first day of my offseason I learned that "my boy," Travis Rutz, had been involved in an extremely serious racing accident.

I remember a couple years ago seeing a fairly bad accident at the track. It was horrible. All accidents are horrible until you see the drivers walk away... which is something I want to make sure is stated extremely clearly before I write my next sentences. In any case, I remember my heart breaking as they carried this kid off in a stretcher, someone who was a total stranger to me. I also remember thinking to myself, "I don't even want to know what I would do if my Travis was on that stretcher." Well... unfortunately... now I have an answer to that question.

Right after Travis's accident, I was told by a couple extremely reliable sources, to prepare myself for the very worst. I dropped to the floor and cried.

I cried for about three hours. Had a moment of silence. Then cried some more.

Eventually my body became too exhausted to do anything but lay in complete stillness. The only idea left in my head was, "It just takes a fraction of a second to change your life and your vision forever. That being the case, everything you ever wanted doesn't exist in the future... everything you ever wanted needs to exist right now."

Yeah... the above is a little fruity... but it changed my course of thinking. For at the time, everything I ever wanted was still waiting in the future. It was time for me to make some changes. Not knowing if Travis was going to survive or not, it suddenly felt like my duty as a human being was to do everything in life I've always wanted to do in honor of those who have passed on and can't.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Before Trav's accident, I was anxiously waiting for my lucky break in life, some great event that would take place in the future. I felt like my skills were prepared for the challenge and I was open to opportunity. However, after Trav's accident I suddenly realized that preparation and opportunity weren't two separate areas in need of readiness for a lucky future... luck is about being prepared for opportunity in the moment of now.

I wasn't menatally prepared to welcome opportunity at all. I was too trapped under a million excuses as to why this or that couldn't happen. You are never prepared for opportunity if your life is full of excuses... no matter how logical or scientific those excuses may sound. After all, the greatest achievements in this world were reached by those that defied logic and science.

I feel like I'm preparing myself for something big. I'm slowly tossing excuses out the window. Would I quit my job tomorrow and pack up my life to move across the country for something I really wanted? YES!! Which is an amazing concept to me, because just a month or two ago the answer would have almost surely been... no/maybe/I'll think about it.

I'm not totally sure what my final thoughts are regarding this post. Maybe just simply that sometimes out of the darkest and most depressing situations (whether it be the injury/death of a loved one or a depressing time of the year due to a lack of something you love) the most unexpected gifts in life can appear. You just need to be mentally prepared for the new opportunity, and feel lucky to have... not your past.... not your future...... but your NOW. :)

*PS.... my spelling and grammar sucks. You people that like to correct things can bite me!!! :P

ASCS Northwest on Facebook

I was very excited when I was asked to create an ASCS Northwest Group/Fan Site on Facebook to be used as a partner site to help promote the main ASCS Northwest website (http://www.ascsnorthwest.com/). I've been wanting to get involved in the sprint car racing scene in some form (other than photography), and this little Facebook project is the perfect beginner step for me to see what I'm made of. :)

In my opinion... so much money is spent advertising to the diehard sprint car fans... which seems kinda silly to me... since the diehard fans are going to be at the races whether they see a poster or hear a commercial on the radio or not. Yet, that's where it seems like much of the promoting energy goes. It goes to places where only the diehard fans will see it ('cause non-fans don't notice it).

I say go for the casual fans who have a well-rounded number of interests. Mediums like Facebook and MySpace are an excellent way to connect to these type of fans, because whoever signs on as a member of the group is saying that they are at least mildly interested in seeing some dirt track racing. Granted, their ASCS Northwest group link will probably be displayed next to their Weekend Fishermen Warriors, Green Thumb Gardeners, and Soccer Moms Rock group links... but that's where the fun comes in. The challenge (or fun) is to see if there is a way to get those casual fans clicking on the ASCS Northwest group link more than all the others they have stored in their interest areas on Facebook and MySpace. Because the more they start clicking on the ASCS Northwest group link... the more likely it is that an interest in sprint car racing is being programmed into their lives.

And the hope would be that the more these people interact with an ASCS Northwest site on Facebook (or sites like www.NWRaceTalk.com), the more likely they are to start connecting with others who share an interest in sprint car racing. And once you've built a network community, the job of promoting becomes much easier.

Hahaha... slightly idealistic I know. But as Einstein once said, "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." Just give me some space and let my imagination work here. You (and I) might one day be amazed by the results. ;)

I have some ideas for the ASCS Northwest group on Facebook. I've got ideas that will hopefully have people clicking on the ASCS Northwest group link more than their other links. I'm thinking fun stuff... like contests and such. We'll see. In any case, if you do have a Facebook account check out the ASCS Northwest group site and lets see where it goes.

As far as promotion of the ASCS Northwest and sprint car racing in general... I've got some ideas. But that my friend is a whole other blog post. :)

Joey Saldana Redecorates with Princess Imagery

At the end of February, 2009, I got some very exciting news! It would turn out that three of the pictures I took at the World of Outlaw season opener at Volusia Speedway Park would be used as backgrounds on Joey Saldana's new and improved website (www.joeysaldana.com).

Having the chance to go to Florida and being treated so kindly by all who were in charge of the DIRTcar Nationals event was one thing . Finding some sort of validation in the fact that my pictures were "good enough" to appear on the website of one of the best sprint car drivers in the world was another thing. I don't know. As silly and unlogical as it sounds... the experience felt like this little bridge that moved me from being just another fan taking pics at the track to someone preserving the memory of sprint car racing through visual imagery. A "self-awarded" badge of achievement by all means, but something to be pround of regardless. After all, for many of us the recognition of personal successes comes far and few between, as compared to being recongized by others for our successes. :)

I know for some, "all this" is really no big deal. I'm sure there are veteran photographers out there that would laugh at my excitement with the idea that "it's just part of the job." Hopefully I never fall into that way of thinking. Hopefully each little achievement will be just as new and exciting as the last. 'Cause there's nothing worse than having something (like a hobby) that you love and are excited about turn into "just another job." I think sometimes people try so hard to squeeze some sort of profit out of their beloved hobbies... that eventually they also squeeze the passion right out along with it. For ethical reasons and a mutual respect for the motorsport photography profession, I have turned my little hobby into a business. But the business and finance parts of it all mean very little to me... and that's the way I intend to keep it. I want to keep my excitement where my heart tells me it should be kept, in the little achievements like the Saldana example described above. Because I know when it gets right down to it... when I'm old and reflecting back on my life... those little achievements are going to be the ones I'm most proud of. How much money I made at the end of the year will mean next to nothing when taking that final inventory of my life. :)

I can't wait to see what else I'll be able to accomplish in 2009! Keep your fingers crossed for me! With the divorce and all the other changes in my life last year... I thought 2008 was going to be the year for new beginnings. But it turns out 2008 was a year of healing and rest. 2009 is going to be my year. I can just feel it. I had to rest and replentish in 2008 so I would be ready to do everything that I'm going to do in 2009... whatever that may be. :)

The moral of this blog:
Don't let outside influences (money, power, people, etc.) take away the excitement of the things you love. 'Cause in the end, only the stuff you loved and loved doing in it's simplest and purest form is going to matter.

Take care,
Stacy

Welcome to the "Thoughts from Pit Princess" Blog

EVERYONE keeps telling me to start a blog. So here I am. I'm not totally sure what I have to say that others are going to find exciting... but it's worth a shot... and I'll learn as I go. And who knows???? Maybe I will discover that I actually do have a lot of interesting stuff in this little ol' head of mine to share with others.

Take care,
Stacy