Penny-pinching car geek's guide to racing, track days, and car build. DIY projects, product reviews, and interviews.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Beginning of a new phase of my life

Okay, so lets look at my situation.
I got married.  I started a job, albeit temporary.  I have income.  All of these things are very new to me.
I also bought a kart.  Not that new to me, but I only have 1 race under my belt and I never got to learn as much as I wanted about karting. 

In about 45 minutes, I will also find out if I'm a California attorney when I check my bar exam results.  During the two or three months I studied, I spent my time doing shooting competitions and toying with the idea of starting a business.  My excuse was that I needed time off; I really have a hard time functioning without something other than studying to do.  So, in a way, I don't feel like I deserve to pass.  Also, based on the calculations I did after taking the bar exam, I figured out that I have a greater chance of not passing.  This gives me a feeling of preparedness for the results.

But I'll be lying if I say I don't hope I pass.  Everyone tells me "you never know."  A bunch of my classmates and attorneys I know told me they were sure they did not pass, but they did.  I'm not one to get nervous and question my performance; I generally know when I did well and when I did not, but of course, I have indeed surprised myself by excelling at something I was sure I was going to fail in.  This happened exclusively at law school.

Either way, this weekend I'll start a new phase of my motorsports life also.  Please read the following:

My kart package came with almost everything I need to run.  Lots of spares, lots of tuning parts, tools, etc. Even came with old fuel still in the can.  I'll probably put it in my car and buy a new can.
The kart was set up for its previous owner, who was of similar weight but much taller than me.  I'm hoping I wouldn't have to do much to get it handling.

I live in a 1 bedroom with no garage.  Kart stays in a storage unit.  I can do little things here and there, but I can't do a major overhaul. 

The only thing the kart needed was a brake overhaul, since the seals had rotted away, and getting the motor mounted and ready to go.  I probably need tires as well; the ones on the kart seem to be very hard and thus hard to drive on.

Stu H., yes, that Stu who used to race SCCA pro GT cars, offered his help.  I'm so grateful for someone like that has offered his help.  I think I'll be able to go drive this weekend.

My friend Chris Cullen told me I should make it a goal to put in 50 laps every time I go to the track.  So that is a goal this weekend.

This weekend's goals:
Get kart handling reasonably. 
Learn to tune the carburator
Put in 50 laps.

No specific goals today, as I want to just spend my time familiarizing myself with the kart.
I'm really excited! 

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