Random and totally opinion-based 2009 NASCAR predictions.

With the season a mere one month away (Daytona 500 02.15.09), I thought I would go ahead and predict the top 30 finishers for the 2009 NASCAR season.  Remember, after 26 races, the top 12 make the chase and settle the championship.

Some random notes before I begin:

>Look for David Ragan (6) to be the most improved driver of the year, winning a few races, and even competing for the championship.

>Johnson will be tough to deny his 4th consecutive championship (shocker!)

>Tony Stewart will be driving for his own team, and look for him to win a few races.

>The races will be more boring than ever, resulting in NASCAR throwing phantom cautions even more than they have in the past.

>Dale JR. will still not win.

Top 30 (and why)

30.  Travis Kvapil - Same story, some good runs but at the end of the day a lot of DNF's

29.  Scott Speed - Welcome to NASCAR.  It will be a learning curve, but if RedBull gives him time, he can be a good stock car racer.

28.  Juan Pablo Montoya - New DEI/Ganassi entity won't help this open wheeler.

27.  Reed Sorenson  - New team, same lackluster results for Reed.

26.  Michael Waltrip -  He'll have some decent runs, but at the end of the day he is still Michael Waltrip.

25.  Jamie McMurray -  He will continue to be the low point at camp Roush.

24.  Casey Mears - Don't look for much improvement at RCR for Casey.

23.  Martin Truex, Jr. -  He should've gotten out of DEI when he could have.

22.  AJ Allmendinger - Still don't know which car he is driving, but look for him to have better results that a lot of people think.  

21.  Kasey Kahne -  As each year passes, Kahne becomes just an average driver.

20.  Aric Almirola - Too bad he drives for lowlife DEI.  This dude has talent.

19.  Kurt Busch  -  Penske racing will continue to struggle.

18.  David Reutimann - A good driver, but MWR just doesn't cut it.

17.  Brian Vickers - I'd love to see BV do better, but inconsistency kills him.

16.  Jeff Burton -  This will be a down season for Jeff.

15.  Ryan Newman - He will have some ups and downs driving for Tony this year.

14.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  -  News flash:  Jr will continue to not win races.  With Martin aboard, he will be the low man at Hendrick this year, missing the chase.

13.  Joey Logano - Rookie mistakes will keep him out of the chase, but he will learn a lot this year, and improve as the season goes on.

12.  Tony Stewart - Smoke will barely beat out his old car for a spot in the chase, but it won't be the season he is looking for. (maybe 2010)

11.  Matt Kenseth -  More of the same from Matt.

10. Kevin Harvick -  Another consistent year but still no wins.

09. Clint Bowyer - Clint will be the go to guy at RCR this year, winning on more than one occasion. 

08. Jeff Gordon - He will still be looking for 5.

07. Greg Biffle - Another good year for the Bif, but not quite worthy of a championship run.

06. Denny Hamlin -  JGR will be back with another good season, but Denny still won't quite live up to Kyle's hype.

05. Kyle Busch - He'll have another great year, winning a lot of races, and contending for a championship.

04.  David Ragan  -  He will surprise people this year, winning a few races, and contending for the title.

03.  Carl Edwards - Carl will get even closer to his first championship, but he might still be a year or two out.

02.  Mark Martin - Welcome to HMS!  This will be a dream season for Mark.  The only thing that will stop him from winning his first championship will be his teammate, but he will come very close.

01.  Jimmie Johnson - You just can't bet against this guy.  At the end of the day, he will just flat out beat you. 

why are farts so funny?

this is a question that i have been pondering for many a year.  can anyone help me with this one?  farts are in fact very funny but i don't know exactly what makes them funny.  my wife claims that farts are only funny to people under the age of 5 but i know that that is not true.  look, i am twenty something and i still find farts to be very, very funny.  

i think it might have something to do with the fact that a noise is coming from the butthole and the butthole is sometimes considered to be a private area and for some reason the discussion of private areas is funny.  

i don't know.  all i know is that nothing is more likely to bring a smile to the face of an individual than that of a nice, juicy fart.  They're just funny, that's all there is to it .

But why?

OBOJKHWW

Well, just the other day, Friday to be exact, Ornenthal James Simpson, better known as OJ, was sentenced to between 9 and 33 years in prison for, not murder but, convictions stemming from a sports memorabilia incident gone bad.

Does this reek of payback or what?  Almost everyone in this country is happy to see this double murderer behind bars, no matter what the reason is.  He had 13+ years of freedom after he was acquitted on murder charges but now he will spend some time (maybe the rest of his life, but doubtful) behind bars.

He is up for parole after 9 years which, if OBOJ behaves himself, he will get.  9 years isn't enough for murder, but it is better than nothing.  He is getting older by the minute and will probably not be healthy enough to kill anyone else when he gets out of prison.  

I'm sure this feels like a long time coming for the families of Nicole and Ron.  I am sure that the fact that the guy who took the lives of their loved ones is finally behind bars is a relief to them.  They have had to suffer watching him playing golf and living it up when he should have been behind bars.  This has to be a small bit of justice to them.

It is none of my business, obviously, what goes on in the lives of the Simpson, Brown, and Goldman families.  But since this has been such a public thing for so many years, I thought I would throw out my 2 sense.

Hey O.J., be careful.  Make sure you don't try to get out of that private cell they have blessed you with.  The next dumb decision you make might just make you someone's you know what.     

i made a girl cry

no, not my wife, thankfully.  an 8 or 9 year old at school today.  

i received a paper with no name on it, which is a somewhat common occurance.  there are usual suspects, and this instance was no different.  the guilty party fessed up and i presented her with a choice.  as a common offender, i told her she could either write her name 150 times, or redo the assignment.

she wasn't happy.  she pouted.  and pouted some more.  after i gave her her options, she said "fine, i'll just do the assignment again."  the assignment was writing 20 sentences using correct pronouns.  so, as i proceeded with class, she proceeded with pouting.  and laying her head down on her desk.  and giving me the "i hate you" look.  at the end of the day, i called her up to my area.  i said "i am sorry i upset you, but you keep forgetting to write your name on your papers, and last time you had to write your name 100 times, so this time i chose 150.  i am not mad at you, that's just the way it is."

then came the tears.  i tried to console her, but she would have none of it.  so, i felt bad.  i know i was in the right, but i still feel bad that i let her down, or made her mad, or whatever.

so, i just thought i would tell who ever might read this (probably like 1 person).

but anyway, i'm sure she will get over it.  8/9 year olds have a tendency to forget things.    

this life is not about me

i titled my blog as i did because i am slowly but surely realizing that that statement is true.  i used to think that this life was all about me.  me, me, me.  i used to think that i was the most important person in the world, the only one who mattered.  i thought the world should revolve around me and that everyone around me should know that i thought that.  now, i am growing.  not in a body sense, well maybe a few pounds around the middle, but in the sense of being a good, descent person.  

i now see very, very clearly that the world is not centered around me and that this life is not about me.  in fact, i see clearly that it is not about me at all.  it is about some other people, but not about me.  growing closer to god and becoming a teacher (of sorts) has shown me this.  i know god has put me in the lives of children now and in the future to help them.  help them not only become smart, educated people, but to become good people who make good decisions about life things.  

teaching life things is as, if not more, important as teaching book things.  look, children/students need to taught the basics.  that is why they go to school in the first place.  but, they also need to be adequately prepared for a life that is going to chew them up and spit them out.  they need to be equipped with the proper battle armor to fight the good fight when they get in the real world.

kinda got off on a tangent there but, i am, through god and through young souls, being shown first hand that this life is not about me.  i feel that god put me on this earth for a reason, and i now know, without a doubt what that reason is.

i used to struggle with that purpose/reason very, very, very much so.  i had no purpose/reason, or so i thought, but, good news sports fans, i do now.

it's like everything clicked during my student teaching experience.  i had doubts, many, many doubts that i was doing the right thing; the thing i was suppose to be doing; the thing i was put on earth to do; the thing god had layed out for me to do.  but, everything became clear.  through all the doubts/struggles/pitfalls/schoolwork/etc i doubted that i was fulfilling my purpose.  but, thankfully, i have no doubt now that i am doing what i am suppose to do.

teaching, of course.  that is why i was born.  that is why god put me on this earth, in this place, and at this time.  i remember a specific moment not long ago when it just clicked.  it was amazing.  it was moving.  it was just, just the thing i needed most.  i don't know exactly what i was doing but it just hit me:  teaching is what i am suppose to be doing.  all the doubts/addictions/excuses up to that point and beyond did not matter.  it all made sense.  and i realize this life is not about me.

it's about first:  god, second:  my wife, and third:  the kids.  the kids i am currently teaching and especially those i will one day teach.  god has given me the great responsibility of molding young minds and i am fully, fully ready to whole heartedly take on that responsibility.  

i am lucky but mostly i am blessed.  i know, you might think i am jumping the gun a little bit.  i haven't even became a real teacher yet, and it's not always gonna be great.  i know that.  i am prepared for terrible days.  i am prepared for days when i ask myself:  what the heck was i thinking?  i am prepared for days when i wish i would have just stayed in bed.  but, i am also prepared for wonderful days.  i am prepared for good days.  i am prepared for days when everything works out just as planned, and i make a difference in a child's life that nobody else at that moment could have made.  i am prepared for the days when i am the only smiling adult face that a child will see.  when i am the only hope, the only ray of light.  i am prepared for the days when i see that light bulb go off in a kids eye, when finally after struggling mightily with a certain concept, they finally get it.  they get it and they feel like they are on top of the world.  

i want all my students to feel like they are on top of the world.  i want them to realize that any thing is possible if they try, and put their hearts and souls into it.  i want them to be the best readers, spellers, mathematicians, and correct grammar-users that they can be.  but more importantly, i want them to be the best possible person that they can be.  i want them to stare at life's face and say "hey, there is nothing you can do to stop me."  

maybe i am overreacting, looking too far into the future.  after all, i don't even have a teaching job yet.  but when i think about not having a teaching job, i think about how god put me where i am now for a reason.  he put me here, in this place, at this time, because he wants me to be a teacher.  and there is no doubt in my mind that he had something planned for me.  i don't believe he would have lead me this far without having a job for me.  so, i don't worry about it.  i might not get a teaching job in january.  i might not get one in august.  but have no doubt that the lord has something great in mind for me, and he will present that to me in his time.

so, i feel as if i have, in this inaugural blog, rambled a bit.  but hopefully you see where my passion is.  hopefully you see why i know that this life is not about me.

{for the record, i will not use capitalization in this blog or any to follow, unless i so desire, because i do not want this blog to be about correct mechanics.  i want it to be something that the reader and i enjoy.  this is a way i can present my thoughts and feelings without rambling and babbling along vocally.}

{thank u}

nathan