Odd Jobs

We all know how nonstop busy the retail industry is...which leaves little time for much else. But that doesn't mean those of us in here can't squeeze in a little fun. You know, like hiking, sailing, golf, or even driving a racecar. Yes, that's right, the industry has it's very own racecar driver now. Christian Bollrath, president of Hera Lighting, started a second career of sorts. He has qualified for the Opel (the German brand of General Motors) professional factory race team.

Bollrath has been racing on an amateur level in the United States for the last 10 years. In the world’s first race driver casting, “OPC Race Camp,” which started with around 18,500 candidates, he qualified for the team of 10 drivers who will race in the 2008 24-hour race at the world famous Nuerburgring. The 10 drivers will compete in front of about 250,000 spectators in May 2008. Whoa, that's a lot of viewers.

So it seems the industry isn't as swamped as I thought. It's good to hear that there are still people out there having a little extra fun on the side. Personally, I don't get the appeal of watching a bunch of cars drive in a circle a million times while burning obscene amounts of gas. But apparently, a lot of people do. Here's to making time for something other than your job...try it sometime.

--Jessie Bove